Good morning. We're going to be live this morning. So I'm going to open in prayer and maybe we'll have someone close when we finish up today. So if you would, bow your head. Heavenly Father, we thank you for the grace that you give us through Jesus Christ. And we thank you, Heavenly Father, for your word. Thank you, Lord. It is a guide for us to learn how to live. in this life and to walk with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We pray, Heavenly Father, that we're diligent in reading it. We pray, Heavenly Father, that we walk each day seeking you and knowing that you are our Savior and that you are the standard by which we are to live by. Thank you for this day where we can worship with the brethren, and we pray that you receive all glory and honor. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. Okay, our catechism question this morning is 56. The question is, and I'll read it and then we'll show the answer. If you would read the answer with me, I would appreciate it. Catechism question 56 is, what is forbidden in the second commandment? And the answer is, the second commandment forbiddeth the worshiping of God by images, or any other way not appointed in His Word. If you remember when Moses came down off of Mount Sinai, God had given him the Ten Commandments. And the first thing that he sees is that Aaron had made a golden calf, and the children of Israel were dancing around and having a party and worshiping a false god. And that calf was actually a false god from Egypt, which their hearts seemed to yearn to go back to. So when he came down, after being with God that long, and God says, don't make any false witness, I mean, any false images, and he sees this, I can imagine what his mind and his heart were feeling at that time. If you remember before the flood in Genesis 6-5, God said that man's heart is continually evil. So it should not be a surprise that when We're left alone and we are on our own time and we have quiet time that we may get into sin because the devil loves to take an idle mind and put thoughts into it. So it's important for us to make sure that our thoughts are on God. I've got the scriptures. This is our memory verse, but I want to get to the scriptures first. Deuteronomy 4, 15 through 19, it says, so watch yourselves carefully since you did not see any form on the day of the Lord spoke to you at Horeb from the midst of the fire. And this goes through and gives understanding as to why we should not be making images or any false god Because God is the creator of all things. We're not to worship creation, we're to worship the God who created all things. Exodus 32, 5, 8, it says, Now when Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it. And Aaron made a proclamation and said, Tomorrow shall be a feast to the Lord. And this is where he actually made the golden calf. Exodus 20, verses 4 through 5, it says, you shall not make for yourself an idol or any likeness of what is in heaven above, or on the earth beneath, or in the water under the earth. You shall not worship them or serve them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and fourth generations. And Leviticus 20 verse 4, do not turn to idols or make for yourselves molding gods. I am the Lord your God. I do want to go back to the memory verse. That was not on our catechism. There was a problem with the printout, I believe. So the memory verse actually is Deuteronomy 12, 32. If you would read it with me. Whatever I am commanding you, you shall be careful to do, you shall not add to nor take away from it. Since we are in Deuteronomy, I did want to point out something because it does relate to our lesson this week. In Deuteronomy, and if you remember, this is the giving of the law again. Remember that the children of Israel had rejected going into the promised land. And in Deuteronomy, Moses is going over the law again with the new generation, because those that were 20 years and older, none except who went into the promised land? There were two people. Caleb. And Joshua, right. So these two are the only two out of all the group of men that would go into their promised land. And they were probably somewhere around maybe 70, 65 to 70 years old. They were the oldest. They also were the most faithful and obedient to God. So whenever he chose them, he chose Joshua to be the leader, and Caleb he gave a blessing to. And what was that blessing that he gave Caleb? What would he be able to do until he died? There was a blessing that he gave that he would be able to do what until they conquered the land of Egypt. Anybody remember? The one blessing. What happens when we get old? Y'all don't know yet. I do. You get weaker. Your muscles go down. Instead of having muscles up here, you got muscles down here, right? So Caleb was blessed with not losing his strength. He would be as strong all the way through the conquering of the land. That was a blessing that he had. But the verse that I wanted to bring out was Deuteronomy 17, 8. It is part of Deuteronomy that was going through. And I wanted to point this out because our lesson today actually ties in Rahab. And I'm going to try and find this real quickly and read it. Deuteronomy 17, 8. If any case is too difficult for you to decide between one kind of homicide or another, between one, I'm sorry, that is not it. Deuteronomy. 