Sharon Reformed Presbyterian Church · Sermon study sheet

An Unlikely Convert

Bryan Schneider · January 8, 2022

Joshua 2

sharonrpc.org/sermons/an-unlikely-convert

Summary

Joshua's spies enter Jericho and lodge in Rahab's house, a setting that provides cover but leaves them exposed when the king learns their identity.
Rahab hides the spies and misdirects the king's men; the sermon acknowledges her lie without making the passage's central message an abstract defense of deception.
As a new believer with little knowledge of God's law, Rahab acts imperfectly, reminding the church to show patience while converts learn obedience.
Rahab confesses that Yahweh alone is God in heaven and earth, rejecting the gods of her Canaanite upbringing after hearing of the exodus and Israel's victories.
Saving faith does not stop at accurate information: Rahab seeks refuge from coming judgment and asks covenant mercy for herself and her household.
The spies pledge protection, and the scarlet cord marks the household that must gather inside when Jericho falls.
Hebrews and James remember Rahab for living faith shown in receiving and protecting the messengers, while God's grace continues to sanctify her beyond her former life.
God brings this socially marginalized Canaanite woman into Israel and into the ancestry of Jesus Christ, displaying grace to unlikely sinners and confidence in his worldwide mission.

Why is Rahab's house a plausible location for the spies without implying that they share her former vocation?
How does the sermon acknowledge Rahab's lie while keeping the narrative's main emphasis in view?
Why should mature believers exercise patience toward converts who do not yet understand every ethical implication of faith?
What does Rahab reject and confess when she declares Yahweh God of heaven and earth?
Why is knowledge of God's acts insufficient without seeking refuge in his mercy?
What obligations and signs belong to the oath between Rahab and the spies?
How do Hebrews 11 and James 2 interpret Rahab's actions?
How can the church be both a hospital for sinners and a place of real spiritual rehabilitation?
What does Rahab's place in Christ's genealogy reveal about divine grace and social status?
Whom might you wrongly consider too disreputable or unlikely to be called by Christ?

Rahab: A Canaanite woman in Jericho whose former life included prostitution and whom Scripture remembers for faith and welcome of the spies.
Conversion: The Spirit-wrought turning from false gods and sin to embrace the living God and seek refuge in his mercy.
Confession of faith: Rahab's declaration that Yahweh is God in heaven above and earth beneath, with no rival deity beside him.
Saving refuge: Faith's active flight from deserved judgment to the mercy and protection God provides.
Covenant oath: The solemn promise between Rahab and the spies defining protection, secrecy, the sign, and the gathered household.
Scarlet cord: The visible sign in Rahab's window identifying the household to be spared, without functioning as magical protection.
Living faith: Trust in God that produces action and good works rather than remaining an inactive profession.
Sanctification: God's continuing work of making a justified sinner holy, so grace welcomes broken people without leaving them unchanged.