The NXR Podcast - April 30, 2023


SUNDAY SERMON - Fear Is Not Only A Sin, It’s A Sign Of Being Under God’s Judgment ｜ Joshua 2_1-21

Topics
fear baptism
Hosted by
Joel Webbon Harrison Smith Antonio Griffith Dale Partridge Wewsley Todd Calvin Robinson
Mentioned
Joshua Rahab David Panton Asherah Greg Bonson Nineveh Abraham Paul Gerhardus Voss Matthew Henry Phil Vischer Gary North John Gill Joe Biden Zachariah Sodomites Jericho Goliath Behold Molech and 1 more
QUESTIONS - Were Head Coverings Unique To The Corinthian Church？ DAILY TRUTH - It’s Noble To Be A Pastor, It’s Noble To Be A Civil Magistrate

Episode Stats


Length

1 hour and 11 minutes

Words per minute

144.44

Word count

10,373

Sentence count

242

Harmful content

Misogyny

1

sentences flagged

Toxicity

9

sentences flagged

Hate speech

68

sentences flagged


Summary

Summaries generated with gmurro/bart-large-finetuned-filtered-spotify-podcast-summ .

Join us as we continue our series through the book of Joshuah as we read through verses 1-21. Today's reading is from the second chapter of the book, "Out of the Land," which is found in the Old and New Testaments.