17 is the one I had, but that's not the right verse or the right scripture. I apologize. I may have wrote down the wrong one. Okay, it actually is Numbers 17 verse 5. And it says, And it will come about that the rod of the man whom I choose will sprout. Thus I shall listen from upon myself to grumblings of the sons of Israel who are grumbling against you. And that's not it either, so I apologize. The scripture I was looking for is about 300 years before King David was, I'm sorry, King Saul was crown king in Egypt, I'm sorry, in Israel. And the scripture references that God said that they would want a king. And this was 300 years prior to the king being appointed. So God does have a plan. His purpose is going to be fulfilled. And the reason I bring that up is King David was in the lineage of Christ. And Rahab, who is actually in our study today, is also in the lineage of Christ. We're going to get to that in just a minute. Unifying theme, the people of the biblical God seek to live in awestruck submission to Him according to the rightly divided Word of God, the Holy Bible. Our scriptures, Old Testament, Joshua 2, 8 through 14. We're going to get into that now. Our New Testament is James 2, 18 through 26. And our sermon text was Hebrews 11, 30 through 31. Joshua 2, 8 through 14. Mark, you have it available? Which one? Joshua 2, 8 through 14. 14. Before the spies lay down this night, she went up on to the roof and said, I know that the Lord has given you this land, and that at great fear you have fallen on us, that all who live in this country are melting in fear because of you. We have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did in Zion. that our hearts are melted in fear. Everyone's courage failed because of you and the Lord. Your God is God in heaven above and on earth below. And I would please swear to you by the Lord that you will show kindness to my family, because I have shown kindness to you. Give me a sure sign that you will spare the lives of my father, my mother, my brothers, and my sisters, and all who belong with them. Okay. Thank you, sir. So Joshua has taken over. Moses is dead. He went up on the mount and he died. God is the only one that knows where he died and where he was buried. The reason he did not go is he was disobedient to God. He did not glorify God when he should have. He should have spoke to the water instead of, I'm sorry, spoke to the rock instead of striking the rock. And he did not glorify God before his people. So Joshua was chosen by God and what do we know about him? He was Moses' assistant at the time. What else? He was one of 12 spies, right? He was one of two that came back with a good report. So he was, he believed in God that he had given them, that God had given them the land. There were only two, Joshua and Caleb. And he would be the leader and he would go into the promised land. What is different about this generation of Israel? They're waiting on the shores of the Jordan River, if I remember right. They have to wait for three days. So what is different about this generation? Those that were under 20, Watched their parents die in the desert, didn't they? Physically watched their parents die. What else about them? They had been taught the law by Moses before he passed on. That's in Deuteronomy. That's where the studies, where they were taught and they were to pass it on from generation to generation because they did not have a written scripture at that time. They also believed God's promise. That's what the old generation did not remember. They did not believe God's promise. this generation did and they obeyed. And how do we know they obeyed? Because in Joshua it says they crossed over the river Jordan on dry land. Remember God parted the Red Sea for the first generation. The second generation he parted the waters of the Jordan and they walked over on dry land. So there were some similarities, but also the differences. Why were two spies sent into Jericho? God had said the land is yours, but why did they send in two spies? Okay, they went in to spy out the land, and yet this chapter that we're in, chapter two, is a special chapter that really has nothing to do with military operations. Two spies were sent in, and by the way, the speculation was that one of those spies that went in was Caleb, and the other one was a high priest. There's nothing in the scriptures that say that, but I think Jewish tradition says it was the high priest and Caleb. So when they went in, they had to find some place for security. And they went to whose house? Rahab. Rahab. And she was what? She was a prostitute. She was a prostitute. She was a Canaanite, but she was a prostitute. She made money by selling her body. Strange that Joshua would interrupt his scriptures and his writings about the military operations of Israel going across the Jordan River and taking the promised land before they even had their first battle. It is strange that he would introduce somebody called Rahab to us. And it was God's providence. It wasn't anything other than that. It's God's providence that he chose Rahab to save. Most of us categorize sin, don't we? I'm not a murderer. I'm not an adulterer. I only lie. You see how we categorize sin? Who would have ever thought that Rahab would have been chosen to save? Because she was certainly unworthy. And guess what? We all are unworthy. We may not classify our sin as bad as Rahab, but our sin put Jesus Christ on the cross. and he died for our redemption. So when we start trying to justify how good or better we