Joshua 2 (If you haven’t read it lately
it would help to read it now!)
We know Rahab’s faith was authentic
because it resulted in action. She was risking her life by hiding,
protecting, and sending out the Hebrew spies.
She was betraying her king and her own people. She had become a believer in the God of
Israel and she cast her lot with them.
True faith always results in action.
True faith is costly faith! She
could have been like so many people in our day.
She could have claimed to
believe while declining to get involved.
But her faith was validated by the fact that she put it into action. “In
the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what
she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different
direction?” (James 2:25). James
observes that Rahab was considered righteous for what she did! Faith takes action!
We can see Rahab’s faith was genuine
because it was a faith that resulted in obedience. True faith is always accompanied by
obedience. When the men left Rahab they
told her they could only be responsible for her safety if she hung the scarlet cord
in her window. It would be a sign on the
day of battle and she and her family would be protected. Such action would, of course, be a rather
obvious identification of her home to anyone who was looking. Instead of declining to take the risk of
discovery Rahab obeyed and hung the cord immediately after their
departure. Her obedience validated her
faith. “By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not
killed with those who were disobedient” (Hebrews 11:31).
Rahab’s faith was a faith which changed her entire life. She went from being an idol worshiper to a worshiper of Jehovah. She went from being a prostitute to being a princess, the wife of a Hebrew prince. She was saved from the destruction of Jericho and was brought into the nation of Israel. According to Matthew 1:5 she married Salmon, the son of Nahshon. Nahshon was a prince of Judah (see Numbers 1:7). Thus, Rahab became a princess of the royal tribe of Judah. Matthew’s genealogy says Rahab became the mother of Boaz (who married Ruth) and the great-great-grandmother of David. This genealogy in Matthew is the genealogy of Jesus. Rahab’s faith changed her life! She was raised from prostitution to being a forbear of the Messiah!
Rahab’s faith was a faith that
paralleled New Testament faith. How do
we define faith? “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do
not see” (Hebrews 11:1). She had
faith in her hope for a safe deliverance.
Her faith was in God. She
believed what she could not see. She had
not seen all of the works of God on behalf of Israel but she believed them and
put her trust in a God she had not seen and entrusted her life to his care.
When we make confession of our faith it needs to look like Rahab’s. When we profess our faith in Christ we say that we believe in the one, true God who is Jehovah, the God of the Old Testament. We say we put our trust in his word and in his deeds. And after making profession of our faith in God we follow up just as Rahab did. Our faith must be a faith of action. It does no good to simply state that we believe something unless we take action that demonstrates our faith. The demonstration of our faith is obedience. Jesus said, “If you love me you will keep my commandments.” True faith results in a changed life. If we make profession of faith and then see no change in our lives then our profession is empty! How are our lives being changed? Do we look at sin differently? Do we see how our old lives were empty and marked by sin? Do we find in ourselves a desire to do the things God wants us to do? Do we want to bring glory to God and make the name of Jesus famous by living lives of righteousness?
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