“In the same way was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works, when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? Just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead” (James 2:25–26).
I find it interesting that James in his letter, illustrates true faith with someone like Rahab! She was a Gentile, a prostitute, a liar, and lived in the pagan city of Jericho.
Rahab knew very little about the true God, but what she knew, she believed, and what she believed, she acted on. She believed that God had led His people out of Egypt and defeated the Amorite kings (Josh. 2:9–10). She openly confessed that the Lord “is God in heaven above and on earth beneath” (v. 11). Her faith was vindicated when she aided the Hebrew spies who entered Jericho just prior to Joshua’s invasion. Rahab valued her faith in God above all else and was willing to sacrifice her own life for it. Her obedience in the face of such great sacrifice proved the genuineness of her faith.
James calls each of us to examine ourselves to be sure we have a living faith. Does our faith produce obedience? No matter what our claim, if righteousness doesn’t characterize our life, our faith is dead, not living. May we this morning rejoice in the confidence of our genuine faith, living each day in God’s wonderful grace.
Contributed by Alex Townsend