are than someone else, think about who you're justifying it to. And think about the standard that you're justifying yourself against, and that's Jesus Christ. So God's providence was that this person, his grace was extended not only to her because of her belief, but also to her household. I believe that's why this particular chapter is in the scriptures. God is never, ever, impatient about something and he is going to show his grace to whomever he has called and selected to save. So this is the purpose and this was the importance for this to be in God's word. But they did send in spies. I don't think it was doubting God, but I think it was smart of of Joshua descending to spies. I think it's good for him to have preparation. Plus two, if you remember, is two people for a witness. So the two came back with a report, so the witness was verified, right? And they were sent in to view out Jericho. Jericho was a city that was surrounded by high walls, supposedly impenetrable, could not be taken. And yet Moses did send these in. In verse 2-1 it says, they came into the house of a harlot whose name was Rahab. There's a great theologian that was in the second century, I think it was 185 A.D. His name was Origen. Hope I'm saying that right. His full name is Origenus Adamantius. And he was a theologian, he was a biblical scholar. And he wrote, as the first Joshua sent his spies before him and they were received into the harlot's house, so the second Joshua, that's Jesus Christ, sent his forerunners whom the publicans and harlots gladly received. So this is kind of Christ was pictured here in this particular section here, that he came to those that were lost, not to those that were proud and arrogant, only to those that could admit that they were sinners. That's who God saves. What evidence does scripture provide that shows Rahab's faith and conversion? And we're in chapter two. I'm gonna list them real quick. Verse four, she lied to protect the Jews, okay, the Israelites. does not justify her lie, but it does say that she had believed in the God of Israel. And we'll get to a couple of verses here that will show that. In verse six, it says that she hid them and she protected them. And in verse nine, it says, I know that the Lord has given you the land. Isn't that something? Verse nine, this is a Canaanite woman. She is a pagan. In her society she was worth nothing and yet God chose to save her and it says in verse 9, I know that the Lord has given you the land and the terror of you has fallen on us and that all the inhabitants of the land have melted away before you. And 10 says, for we have heard. Can you imagine that? Everything that has happened since they left Egypt, these people have heard how God has protected the Israelites all the way through, and they have heard how great this God is, and they are in fear. Verse 11, and when we heard it, our hearts melted and no courage remained in any man. In other words, they cowered and they were trying to get away so they would not be crunched and conquered by the Israelites. And verse 11, also, for the Lord your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath. Can you imagine a statement like that from her? Only God can open hearts to the truth, and only God can save. And he certainly has saved Rahab for not only did she believe, but she also took actions. This ties into James 2, which we're going to be going through shortly, where you're looking at faith plus faith produces works. I started to say faith plus works. That is a heresy. Only Jesus Christ can save, so faith produces good works. I saw Ryan's ears go, whoa, that was close. And you got me on recording, so that's not good. So there was only one request that Rahab said, spare me and my household. and that they did promise, and she took it by faith, that they would honor the words that these men who came in were Jews, Israelites, and that they would honor their word not only to her, but to the God that they served. Yes, ma'am. Yes. Yes. Matthew 1.5 shows that, and we may have time to get into that. I'm not sure yet. Our time is fleeting by. It's already 9.40. OK. James 2. Oh, any questions on this? Any comments about Rahab? Any questions about Chapter 2, 8 through 14, which we just covered? It is a story of grace, a story of grace, remember that. All right, James 2, 18 through 26. And Ryan, have you got yours? Okay, and if you would, Hebrews James 2. 18 through 26. Can I get, if you would, Hebrews 11, 30 through 31 when we get to it, OK? Chapter 2. Chapter 2? Yes. 18 through 26. OK. If you would. But someone may well say, You have faith that I have works. Show me your faith without the words, and I'll show you my faith by my words. You believe that God is one. You do well. The demons also believe and shudder. But you are willing, but are you willing to recognize You see that faith was working with his works, and as a result of the works, faith was perfected. And the scripture was fulfilled, which says, And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned in him as righteousness, and he was called the friend of God. You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone. In the same way was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works, just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead. OK. So we see Abraham and Rahab. What a combination. That God saved, right? Both were saved. The emphasis that faith and works are interconnected. That's