Salvation by Grace Through Faith at Jericho

“The Lord said to Joshua, ‘See, I have given Jericho into your hand, with its king and the valiant warriors. You shall march around the city, all the men of war circling the city once. You shall do so for six days” (Josh. 6:2-3). “Chapter 6 of the Book of Joshua celebrates the most outstanding instance of God’s ‘giving’ of the land of Israel. God always has a better plan. The fall of Jericho would be an act of faith (Heb 11:30) as well as an act of God” (The Books Of History, Smith, p. 68-69).

One of the BIGGEST MISCONCEPTIONS of people of faith is that obedience contradicts God’s salvation by grace; this is a FALSE IDEA. Please consider the following truths:

· Jericho was a GIFT of God’s grace. Joshua said so repeatedly. “Joshua said to the people, ‘Shout! For the Lord has given you the city’” (Jos. 6:16b). Without God’s direct intervention via a miracle, the walls of Jericho would have remained intact. “The Lord said, ‘You crossed the Jordan and came to Jericho; and the citizens of Jericho fought against you, and the Amorite and the Perizzite and the Canaanite and the Hittite and the Girgashite, the Hivite and the Jebusite. Thus I gave them into your hand” (Jos. 24:11). God not only felled the walls of Jericho, but He also empowered the Israelite army to defeat the Jericho resistance in the battle. “They utterly destroyed everything in the city, both man and woman, young and old, and ox and sheep and donkey, with the edge of the sword” (Jos. 6:21).

· God required Israel to DO SOMETHING to receive His gift of grace. The Israelite fighting men had to march around the walls once per day for six days. Seven priests carried seven trumpets preceding the ark of the covenant. On the seventh day, they were required by God to march around the walls seven times; the priests were required to give a long blast on the trumpets, then the people of Israel were required to shout. When they completed their obedience, the walls fell. The number seven in the Bible represents completeness. It “is obviously symbolical, recalling God’s works of creation” (The Books Of History, Smith, p. 69). If Israel had not OBEYED what God said TO DO, the walls would not have fallen.

· Marching around the walls of Jericho for a total of thirteen times in seven days did not earn the victory in Jericho for Israel. Their obedience was proof of their faith that God would respond as He promised. “By faith the walls of Jericho fell after they had been encircled for seven days” (Heb. 11:30). Did any Israelite say after thirteen revolutions around the walls, and upon their subsequent fall, “We earned that—we worked for it?” No. God did it! However, without their obedience, God would not have responded. There is no contradiction between God’s gifts of grace and human obedience to receive them.

· The New Testament teaches that salvation in Christ is a gift of God’s grace; it cannot be earned. Paul said, “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.

Eph. 2:8-9). Salvation IS divine welfare. The old hymn Rock of Ages says it well: “Nothing in my hand I bring, simply to Thy cross I cling.” The only acceptable answer you can give as to why you will go to heaven is because you are in God’s divine welfare program.

· THERE IS NO CONTRADICTION BETWEEN SALVATION BY GRACE AND OBEDIENCE TO RECEIVE HIS GRACE (see Jericho). Obeying God’s gospel commands of faith (John 8:24), repentance from sin (Luke 13:3,5), confession of faith (Acts 8:37), and baptism (Mark 16:16) is NOT the same thing as trying to be justified by works of law (Rom. 3:28). “None of these can be called ‘a work of law,’ since none is required of us merely as creatures” (The Faith Once For All, Cottrell, p. 372). Gospel commands “are the instructions addressed to human beings as sinners by God as our Redeemer, when he tells us what to do to receive salvation” (Is Baptism The First Step Of Obedience, Jackcottrell.com).

Obeying works of law as creatures of God does not save (Romans 3:20), but obeying gospel commands does save. “For it is time for judgment to begin with the household of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God” (1 Pet. 4:17). The gospel is something to be obeyed. In that great grace book of Romans, Paul said, “However, they did not all heed the good news; for Isaiah says, ‘Lord, who has believed our report’” (Rom. 10:16). To heed is to obey.

· If you have read this far, you have learned that DOING SOMETHING does NOT equal salvation by works/law keeping. After all, on the day of Pentecost, the Jews asked Peter and the apostles this question, “Brothers, what shall we DO” (Acts 2:37)? Peter did NOT say, “Don’t you know there is nothing you can do?” He said, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38). This is our “spiritual Jericho!”

· The chart below is taken from The Books Of History by James E. Smith, p. 70. It is a valid comparison of God’s gift of Jericho to the Israelites and His gift of salvation in the new covenant.