The men said to her, “We shall be free from this oath to you which you have made us swear, unless, when we come into the land, you tie this cord of scarlet thread in the window through which you let us down, and gather to yourself into the house your father and your mother and your brothers and all your father’s household.

Joshua 2:17-18

The context of this verse is the day that the generation of Joshua would take the Promised Land… well part of it anyway. They never were obedient long enough to obtain it all… that is for a day yet to come… yet coming quickly. Israel spies were sent into the city to scope out the scene. The word got out that they were in town and they were needing a place to hide.

Rahab, a harlot of the city, had heard about the God of these men. She had heard about what happened in Egypt. She had heard about the Amorites. She had heard and she was responding. She not only was responding she was taking action… she was grasping hold of these men and was saying… you want my help, tell me about your God. She reminds me of Jacob as he grasped hold of the angel of the Lord and said I will not let you go until you bless me!

However these men were not the angel of the Lord… they could not be sure of this woman’s motive, her allegiance, her confidence, or her heart. So they attached a way out this oath. She would have to hang this scarlet cord in her window so that they would know she she believed them. Grace was offered her… but there was something she needed to do in response to that grace.

When God made the call to flood the earth in order to destroy those who had so corrupted it… He offered grace to Noah. Destruction was coming. That was a fact, however, God let Noah in on its coming. Not only did He bring Noah knowledge of its coming, He informed him of a way to be delivered through the destruction… but Noah had to do something. Noah had to respond to the extended grace… the unmerited favor of God.

God did not owe Noah a thing… he was a man born in sin like the rest of us… we see the effects of it right after he got off the ark and was found drunk and naked. Yet God offered him grace anyway.

However, had Noah not built the ark… he would have perished with the rest of mankind, his family with him. Just knowing about the judgement to come… just knowing about the way to be saved… just knowing was not enough. Response was required. Obedience was required. Noah had to put his God given knowledge and grace into action.

Likewise Rahab had been given knowledge that the city would be destroyed. She had also been offered grace, a way to be saved in the midst of the destruction. Had Rahab not have taken these men at their word, had she not hung the scarlet thread in the window, she would have perished with the rest of the city, her family with her.

Jumping straight into a New Testament “unless” by the mouth of Jesus Himself…

“For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven” Matthew 5:20

The Pharisees had all the knowledge of the Scriptures. The Pharisees all knew the words of God that taught of the coming of the kingdom of heaven. They knew the Scriptures, since childhood, that were given to them to lead them to salvation. They also knew the coming destruction of this earth, as it has clearly been revealed to us through the prophets of old…

and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.

2 Timothy 3:15

…but just knowing is not enough.

But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Therefore bear fruit in keeping with repentance;

Matthew 3:7-8

God continues to tell us that the days of this world are about to end. Destruction is coming. God’s wrath will one day fall on this world. He will indeed stand and defeat the powers of hell and the spiritual forces of darkness. This epic battle is between Him and the evil one and the evil one is going down… in this battle the heavens and the earth will not survive… all will perish including all of mankind that remains.

However, God has given us knowledge of His coming wrath, though He owes us nothing. He has given us knowledge and He has told us what we must do to be saved from it. Not only has He told us what to do… He did all that was needed for it. He has doubly extended His grace to us in this day. He has sent His Son to earth to die on a cross for our sin, that we might be saved in Him… and all He asks is that we take Him at His Word and believe.

Yet here is the kicker.

Real belief is always followed by obedience to that which you believe… not just immediate obedience, but continued obedience.

Foreigners pretend obedience to me;
As soon as they hear, they obey me.
“Foreigners lose heart,
And come trembling out of their fortresses.

2 Samuel 22:45-46

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Those who hate the Lord would pretend obedience to Him,

And their time of punishment would be forever.

Psalm 81:15

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And although you were formerly alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds, yet He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach— if indeed you continue in the faith firmly established and steadfast, and not moved away from the hope of the gospel that you have heard, which was proclaimed in all creation under heaven

Colossians 1:21-23

So what should knowledge + grace = ?

Knowledge + Grace should = Obedience, which always leads to Salvation.

So Knowledge + Grace + Obedience = Salvation

We see this through Noah, through Rahab, and we see it in the words of our Christ over and over again… but just think, beloved, Noah had to build an ark for he and his household to be saved… Rahab had to hang a scarlet cord for her and her household to be saved… all we have to do is believe.

And he called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he fell down before Paul and Silas, and after he brought them out, he said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” They said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.”

 Acts 16:29-31

Take some time today to read through Matthew 7:7-27. It’s a hard word, but it is solid and true. I don’t know about you, but I would much rather prefer that I get “real” with my Jesus on this side of eternity… Ask Him to reveal to you the condition of your heart, the condition of your mind, the condition of your soul.

Ask and seek and you will find… He promised.  —submitted by Nicole Vaughn, Proven Path Ministries, US