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Well, you can turn with me in 
your Bibles to Joshua chapter 2 for our meditation before the 
supper. We have looked at this passage 
in the past. I thought it would be fitting and appropriate, as 
it does magnify the grace and the mercy of God Almighty towards 
sinners. So, Joshua chapter 2. I'll read 
the chapter. And then we'll pray, beginning 
in verse one. Now Joshua the son of Nun sent 
out two men from Acacia Grove to spy secretly saying, go view 
the land, especially Jericho. So they went and came to the 
house of a harlot named Rahab and lodged there. And it was 
told the king of Jericho, saying, Behold, men have come here tonight 
from the children of Israel to search out the country. So the 
king of Jericho sent to Rahab, saying, Bring out the men who 
have come to you, who have entered your house, for they have come 
to search out all the country. Then the woman took the two men 
and hid them. So she said, Yes, the men came 
to me, but I did not know where they were from. And it happened, 
as the gate was being shut, when it was dark, that the men went 
out. Where the men went I do not know. Pursue them quickly, 
for you may overtake them. But she had brought them up to 
the roof and hidden them with the stalks of flax, which she 
had laid in order on the roof. Then the men pursued them by 
the road to the Jordan to the fords, and as soon as those who 
pursued them had gone out, they shut the gate. Now before they 
lay down, she came up to them on the roof and said to the men, 
I know that the Lord has given you the land, that the terror 
of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the 
land are fainthearted because of you. For we have heard how 
the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you 
came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites 
who were on the other side of the Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom 
you utterly destroyed. And as soon as we heard these 
things, our hearts melted. Neither did there remain any 
more courage in anyone because of you, for the Lord your God, 
He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath. Now, therefore, 
I beg you, swear to me by the Lord, since I have shown you 
kindness, that you also will show kindness to my father's 
house and give me a true token and spare my father, my mother, 
my brothers, my sisters, and all that they have and deliver 
our lives from death. So the men answered her, our 
lives for yours, if none of you tell this business of ours. And 
it shall be, when the Lord has given us the land, that we will 
deal kindly and truly with you. And she let them down by a rope 
through the window, for her house was on the city wall. She dwelt 
on the wall. And she said to them, get to 
the mountain, lest the pursuers meet you. Hide there three days 
until the pursuers have returned. Afterwards, you may go your way. 
So the men said to her, We will be blameless of this oath of 
yours, which you have made us swear, unless, when we come into 
the land, you bind this line of scarlet cord in the window 
through which you let us down, and unless you bring your father, 
your mother, your brothers, and all your father's household to 
your own home. "'So it shall be that whoever 
goes outside the doors "'of your house into the street, "'his 
blood shall be on his own head, "'and we will be guiltless. "'And 
whoever is with you in the house, "'his blood shall be on our head 
if a hand is laid on him. "'And if you tell this business 
of ours, "'then we will be free from your oath "'which you made 
us swear.' "'Then she said, according to your words, so be it. "'And 
she sent them away, and they departed, "'and she bound the 
scarlet cord in the window. They departed and went to the 
mountain and stayed there three days until the pursuers returned. 
The pursuers sought them all along the way but did not find 
them. So the two men returned, descended from the mountain and 
crossed over. And they came to Joshua the son of Nun, and told 
him all that had befallen them. And they said to Joshua, Truly 
the Lord has delivered all the land into our hands. For indeed, 
all the inhabitants of the country are fainthearted because of us. 
Amen. Well, let us pray. Our Father, 
we thank You for Your Word. We thank You for both the Old 
and the New Testaments. We thank You that they are God-breathed, 
given by inspiration of God, and profitable to us. And even 
now, Lord, may the Holy Spirit cause this Word to be profitable 
in our hearts. May we stand in amazement at 
Your great grace and at Your great mercy. And God, may we 
indeed admire the way that you deal with sinners, the way that 
you show such kindness and such love and even forgiveness and 
restoration. Father, bless this time, we pray 
in Jesus' holy name. Amen. Well, Rahab the harlot 
is mentioned a couple of times in the New Testament. Now, obviously, 
Joshua 2 is her story. And so I want to look first at 
the contact with Rahab in verses 1 to 7. Secondly, the confession 
of Rahab in verses 8 to 14. And then finally, the contract 
with Rahab in verses 14 to 24. So let's look first of all at 
the contact. Now there is a purpose for this 
particular mission. Notice in chapter 2 at verse 
1. Now Joshua the son of Nun sent out two men from Acacia 
Grove to spy secretly saying, go view the land, especially 
Jericho. Remember that the children of 
Israel have been poised on the plains of Moab getting ready 
to enter into the promised land. The book of Deuteronomy is simply 
a series of exhortations by Moses to remind the people of Israel 
concerning the law, concerning where they had been, and to prepare 
them for what is called the conquest. Remember that God told Abraham 
that he would give him the promised land. Well, here is the realization 
of that promise under Joshua, the successor of Moses. Joshua 
will lead the children of Israel into the land and he will conquer 
the Canaanites. He will dispossess the land, 
unfortunately not entirely the land of the Canaanites and the 
people of Israel will indeed take inheritance of the land. And so Joshua himself in Numbers 
13 and 14 had been part of a reconnaissance mission. Moses sent Joshua and 
several others out to spy the promised land. And so Joshua 
is doing that in this particular instance. They're going to cross 
the river Jordan. They're going to embark on this 
conquest. And so prior to that, Joshua takes this protective 
measure to survey the land to see what kinds of weaponry there 
are, what kind of soldiers there are. that sort of thing. One 
commentator, Hess, says Joshua 2 thus justified the character 
of Joshua as a leader concerned for his people. He gathers intelligence 
before leading them into hostile territory. That's a good plan 
on the part of Joshua. And then notice they contact 
this woman called Rahab. Verse 1b, so they went and came 
to the house of a harlot named Rahab and lodged there. Now she's identified here as 
a harlot. It's not unwarranted to translate 
this as an innkeeper. Some people are a bit bothered 
by the fact that God actually saves harlots, and so they try 
to soften the blow and call her an innkeeper versus a harlot. 