what James is trying to point out here. Works doesn't save you. And faith plus works does not save you, it takes faith that saves you. Faith is essential and should produce good works. If you are a Christian, The reason I put living faith cannot be separated from works. If you are a Christian and you are mature and maturing, because when I first became a Christian, I knew very little as far as trying to live my life out each and every day. So I had to learn. I had some good mentors. I also had scriptures. But it should produce works each day. It should be something that you can say in your life that produces works. Faith is something that should generate your desire to serve your Lord and Savior each and every day. Not just because you are saved right away, but it's a lifelong process. Justification is there, but we're talking about sanctification, which is a process that is ongoing each and every day in our lives and will happen that we will be glorified once we die or God comes back and we go to heaven. But sanctification is something that is a process. But works are something that we should care for, that we see others in our lives that are worth spreading the gospel to him, right? We have co-workers, we have family members. This is the purpose by which God has saved us, that we will spread the word. That's what the Israelites were supposed to do. They were to spread the word, that he is the true God and only he can save. So Jesus Christ is the one that we live for, and Jesus Christ is the one that we want to serve, because we no longer are tied and a slave to sin. We are voluntarily becoming a slave to Jesus Christ. Okay? Bible says you can't serve two masters. You're going to love one, you're going to hate the other. Okay? There are some key points. Faith without works is empty. Can you see that? If I say that I believe in Jesus Christ and I've accepted him as my Savior and I do nothing after that, I might want to get my neck from my head, I'm sorry, my head from my neck up checked, right? I might want to see how can my faith be real if I am not serving my Lord and Savior each and every day. So faith without works is empty. James brings up that demons believe in God, and they do. You remember Jesus threw out some demons from this madman, and they said, I think it was, don't kill us. I think he threw them into some pigs, and they ran off into the water. So they knew who he was, so they believe, and yet their belief is not unto salvation. Can you imagine that? This is God's creation, his angels, that rebel against him, and they have no hope because there is no salvation for them. Faith must be accompanied by actions that demonstrate our trust in God. He lists Abraham here as an example. What do you remember about Abraham that would be an example of his faith? And we studied it not too long ago. Yes, ma'am. Yes, ma'am. When he had to go up on the mount and offer a sacrifice, God had told him to take his only begotten son. He did have other sons, but this was the son that God had promised him and that he was to kill him. And Abraham by faith went up, he took Isaac, he took rope, he took firewood, and he was ready to kill Isaac with a knife. And yet God says, because of your faith and your obedience to me, I have spared your son and I will make you a great nation. And he reiterated his covenant with Abraham at that time. So faith does require action. God also counted it as righteousness to him. Our righteousness comes from who? Christ, Jesus Christ. His righteousness is imputed to us. It is strange. that James would use Abraham, the father of Israel, and then use Rahab as another illustration of faith. I think this is the point out that grace is on both. Grace applies to anyone that God has chosen. because none are worthy to be saved. The Bible says there's none that's good. The only one that's good is God. So Rahab, a prostitute, demonstrated her faith through her actions. And she faced the fact that the king of that, of her town, Jericho, had come to her questioning her about the two spies. And it may not be strange that they came to Rahab, because this is a place where men came outside and visited quite often, especially visitors. It would be a place that you would not be noticed. There would be no questions asked. That's not what they were interested in. And yet she told them that they had left and pointed actually a different direction and they were protected because of her. She demonstrated her trust in God by standing up and being counted when needed. Faith and works work together. It compares faith without works to a baby without a spirit. It's lifeless, and that's what James did. He said a body without a spirit is lifeless. So faith without works makes us lifeless, ineffective as Christians. In fact, I would say if you have no good works, you need to check and make sure who you are in Christ. Our faith needs to lead to actions that reflect God's love and grace. It's not faith versus works, it's faith that naturally expresses itself through righteous deeds. I know I've got ahead of myself, but that's okay. It is faith that looks not to self, but to Jesus Christ. It is faith that agrees with God's word both inwardly and with works. I'm sorry, with words. It is faith that in itself is not a work that deserves reward from God. It is faith grounded in what Jesus did on the cross and by the empty tomb. I've got some lists here. I'm not going to read