Too Far Gone

A. Foundational Elements

1. “Too Far Gone”

2. Joshua 2:1-24; 6:22-25

3. True Faith

4. CIT: God looked on the faith of the Canaanite Prostitute Rahab, covered her in grace, and saved her from destruction.

5. Proposition: God covers believers with His grace when they respond in faith to His call in our lives.

6. OSS: Hearers may be pointed toward reflection on their own story of salvation and be reminded that they were once far from God but have been brought near.

B. Formal Elements

1. Introduction:

I wonder...

i. Have you ever considered someone too far gone for God?

ii. Have you known someone who is so dead in their sin you think they could never respond to God’s draw in their lives for salvation?

iii. Have you ever looked at someone and thought “wow, with a lifestyle like theirs, I don’t know how they could ever come to know Christ.”

C. Body

1. God sees the unlikely candidate. (Joshua 2:1-5)

i. EXP:

1. v.1 These men likely traveled North from Shittim, crossed the flooded river (Josh. 3:15) then turned South toward Jericho

2. v.3 Prostitution as disguise for Israelites – common for foreigners to visit Rahab.

ii. ILL: A great example of this is to look at the life of Paul, a man who was so zealous for Judaism he was not just rounding up Christians but according to Acts he approved of killing them as well. In his own words he “intensely persecuted the church” other versions say Paul “persecuted beyond measure.” Paul was a violent persecutor of Christianity and he had governmental and religious support for his mission.

iii. ARG: God sees people where they are. We need to engage lost people where they are without judgement of who they are but hope for who they can be.

iv. APP: We need to see all people as potential for a transformed life according to the Gospel.

2. God looks at the heart. (Joshua 2:6-15)

i. EXP:

1. v.10 Drying of Red Sea / Exodus – 40 years prior

a. Sihon and Og – defeated by post-Exodus Israel

2. V.11 In the ANE they believed in regional gods and she was saying she now realized the God of Israel was God everywhere.

3. v. 12 Notice she says “swear to me by THE LORD” not “your LORD” or “your God” she acknowledges God as THE LORD.

ii. ILL: On the road to Damascus, as Paul was on his way to round up and persecute more Christians Jesus stopped him dead in his tracks and called him away from his previous life and into a relationship with him. This is obviously not the way God always works but it shows that God sees more than merely the outside and the actions of a person. God looks to the heart and calls sinners to respond to Him.

Her heart has changed and she responds to the actions of God in FAITH.

iii. ARG: We look at people all the time and judge them based on their outward appearance or their lifestyle, they may be people ready for Gospel transformation.

iv. APP: We need to begin asking God to give us eyes like His.

3. God delivers the faithful. (Joshua 6:20-23)

i. EXP:

1. Context: they followed God marching around Jericho

2. Joshua says in v.17 save Rahab because she hid the spies

a. Why did she hide the spies? Because she had faith in God

3. They devoted everything to destruction, they were able to go straight ahead because there was nothing stopping them from moving forward to take Jericho

4. Rahab and her entire family are saved from destruction as a result of her responding in faith to God.

5. Her faith in God saved her.

ii. ILL: Paul believed in Jesus and turned in Faith and went from a persecutor of the church to a minister of the Gospel

1. Romans 1:16-17

iii. ARG: Rahab was not saved because of her actions; Rahab was saved because she had faith in God as Lord and this reality directed her actions

iv. APP: Are your actions based on your faith in God. If we looked at your life and analyzed your actions, would they be a result of faith in God or a result of reliance on self?

D. Conclusion

1. Believer - Are you living as a faithful witness of God? Are you showing the world what it means to walk by faith, like Rahab, trusting in God?

i. Believer – Are you living according to faith or self-reliance?

ii. You were once like Rahab and like Paul, you were once dirty and sinful, are you looking at others like you once were and judging them or do you see the potential for their salvation and sharing this good news with them?

2. Unbeliever

i. God does not look at your outside or the actions of your past.

ii. God looked past Rahab’s history as a pagan Canaanite prostitute and saved her because she placed herself in the hands of God in faith.

iii. Are you still looking at your life and thinking you are too dirty to be saved?

iv. Will you respond today and accept Jesus as both Lord and Savior?