Well, the two instances in the New Testament where where God 
refers or where the authors refer to Rahab other than the genealogy 
in Matthew 1.5. But when we look at James 2.25 
and as well Hebrews 11.31, Rahab is identified not as an innkeeper, 
but she's identified as a harlot. God's grace extends even to people 
that engage in relations for money. And that is an emphasis 
in this particular chapter. So when we look at this particular 
scene, we ought to appreciate, as I said, the grace, the mercy, 
the kindness of God. And if we are struggling with 
whether or not we are too sinful to be saved by God, Rahab the 
harlot is a great sort of living illustration of the fact that 
God does save. persons that are not polished 
and upright and pure. If he did so, there would be 
no salvation. Jesus Christ did not come to 
call the righteous, but rather sinners to repentance. Now, that 
is her business, but let's observe the threat to her person. The 
king of Jericho is involved in this. He has heard that there 
are two spies now in his city. The king of Jericho dispatches 
men to contact Rahab to find out if in fact she knows where 
they are. And in this we see that Rahab could be liable to 
death. Treason at a time of war is typically 
a capital crime, and she would have been liable to that punishment 
from the King of Jericho. He is alerted to the spies, he 
wants them found, and he wants the threat neutralized. If it 
is evident, that Rahab is complicit in their spying, then she too 
will be neutralized, and that is certainly a problem. Again, 
Hess says, it was treason against Jericho and its king to aid these 
men. Rahab's helpful deeds indicate 
her renunciation of allegiance to the Canaanites of Jericho 
and her acceptance of the rulership of Joshua and his agents. You see that change of allegiance 
in this lady's heart all throughout this particular narrative. She 
is risking her neck. She is risking her life in order 
to hide these spies. Now, obviously, the way that 
she does this is by lying. She lies to the king's men. She 
hides the spies up on the roof among the stalks of flats. And 
oftentimes, people can't get around this one either because 
Rahab lied. And we don't like lying and neither 
should we like lying, but a few things to consider. First of 
all, the Bible oftentimes reports things without necessarily condoning 
them. The fact that she lied, it isn't 
given to us. There's no sort of theological 
commentary or ethical commentary on the part of the author to 
say, and you should never do this or you should always do 
this. The Bible simply reports what happened. In the case of 
King David of Israel, that man committed adultery, he committed 
murder. Now, it's not the case that we 
should ever go thou and do likewise. All things being equal, we should 
always seek by God's grace to tell the truth. The ninth commandment 
is binding. It is for each and every one 
of us. However, the fact is that she's not only lying here, but 
she's committing treason. That's also a bad thing that 
persons should never engage in. Now, there's probably a place 
for a just and legitimate revolution, though that would be a sermon 
all on its own. But for the most part, we ought 
to be subject to the governing authorities. Romans chapter 13, 
verses one to four makes that very clear. Let every soul be 
subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except 
from God, and those that exist are established by God. So for 
this woman to not only lie, but to engage in treason is doubly 
bad in terms of a violation of God's holy law. But as I said 
earlier, two men in the New Testament treat her only positively. James 
and Paul, if we take Pauline authorship of the book of Hebrews. 
