Sermon Tone Analysis

Hebrews 11:31

Turn to Joshua 2

If we live our life by faith, and full of faith God gives us innumerable blessings!

God rewards us because He is pleased by our faith.

We have seen many examples of God’s blessing as we have studied this Hall of faith.

But if we were to stack up all of the blessings that God has promised us through faith and compared it to this one blessing, this one would still tower over all the others!

And that is the blessing of Salvation through faith

Luke 7 tells about a time that Jesus was in the house of Simon, who was a Pharisee who was curious about the teachings and miracles of Jesus.

As they ate a very sinful woman came in with a very expensive alabaster box filled with expensive ointment.

She wept, washing Jesus’ feet with her tears,a dn anointed the feet of Jesus with the contents of the box.

The Pharisees were alarmed and upset, and told Jesus that the woman had ruined her life through sin and should not be there in their presence.

But Jesus told the Pharisees that this woman through her sinful life had resulted in ruin, her sins were now forgiven.

How did she receive this forgiveness?

The writer of Hebrews 11 now moves to the life of Rahab and gives the testimony of her faith.

Her faith resulted with her salvation, both physically and spiritually.

Rahab was a harlot who lived in the walls of the city of Jericho, the city we looked at last week whose walls were destroyed by faith.

While faith was taking down the walls, it was also at work saving the souls of those who escaped.

I wonder have you accepted salvation by faith today?

Do you know for certain that if you died today, Heaven would be your home?

You can know this - through faith!

God has provided us a plan, through faith, that we can receive salvation through Jesus Christ.

But there will always be some who do not hear, do not repent, do not trust through faith in what is shown to them.

Today let’s look first at ...

I.

The Penalty of Unbelief

The antithesis of faith is unbelief.

We can choose unbelief, but there is a penalty!

If I choose to not believe in the law of gravity and jump off a building I will receive a penalty for my unbelief!

Hebrews told us that “by faith the harlot Rahab perished not with them that believed not.”

There was a penalty for those who did not believe God and the testimony of His power.

First we see ...

A. The Situation

Look at Joshua chapter 2 and verse 1.

The spies told Rahab what God was about to do.

Notice Rahab’s response to this:

Joshua 2:9–18

9 And she said unto the men, I know that the Lord hath given you the land, and that your terror is fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land faint because of you.

10 For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red sea for you, when ye came out of Egypt; and what ye did unto the two kings of the Amorites, that were on the other side Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom ye utterly destroyed.

11 And as soon as we had heard these things, our hearts did melt, neither did there remain any more courage in any man, because of you: for the Lord your God, he is God in heaven above, and in earth beneath.

12 Now therefore, I pray you, swear unto me by the Lord, since I have shewed you kindness, that ye will also shew kindness unto my father’s house, and give me a true token:

13 And that ye will save alive my father, and my mother, and my brethren, and my sisters, and all that they have, and deliver our lives from death.

14 And the men answered her, Our life for yours, if ye utter not this our business.

And it shall be, when the Lord hath given us the land, that we will deal kindly and truly with thee.

15 Then she let them down by a cord through the window: for her house was upon the town wall, and she dwelt upon the wall.

16 And she said unto them, Get you to the mountain, lest the pursuers meet you; and hide yourselves there three days, until the pursuers be returned: and afterward may ye go your way.

17 And the men said unto her, We will be blameless of this thine oath which thou hast made us swear.

18 Behold, when we come into the land, thou shalt bind this line of scarlet thread in the window which thou didst let us down by: and thou shalt bring thy father, and thy mother, and thy brethren, and all thy father’s household, home unto thee.

The future looked bleak.

Destruction was coming.

But Rahab had heard of Jehovah and believed that He was the true God!

This caused her to respond to the spies in faith.

Because she had faith, she was saved!

But not everyone was saved!

Jericho was completely destroyed and would not be built up again for another 500 years!

Why was the situation so bad?

B. The Standard

God was judging the city of Jericho for rejecting Him.

Jericho was a Canaanite city, the Canaanites were decedents of Canaan the grandson of Noah, who was cursed for some indecency along with his father Ham.

These decedents did not follow in the faith of Noah, but left and participated in pagan and heathen practices.

They rejected God’s standard of holiness.

God tells us that He requires perfection.

The problem is that everyone has fallen short of that standard.

Jericho had fallen short in their unbelief.

We have all fallen short in our sin.

C. The Separation

Nothing that we try to do can fix this, nothing that we do can bridge the gap.

We my try good works, or performing in religion.

If I lived my whole life righteously but one day killed someone, I could not convince the judge by saying, “But look at all the good things that I have done!”

My lifetime of good deeds cannot erase the sin of my murder.

The people of Jericho were going to experience the penalty of their unbelief.

God had a standard, and it was not met.

So there was a separation - a penalty that would come.

But then, let’s look at ...

II.

The Pardon of Faith

Rahab gave a well grounded reason for her faith...

Look at verse 10

10 For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red sea for you, when ye came out of Egypt; and what ye did unto the two kings of the Amorites, that were on the other side Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom ye utterly destroyed.

11 And as soon as we had heard these things, our hearts did melt, neither did there remain any more courage in any man, because of you: for the Lord your God, he is God in heaven above, and in earth beneath.

Faith that leads to salvation is grounded in the message of the Word of God!

What does the Bible say about the Pardon of Faith?

A. The Substitute

Because we are all sinners in order to receive salvation a substitute was necessary.

Jesus became our substitute!

He became the sacrifice for our sins!

He paid the penalty and He bore our every sin!

So we see that a Substitute must be made, because we cannot save ourselves!

Then we see the truth regarding

B. The Salvation

Salvation can only come through trusting Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of our sins.

I’m here to warn everyone that is listening to my voice!

Maybe at this very moment or maybe on a recording off of our live stream!

There is a Penalty for Unbelief!

Separation from God in a lake of fire!

God does not want you there!

He did not create that place for you!

He offers you a free Pardon of Faith!

All you have to do to receive this gift of salvation is take it!

“Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved!”

And when you do, you too will have ...