A Note On Rahab

‘…By FAITH the HARLOT Rahab perished not with them that BELIEVED not…’ (Hebrews 11:31)

By FAITH…a HARLOT perished not? That verse did not say: ‘…by FAITH…a harlot that REPENTED perished not…’ Nope. But… ‘by FAITH the HARLOT perished not with them that BELIEVED not…’ In fact, to help your understanding, let me add a line that could surprise you…

‘by FAITH the HARLOT Rahab perished not with them (the other harlots and sinners) that BELIEVED not…’

What did you notice? Even the sin of Harlotry…one of the most deadly sins of the Law…COULD NOT wipe out the justification by FAITH which God ALREADY gave to Rahab! She had FAITH in God even before the spies came…yet she was a HARLOT! (Joshua 2:9-10) She was STILL a harlot when she was JUSTIFIED by FAITH!

Question: which one appears stronger? Was it her ‘Faith in God’…or was it her ‘Sin of Harlotry’?

…By FAITH…a HARLOT perished not…

Now listen carefully: there is NO SIN strong enough to ‘wipe out’ the justification God gives to ANY man based on his FAITH in Jesus Christ!

God passionately hates harlotry! But God loves the ‘harlot’! This Love provides SALVATION to any HARLOT that will place their Faith on Jesus who died for their HARLOTRY!

‘…But to him that worketh not, but BELIEVETH ON HIM THAT JUSTIFIETH THE UNGODLY (including harlots), his faith is counted for righteousness…’ (Romans 4:5)

Faith is stronger than your sins. God chose to do so. Now you can understand why the Message version translates Romans 5:20 in a unique way:

‘…But SIN didn’t, and doesn’t, have a chance in competition with the AGGRESSIVE FORGIVENESS we call grace. When it’s sin versus grace, GRACE WINS HANDS DOWN…’ (Romans 5:20 MSG)

Only an ‘aggressive forgiveness’ will make the Harlot Rahab to be justified even when she was still a harlot. Oh Glory to Jesus. But why do I love this Gospel so much? It is because this initial FAITH that justifies a believer is not a dormant force! Even though people still see Rahab as a harlot, God was busy ‘growing her internally’ until it ‘manifested externally’! It was this same Rahab (a Gentile) that later stopped this habit and eventually married a man named SALMON (a Jew)…who became the great grandfather of Jesse the father of David; from whose lineage came our Lord Jesus Christ! (Matt 1:5,6,16)

Wow! You were seeing a harlot….God was seeing a Great Grandmother of JESUS! Now you can understand what I meant by my recent post that states: ‘Jesus loves you JUST THE WAY YOU ARE; but He loves you TOO MUCH to make you remain JUST THE WAY YOU ARE’!

Hallelujah. That is the potency of the Gospel. It turns a sinner to a saint before GOD and then manifests that former sinner into a saint before MEN! Though this growth could take a while, yet the ‘salvation’ remains secure.

Remember: By FAITH…a HARLOT perished not. If you have believed the Gospel, I have this good news for you:

‘…those who listen to my message and BELIEVE in God who sent me have eternal life. They will NEVER BE CONDEMNED for their sins, but they have ALREADY passed from death into life…’ (John 5:24 NLT)

It’s a promise by the Saviour Himself. Delight yourself in this Truth, express your submission to the working of His Grace in you and watch Him transform your life from inside out.

‘…for it is God who works IN you to will AND TO ACT IN ORDER to fulfill his good purpose…’ (Phil 2:13 NIV)

Therefore, receive His transforming love today.

Amen.