She's in Hebrews 11.31, which is the Hall of Faith. She is 
in James 2.25, right alongside of the patriarch Abraham. I think 
the emphasis of James, whether you're a patriarch or a prostitute, 
God's grace is the same. We are saved by grace through 
faith in Jesus Christ unto good works. Whether you're an Abraham 
or a Rahab, the same is going to be the case. And of course, 
she is mentioned favorably in the genealogy of our Lord Jesus 
Christ in Matthew 1, verse 5. Again, Hess makes the observation, 
the ethical issue is not the concern of the narrative. It 
stresses the deception, not in order to condemn Rahab, but to 
magnify her personal risk in hiding the spies. It exacerbates 
her risk, it exacerbates her sort of faith and her commitment 
to the God of Israel. Davis as well says, it is tragic 
when people snag their pants on the nail of Rahab's lie, quibble 
endlessly about the matter, and never get around to hearing Rahab's 
truth, which the writer has conspired to make the center of the whole 
narrative. So, obviously, the king's men 
accept her particular explanation, off they go, and now Rahab speaks 
to these particular spies. And that brings us, secondly, 
to the confession of Rahab. Now, this is one of the largest 
bits of a woman speaking in the entirety of the biblical record. 
Not that God is anti-woman, to be sure, but typically it's men 
who do the speaking in Scripture. This is one of the longest sections 
of narrative that a woman engages in in Scripture, and it is the 
confession of Rahab. And that confession is fourfold. In the first place, she confesses 
the fear of God. Secondly, the power of God. Thirdly, 
the majesty of God. And then fourthly, the mercy 
of God. And herein, we see the evidences 
of her conversion onto Jesus Christ. Notice first, the fear 
of God in verses eight and nine. Now, before they lay down, she 
came up to them on the roof and said to the men, I know that 
the Lord has given you the land. that the terror of you has fallen 
on us and that all the inhabitants of the land are faint-hearted 
because of you. She expresses this. There is 
a fear of the God of Israel in the hearts of this pagan, in 
the heart of this pagan prostitute. She understands something of 
the Abrahamic promise. She understands that the God 
of Israel has given this land, the land that she is currently 
a part of, She knows that the Lord God Most High is giving 
that land to the children of Israel. Having heard of the exploits 
of these people, it has produced fear in her heart. Fear in the 
hearts of others because the God of Israel is a God, in fact, 
to be feared. That, she says, the terror of 
you has fallen on us and that all the inhabitants of the land 
are fainthearted because of you. The fear of the Lord is the beginning 
of life. The fear of God is a good thing. We oftentimes associate the fear 
of God with running from Him. The fear of God, biblically defined, 
is running to Him. When Adam and Eve ran from God, 
that was not an expression of their fear of God in the right 
way. Remember, there's a two-fold 
fear the Bible speaks to. There's a slavish fear, that's 
the kind of running away from, but there's that filial fear, 
that fear of God, that reverence, that understanding of who He 
is and our place before Him. That ought to promote fear in 
the hearts of all God's people. and especially when we've witnessed 
the great and glorious things that He has done. And that brings 
her secondly to express that confidence in the power of God. 
Notice in verse 10, she says, for we have heard how the Lord 
dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out 
of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites 
who were on the other side of the Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom 
you utterly destroyed. The reference is that great redemptive 
event of Old Testament religion, when God dried up the waters 
so that the children of Israel could pass through. And then 
when the Pharaoh's army gave chase and they're in the midst 
of it, the first thing that happens is their chariot wheels fall 
off. I mean, that account is terrifying if you're an Egyptian, 
right? If you're an Israelite, you're 
saying, praise God Almighty. But as you read that particular 
story, and you see those chariot wheels falling off, you wonder 
if some of those troops were murmuring a bit. Was this altogether 
a good idea? I'm not sure that we should be 
in this particular place. Well, of course, God collapses 
the water, floods them, and kills them, and litters their bodies 
on the seashore. She had heard of that. She had 
heard as well of them moving on their wilderness wanderings 
and how they vanquished the threat of Sion and Og, these men that 
would not receive them, these men that tried to engage them 
in combat. Well, God, the Lord Most High, 
gave victory to His people. And the Israelites, specifically 
in the Song of Moses in Exodus 15, understood that God's power 
would have this effect upon their enemies. In the Song of Moses 
in Exodus 15, verses 14 to 16, we read, The people will hear and be afraid. Sorrow will take hold of the 
inhabitants of Philistia. Then the chiefs of Edom will 
be dismayed. The mighty men of Moab, trembling, 
will take hold of them. All the inhabitants of Canaan 
will melt away. Fear and dread will fall on them. 