Transcript

Transcript generated with Whisper (turbo).
Misogyny classifications generated with MilaNLProc/bert-base-uncased-ear-misogyny .
Toxicity classifications generated with s-nlp/roberta_toxicity_classifier .
Hate speech classifications generated with facebook/roberta-hate-speech-dynabench-r4-target .
Topics generated with Qwen2.5-3B-Instruct.
Hosts, guests, and mentioned names generated with spaCy (en_core_web_sm), reconciled against Wikidata.
00:00:00 All right, listen, guys, I get it.
00:00:01 Many of you are unable to financially support this ministry because you're spending your
00:00:05 cash and your lives on raising young children in the fear and admonition of the Lord.
00:00:10 Praise God for you and that endeavor.
00:00:13 However, algorithms are a thing.
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00:00:29 our review also perhaps even more effective than that you can share our podcast with a friend we
00:00:36 hope you'll take the time to do so thank you so much god bless this morning we continue with our
00:00:42 series through the book of joshua our text for today is joshua chapter 2 verse 1 through 21
00:00:47 again that's joshua chapter 2 verses 1 through 21 would you join me now in standing for the
00:00:55 reading of god's word i'll read our text in its entirety when i finish reading the text i'm going
00:01:00 to say this is the word of the lord at which point i would appreciate very much if you would respond
00:01:05 by saying thanks be to god one final time our text for today is joshua chapter 2 verses 1 through 21
00:01:13 the bible says this and joshua the son of nun sent two men secretly from shittim as spies saying go
00:01:22 view the land especially Jericho and they went and came into the house of a prostitute whose name
00:01:30 was Rahab and lodged there and it was told to the king of Jericho behold men of Israel have come here
00:01:38 tonight to search out the land then the king of Jericho sent to Rahab saying bring out the men
00:01:45 who have come to you who entered your house for they have come to search out all the land but the
00:01:52 woman had taken the two men and hidden them and she said true the men came to me but I did not
00:02:00 know where they were from and when the gate was about to be closed at dark the men went out I do
00:02:07 not know where the men went pursue them quickly for you will overtake them but she had brought
00:02:13 them up to the roof and hid them with the stalks of flax that she had laid in order on the roof
00:02:20 So the men pursued after them on the way to the Jordan as far as the fords, and the gate
00:02:26 was shut as soon as the pursuers had gone out.
00:02:30 Before the men laid down, she came to them on the roof and said to the men, I know that
00:02:37 the Lord has given you the land and that the fear of you has fallen upon us and that all
00:02:43 the inhabitants of the land melt away before you.
00:02:46 for we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you came out of
00:02:52 Egypt and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan of Sihon and
00:02:59 Og whom you devoted to destruction and as soon as we heard it our hearts melted and there was no
00:03:06 spirit left in any man because of you for the Lord your God he is God in the heavens above and on the
00:03:13 earth beneath now then please swear to me by the Lord that you as I have dealt kindly with you
00:03:20 you also will deal kindly with my father's house and give me a sign that you will save alive my
00:03:27 father and mother my brothers and sisters and all who belong to them and deliver our lives from
00:03:33 death and the men said to her our life for yours even to death if you do not tell this business of
00:03:41 ours, then when the Lord gives us the land, we will deal kindly and faithfully with you. Then she let
00:03:47 them down by a rope through the window, for her house was built into the city wall, so that she
00:03:53 lived in the wall. And she said to them, go into the hills, or the pursuers will encounter you,
00:03:59 and hide there three days until the pursuers have returned. Then afterward you may go your way.
00:04:06 The men said to her, We will be guiltless with respect to this oath of yours that you have made us swear.
00:04:13 Behold, when we come into the land, you shall tie this scarlet cord in the window through which you let us down,
00:04:20 and you shall gather into your house your father and your mother, your brothers, and all your father's household.
00:04:27 Then if anyone goes out of the doors of your house into the street, his blood shall be on his own head, and we shall be guiltless.
00:04:35 but if a hand is laid on anyone who is with you in the house his blood shall be on our head
00:04:41 but if you tell this business of ours then we shall be guiltless with respect to your oath
00:04:47 that you have made us swear and she said according to your words so be it then she sent them away
00:04:53 and they departed and she tied the scarlet cord in the window this is the word of the lord
00:04:59 all right please be seated let's begin there's three primary points that i hope by the grace
00:05:07 of god to make from the text today the second point will be the primary point of the sermon
00:05:13 the first and the third will be smaller points yet of course still significant the first thing
00:05:21 as we see in the text today worth noting is this that trusting in god's promised outcome
00:05:27 is vital, and trusting in God's promised outcome comes before actually having a plan.
00:05:36 Now, we should trust in God's covenant promises. What God says will come to pass. What God says
00:05:42 will be the outcome, even if we don't see the means by which this is going to come about.
00:05:48 Trusting in God's promised outcome even before having a plan. Verse 1 of our text says this,
00:05:55 and joshua the son of nun sent two men secretly from shittim as spies saying go view the land
00:06:02 especially jericho now joshua's insistence this is easy to miss but joshua's insistence on secrecy
00:06:11 go and secretly spy out the land was not so much with respect to the inhabitants of jericho
00:06:18 this is assumed of all spies joshua is not merely saying you should go and spy secretly
00:06:24 as to ensure that jericho does not detect your presence you should be secret in respect to the
00:06:32 inhabitants of jericho the ones who you are spying out that would be redundant the mere fact that he
00:06:40 is sending them as spies assumes that they should exercise secrecy in regards to the people of
00:06:48 jericho rather joshua is insisting that these spies exercise secrecy in regards to the people
00:06:57 of israel in regards to the spies conducting their business in a private manner this is to be
00:07:04 not discovered by the people of israel why see joshua is concerned that israel might be discouraged
00:07:12 if they suspected that Joshua, as their leader, was fearful of the Canaanites.
00:07:18 Joshua was careful not to appear distrusting of the promise of God
00:07:23 that was given to them that they might conquer the land.
00:07:28 This is a good principle for all people in positions of leadership,
00:07:33 not to scare those who are following you.
00:07:37 this is good counsel good biblical counsel for all positions of leadership whether it be church
00:07:44 leadership whether it be civil magistrates whether it be somebody who is a superior or employer
00:07:50 in a vocational field and especially parents in regards to their children we trust the promises
00:07:59 of god and we trust these promises without having a plan so joshua believed that god would
00:08:06 fulfill what he had promised, that he would give the land of Canaan over to Israel, that they would
00:08:12 be given strength to conquer all their enemies. Jericho was one of the strongest and most fortified 0.81
00:08:20 cities in the land of Canaan. And Joshua is not sending the spies to see whether or not Jericho
00:08:27 is weak enough for God to actually make good on his promise. No, rather he's sending the spies to
00:08:34 see to see what the means will be that god utilizes to bring about his promised end joshua is trusting 0.80
00:08:43 that the end result is that jericho will be conquered but joshua is sending spies into the 0.75
00:08:49 land to detect the practical means by which this will come about what are the particular weak
00:08:55 points of this city of jericho how are we going to conquer it not if we'll conquer it god has
00:09:02 promised that we trust his promise but we want to see how it's going to be conquered and so joshua
00:09:07 sends these spies secretly not secretly in regards to the inhabitants of jericho hence the fact that
00:09:15 they're spies that's assumed but he's secretly sending them out in regards to the knowledge
00:09:21 of israel he doesn't want israel to be aware that joshua is sending spies out to detect weak points