all of them. It is faith that may sometimes doubt, yet the doubts are not bigger than the faith, nor are they more permanent than the faith. This faith can say, Lord, I believe, help my unbelief. Matthew 7, 21, 23, that's brought up because if you remember, Jesus said, all those that come to me and say, Lord, Lord, He's going to say, I never knew you, depart from me. So not everyone that professes faith is one of Christ. There are some additional. Things there, I did not leave them up there in time probably to go through. But I did want to bring up Hebrews 11, 30 through 31. We still have a few minutes. Kayin, would you mind reading those? OK. By faith, they walked around Jericho for seven days. Remember what they had to do? They had to walk around Jericho once every day, six days. And the priest had to blow a ram's horn, I believe. And on the seventh day, they were to walk around seven times. The priest would blow their horns and the people would shout and the walls of Jericho came tumbling down. Why would God ask his children to do this to conquer a land? Why would he? Seems unreasonable and kind of silly, doesn't it? How in the world can you conquer a city like that? And yet they did. I'm sorry? God got the credit. Right. God is always to be glorified. There was another reason. His glory. And He wanted the children of Israel to understand that He was God. He wanted them to know that they can depend on Him and that He is the only one that they should depend on. So they did walk around and then they went in and they took the city and they killed everyone except Rahab and her family. So Jericho you can say was a miracle. But it was God's purpose was that he be glorified and that they would know that he is God. Same thing with when Moses went to Egypt to see Pharaoh. God wanted Pharaoh. He could have made Pharaoh release the children right away, but they went through 10 plagues. So that Pharaoh would know that he was God and the children of Israel would understand that he was the true God. So God has a purpose for everything that he does. It's not insignificant. There's nothing insignificant in God's Word. It's put there for a purpose and for a reason. So when God takes time, like he did in Joshua 2, to introduce us to Rahab, that's a purpose. And that's the reason why he had it in there. We know that Jericho was the first obstacle for Israel. This would be one of many. And yet, God was glorified there. We know that in Joshua 5, 13 through 65, if you want to read it when you get home, that God appeared to Joshua as a captain of the Lord's army. And that this was a pre-incarnation visit by Christ, if I remember right and correctly. And he told Joshua how to conquer the land. So just as he met face-to-face with Moses, and that's a saying in the Bible, he met face-to-face with Joshua. So the people would know that he was God's representative. Faith, obedience, works. We went through and we discussed. All I can say is what a lady. What a person that God chose to save, and she stood up, and she believed God, and she is now not only in the Bible, but she's in the lineage of Christ. Final thought. This is a quote, and I want to take and read it. If the God of Israel is the omnipotent God of the heavens and earth, then our only hope for safety from his righteous wrath is in him. That is why the appropriate response to the fear we have of God is to run to him in faith renouncing our sins and trusting in Christ alone. That's John 14, six and first John one, eight through nine. This is something we must do not only at the start of our Christian lives, but we must daily turn from sin and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. That was a quote I found. I'm sorry I did not write down who wrote that. So we have learned one that faith is something that God gives us. Faith requires us to be obedient to God. And faith produces good works. I was up in Roanoke this week playing softball and it was hot. But the one thing that I remember is God didn't call us to sit on the bench. We had 11 players this week. There's 11 positions, so we didn't have any substitutes to put in. And I'm just bringing this up to the fact that you're expected to take action each and every day. And that action includes seeking God in his word, in prayer. If you have a Christian buddy or friend that you can call and talk to, that. And most important, sharing Christ with someone. Either a friend, we all know somebody that doesn't know Jesus Christ, right? Family, acquaintances at work. I mean, there are so many ways we can do that. But also, not forgetting that it's good that we show our faith by helping those that may be in need, how we spend our time and our money. So I would encourage you not to give up, not to take and back down from challenges, not to let your life be wasted, but to be used by God for his glory, because he's the one that should be glorified, not us. Any questions on any of this? It's a lot of material. It's a great lesson about how God chooses and how God's grace works. Knowing that none are worse. Ligonier? Okay, good. Thank you. I wasn't quite sure where it was from. I look through quite a few materials and try and make sure I isolate and cut back down because you can't cover everything in class that you research through. So take time to read God's word, take time to share, and take time to be a mentor to someone. Any questions? Okay, we're done early. We've got 14 minutes.