By the greatness of your arm, they will be as still as a stone 
till your people pass over, O Lord, till the people pass over whom 
you have purchased. See, Moses recognized this. When 
the nations around us hear the great activities, the great powerful 
display of God Most High, they're going to be fainthearted. They're 
going to tremble. They're going to understand truly 
there is a God in Israel. And she confesses that. Now, 
she doesn't confess justification by faith a la Westminster Shorter 
Catechism No. 33. That's not what she's confessing, 
but based on her place, based on her position, based on her 
time in redemptive history, this is a most wonderful expression 
of her faith in the living and true God. She doesn't stop there. After highlighting the fear of 
God, Secondly, the power of God, she mentions the majesty of God. Notice in verse 11, and as soon 
as we heard these things, our hearts melted. Neither did there 
remain any more courage in anyone because of you, for the Lord 
your God, he is God in heaven above and on earth beneath. It's a beautiful thing, isn't 
it? Brethren, this is one of the reasons why we engage in 
gospel preaching, one of the reasons why we evangelize, one 
of the reasons we shine as lights in a crooked and perverse generation 
and hold forth the word of truth so that persons can understand 
and know about the true and living God. She heard this because people 
talked. She heard this because people 
communicated. She heard this because persons 
stood and saw the majesty of God Most High and it had its 
appropriate effect upon the hearts of people like Rahab the harlot. But then as well, notice what 
she says in verse 11. something that we oftentimes 
gloss over, neither did there remain any more courage in anyone 
because of you, for the Lord your God, He is God in heaven 
above and on earth beneath. In other words, He is the true 
and living God. What was symptomatic or commonplace 
to the pagans at that particular time? They had a God of heaven. 
They had a God of the sea. They had a God of the hills. 
They had a God of the valleys. They had a whole pantheon. They 
had a multiplicity of gods. And now she's confessing the 
one true and living God and acknowledging that it's He alone that is the 
God of heaven and earth. In fact, John Calvin comments 
here. He says, here the image of Rahab's 
faith appears, as if reflected in a mirror. When casting down 
all idols, she ascribes the government of heaven and earth to the God 
of Israel alone. For it is perfectly clear that 
when heaven and earth are declared subject to the God of Israel, 
there is a repudiation of all the pagan fictions by which the 
majesty and power and glory of God are portioned out among different 
deities. And hence we see that it is not 
without cause that two apostles have honored Rahab's conduct 
with the title of faith. Let me just repeat that because 
that's very powerful. When she declares that the heaven 
and earth are subject to the God of Israel, there is a repudiation 
of all the pagan fictions by which the majesty and power and 
glory of God are portioned out among the different deities. 
So in this confession of the majesty of Yahweh, She is as 
well repudiating every idol that she has ever bowed to, every 
idol that she has ever worshipped, every idol that she has ever 
subscribed. That is no longer binding upon 
her. She is now conquered by the God 
of Israel, and she confesses that happily, willingly, and 
joyfully. And that brings us to consider, 
in the fourth place, her confession of the mercy of God. So after 
that, notice what she says in verse 12. Now, therefore, I beg 
you, swear to me by the Lord, since I have shown you kindness, 
that you also will show kindness to my father's house and give 
me a true token. So here's the emphasis here. 
Sometimes we hear about God. Sometimes we hear about the gospel. Sometimes we hear the reality 
that in Jesus Christ there is forgiveness, that in Jesus Christ 
there is a righteousness given to us freely, received by faith 
alone. And then we just carry on. We 
just conduct ourselves as if we didn't receive that piece 
of data, we didn't get that best of information. Not so with her. Now, I beg you, she is casting 
herself upon the mercy of Yahweh. Again, it's not the sort of conversion 
that you see, say, for instance, in Matthew 9, with the call of 
Matthew himself, but this is conversion, thoroughly, throughly, 
completely, in her heart. And as she does this, she recognizes 
it's not just cognition, but it's experiential. She needs 
this God of mercy to save her, to save her family, and to realize 
that He alone is the one that has that power. Davis, again, 
says genuine faith never rests content with being convinced 
of the reality of God, but presses on to take refuge in God. Genuine faith never rests content 
with being convinced of the reality of God, but presses on to take 
refuge in God. Again, just to receive the data, 
just to hear the information, just to know there is a God in 
Israel, just to know there is a Savior named Jesus, just to 
know this is not Faith, it is to lay hold of the mercy of God 
as offered in Scripture, and of course that by the grace of 
God. And then note that she has this 
concern for her family as well. Isn't this symptomatic of faith? 
Isn't this the case when you're converted? When you believe the 
gospel, when you repent from your sins, you want to tell people, 
don't you? You may not tell people the way 
Paul told people, you may not tell people the way John Jasper 
told people, but you want to tell people. You want to say, 
you know, I was lost and now I'm found. I was blind but now 
I see. You want to tell people how glorious 
the Savior is. He's the pearl of great price. 
You've just found this, you've just won this by God's grace, 
and you want to tell others about it. Some of us got into trouble 
when we first got converted. We drove to our mother's house 
and we started to tell her that the Pope of Rome was an abomination 
and he was horrible and wicked and we pushed him away. But that's 
the zeal of having come to the Lord Jesus Christ. I'm not justifying, 
that was not right. But that's what happens. We find 
the Pearl of Great Price and we want to tell others. We want 
to tell others about the mercy of God in and through Jesus. 