00:09:29 points of vulnerability with their enemies at jericho because he doesn't want that action to
00:09:36 be interpreted by his own people by the people of israel as distrust in the covenant promises
00:09:42 of god now the reason you might wonder why is he sending the spies out at all god's going to come
00:09:49 through with his promise well that's because you know the end of the story all right this is one
00:09:55 of the most commonly known stories in the whole of scripture all right we before phil visher went
00:10:01 woke you know he got veggie tales right the people at jericho you know and the walls come down i mean
00:10:06 every child even children not raised in a christian family are probably aware of the walls of jericho
00:10:13 crumbling but joshua and israel weren't not at this moment so they're not doubting joshua's not
00:10:21 doubting whether or not god will fulfill his promise he's asking how this is similar to the
00:10:27 virgin mary right there are instances where god gave a promise right perhaps he even sent an angel
00:10:33 and the person did not believe the promise and there was a judgment for their unbelief
00:10:41 think of zachariah zachariah who was serving as a priest that he goes into the holy of holies to
00:10:49 perform his priestly duty and it is spoken to him by the lord through a messenger that he's going to
00:10:57 have a son and that this son is going to pave the way make straight the path level every mountain
00:11:04 raise every valley for the messiah that he's going to have a son namely john the baptist who would be
00:11:10 a forerunner of jesus and zachariah questions this in unbelief now listen here's the distinction
00:11:17 not unbelief in how God could bring this about in terms of what God's means will be in fulfilling
00:11:24 the promise but Zachariah actually doubts God's ability to fulfill the promise at all and so he's
00:11:33 stricken with muteness he becomes dumb and unable to speak dumb in the proper sense he's unable to
00:11:40 speak until the birth of the child now mary on the other hand by way of contrast the same kind 0.93
00:11:48 of event happens for her where an angel comes and says blessed are you this is what the lord is
00:11:55 going to do for you that you will conceive by the holy spirit the spirit will come upon you
00:12:00 and you will conceive a son and his his name shall be jesus and and she receives this message
00:12:07 her response is not um uh i don't see how god can uh could pull this off in terms of the how
00:12:15 referencing i don't know how this is possible aka i don't know if god can do it no her question of
00:12:23 how has to do with not is god capable of the end of his promise fulfilling the end of his promise
00:12:30 but her question of how is in regards to what particular means will he use to bring about the
00:12:37 end of his promise mary is not doubting whether or not god can pull it off when she asks how can
00:12:43 this be she's literally asking she's not saying it cannot be or i don't think it can be she's saying
00:12:50 essentially it will be because the lord has spoken but i'm a virgin and practically from just a
00:12:58 scientific perspective here i'm just wondering how that's going to work right that's very different
00:13:05 than zachariah that's very different than other individuals it's different than sarah abraham's
00:13:11 wife who laughs she laughs at the promise that she would bear a son in her old age that's that's
00:13:20 that wasn't i don't know how god can bring this about but i'm sure he will that was i'm doubting
00:13:26 whether or not he can bring this about that's the difference and so from the very first verse of our
00:13:31 text Joshua I do not believe is doubting the promise of God in terms of the end result Jericho
00:13:39 will be conquered the land of Canaan will be given as a promise to God's people as an inheritance
00:13:45 but rather he's sending out these two spies because he knows God's going to bring it about
00:13:51 but he doesn't know what means by which god will bring it about and he knows that he's going to
00:13:56 have to do something he's it's not just that god is going to bring it about without any participation
00:14:02 from his people that his people will have to step out in faith it won't just be sitting on the other
00:14:09 side of the jordan believing and trusting and hoping and wishing they're going in faith faith
00:14:15 brings about it necessitates action true faith is living faith and living faith works it is a
00:14:24 working faith now we are not saved by faith plus works we are saved by faith alone but the true
00:14:31 faith that actually saves produces both salvation and works the simplest way i can explain it is
00:14:38 like this think of it as a simple um arithmetic addition mathematic equation it is not faith plus
00:14:47 works equals god coming through with his promise aka salvation it is not faith plus works equals
00:14:54 salvation it is faith equals salvation plus works do you see the difference it is not faith plus
00:15:03 works gets you salvation no it is faith alone but as luther once said a faith that is truly alone
00:15:12 a true saving faith it is faith alone that saves but true faith is never alone faith alone saves
00:15:19 but true faith is never alone so it's not faith plus works equal salvation that's a heresy that
00:15:26 is uh the heresy of legalism proper that's that's the galatian heresy adding works to the flesh
00:15:33 to faith what you have begun by the spirit you now seek to perfect by works as done unto the
00:15:40 by the flesh that is that is to insult the sufficiency of christ to say that what christ
00:15:47 did is pretty good it's a great start but but it's not enough right at the end of the day god
00:15:54 fulfilling his promise is is really a beautiful picture of teamwork makes the dream work you know
00:16:00 jesus really did a lot but man when i came in there also and we teamed up me and jesus we got
00:16:08 it done that's a heresy that's a joke it's like you laughed great response you've been discipled
00:16:14 well if i do say so myself laughter is the proper response right it's laughable however here's where
00:16:21 evangelicals today miss it the problem with evangelicalism today is not that it is in great
00:16:27 danger of legalism the problem with evangelicalism today is that it hates god's law it is antinomia
00:16:36 even with the whole christian nationalist thing i'm convinced even dear brothers
00:16:42 not saying they're not saved not saying they're false teachers i think they're confused i've been
00:16:47 confused i'm sure i'm still confused about things and if i knew what they were then i probably want
00:16:52 to be confused that's how confusion works right so i'm confused about things other dear brothers
00:16:57 are confused about things doesn't make them heretics doesn't make them not brothers but i
00:17:01 have a sneaking suspicion that when you get down to the bottom and this is speculation and i'll own
00:17:06 that right man looks at the outward appearance god alone sees the heart i'm speculating about
00:17:11 motives here and i could be wrong so let me give that disclaimer but i have a sneaking suspicion
00:17:15 that even with some of the dearest brothers that i know faithful men that the aversion towards
00:17:23 having a christian nation is somehow tied to an aversion towards god's law at the end of the day
00:17:31 they just don't like god's law or at the end of the day they're at least somewhat ashamed of god's
00:17:37 law and we like most of god's law we like the second table of god's law commandments number
00:17:43 five through ten we'll take that love your neighbor we'll we'll we'll run that play as
00:17:51 evangelicals back and forth all day for three years for, you know, the whole Branch Covidian
00:17:56 thing, you know, love your neighbor, love your neighbor, love your neighbor, love your neighbor.
00:18:00 We'll proudly champion some of God's law. But the moment we start talking about
00:18:05 Sabbatarian laws, which is not crazy, that was in our nation. We're not talking about a hypothetical
00:18:13 situation that's never been done. We're talking about our own nation's recent history. But the
00:18:19 moment you start talking about the sabbath you're like well we would never do that's extreme we're
00:18:24 not extreme we're not we're not those extreme christians like what extreme you mean every
00:18:30 single christian there's ever been until 15 minutes ago they were all sabbatarian
00:18:36 the extreme christians you mean the puritans but you hosted the puritan conference
00:18:43 let's think about that for a second who are you calling extreme
00:18:49 blasphemy laws are extreme we already have them it's not whether but which
