James Expounds on Faith Volume 29

 
Faith without Works is Dead Faith Part 5

James 2:25-26 Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way? For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also. KJV Note: NKJV= New King James Version

Just as the Patriarch or the founder of the Jewish Nation Abraham manifested his belief or faith in God by his work of faith in trusting the Lord so much that he was willing to offer up his son Isaac as a sacrifice, so now does the Apostle James now place a woman 👩, even a Gentile woman who was a prostitute on the same level of faith and trust in the Lord. This woman 👩 Rahab heard about the God of the Hebrew people and she wanted to know Him and when she was in the presence of men who came to her country from the Hebrew Nation she acted on her desire to know and trust God receiving these men who came from the Hebrew Nation into her home and hid them there as they spied out her country in preparation for war against her Nation Jericho, as it is written for us here with these words by the Apostle James, "Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way?" (James 2:25) (KJV). The men of Jericho found out that these men were in their city and that they had gone into Rahab's house to lodge (perhaps Rahab was known in that city as not only a prostitute, but was one who would offer room and board to stranger's from other places for a fee and this is why they perceived that the Israelites were at her home), however, Rahab along with the entire city had heard of the God of Israel and of the mighty works which He had done on behalf of His people Israel, as it is written here, "So the king of Jericho sent to Rahab, saying, 'Bring out the men who have come to you, who have entered your house, for they have come to search out all the country.' Then the woman took the two men and hid them. So she said, 'Yes, the men came to me, but I did not know where they were from. And it happened as the gate was being shut, when it was dark, that the men went out. Where the men went I do not know; pursue them quickly, for you may overtake them.' (But she had brought them up to the roof and hidden them with the stalks of flax, which she had laid in order on the roof.) Then the men pursued them by the road to the Jordan, to the fords. And as soon as those who pursued them had gone out, they shut the gate. Now before they lay down, she came up to them on the roof, and said to the men: 'I know that the LORD has given you the land, that the terror of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the land are fainthearted because of you. For we have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were on the other side of the Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom you utterly destroyed.'" (Joshua 2:3-10) (NKJV).

Why did she hide the men and defy the King of her Nation? Verse's 8-10 declares why she did so, because she knew/believed that her Nation Jericho was doomed for destruction at and by the Hand of God whether these men were captured and killed or not and that by giving these men from Israel protection, she was showing her faith in the God of Israel. Rahab next testifies to these men of who she believes the God of Israel is and that she wants to be saved by Him from destruction and her whole household, as it is written here, "And as soon as we heard these things, our hearts melted; neither did there remain any more courage in anyone because of you, for the LORD your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath. 'Now therefore, I beg you, swear to me by the LORD, since I have shown you kindness, that you also will show kindness to my father's house, and give me a true token, and spare my father, my mother, my brothers, my sisters, and all that they have, and deliver our lives from death.' So the men answered her, 'Our lives for yours, if none of you tell this business of ours. And it shall be, when the LORD has given us the land, that we will deal kindly and truly with you.' Then she let them down by a rope through the window, for her house was on the city wall; she dwelt on the wall. And she said to them, 'Get to the mountain, lest the pursuers meet you. Hide there three days, until the pursuers have returned. Afterward you may go your way.' So the men said to her: 'We will be blameless of this oath of yours which you have made us swear, unless, when we come into the land, you bind this line of scarlet cord in the window through which you let us down, and unless you bring your father, your mother, your brothers, and all your father's household to your own home. So it shall be that whoever goes outside the doors of your house into the street, his blood shall be on his own head, and we will be guiltless. And whoever is with you in the house, his blood shall be on our head if a hand is laid on him. And if you tell this business of ours, then we will be free from your oath which you made us swear.' Then she said, 'According to your words, so be it.' And she sent them away, and they departed. And she bound the scarlet cord in the window. They departed and went to the mountain, and stayed there three days until the pursuers returned. The pursuers sought them all along the way, but did not find them. So the two men returned, descended from the mountain, and crossed over; and they came to Joshua the son of Nun, and told him all that had befallen them. And they said to Joshua, 'Truly the LORD has delivered all the land into our hands, for indeed all the inhabitants of the country are fainthearted because of us.'" (Joshua 2:11-24) (NKJV). Here is what the JFB Commentary had to say of James 2:25, "It is clear from the nature of Rahab's act, that it is not quoted to prove justification by works as such. She believed assuredly what her other countrymen disbelieved, and this in the face of every improbability that an unwarlike few would conquer well-armed numbers. In this belief she hid the spies at the risk of her life. Hence Hebrews 11:31 names this as an example of faith, rather than of obedience. 'By faith the harlot Rahab perished not with them that believed not.' If an instance of obedience were wanting. Paul and James would hardly have quoted a woman of previously bad character, rather than the many moral and pious patriarchs. But as an example of free grace justifying men through an operative, as opposed to a mere verbal faith, none could be more suitable than a saved 'harlot.' As Abraham was an instance of an illustrious man and the father of the Jews, so Rahab is quoted as a woman, and one of abandoned character, and a Gentile, showing that justifying faith has been manifested in those of every class. The nature of the works alleged is such as to prove that James uses them only as evidences of faith, as contrasted with a mere verbal profession: not works of charity and piety, but works the value of which consisted solely in their being proofs of faith: they were faith expressed in act, synonymous with faith itself."