And in this particular instance, she shows that concern. She understands 
the wrath and fury of God is coming upon this city-state of 
Jericho. She understands why the spies 
are there. She understands, again, not all 
the aspects of the military strategy that's involved, but she knows 
General Joshua is going to cross that Jordan. And when General 
Joshua crosses that Jordan, General Joshua is going to bring the 
hurt upon those Jerichoites. And she recognizes this, and 
she flees to God for mercy, and she brings her family insofar 
as she is able to do so. That concern for others is manifest 
in the heart of Rahab the harlot. Now notice thirdly and finally 
the contract with Rahab in verses 14 to 24. The spies promise her 
that this will in fact happen. Verse 14, so the man answered 
her, our lives for yours if none of you tell this business of 
ours. And it shall be when the Lord has given us the land that 
we will deal kindly and truly with you. So they agree to the 
terms. They agree to what she has stipulated. She has given them safe harbor. 
She has hidden them. She is the one that has become 
their protector. And of course, they say, absolutely. 
But you have to be quiet about this venture. Loose lips sink 
ships. And if anybody alerts the King 
of Jericho to this, then the deal is off. So they stipulate 
in return that they will make good on this and they will in 
fact treat her in a way that is consistent with the God of 
Israel. And then verse 15, she let them 
down by a rope through the window for her house was on the city 
wall. She dwelt on the wall. And she said to them, get to 
the mountain, lest the pursuers meet you. Hide there three days 
until the pursuers have returned. Afterward, you may go your way. So she provides escape to them, 
and she agrees to their particular requirements. Again, this is 
an exhibition, an expression of faith in the God of Israel. I doubt that the pagan deities 
and the persons who subscribe would be as benevolent to warring 
enemies. There isn't the case that Baal 
or Asherah would treat or their minions would treat people the 
way that the people of the God of Israel treat this particular 
woman. So they make this deal. They 
then escape and they further stipulate that she is to drape 
down or hang down the scarlet cord in the window. She's to 
gather her entire family into her house. And again, this commitment 
to absolute secrecy. Loose lips sink ships. If anybody 
hears about our plan, Then the deal is off, and that is precisely 
what happens, and then the spies, under God's grace, return to 
Joshua. Notice at verse 22, they departed 
and went to the mountain and stayed there three days until 
the pursuers returned. The pursuers sought them all 
along the way, but did not find them. So the two men returned, 
descended from the mountain, and crossed over. And they came 
to Joshua the son of Nun, and told him all that had befallen 
them. And they said to Joshua, Truly the Lord has delivered 
all the land into our hands, for indeed all the inhabitants 
of the country are fainthearted because of us. So the passage 
of this section of the chapter ends with a rehearsal on the 
part of the spies concerning the faithfulness of God. I think 
this speaks volumes to those of us who have been going through 
the book of Genesis. I don't know how long ago it 
was that we were in Genesis chapter 12, but that's when God calls 
Abram out of Ur of the Chaldeans and tells him, I am going to 
give you this land. That land promise is repeated 
over and over and over again amongst the patriarchs. And now 
these spies, understanding that, say, truly God is faithful. God 
is about to deliver. God is going to give us this 
as the possession that he promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 
So the chapter ends on the high note of God's faithfulness. Now, I want to draw out just 
a few practical lessons. In the first place, we ought 
to appreciate the conversion of Rahab. As I said, it's not 
Matthew at the tax office in Matthew 9. It's not Zacchaeus, 
you know, coming down from the tree. It's not the sorts of conversions 
that you and I are sort of familiar with when somebody hears the 
gospel and they understand about the imputed righteousness and 
the forgiveness of sins, and they, by grace, believe on the 
Lord Jesus, they're baptized, they join the church, and then 
they grow in the grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and 
Savior. It is a bit different, but it's not different altogether. In the first place, she heard 
of Yahweh. The Word of God had been communicated 
to her. We had studied this this morning 
in chapter 20 in our studies in the Confession of Faith. Chapter 
20, with reference to the gospel, the grace of the gospel and the 
extent thereof, we must hear the truth. General revelation 
does not communicate the necessity of blood atonement. You can look 
at landscapes, you can look at the sea, you can look at all 
the beauty and the glory that this creation has, but you will 
not learn of your sin and your need for the Redeemer. Faith 
comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God, and Rahab 
evidences that. Rahab had heard, and Rahab, by 
God's grace, had acted upon it. She heard of Yahweh. Secondly, 
she confessed the majesty of Yahweh. It's not just the hearing, 
but it's the acting upon it. It's the belief in the promise 
of God. It's the coming to the Lord Jesus 
Christ. It is that act of faith. It is 
that taking the gift that God has given by God's grace through 
faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. Thirdly, she casts herself on 
the mercy of God. This is crucial. Again, I think 
that many times we hear gospel sermons or we read our Bibles 
or we pray, and as soon as we're done, we forget all about it. It's interesting. You could probably 
remember things from when you were five or 10 or whatever the 
age is that you can sort of go back to. If I asked you right 
now, what was the sermon on this morning? Ah, the Bible? Yeah, 
that's right. It was on the Bible. It was on 
Hebrews chapter eight specifically. You see, there is this lack of 
action on the part of God's people at times. We not only hear or 
receive that data, but by God's grace we act upon it. We believe, 
we venture on Him, venture wholly, as the hymn writer said in the 
song that we sang this morning. And then as well, she demonstrates 
her saving faith by her works. And this is precisely how James 
deals with her in James 2.25. The emphasis in James 2.25, well, 
let's just read it for a moment and then we'll make a comment. 