00:18:56 there will always be in any nation a god every nation is theocratic every nation has a god
00:19:05 it's either a pagan god the state as god or the triune god and based on their god a theocracy
00:19:15 that's, for the record, that's not an ecclesiocracy. An ecclesiocracy is a conflation of two independent
00:19:23 autonomous sovereign spheres, namely church and state. Ecclesiocracy seeks to blend those two,
00:19:29 conflate them together. That is not biblical. That's not what anyone is arguing for. An
00:19:34 ecclesiocracy would be a church-run state. A theocracy is a God-run state. Separation of church 0.76
00:19:42 and state amen the scepter was given to judah and the priesthood to levi even in the first book of
00:19:51 the bible we see god separating designating separately these duties of church and state
00:19:58 civil rulership judah the scepter given to them and the priestly functions the church given to
00:20:04 levi the separation of church and state is perfectly biblical and i advocate for it strongly
00:20:10 but brothers and sisters there is night and day difference between the separation of church and
00:20:15 state and the separation of christ and state every state every nation every government
00:20:25 is theocratic ecclesiocracy no thank you no protestant pope theocracy it's not whether but
00:20:35 which you have no choice in the matter it will be theocratic we currently our nation has a god
00:20:43 and the particular god that we have with whatever god you have that god will have
00:20:48 a corresponding orthodoxy and anything outside of that orthodoxy which is set by your god
00:20:56 anything outside of that is what you would consider blasphemy so there are certain things
00:21:02 you cannot say because it's not keeping in step with the reigning orthodoxy which has been set
00:21:09 by that nation's designated god not whether but which they have a god now with that not only does
00:21:16 the god then dictate orthodoxy everything outside of that being blasphemy but also all religions
00:21:23 and atheism is a religion secular humanism is a religion darwinism is a religion and it takes far
00:21:30 more nonsensical illogical faith to believe those false religions than it does to believe the true
00:21:38 christian religion but every religion not only does it have a god an orthodoxy outside of
00:21:43 orthodoxy therefore being blasphemy but they also have sacraments our nation currently the sacraments
00:21:51 is the blood of babies and the murder of 65 million plus children and it's far more than that 0.53
00:22:00 and another sacrament is a sexual revolution perversion
00:22:07 now we often make the correlation with planned parenthood to
00:22:14 molek a false god child sacrifice but another correlation that's a helpful one
00:22:23 that Gerhardus Vos talks about
00:22:27 is the Asherah poles. 0.88
00:22:31 Molech, child sacrifice, think abortion. 0.99
00:22:34 The Asherah poles were once fruitful trees. 0.97
00:22:39 Trees have branches.
00:22:42 But the Asherah poles were stripped of their branches 1.00
00:22:46 down to a naked bare pole.
00:22:49 The branches and their ability to be fruitful is dismantled.
00:22:56 They become lifeless, fruitless, androgynous. 0.99
00:23:04 Molech, abortion. 1.00
00:23:07 Asherah, transgenderism. 1.00
00:23:11 Sexual mutilation. 1.00
00:23:14 All fruitfulness ripped away. 0.92
00:23:17 a shell of a person a pole where a tree once stood
00:23:23 we have sacraments not whether but which we have orthodoxy not whether but which we have blasphemy
00:23:32 laws not whether but which because we have a god not just a private god for private individuals in
00:23:40 their private lives. But there is always a public God of every public nation. They're all theocratic.
00:23:48 Not whether, but which. Greg Bonson had an old speech, and a portion of that, about two and a
00:23:59 half minutes long, has circulated and gone viral on the internet several times over the last few
00:24:05 decades. But it's him responding to Westminster Escondido, which is a Presbyterian seminary
00:24:11 known for their radical two-kingdom theology. Very pietistic. Everything is private. No public
00:24:21 Christianity. And he's responding to them right after they tried to essentially silence him and 0.56
00:24:29 fire him and remove him and dismiss him and humiliate him for his stance on Christian ethics,
00:24:34 general equity theonomy theonomy simply being a word for god's law and in this clip i can't
00:24:43 repeat it for you verbatim but essentially what he says is this he says we have millions of
00:24:51 children being murdered in the womb and you're concerned about theonomy you have to lock your
00:24:58 windows at night, and you're concerned about theonomy? Children are being shot in schools,
00:25:07 and you're worried about theonomy? Sodomy is being publicly praised in the streets of our nation,
00:25:16 and you're concerned and worried about theonomy. Brothers and sisters, this was 20, 30 years ago.
00:25:23 what do you think bonson would say today do you know why churches like ours are growing
00:25:31 do you know why people signed up and sold out six months in advance the theonomy
00:25:38 and post-millennialism conference do you know why christian nationalism was trending
00:25:45 on google two days ago partly because of my twitter account that's part of it
00:25:52 I certainly helped to get into that spot.
00:25:55 But beyond just my own personal obsession,
00:25:59 you know why these things are on the rise?
00:26:02 People are considered?
00:26:04 Because the world has gone insane.
00:26:10 Bonson was a prophet.
00:26:11 North, Gary North, R.J. Rushduni.
00:26:14 These guys, they were prophets.
00:26:17 And they did amazing things in their lifetime.
00:26:20 Amazing theological work.
00:26:22 And an amazing practical faithfulness and obedience.
00:26:25 Rushduni did so much when it comes to private Christian education,
00:26:29 so much in the legal sphere, so much was done by these guys.
00:26:34 But ultimately, the evangelical church dismissed their message.
00:26:40 And I think in part because they were prophets.
00:26:45 The prophets always are killed.
00:26:47 And here's the thing, the prophets aren't killed by the enemies of God.
00:26:51 They're killed by God's people. Israel kills the prophets. And today, the evangelical church kills 0.80
00:26:57 the prophets. But why are these ideas back on the rise? Why are people now willing to give it a
00:27:03 second consideration? Because it's not whether but which. And when the world loses its mind,
00:27:10 and people are genuinely afraid, and rightfully so, for the safety of their children and their
00:27:16 grandchildren then all of a sudden considering maybe god's law is not a horrible idea
00:27:23 all of a sudden people are maybe a little bit more open to that a little bit more open
00:27:30 all that back to joshua all that back to the how means versus end there were individuals
00:27:40 throughout the scripture who doubted the end whether or not god could actually fulfill his
00:27:46 promise but there are others who merely just were questioning not from a place of pride or a place
00:27:54 of unbelief but merely questioning how will you pull this off i know you will but how and i think
00:28:01 that's what we're seeing in the very first verse of our text using matthew henry using john gill
00:28:07 other commentaries that i explored this week in preparation for the sermon today
00:28:11 they would agree the secrecy is in regards to israel not in regards to the inhabitants of jericho 0.84
00:28:18 that would be redundant that would be unnecessary they're spies of course they need to be secret 0.60
00:28:23 but what's unique is that joshua is saying they should be secret as they go to spy out this land
00:28:30 in regards to not being detected by their own people because joshua as a good leader doesn't
00:28:36 want the people of israel to think even for a moment that he as now the recent successor of
00:28:42 moses their new leader that he is distrusting of the promises given through moses that they would
00:28:49 in fact inherit the land joshua is simply thinking not can god do it but how will god do it because
00:28:57 walking around the city and shouting had not yet occurred to him which is pretty fair
00:29:05 it would not have occurred to me i i sit here in my position of of being above the story seeing the
00:29:13 end and looking at it from you know being able to see the force not just individual trees you and i
00:29:18 we have the whole story so like joshua what's wrong with you you don't need spies everyone
00:29:24 knows the way you take down a city as you walk right maybe do a little shouting and if you have 0.82
00:29:32 some shofars, you go ahead and, you know, you let those bad boys blow. We know that. It's pretty 1.00
00:29:40 understandable that Joshua did not. But good leaders, back to the first point here, good leaders
