Character Studies - ElectronicGospel

1. and yet, for Rahab, a melted heart did not bring instant salvation, for she still needed to followher faith and submit to the meager conditions announced by the messengers of God who had spied in herhome–tie the scarlet cord in the window, gather together in the house those who would be saved, betray usto no one2. salvation from death then is akin to salvation from eternal death today, being “a work of faith,labor of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the sight of our God and Father” (FirstThessalonians 1:3)3. Rahab’s presence in the Hebrews 11 hall of faith and in James’s famous treatise on works goesto show the happy relationship of the two concepts in God’s scheme of salvation (Galatians 5:5-6)a. any apparent contradiction between faith and works is easily solved when one understandsthat salvation is by neither alone, but by both together (Hebrews 12:1-2)b. let us run with endurance, not coast downhill to the finish line4. obedience should not be confused either with perfection or merit, for no man is practicallycapable of either in the sight of God whose grace is the invitation to redemptionD. Falsehood1. it is Rahab’s faith which we praise and not necessarily the duplicity she employed as a result2. the Bible, and especially for us, the New Testament, are powerfully clear when it comes todishonesty, lying and deception, making Rahab’s tactic with the king’s servants a dubious one accordingto our standards todaya. “For my mouth will speak truth; Wickedness is an abomination to my lips” (Proverbs 8:7)b. “These are the things you shall do (Speak each man the truth to his neighbor; Givejudgment in your gates for truth, justice, and peace” (Zechariah 8:16)c. “Therefore, putting away lying, "Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor," for weare members of one another” (Ephesians 4:25).3. the book of Revelation consigns “all liars” and “whoever loves and practices a lie” to “the lakeof fire which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death” (21:8, 22:15)4. but what of an occasion such as that in Joshua 2, where only a lie can save the lives of theinnocent and godly?a. is lying ever justified–lying to foreign agents, murderers, criminals, invaders, etc.?b. I am hard-pressed to find a loophole or exception to the blanket condemnation of lying inthe New Testament, but you can believe that I would never willingly give true information to a criminalwho would use it to harm someone else; there must be a way to avoid lying as well as aiding an enemy tocommit iniquityConclusionRahab stands out as a woman of great faith because her heart melted and her spirit acted.Character Studies! 173