James 2.25. Likewise, was not Rahab the harlot 
also justified by works when she received the messengers and 
sent them out another way? Now, this section in James 2, 
14 to 26 is not contrary to the Apostle Paul. James and Paul were brothers. James and Paul preached the same 
gospel. They preached salvation by grace 
alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, unto good works. In fact, turn back for just a 
moment to James 1.18. James 1.18, the author highlights 
sovereign grace. So James does not entertain the 
thought that in James 2 we're supposed to believe that by our 
works we're accepted by God. No, he's already said, of his 
own will, he brought us forth by the word of truth. Then notice 
in 2.1, my brethren, do not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, 
the Lord of glory, with partiality. So you see the emphasis there, 
grace, faith, grace, faith unto good works. Well, Paul does the 
same thing. In Ephesians 2, 8 to 10, we're 
saved by grace through faith, that not of ourselves, it is 
the gift of God, lest we should boast. And then he goes on to 
say, for we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good 
works. So you see, Paul and James are 
teaching the exact same thing. With reference to James, his 
emphasis is upon an audience or a group of people that has 
professed faith in Christ, but there is no accompanying good 
works. There is no evidence, there are no lively evidences 
or fruits of that saving faith. Whereas Paul is emphasizing the 
way of acceptance by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ 
alone. Different sorts of context, but 
the same gospel message. So when James speaks of her works, 
it is evidentiary. It is a manifestation of the 
reality that she had true saving faith. Our confession gets at 
this well. It says, faith thus receiving 
and resting on Christ and his righteousness is the alone instrument 
of justification. Yet it is not alone in the person 
justified, but is ever accompanied with all other saving graces 
and is no dead faith, but worketh by love. That's what the message 
of James 2, 14 to 26 is all about. And isn't it intriguing that 
on the same level as father Abraham is Rahab the harlot. And as I 
said, Rahab the harlot here, and then again in the hall of 
faith in Hebrews 11 31. It's like Smokey the bear, Rahab 
the harlot. This is how she's known. This 
is how she's identified. This is how we understand who 
this particular person is. Manton makes the appropriate 
comment. He says, believers, though they justify their profession, 
which again is the emphasis in 14 to 26, it's a justification 
of our profession of faith in Christ. He says, believers, though 
they justify their profession, are still monuments of free grace. It is, quote, Rahab the harlot, 
though justified by works. He says, the scars and marks 
of old sins remain, not to our dishonor, but to God's glory. Whenever you see in those two 
occasions that she's referred to as Rahab the harlot, you're 
not supposed to look down your judgmental nose and say, wow, 
I can't believe this woman would have ever lay with men for money. 
That's not the point. The Rahab, the harlot is to make 
you go, wow, isn't God's grace glorious? Isn't 1 Timothy 1.15 
a reality that Christ Jesus came into this world, sinners to save, 
of whom I am chief. The Apostle Paul says, those 
scars, those things remain, but the reality is that God's grace 
is magnified in the lives of people like Rahab the harlot. Secondly, we ought to appreciate 
the mercy of Almighty God. Going back to the book of Joshua, 
I'm going to say this and it may shock you, but hopefully 
you'll understand what I mean. Joshua 2 isn't necessary in the 
narrative. You could take Joshua 2 out and 
reading Joshua 1 and start reading Joshua 3 and you wouldn't be 
any You wouldn't be put out. Now, later on in chapter six, 
verses 22 to 25, it's gonna mention the fact that God's mercy has 
come to this Rahab and to her family. So I guess Joshua two 
is important so that we understand who this target of God's mercy 
is in Joshua chapter six. But the reality is, in a book 
that's about the conquest. God takes this moment to show 
the conquest of a sinner. God takes this time to demonstrate 
his graciousness and his mercy to a pagan woman who made her 
money through prostitution. God's grace is on full display 
here in Joshua chapter 2, and that is what we are to appreciate. The narrative displays the mercy 
of God toward a sinful Gentile. The Geneva Bible says, herein 
appeareth the great mercy of God, that in his common destruction, 
he would draw a most miserable sinner to repent and confess 
his name. And then Hess again says, in 
one of the most nationalistic books of the Bible, you know 
what nationalism is, we hear it all the time now, but in one 
of the most nationalistic books in the Bible, does it not serve 
the purposes of the promise to Abraham that all peoples on earth 
will be blessed through you, Genesis 12, three, to place side 
by side with the choice of a military leader and his initial preparations 
for battle, the story of a foreign woman who believed and was saved 
without arms or bloodshed. It is one of those instances 
where the sole purpose of Joshua 2, yeah, it furnishes some detailed 
information, because if you got to Joshua 6, you'd want to know 
who Rahab is. When you get to the genealogy 
of the Messiah and Matthew 1, you'd want to know who Rahab 
was. Certainly when, you know, James and Paul refers to this 
Rahab the harlot, if there was no Joshua 2, you'd kind of scratch 
your head. But the bottom line with reference 
to Joshua 2, before they embark on the destruction of the Canaanite 
land, God Most High saves, by grace, through faith, this woman 
who was a prostitute. Truly an incredible thing. And 
then the narrative as well, Joshua 2, focuses on the coming of Jesus 
Christ. And to that, we'll turn to Matthew 
chapter 1. The narrative is a foreshadowing, rather, of the coming of our 
Lord Jesus Christ. Notice in Matthew chapter 1 at 
verse 1, in the book, or the book of the genealogy of Jesus 
Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. Abraham begot 
Isaac, Isaac begot Jacob, and Jacob begot Judah and his brothers. 