00:29:46 don't scare those who are following them. They are diligent and careful not to display any sense
00:29:54 of cowardice they they have faces of flint
00:29:59 as we saw last week i use the quote from king loon the king of arch and land and the horse and
00:30:08 his boy the narnia series he says for this is what it means to be king to be first in every desperate
00:30:16 attack, to be last in every desperate retreat. And when there are hard times in the land,
00:30:25 as there are sure to be in some years, to dress in finer clothes and laugh more loudly over a
00:30:35 scanty meal than any other man in the kingdom. That's what it means to be king. Kings fight,
00:30:44 they feast and they laugh we don't want to be fearful warriors we do not want to be jaded
00:30:55 warriors angry warriors we want to be jovial warriors laughing warriors
00:31:05 jericho the hearts of the people melted like wax
00:31:14 because they knew that they had the advantage position the high ground fortification artillery
00:31:24 plans of defense but israel had the lord the lord is on our side if god be with us
00:31:36 who can be against us which brings us to our second point fear is not only a sin
00:31:44 biblically speaking fear especially in a corporate sense when a group of people not just an
00:31:52 individual, but a group of people, a nation, a culture, a community, when fear falls upon them.
00:31:59 Not only is fear in biblical terms a sin, but it's a curse. Fear is a sign that a people has
00:32:07 been corporately placed by God under judgment. In your notes, I've written this. In verse 9 of our
00:32:15 text Rahab says the fear of you has fallen upon us and that all the inhabitants of the land melt
00:32:23 away before you and again in verse 11 of our text Rahab says and as soon as we heard it heard what
00:32:30 the context is that you pass through the Red Sea that God supernaturally caused it to part and open
00:32:37 up as dry land and that you devoted to destruction and conquered and overcame the two kings
00:32:45 to other tribes of the Amorites. 0.99
00:32:48 You've already conquered. 0.97
00:32:50 So you've been given supernatural power
00:32:53 and provision by God to cross through seas
00:32:57 and not only to cross through seas,
00:33:00 but to conquer kings.
00:33:02 And the news of it, when we heard it, she says,
00:33:05 as soon as we heard it, our hearts melted
00:33:07 and there was no spirit left in any man because of you. 0.97
00:33:13 one of the chief evidences which caused Rahab to be convinced that her people were the bad guys
00:33:20 right have you ever seen like you know that are we the baddies you know like like third
00:33:27 like are we the bad guys right one way that you can tell are we the baddies are we the bad guys
00:33:32 one way you can tell is when you and all your people are afraid
00:33:35 we don't think of fear as being morally indicting it is we make certain allowances for fear
00:33:44 we deal much more compassionately with the sin of fear we don't like pride we won't tolerate pride
00:33:52 now to be fair we tolerate very much pride in ourselves but as c.s lewis once said pride is
00:33:59 one of the most difficult sins to see in yourself and perhaps the most helpful indicator to know
00:34:05 if you have pride yourself is to see how bothered you are by what you perceive as pride in others
00:34:11 right when a person is constantly going around and man i'm just concerned about this guy's
00:34:16 his his humility i'm just concerned about his pride this guy seems arrogant you know right
00:34:21 then and there that dude's really prideful the guy voicing the concern about everybody else's
00:34:26 humility that's the person who's really prideful essentially what he's saying you usually say that
00:34:30 about people when they're getting some notoriety, some sense of public recognition. I'm just
00:34:35 concerned that he stay humble. And what you're actually doing is you're confessing that if you
00:34:41 were getting that notoriety, you'd be an arrogant jerk. That's what you're actually doing. 1.00
00:34:47 You're not voicing a concern. You're actually voicing subconsciously a personal confession.
00:34:53 I wouldn't be able to handle that position. I'm so prideful. Right now, the only thing that keeps
00:34:59 me humble is that nobody knows me you know and what i've done and is cheering for me except for
00:35:04 my mom and in god's providence he'll keep it that way out of mercy and love for you because you're
00:35:12 arrogant you would not be able to handle status you would not be able to handle notoriety
00:35:18 who are you to judge another man's servant a wise man namely the holy spirit through the apostle 0.65
00:35:26 Paul once said. So all that being said, fear, right? We tolerate pride. That's how I got there.
00:35:34 We tolerate, or we don't tolerate pride in others. We tolerate it in ourselves, but there are certain
00:35:39 sins that we have very little compassion for. When we see pride and arrogance in someone else,
00:35:43 we have a great aversion towards it. It gets under our skin. We're not patient. We're not tolerant.
00:35:50 but one sin and it is brothers and sisters biblically defined objectively definitively
00:35:58 as sin is fear and we deal kindly and softly with fear the mortification of sin john owen
00:36:08 do not deal lightly with sin but many lashes not few lashes but we want to seek to mortify
00:36:17 the flesh. Romans 7, even for the Christian, I believe this is post-conversion Paul, 0.97
00:36:24 even for the Christian, sin still resides within the members of my being. But for the Christian, 0.95
00:36:30 he does not deal kindly with his sin. We don't seek to subdue our sin, manage our sin, 0.99
00:36:39 take captive and imprison and lock away our sin. Biblically speaking, we are commanded to kill
00:36:46 our sin and you cannot brothers and sisters ever kill the sin that you have not first by grace
00:36:55 and conviction of the spirit come to hate the only sin you will ever kill by grace
00:37:03 is the sin you have come to hate by grace and many of us do not hate the sin of fear
00:37:09 we deal kindly with that sin
00:37:14 we write up treaties with that sin
00:37:19 rather than declaring war on that sin
00:37:23 fear is a sin
00:37:25 biblically how do we know this
00:37:28 a plethora of verses but i'll give you one
00:37:32 be anxious for nothing
00:37:34 but with prayer and supplication make your request known to god
00:37:39 how many times does the scripture say do not worry
00:37:44 not i see you're worrying that must be hard let's talk about it no stop it some of the best
00:37:56 biblical counsel that i've ever witnessed been given myself as i've needed it and given it to
00:38:02 others some of the best biblical counsel somebody comes in i've got this thing going this reoccurring
00:38:07 habit. I know that it's wrong. Some of the best biblical counsel I've ever heard is this. Stop it.
00:38:17 Stop it. Cut that out. But pastor, that's not gospel centered. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. Jesus died 0.98
00:38:27 for your sin. So stop it. That is how the Bible writes to us. Stop worrying. Do not worry about
00:38:39 tomorrow. Tomorrow will worry about itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. Stop it.
00:38:45 we tolerate the sin of fear but that's just half of the point that i'm making now
00:38:57 fear is not only categorized biblically as a sin but when fear comes upon a people
00:39:05 it is very often if not almost always a sign of not only a sin but a curse
00:39:14 that a people has fallen underneath god's corporate judgment 0.85
00:39:20 one of the chief evidences which caused rahab to be convinced that her people were the baddies
00:39:27 right that she would make concessions with the spies of israel that she would switch allegiances
00:39:34 from jericho which was an amorite city by the way so they've conquered the amorites we see that in
00:39:40 our text we heard how you conquered these two Amorite kings Jericho they were also Amorites
00:39:45 there were seven tribes pagan tribes in Canaan that had to be conquered and driven out one of
00:39:51 them were the Amorites but even within these seven tribes there were further subcategories of multiple
00:39:57 tribes within these tribes sub-tribes villages cities fortified capitals think of Nineveh for
00:40:04 instance. Nineveh was one of five capital cities of the Assyrians. Just one. Now it was a major
00:40:12 one. And so too, the same kind of concept, Jericho was a major fortified. It was a juggernaut.
00:40:20 It's not all the Amorites because they've already taken out two kings of the Amorites. But if you 0.79
00:40:26 take out Jericho, then essentially, effectively, the Amorites are finished. You'll still have to 1.00
