Rahab:  Ancestor of Christ

TEXT—Josh. 2: 1-23

INTRO.

1.      Rahab is listed as a harlot in all NT scripture.

2.      When doing this lesson, I wanted to show her as more than that.

3.      She is listed as a hero of faith (Heb 11:31) READ.

a.       One of two women listed, other being Sarah.

4.      She’s even listed in Jesus’ genealogy in Matthew.

5.      And mentioned in James as being justified by her actions.

6.      But I learned the reason why she is always referred to as a harlot.

7.      We’ll look at all of this tonight.

(Read Text—Josh. 2: 1-23)

I. Rahab:  A woman who would not follow the crowd.

A.     The people of Jericho feared the Israelites.

1.      Knew of activities in Egypt as they relied on them for protection.

2.      But Jericho would not acknowledge their God.

3.      Rahab did ... (v. 8-11) don’t read.

a.       Knew of the Red Sea being dried up

b.      Knew of the destruction of the two kings.

c.       Knew the city of Jericho was to be theirs

B. There are many today that fear the judgment and the possibility of Hell.

1. They too will not acknowledge the word of God.

2. They are much like the Jews of the first century

a.       Jesus warned them of the destruction of Jerusalem. Mt. 23: 36-24: 2

b.       And told them to flee when the signs appeared.  Mt: 24: 15-21

c.       Outcome:  70 AD—Very few escaped with their lives.

C. Each and every week we warn people of the destruction that is coming 

1.      That is, The Second Coming of Christ.

2.      The Judgment

3.      Few people will heed the warnings.

D. Who was it that was spared from the slaughter at the siege of Jericho?

1. Rahab - she feared (vs. 11) and acted upon that fear.

2. It was her obedience that saved her and her family (vs. 17-21).

3. NO ONE ELSE WAS SAVED.  ALL WAS DESTROYED!!

II. Rahab—An illustration of the power of God to save the worst of sinners.

A. We remember Rahab today as “Rahab the harlot.”

1. She could have said, “God will not save a sinner like me.”

2. Being a harlot was so bad that God used that example to portray the total apostasy (falling away) of the Israelites.

a.       God’s Covenant following the Molten calf—Ex. 34: 12-16

b.      Reminder—Num. 15: 37-41

c.       Began to play the Harlot—Num. 25: 1

d.      Continued in Judges—

i.         Heed not the Judges—2: 17

ii.       Ephod of Gideon—8: 27

e.       God divorced Israel—Jer. 3: 6-8

3. We see that this fallen woman was delivered when she obeyed the Lord.

B. We must always remember that the reason Jesus came was for sinners!

1.      Matt. 9: 13—Jesus said, “Came to call not the righteous but sinners to repentance.

2.      Lk 19:10 “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.

3.      1 Tim 1: 15—Paul writes, “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners...”

4.      1 Cor 15: 3 “Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures...”

C. Rahab’s lifestyle of sin carried as much weight as any other sin of man.

1. All sin is sin and will separate man from God.

a. It will keep the sinner away from God.

b. It will also separate the Christian from God as well.

D. If Rahab couldn’t be saved, what of Paul?

1.      Considered himself “chief of sinners”—1 Tim. 1: 15

2.      Consented to Stephen’s death—Acts 8: 1

3.      Committing men and women to prison—Acts 8: 3

4.      READ Acts 9: 1-2

5.      If not Rahab, what of Paul?

E. What of Jeffrey Dahmer?

1.      Mass murderer

2.      Cannibal

3.      Converted to Christ (May, 1994)

4.      His sins any worse than Paul?

5.      If Jeffrey Dahmer is save, why not us?

III. Rahab—An example of justifying faith.

A. Her faith was not one of “seeing is believing”.

Like Moses from Heb. 11: 27, she believed without seeing.

1. (vs. 10) “For we have heard...”Just by hearing she believed.

2. (vs. 11) “…for the Lord your God, he is God in heaven above, and the earth beneath.”

a.       Rahab believed because she heard with a tender heart.

b.      Walked by faith…(2 Cor. 5: 7)

c.       Thomas—John 20: 24-29 READ

3. Many will not believe in God because they cannot see or hear him.

Example:  I heard this story a while back on the proof of God’s existence.  A college professor made the following accusation:

“Can we see God?”  No!