Judah begot Perez and Zerah by Tamar. Perez begot Hezron, and 
Hezron begot Ram. Ram begot Amminadab. Amminadab 
begot Nashon, and Nashon begot Salmon. Salmon begot Boaz by 
Rahab. Boaz begot Obed by Ruth. Obed begot Jesse, and Jesse begot 
David, the king. This is God's mercy. This is God's grace. A Moabitess 
in the person of Ruth is in the genealogy of the Messiah of Israel. And then you have this woman 
who had been a harlot, a woman who lay with men for money, who's 
now in the genealogy of Messiah. It's God's grace that's on full 
display in Joshua 2. Not that it's not when they go 
conquer the land. Not that it's not when they go 
and divide up the land, not that it's not when Joshua addresses 
them in the final chapters. God's grace is conspicuous throughout, 
but it's as if Joshua too is a snapshot, as it were, before 
they go and embark on the conquest to show the mercy of the God 
of Israel in the life of this pagan prostitute, in bringing 
her to salvation. Davis again mentions this. He 
says, so Rahab is a harlot, a pagan and a disreputable one at that. 
Yet she is welcomed into the church. That's the emphasis in 
chapter 6 of Joshua, verses 22 to 25. He says, But Rahab the 
harlot Joshua saved alive, and she dwelt in Israel to this day. 
625. He goes on to say, now that can be offensive. We say we can't 
have that. The church is only for respectable, 
clean, middle-class folks. But that is like saying that 
hospitals are only for doctors, nurses, and x-ray machines instead 
of sick people. Or it is like saying that only 
morticians and coroners belong in morgues instead of dead people. 
Who then should be in the church but sinners? This is the point. God's grace is immeasurable. God's grace is wondrous. God's grace is glorious. God's grace is effusive. Whatever the adjective, the descriptor 
is, that is true of God's grace. That this woman passes from death 
unto life magnifies that. He speaks concerning this when 
he says the church is for sinners. He says, the church is not a 
club, but a refuge for sinners who have been touched by the 
grace of God. Apparently, Rahab's past did not bother the writer 
of the first gospel. Rather, Matthew seemed to see 
in Rahab a trophy of divine grace. Astounding, isn't it, that the 
shady lady of Jericho should be the ancestress of Jesus, the 
Messiah? This is truly an expression of 
the mercy and the kindness of God. And I think it's most helpful 
for us when we come to the supper, when we are reminded of the gospel, 
to understand that we live always in dependence upon the grace 
of God. There's a problem with the pursuit 
of holiness. Now, I'm really going to get 
in trouble here. We should all pursue holiness. I am not against 
that. That ought to be uppermost in 
the minds and the hearts of God's people. If we love Him, we will 
keep His commandments. But brethren, our relationship 
to God is not ultimately dependent upon our faithfulness to God. Our relationship to God is ultimately 
founded upon, grounded upon grace through faith in the Savior. 
So we don't come tonight and say, well, I'm going to take 
this bread and I'm going to drink this cup because I read my Bible 
four times in the past week and I spent all of 37 minutes in 
prayer. You know, that was the best I've 
done for a while. I deserve the supper. That's 
one of the problems in our pursuit of holiness is that we begin 
to get short-sighted. We begin to think that we're 
pretty good men and women. We begin to forget the reality 
that we are always dependent upon the grace of God. Remember 
in that upper room discourse in John 15, Jesus says, apart 
from me, you can do nothing. Is that our conviction? Are we content to think that 
my Bible reading, my prayer, my church attendance, my holiness, 
my growth, my grace, all those things fit and qualify me to 
participate in the supper? No, it's grace through faith 
in our Lord Jesus Christ. Now again, don't go home tonight 
and say, Butler says we don't have to pursue holiness. Absolutely, 
positively, we do. Without holiness, no one will 
see the Lord, according to the apostle in Hebrews chapter 12. 