00:40:34 drive them out right you'll still have to follow it up but that's the giant you slay the giant
00:40:41 and his people shudder his people retreat and then you run them down that's what happened with
00:40:52 david and goliath right when david cut off goliath's head and held it up with goliath's own
00:40:58 sword and fulfilled his promise to goliath that today i will feed your carcass to the birds
00:41:03 when david does this israel doesn't say and we're done but effectively it's done 0.58
00:41:09 they then go and strength comes back to israel they were under god's judgment they were trembling
00:41:16 their knees were shaking every day as goliath came out and taunted the people of god blaspheming god
00:41:22 mocking israel but david says who is this uncircumcised philistine that mocks the armies 0.65
00:41:29 of the living god i will serve up his head and his carcass to the birds and he does it and there's 0.67
00:41:37 still a ton of philistines that need to be taken out but all of a sudden the spirit comes back to 1.00
00:41:42 the philistines they're reinvigorated and they run them down same with jericho and the amorites 0.74
00:41:49 Most importantly, same with Jesus and the devil. 0.64
00:41:56 Jesus, in his earthly ministry, by his active obedience,
00:42:00 that is, fulfilling all righteousness in his life,
00:42:04 by his passive obedience, that is, his substitutionary death,
00:42:08 dying on the cross in my place,
00:42:11 not merely as a moral example of sacrificial love,
00:42:14 but dying as a propitiation,
00:42:16 as the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world,
00:42:19 by his active obedience and his full righteous life,
00:42:23 his passive obedience and his substitutionary death,
00:42:25 and his bodily resurrection,
00:42:28 that God would not let his Holy One see decay,
00:42:30 but rather rose him on the third day from the grave
00:42:33 and his glorious, majestic, conquering ascension
00:42:37 to the right hand of God, the Father Almighty,
00:42:40 where he is now sat down.
00:42:43 It is finished.
00:42:44 And one by one, his enemies subjected under his feet.
00:42:46 It's the same principle.
00:42:48 what jesus did by his life death resurrection and ascension is that he came to earth and he bound
00:42:55 the strong man now the strong man still has a lot of minions left in the world and the strong man
00:43:03 to make it plain speaking of satan woe to you o earth for the devil is cast down to you
00:43:10 the devil was cast down to the earth in a sense the earth became his house how
00:43:16 everything that happens happens in a covenantal framework god is creator of all including the
00:43:25 earth but god gave adam he gave him federal headship over the created world adam by his sin
00:43:34 transferred that headship his stewardship his dominion over the world to satan
00:43:41 but jesus came the second adam the last adam the better adam and he came and took it back
00:43:51 and he bound satan now listen satan is bound but he has not yet been cast into the lake of fire
00:43:58 you might think well but satan roars like like he prowls around like a roaring lion
00:44:03 seeking who he may devour and he's still in the business of devouring but there's a categorical
00:44:09 difference in real time real human history something happened 2 000 years ago namely
00:44:17 god took on flesh came to the world which the devil has been cast down to you and bound the
00:44:25 strong man and as jesus says in a parable you cannot go and plunder the house unless someone
00:44:31 first goes and binds the strong man then you plunder the goods so just like david binds the
00:44:37 strong man Goliath. Doesn't mean we're done, but now we run them down. The people of Israel go
00:44:42 and run down the rest of the Philistines. Just like Jericho, a juggernaut. You take it down, 1.00
00:44:48 there's still Amorites and six other tribes in the land of Canaan that must be driven out. 1.00
00:44:53 But there are heads, juggernauts, giants, dragons in the land. And when they're slain by the grace 1.00
00:45:01 of god empowering his people life comes back to the people of god the people who were previously
00:45:09 fearful previously shuddering previously unbelieving in god's promise now all of a sudden
00:45:18 there's still work to be done my point is the war isn't over but the people now have courage
00:45:24 to run to the battle.
00:45:27 There is a war happening right now,
00:45:30 a spiritual war with real cultural, political,
00:45:33 physical, tangible effects in this world.
00:45:38 People say, well, the culture war is not a thing.
00:45:40 That is so naive.
00:45:43 It's a spiritual war. 0.86
00:45:46 Why not both?
00:45:48 Yeah, it's a spiritual war.
00:45:50 But here's the thing about spiritual wars.
00:45:54 the spiritual war that's going on all around us that we can't see
00:46:00 guess what these spirits they actually care about the physical world
00:46:05 god cares because he made it for god so loved the world that he sent his only god cares about
00:46:14 the physical world you know who else does the devil in fact it's a spiritual war not a cultural
00:46:21 one. Nope, nope. It is a spiritual war, but with cultural, tangible elements, effects, because the
00:46:27 spirits that are warring care about the physical cosmos. There's only one entity I can think of
00:46:34 that doesn't. Evangelicals. God cares. Satan cares. Democrats care. The only people who seem to be 0.89
00:46:46 satisfied with not doing anything in any tangible practical sense is christians
00:46:52 but you didn't get that from the bible i'll tell you that
00:46:59 fear is a sin but fear is more than just a sin it's a sign of being under god's judgment
00:47:07 what convinced rahab that she was the baddie and needed to switch teams switch allegiance 0.64
00:47:15 to the good guys, namely the people of God, Israel, was that her people in every practical 0.59
00:47:22 capacity had the advantage position. They had the juggernaut city. They had the defense strategies.
00:47:33 Israel didn't even know the lay of the land. Hence, verse 1, Joshua sending out spies
00:47:38 to investigate the land. Jericho knows all the strategic advantage fortified positions.
00:47:45 they have more experience they have more knowledge they're on the defense israel has to come and 0.82
00:47:52 attack they have the fortified position they have the artillery their people won't be weary from a
00:47:59 journey but rather they'll be nourished and well provided with victuals at every level they have
00:48:07 the upper hand but there's one thing that clues rahab in in regards to the fact that jericho is
00:48:16 about to lose that her people have every single practical advantage and yet they're afraid
00:48:24 their hearts melted like wax and rahab rightly in humility and wisdom by the spirit of god
00:48:35 she rightly realizes this is supernatural fear this isn't just any ordinary fear this is
00:48:44 supernatural fear meaning it's irrational fear illogical fear it's a fear that makes no sense
00:48:52 the amorites were formidable warriors they had conquered plenty of people before and now all of 0.59
00:49:00 sudden a ragtag group of Israelites the previous slaves in Egypt they're going to march up on the 0.84
00:49:11 scene without the weapons without the supply without the provisions without the strength 0.92
00:49:17 without the rest it's not a threat and yet Jericho's afraid irrationally afraid it's a
00:49:29 supernatural fear that god placed upon them and rahab has the wisdom and humility by the grace of
00:49:36 god to recognize it we're the bad guys we're the ones under god's judgment i better switch
00:49:46 allegiances i better right now make concessions and she does and she does it by faith now to
00:49:55 apply this because you guys know i'm in the business of revelation interpretation application
00:50:01 i believe that's what good preaching is revelation not i have a dream not i have an idea not i have
00:50:08 a strategy but i have a text the revelation is the word of god interpretation exegeting the text
00:50:14 what does god mean by it but that's where most evangelicals stop in their preaching there is a
00:50:18 third and final step revelation interpretation application how does this meaning of this text
00:50:24 Holy Spirit-inspired text, apply to the people of God today.
00:50:28 Brothers and sisters, here's how it applies.
00:50:31 America is under God's judgment.
00:50:35 Let me give you a couple verses.
00:50:39 Deuteronomy 11.25.
00:50:42 This first is to show us that what Rahab is sensing about Jericho being fearful
00:50:47 is a fulfillment of what God had already promised through Moses.
00:50:51 Deuteronomy 11.25.
00:50:52 no one shall be able to stand against you the Lord your God will lay the fear of you and the
00:50:59 dread of you on all the land that you shall tread as he promised you so God already made this
