The Radical Faith of Rahab

The Radical Faith of Rahab

Joshua 2

I. Introduction

A. Jesus' Mercy for People Struggling with Pornography – Closing the Windows – Tim Chester – Quotes from Pornography Addicts

1. 28,258 users are watching pornography every second.

2. Even among Christians – 64% of men and 15% of women struggle with pornography.

3. Think of all the guilt and shame from this one sin. Imagine adding all the other sin – sexual promiscuity, drug and alcohol addiction, theft, lying, adultery – There is a lot of guilt and shame to go around – Maybe you are experiencing it today yourself in some area of your life

B. Context (1-7)

1. She is taking her life into her own hands – If she is found to be hiding the spies she will be seen as a traitor and killed

2. She is willing to hide them and even lie for them

3. Why would this woman be willing to betray her own people and follow God’s people?

II. She has a reason to believe (8-11)

A. Explanation

1. I know that the LORD has given you the land – This is a perfect statement of faith in what God is doing from someone who shouldn’t believe it

2. And that the fear of the LORD has fallen on all of us –

a. It is a universal fear of the people of Jericho

b. All the inhabitants melt in fear

3. Rahab can recount all the works of God for His people

a. Dried up the water of the dead sea –

b. Sihon and Og defeated – on the way to Canaan. Both stood in the way of the Israelites traveling

c. The LORD is God in the heavens and on the earth

4. Rahab has heard of the power of the LORD, and she knows what would happen if the stood in front of the LORD’s plan

B. Application

1. In many ways, Rahab has more faith in God because of what she’s heard than the Israelites have after what they have seen

2. Rahab has heard of the faithfulness of God towards His people and she wants in – He loves them and He provides for them.

3. We have so much more to base our faith on

a. God’s goodness to us in the blessings that surround us

b. God’s word

c. The gospel

4. We also have abundant reasons to believe

III. She is courageously obedient (18-21)

A. Explanation

1. She has already put her faith in the God of Israel and shows he obedience by the request

2. But she must also follow through

a. She is not to tell on the spies or of the plan

b. She must hide them despite the dangers

c. She must remain in the same room, marked with the scarlet cord, with all her family – Imagine the fear as the battle begins hoping that it will turn out as planned rather than hide behind the fortifications of the city and the defense of their army

3. There is nothing that she can do but show her faith in the God of Israel through obedience

B. Application

1. True faith in God shows up in obedience – If you believe Him and trust Him, you do what he calls you to do

2. So many today find their lives in shambles and then question God and His faithfulness

3. God calls us to lives of courageous obedience that scream out our trust in God

IV. She has hope for redemption

A. Explanation

1. One of the most fascinating parts of this story is the fact that Rahab is a prostitute

a. No one ever longs for this job

b. She has most likely gotten herself here through the trouble and need

c. There must be shame and guilt involved due to the nature of the job

d. There also has to be a sense of unworthiness to be helped by God

2. She is a highly unlikely figure to greet the men of Israel if God were in Control, and yet it is exactly who God uses to save them

B. Application

1. Many people today feel an extreme sense of unworthiness to be a part of God’s plan

a. Past failures,

b. Addictions

c. Sexual promiscuity

d. Abortions

2. Yet, God’s love and glory is best displayed when He is saving people by absolute grace people who think they are unredeemable

3. What Glory does God get in saving those who think they can save themselves

4. There is hope for all who need His redemption

a. He takes away the past through the death of Christ

C. Amazing things about Rahab

1. Hebrews 11:31 – She is justified by her faith

2. Matthew 1:5-6 – Rahab is in the line of David and Jesus

a. He brings about a new hope and a new life, replacing the old

V. Conclusion

A. Without condoning the sin of viewing porn, Chester offers the following words of hope to people who are struggling with pornography: Jesus lived God's welcome to sinners. He embodied God's mercy. He was known as the friend of sinners. The religious people didn't like it, because it turned their proud systems of self-righteousness upside down. But Jesus sat down to eat with prostitutes, adulterers, and porn addicts …. On the cross, God treated Christ as a porn user …. [Paraphrasing 2 Corinthians 5:17], "God made Jesus, who never looked with lust, to be a porn addict for us, so that in him we might become sexually pure."

B.

C. Ways to find God’s grace when you feel unworthy

1. Admit your sin and receive forgiveness through Christ

2. Listen to the right voices

a. The word of God

b. Those who would point you toward God’s grace (the church)

c. Don’t let fear, failure, or disappointment define you!

3. Learn from your past – You may not escape all the consequences and scars from your past, but you can trust God more from it

D. Radical faith comes when you realize that God can do infinitely more through you than you could do yourself, despite all the wounds and scars of our pasts

Hebrews 11:31 (ESV) — 31 By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she had given a friendly welcome to the spies.

Matthew 1:5–6 (ESV) — 5 and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, 6 and Jesse the father of David the king. And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah,

Religion Is on the Decline but Guilt Persists

In a recent New York Times article, columnist David Brooks argues, "Religion my be in retreat, but guilt seems as powerfully present as ever." To make his point, Brooks quotes from a brilliant essay by Wilfred McClay called "The Strange Persistence of Guilt." Brooks writes:

Technology gives us power and power entails responsibility, and responsibility, McClay notes, leads to guilt: You and I see a picture of a starving child in Sudan and we know inwardly that we're not doing enough. "Whatever donation I make to a charitable organization, it can never be as much as I could have given. I can never diminish my carbon footprint enough, or give to the poor enough. … Colonialism, slavery, structural poverty, water pollution, deforestation—there's an endless list of items for which you and I can take the rap."

We're still shaped by religious categories and the need to feel morally justified, and yet here's the problem that Brooks identifies (and that the gospel addresses):

And yet we have no clear framework or set of rituals to guide us in our quest for goodness. Worse, people have a sense of guilt and sin, but no longer a sense that they live in a loving universe marked by divine mercy, grace and forgiveness. There is sin but no formula for redemption.

Source: David Brooks, "The Strange Persistence of Guilt," New York Times (3-31-17)

Jesus' Mercy for People Struggling with Pornography

In his book Closing the Window, Tim Chester shares the following quotes from men who have struggled with the guilt and condemnation that comes from viewing pornography:

"It's made me want to hide from God …. It makes me doubt my salvation, and then the depression comes and with the depression comes temptation to sin again." "I feel crap about myself. I don't feel worthy to serve God. And I don't believe I can break the habit." "I feel dirty and unable to approach God after looking at porn …. So often I feel unable to come to him in repentance, even though I know my sin is already dealt with." "I couldn't talk with God about my problems. My picture of him was that he would accept me if and when I had 'scrubbed up' enough."

Without condoning the sin of viewing porn, Chester offers the following words of hope to people who are struggling with pornography:

Jesus lived God's welcome to sinners. He embodied God's mercy. He was known as the friend of sinners. The religious people didn't like it, because it turned their proud systems of self-righteousness upside down. But Jesus sat down to eat with prostitutes, adulterers, and porn addicts …. On the cross, God treated Christ as a porn user …. [Paraphrasing 2 Corinthians 5:17], "God made Jesus, who never looked with lust, to be a porn addict for us, so that in him we might become sexually pure."