God’s grace is a gift given to you, and you are declared righteous because of your faith not from anything you did yourself.
“For it is by grace you are saved through faith – and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God”.
Ephesians 2:8
This grace is given to you through the redemptive blood of Jesus which blots out your sins and brings you back into a right relationship with God. God’s gift of grace allows you to become a new person.
“This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!”
2 Corinthians 5:17, NLT
Rahab’s Example
A good example of this is through the story of Rahab, in the book of Joshua, Chapters 2 and 6.
Joshua had sent two spies to the city of Jericho to get a sense of its power. When they got there, they went to the house of Rahab the prostitute. When the King heard of their arrival, he sent his men to capture them. Rahab lured the King’s men away while the spies hid on the roof under some bundles of flax.
After they left Rahab went up and spoke to the spies. She told them she knew they were coming to take over the land and how everyone was afraid. She explained how they heard everything the Lord did for the Israelites from leading them through the Red Sea to conquering the Amorite Kings, and so they were afraid to fight.
“No wonder our hearts have melted in fear! No one has the courage to fight after hearing such things. For the Lord your God is the supreme God of the heavens above and the earth below”.
Joshua 2:11
No doubt everything Rahab heard made her believe in the God of the Israelites, which was why she chose to help the spies. It was at great risk to her because essentially, she was committing treason an act punishable by death. But her fear of the Lord was greater than the fear of the King of Jericho.
Rahab Receives Grace
Rahab and the spies made a deal that once she did not tell anyone what they were about, they would spare her life and those of her family. And sure enough when Joshua and his army conquered Jericho, they kept that promise. Beginning a new life among the Israelites, she became the wife of one the spies and is named in the genealogy of Jesus our Saviour (Matthew 1:5). That is grace in action.
In the bible she is always referred to as “Rahab the prostitute”. (See Joshua 2:1, Joshua 6:17, Joshua 6:25, Hebrews 11:31, and James 2:25). It’s as though a stigma was attached to her name, but this is testimony of how God’s grace works because regardless of who she was, her life was transformed and she became a part of God’s people. Her faith made her righteous before God.
One lesson we can learn from the story of Rahab is that even though we cannot earn God’s grace, we can use His grace to glorify Him by showing kindness to others.
Reflect and Respond
How has God shown you grace? In what ways can you extend grace to others? Record in your journal and write a prayer of thanks.