00:51:06 promise not just the promise that that he would empower his people to conquer the inhabitants of
00:51:11 the land and give it to them as an inheritance but he also promised how he would do it at least
00:51:16 in a general sense one of the ways that God would do it is he would lay upon as a sign of his
00:51:20 judgment that destruction was coming he would lay upon them as a precursor a irrational illogical
00:51:28 supernatural fear god promised this through moses and now he's doing it in the day of joshua
00:51:37 but further than this this is how it applies to us today and other nations not merely ours
00:51:44 but particularly ours leviticus 26 verses 6 through 25 i will give peace in the land and you
00:51:53 shall lie down this is god's promise and covenant to israel and none shall make you afraid and i
00:52:01 will remove harmful beasts from the land and the sword shall not go through your land times of
00:52:06 Peace, plenty, prosperity.
00:52:10 You shall chase your enemies.
00:52:12 You'll still have enemies, but you'll dominate your enemies.
00:52:15 You shall chase your enemies, and they shall fall before you by the sword.
00:52:19 Five of you shall chase a hundred.
00:52:25 Again, notice, this is supernatural.
00:52:29 The word that we might use for it today,
00:52:32 in the dark web of evangelicalism, would be, it's a psyop.
00:52:35 like god is going to run a psyop on the enemies of israel they will be irrationally afraid five
00:52:42 israelites will be able to to chase a hundred of their enemies five shall chase a hundred and a
00:52:48 hundred of you shall chase ten thousand and your enemies shall fall before you by the sword
00:52:54 i will turn to you and make you fruitful and multiply you and will confirm my covenant with
00:53:00 you. Let's pause there for a second. Do you recognize that the exact opposite is happening
00:53:06 today? The exact opposite. Now, I suspect that sadly, because of the church's impotency
00:53:16 and faithlessness, that the numbers are far more even now. But there was a time in our
00:53:23 nation not that long ago where we had the upper hand but five caused a hundred evangelicals
00:53:31 to run god's promise is that that when we're faithful to him keeping steadfast covenant that
00:53:38 five of his people would cause a hundred of his enemies to flight and that a hundred of his people
00:53:44 would cause 10 000 to fly we have seen precisely the opposite in recent decades in our nation 0.90
00:53:50 precisely the opposite.
00:53:54 Oh, I don't want to offend.
00:53:57 Oh, this person criticized me.
00:54:02 I better dial it back.
00:54:04 I better tone it down.
00:54:08 There's a debate currently being waged
00:54:12 within evangelicalism,
00:54:14 and faithful brothers, I might add,
00:54:16 none of them heretics,
00:54:18 we disagree.
00:54:19 the disagreement matters but i do believe that by the grace of god we are on the same team
00:54:24 the debate if we were to boil it down a lot of it comes down to this simple question
00:54:29 revival or reformation if you prefer that term how will it come about how will jericho be defeated
00:54:38 will it be bottom up meaning more churches more planting more preaching more evangelism
00:54:47 and therefore by God's grace if he's pleased to do it more conversion and therefore more
00:54:53 regenerate hearts and with more regenerate hearts Christians being positioned with more authority
00:54:59 and stewardship in the land or that's one side of the debate the other side is will it be top
00:55:06 down and bottom up and for the record no one is holding the top down exclusive position
00:55:11 that's a mischaracterization but will it be both bottom up conversion preaching evangelism gospel
00:55:19 church planting families kids catechizing training up and and some christians in positions of
00:55:29 authority strategically in the civil magistrate ruling righteously both and for anyone who says 0.71
00:55:37 you can't do both, might I point your attention to the Sodomites, who in 40 years, with less than 0.78
00:55:46 3% of the population, effectively have traded the American flag for a rainbow. They got it done. 1.00
00:55:55 And they did not have the numbers, but they got it done.
00:55:59 five of them put a hundred of us to flight the very promise that god makes for his people
00:56:08 all of a sudden when his people are faithless works against us now we're the ones that the
00:56:15 psyop is being run on we're the ones now who are irrationally and illogically afraid we're the ones
00:56:23 running and i would say that that five causing a hundred to flight i don't think that's where
00:56:28 we're at today let me specify that i think today the numbers are much more even but i would say
00:56:34 that for the last 30 40 50 60 70 years that's where we were we actually had the numbers so when guys
00:56:43 say we just need more regenerate hearts i say yes and amen but we had it before and we didn't do
00:56:49 anything with it so we need regenerate hearts you know what we also need we need some good
00:56:55 sound doctrine we need regenerate hearts but we also need theologically informed minds
00:57:04 those regenerate hearts in pews in churches being trained and discipled by guys like Greg Bonson
00:57:11 who tried to warn us and was silenced and he wasn't silenced by liberals
00:57:18 he was silenced by Westminster Escondido Seminary
00:57:22 do not forget that so one of god's judgments even for his own people if we choose to be faithless
00:57:34 and yes i believe this applies the nation israel old covenant i believe this applies in a new
00:57:40 testament sense for the church for the church the church will be on the retreat if the church
00:57:47 is faithless the church will be irrationally fearful if the church is faithless
00:57:54 you get the point let's continue genesis 15 13 through 16 it's the last thing that i want you
00:58:03 to see in terms of nations now this is not about israel and so this principle is just as good you
00:58:10 can take it to the bank whether it's 2 000 years before calvary in terms of human history or 2 000
00:58:16 years after where we sit today. This is speaking of the Amorites, Jericho being an Amorite city.
00:58:25 And then the Lord said to Abraham, before Moses and Joshua were ever even born, know for certain
00:58:31 that your offspring will be sojourners in the land that is not theirs and will be servants there. 0.94
00:58:37 He's talking about slaves. He's talking about Egypt. And they will be afflicted for 400 years, 0.90
00:58:43 But I will bring judgment on the nation that they serve, that being Egypt, 0.97
00:58:48 and afterward, not just judgment on Egypt that enslaved Israel for 400 years, 0.98
00:58:53 but afterward, they shall come out with great possessions.
00:58:56 As for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace.
00:59:01 All this will happen after a lifetime.
00:59:02 You shall be buried in a good old age, and they shall come back here. 0.74
00:59:07 That is, your people, your descendants, Israel, 0.99
00:59:10 shall come back here to the land Abraham was already in. 0.94
00:59:12 abraham was already in the land of canaan they shall come back here when they're done with their 0.93
00:59:17 400 years of slavery in egypt i'll judge egypt but i'll also bring israel back here to the land 0.98
00:59:22 of canaan in the fourth generation for the iniquity of the amorites not just egypt is not yet complete 0.90
00:59:30 what god is saying is this 400 years your people you're going to die here in the land of canaan
00:59:35 abraham in a ripe old age and you'll have a life of peace but after you there's some things that 0.88
00:59:41 i'm going to bring about one of them will be that israel will be in captivity and slavery in egypt 0.77
00:59:46 for 400 years but then i will redeem them and when i redeem them i will judge their captors 0.90
00:59:52 egypt and i will resource israel by plundering their possessions but then i will bring israel 0.82
00:59:58 from that land of egypt that i have now judged after 400 years and i'll bring israel back to 0.92
01:00:03 where you're standing right now abraham the promised land where the amorites are remember
01:00:10 jericho amorite capital city i'll bring them back here and not only will i judge egypt to deliver
01:00:17 them i'll then judge the amorites and the canaanites in order to that they might inherit
01:00:23 the land but then he says this the reason one of the reasons that it will take 400 years
01:00:29 is because the iniquity of the amorites is not yet full god is slow to anger abounding in love
01:00:38 and relenting in sending disaster
01:00:41 for those who call upon his name and repent.
01:00:44 God is not a God who indefinitely tolerates evil.
01:00:49 And God is not a God who never gets angry.
01:00:51 But he is a God who gets appropriately angry