“Can we touch God?” No!

“If we can’t see God and we can’t touch God, then God doesn’t exist!”

One of his students made this rebuttal:

“Can we see the professor’s brain?”  No!

“Can we touch the professor’s brain?”  No!

“If we can’t see the professor’s brain and we can’t touch the professor’s brain, then the professor’s brain doesn’t exist!”

a.       Ps. 14:1, “The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works; There is none that doeth good.”

b.      Ask for a sign—Mt. 16: 1-4

i.      Jonah—referring to 3 days in the belly of the fish

ii.      Jesus—same length of time in the tomb.

B.     Rahab - was a pagan woman; a gentile.  Simply hearing she understood that Jehovah was God of all heaven and all the earth.

1.      Faith in the New Testament is not based upon just reading the bible.

2.      It is based on hearing the word—Rom 10: 11-17

i.      Many people read the word and yet are not saved.

ii.      They don’t carry out what is written.

iii.      Need a preacher to explain the passages.

3. It is also based on doing—Jas. 1: 22 “Be ye doers of the word not hearers only deceiving yourself.”

C. Rahab’s faith was one of action.

1.      Rahab believed in God and acted upon that faith (vs.4, 6)

2.      She is mentioned in (Jas. 2:25) as being justified by her works. “And in like manner was not also Rahab the harlot justified by works, in that she received the messengers, and sent them out another way?”

a.       Not justified by her lying, as some would say.

1.      Lying condemned in scriptures.

i.      Ex. 20—Ten Commandments

ii.      Lev. 19: 11

iii.      Prov. 12: 22

b.      It was her willingness to be separate from the rest (2 Cor. 6: 17) “Wherefore Come ye out from among them, and be ye separate…”

3.      Therefore she was saved.

a.       She also sought the salvation of her kinfolk (v. 12-13).

ARE WE SHARING OUR FAITH WITH OUR FAMILIES? OR

ARE WE SIMPLY GIVING UP BECAUSE OF THEIR LACK OF RESPONSE?

IV. Rahab—A warning to us of the danger seeking salvation outside the place where God is.   (V. 19)

A.                 Days of Noah.

1.                  Preached to them for about 120 years. 

2.                  One sermon—“Get on The Boat”.

3.                  Door was shut.  All inside were saved, all outside were destroyed.

B. God has located the salvation of the world in Jesus the Christ. (2 Tim 2:10)

1.  His body is the church. (Eph 1:22-23)

a. Where are the saved added? They are added to the church (Acts 2: 47).

C. Rahab could not have been saved in the streets of Jericho. (vs. 19)

1. She would have perished.

2. She had to first HEAR then BELIEVE then CONFESS then OBEY.

D. Man cannot be saved outside of the church.

4.      To get into the church one must:

i.      HEAR (Rom. 10: 17)

ii.      BELIEVE (John 8: 24)

iii.      CONFESS (Rom. 10: 9-10)

iv.      REPENT  (Acts 2: 38)

v.      BAPTIZED for the remission of their sins (Mark 16: 16; Acts 22: 16) 

vi.      LIVE FAITHFULLY (Rev. 2: 9)

V. Rahab—A reminder that even the worst of sinners make strong Christians.

A. There are three qualities that Rahab possessed that all Christians must have:

1. She was industrious (v. 6). She hid the two spies among the stalks of flax

2. She was unselfish (v. 12). She cared for the salvation of her family when she bargained with the spies to spare her family.

3. She was honest.

a. She kept her promise to the spies when she did not reveal their hiding place.

B. Her example paved the way:

1.      For Cornelius—Acts 10

a.       Rahab was a gentile convert

b.      Gives hope to other gentiles

2.      For Saul of Tarsus—Acts 9 (Mentioned earlier)

3.      The Lineage of Christ—Matt. 1: 5

a.       Begat Boaz who married Ruth

b.      Thereby making her an ancestor of Christ.

c.       Second non-Israelite in lineage, Tamar first.

CONCLUSION

1.      No one can say they are not good enough to be a Christian.

a.       To do so, limits God’s power to save.

2.      We need to continue doing the will of God even though it seems everyone around us refuses to do so.

3.      We all need to have the kind of faith Rahab had...The kind that acts with obedience.

4.      We need to remember that salvation is located in the body of Christ…the church.

From an outline by Mike Cornwell