To conclude the whole matter of someone saying they have faith in God without subsequent works or actions that show that they believe God and His Word is just like a dead body being alive walking around and talking to other people (this is impossible no matter how many zombie 🧟‍♂️ movies are made), as it is written for us with these words by the Apostle James, "For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also." (James 2:26) (KJV). In other words, James is saying do not go about saying you believe in God and you trust God, yet you have no desire to believe and obey what His Word declares on every subject matter, instead you doubt that it is His Words and on some matters you want His Words to be changed or to be cut out of the Bible or simply ignored, for the demons believe this way and even have tremendous fear of God because they know what He is going to do to them for all eternity in the Lake of Fire 🔥 (Revelation 20:10). So, if your so-called faith has not changed your mind (repentance) and changed your way of seeing your own sin as evil and wicked, that is, what God declares to be sin against Him alone, then your faith is equal to that of demons which is a dead faith that cannot save any soul, just like a body without the spirit/soul in it is dead and only a shell good for nothing. Here is what Adam Clarke had to say of James 2:26, "There can be no more a genuine faith without good works, than there can be a living human body without a soul. We shall never find a series of disinterested godly living without true faith. And we shall never find true faith without such a life. We may see works of apparent benevolence without faith; their principle is ostentation; and, as long as they can have the reward (human applause) which they seek, they may be continued. And yet the experience of all mankind shows how short-lived such works are; they want both principle and spring; they endure for a time, but soon wither away. Where true faith is, there is God; His Spirit gives life, and His love affords motives to righteous actions. The use of any Divine principle leads to its increase. The more a man exercises faith in Christ, the more he is enabled to believe; the more he believes, the more he receives; and the more he receives, the more able he is to work for God. Obedience is his delight, because love to God and man is the element in which his soul lives. Reader, thou professest to believe; show thy faith, both to God and man, by a life conformed to the royal law, which ever gives liberty and confers dignity. 'Some persons, known to St. James, must have taught that men are justified by merely believing in the One True God; or he would not have taken such pains to confute it. Crediting the unity of the Godhead, and the doctrine of a future state, was that faith through which both the Jews in St. James’ time and the Mohammedans of the present day expect justification. St. James, in denying this faith to be of avail, if unaccompanied with good works, has said nothing more than what St. Paul has said, in other words, Romans 2, where he combats the same Jewish error, and asserts that not the hearers but the doers of the law will be justified, and that a knowledge of God’s will, without the performance of it, serves only to increase our condemnation.' - Michaelis." Here also is what Matthew Henry had to say of James 2:26, "These words are read differently; some reading them, As the body without the breath is dead, so is faith without works: and then they show that works are the companions of faith, as breathing is of life. Others read them, As the body without the soul is dead, so faith without works is dead also: and then they show that as the body has no action, nor beauty, but becomes a loathsome carcass, when the soul is gone, so a bare profession without works is useless, yea, loathsome and offensive. Let us then take head of running into extremes in this case. For, (1.) The best works, without faith, are dead; they want their root and principle. It is by faith that any thing we do is really good, as done with an eye to God, in obedience to Him, and so as to aim principally at His acceptance. (2.) The most plausible profession of faith, without works, is dead: as the root is dead when it produces nothing green, nothing of fruit. Faith is the root, good works are the fruits, and we must see to it that we have both. We must not think that either, without the other, will justify and save us. This is the grace of God wherein we stand, and we should stand to it."

If you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ and His amazing healing power, pray this from your heart to the Lord Jesus Christ (you speaking directly to Him), Dear Lord Jesus, I confess to You that I am a sinner and I need Your forgiveness. I believe You shed Your Blood and died for my sins. I believe that You rose from the dead proving that You alone are God. I repent of my sins. I want to turn from my sins. I ask You Dear Lord Jesus to come into my heart and take control of my life. I want You to be my Lord, Savior, and my God. Amen...


Sincerely in Christ,


Clifford D. Tate, Sr.


Author of “Silent Assassins of the Soul - Are you Broken by Pornography and Masturbation? You can be Restored by the Lord Jesus Christ and brought into Deliverance, Freedom, and Victory! A Guide for Men and Women in the Enemy’s Crosshairs” e-book available now @ Amazon Kindle, @ Apple I Bookstore for IPod, Barnes and Noble for Nook, Reader Store for Sony Reade, Kobo, Copia, Gardners, Baker and Taylor, and eBookPie…