01:00:54 at the right time for the right things
01:00:56 in the right measure.
01:00:58 And God, because he is abundantly patient and kind,
01:01:01 his anger is slow.
01:01:04 But eventually, if a nation does not repent,
01:01:07 his anger is eventually poured out god judged the amorites and even in an old testament paradigm
01:01:15 before the cross of jesus christ you see the long suffering and patience of god
01:01:20 in a corporate nature with a nation tolerating them for 400 years that they might repent and
01:01:29 nineveh did but this particular nation the amorites god knew that they wanted and so for 0.97
01:01:36 400 years god was well within his rights to destroy them but he allowed them to build to 0.99
01:01:42 basically build god's list of justification for his judgment by fulfilling further and further
01:01:49 iniquity and then he judged them and that applies to all nations that is not a unique principle
01:01:58 applied to the covenant nation state of israel in the old testament that is a principle of corporate
01:02:05 judgment for all nations whether it's before the cross or after and no nation today is exempt
01:02:13 including ours right now the lord is allowing our nation to fill up its iniquity but he will judge
01:02:23 us we have been a superpower in many ways better than thinking of us as a nation we have functioned
01:02:31 as an empire, much like Rome.
01:02:37 But we're getting weak.
01:02:40 We're fracturing, imploding, dividing,
01:02:46 filling up our iniquity.
01:02:47 There was a time where American military
01:02:51 was feared throughout the world,
01:02:55 and still is at some level.
01:02:58 but i'm telling you that if america does not corporately repent and explicitly pledge its
01:03:06 allegiance to the triune christian god not just a conservative resurgence in principle
01:03:13 but a christian revival in person calling upon the person of jesus christ if that does not occur
01:03:22 it may be 40 more years it may be 400 but we will fill up our iniquity and one of the signs will be
01:03:31 that all of a sudden we who once were known as a christian nation and and would strike terror
01:03:38 and to other nations that did not fear the lord we all of a sudden will have a hundred of our
01:03:44 military on the run from five ten thousand from a hundred
01:03:50 god is not indefinitely tolerant he is slow to his anger but he does not possess no anger
01:03:59 i believe that the fearfulness of our nation right now not just its anger not just its division
01:04:07 not just the insanity but there is an underlining sense of dread
01:04:11 and that is not only a sin but a sign of a curse it symbolizes that corporately a nation has been 0.63
01:04:21 placed under god's judgment and like rahab it should drive us to make concessions now
01:04:29 and not just concessions with israel as rahab did but in the truest sense a rahab was making
01:04:36 concessions with god with god i would rather be with god against jericho than with jericho
01:04:46 against israel's god and so too let it begin with the church in america let us pave the way
01:04:54 for repentance we've got plenty of our own sin to repent for let us repent not just turning back to
01:05:02 more conservative principles not just trying to get back to the 80s but actually calling upon
01:05:07 jesus by name and demanding that the state do the same that caesar is a servant and that there is a
01:05:16 god above him the state is not god christ is god and that we must call upon him and repent of our
01:05:25 sin make concessions now with the lord of hosts who alone is mighty to save and who is merciful
01:05:34 relenting from sending disaster and here we have our final point that in this chapter we see a
01:05:43 beautiful foreshadowing of the gospel the final verse in our text says this then she sent them
01:05:51 away that being the israelite spines and they departed and she tied the scarlet cord in the
01:05:57 window rahab entered into a covenant with the nation of israel and their god through faith
01:06:04 alone however there was no delay catch this church three minutes and i'm done there was no
01:06:11 delay between rahab's inward faith and her immediate outward obedience she believed and
01:06:18 then immediately obeyed by participating in the covenant sign. In and of itself, this scarlet thread
01:06:25 hung from her window was seemingly insignificant, but as a sign of the promise, it was saving.
01:06:34 Insofar as it symbolized the promise, inward trust in Yahweh and his covenant, this thread
01:06:41 saved her and her household this was a small sign of obedience yet it was a visible sign
01:06:49 the scarlet thread did not point inward to her own people jericho her natural kin according to
01:06:57 the flesh but instead it pointed outside the city walls not towards her kin according to the flesh
01:07:04 but towards the people of God, her true kin, according to the promise. John Gill, the late
01:07:12 great Baptist theologian, in commentating on this very point and this very text, says the following,
01:07:18 now as Rahab was an instance of the salvation of sinners by the grace of God, for she was a sinner 0.94
01:07:26 by birth, by practice, and a notorious one, a prostitute. She was an instance of distinguishing 0.71
01:07:34 grace a free and efficacious grace a singular instance of it and became a true penitent that
01:07:42 is repentant and real believer she was justified a justified person and saved so the scarlet thread
01:07:51 therefore signified an emblem of the blood of christ we are not saved by works and we are not
01:08:01 saved by outward signs of the covenant we are saved by grace alone through faith alone in christ
01:08:07 alone but in so far as covenantal signs as a scarlet thread or as your public baptism in so
01:08:16 far as they truly represent inward faith then you bet your bottom dollar baptism saves that scarlet
01:08:23 thread saved rahab and her whole household it could not save them apart from faith it only saved
01:08:30 them insofar as it outwardly represented faith and so it is with us we serve a covenant god
01:08:38 and we enter into that covenant by faith alone but with that covenant come signs and seals
01:08:46 and these seals do not point inward to our natural kin according to the flesh fellow sinners from
01:08:53 whom we are leaving but it points outward it points outward to the people of god our kin
01:09:00 according to the promise by the spirit but not just outward to the church to god's people but
01:09:06 the sign of baptism the sign of the lord's supper that we're about to partake in now
01:09:11 these covenantal signs just as the sign of the scarlet thread with rahab first and foremost
01:09:17 doesn't merely point outward to god's people but outward to the heavens to god himself it reminds
01:09:23 God of his promise just as he set his bow in the sky remembering his covenant never to flood the
01:09:30 earth again after the days of Noah so too in our baptism immersed in water reminds God the God of
01:09:39 heaven that we as Noah was sealed up in the ark which is Christ that we have passed safely through
01:09:46 the waters of God's judgment and that Christ suffered God's judgment for our sin and that his
01:09:52 wrath no longer remains for us let's pray father god thank you for your word bless it to your people
01:09:59 and bring great glory to yourself in jesus name amen can i be frank with you for just a second
01:10:06 right here at the end look some of you guys you're financially supporting this ministry
01:10:11 and from the bottom of my heart i say thank you i cannot thank you enough however some of you
01:10:18 you just you can't afford it in fact some of you you shouldn't afford it let's be honest i mean
01:10:25 we're living in joe biden's ridiculous economy our nation and our totalitarian political elites
01:10:33 lost their minds over the last three years due to covet we have written checks that we simply
01:10:41 cannot cash it doesn't matter if people change the definition of a recession we are living in
01:10:47 a recession right now regardless. Some of you are struggling to afford a carton of eggs at the
01:10:54 grocery store. You cannot support financially this ministry at this time nor should you but you could
01:11:02 still help us tremendously. I am asking you please if you're willing to do so take one minute of your
01:11:09 time. Leave us a five-star review on your favorite podcast platform iTunes, Spotify, whatever that
01:11:16 might be, this is the way the system works. We want to be innocent as doves, but shrewd as vipers.
01:11:23 We need to be strategic. You leave us a five-star review, and our podcast shows up for more people.
01:11:31 And the Word of God and courageous theology applied in practical ways to every realm of life
01:11:38 gets out there. Help us get it out there. Thanks for tuning in.
01:11:46 You