But don't let your pursuit of holiness or any success you make 
in that pursuit of holiness obscure the absolute necessity of the 
gospel every moment of every day of every life in here. We need to guard our hearts. 
We need to understand that we are rightly related to God, not 
as a result of our holiness, not as a result of our striving, 
not as a result of our doing, but rather the life and the death 
and the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. And paradoxically, 
I don't really like to use that word often, but I will employ 
it here, when we fully appreciate, not fully in the sense that we'll 
exhaust it, but when we have a good understanding of the gospel, 
how we are related to God in the doctrine of justification 
by faith, it is that that provides the impetus to pursue holiness. 
If we have this mindset that I've got to do in order to get, 
then we are going to shipwreck this pursuit of holiness. It's 
only as we understand the truth of the gospel that we will then 
pursue the things that are pleasing to God. We won't do them as mercenaries. We won't do them with our hands 
out. We won't do them for a pat on the back, but we will rather 
know that this is the basis upon which I stand. It's the blood 
of Jesus Christ and Him alone. Brethren, we need to understand 
that so that we do not fall prey to that thought that we can somehow 
be holy without the Lord Jesus Christ, or we can somehow just 
grin and bear it, knuckle under and suck it up and do everything 
we're called to do apart from the ministry and the work of 
the Holy Spirit. Brethren, we're always dependent upon the work 
and the ministry of the Holy Spirit. We need His presence, 
we need His power, we need His pervasive influence in our lives 
from the minute we wake up in the morning to the moment we 
lay down at night. We don't just need Him on Sunday 
when we gather together for public worship. We need Him each and 
every single day. And that moment where we think 
we are doing quite well is the moment we most need to take heed 
lest we fall. Pride goes before a fall, and 
there are way too many Christians who are proud about their accomplishments, 
and we mustn't be them. We must guard our hearts, and 
we must realize that grace through faith in Christ is absolutely 
paramount. And then finally, We ought to 
appreciate the mercy of God, not only toward what Davis calls, 
or who Davis calls, the shady lady of Jericho, but think of 
some of the other sinners in the Bible that God has conquered 
by sovereign grace. King David of Israel. I mean, 
that shows or demonstrates, not that it's the commonplace where 
God's people always go out and commit adultery and commit murder, 
but it does show us the power of redemptive grace. Such that 
when we preach the gospel, or we evangelize, or we testify 
to others, or we ourselves are hearing this, we side with Paul 
and understand that 1 Timothy 1.15 is a reality of whom I am 
chief. God doesn't say, well, he's a 
pretty good one, so I'll go ahead and save him. David had his issues. The apostle Paul on that road 
to Damascus, what was he going to do? He was breathing out threats 
and persecution to the church of the living God. He was armed 
with extradition orders given to him by the high priest in 
Jerusalem so that he could go to Damascus and there seize upon 
men and women and drag them back to Jerusalem for further punishment. And on that road, the Lord God 
saves him. Christ comes to him and turns 
him around. The history of the church. John 
Newton, the man who wrote Amazing Grace, How Sweet the Sound, that 
saved a wretch like me. The man was a slave trader. He 
was a gross blasphemer. He was a wretched and horrific 
man. Prior to him, Saint Augustine, one of the men that is most instrumental 
in the life and history of the church, the man was a whoremonger 
before he was converted unto our Lord Jesus Christ. The history 
of the Christian church, the history of free grace Baptist 
church, the history of any body of God's people is littered with 
people who deserve the wrath, the fury, the punishment and 
judgment of God, who but by God's grace found mercy. found Jesus 
Christ and understand what it is now to say with the Apostle 
Paul, to be found in him, not having my own righteousness, 
which is from the law, but that righteousness, which is from 
God through faith in Christ. It's all about the grace and 
mercy and the loving kindness of God. And that is precisely 
what Joshua 2 demonstrates unto us. Well, let us pray. Our Father, 
we thank You for Your Word. We thank You for this great display 
of the mercy and the grace of God in the salvation of Rahab 
the harlot. Father, I pray that You would 
encourage each and every one of us. We come to the table now. 
We all have remaining corruption. We've all had battles this past 
week. We will no doubt have battles in this coming week, but help 
us to have a fresh view of that grace. Help us to have a fresh 
view of that Christ, that Blessed One, that Lord Jesus. who died 
for us, who was raised for us, who lived for us, who did everything 
for us to secure every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. 
God, I pray that these things would draw out our love and our 
adoration and our worship unto you, and that, Father, you would 
be glorified in this glad hour. Thank you, not only for the Word 
of God, Thank you for the sacraments of the church. Thank you for 
encouraging us this morning with baptism and encouraging us tonight 
with the supper. And may you indeed receive all 
glory, praise, and honor. And we ask through Jesus Christ, 
our Lord, amen.