James 2:21-26
21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? 22 Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect? 23 And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God. 24 Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only. 25 Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way? 26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.
There are two kinds of faith in the world. There is a dead, false faith and there is a living, true faith. False faith is the kind of faith that is placed in the wrong person or object. It is absent of true confession, real compassion, and genuine conviction. This type of faith is a type intellectual ascent, outward morality, behavior reform, or religious practice that does not change the human heart and bring people into a right relationship with the only true and living God. James addresses that kind of faith in James 2:14-20. It is the faith that is merely an outward profession, but not an inner reality that manifests itself in action. In the latter part of chapter two, he puts forward two examples from the Old Testament of what true, saving faith looks like. Abraham and Rahab could not be more different. To the Jewish people, Abraham was the father of the Hebrew people, a man of power and wealth, and the one who directly received the promises of God. Rahab was a Gentile prostitute and a woman that would have been despised for her past immorality. Yet, we see how these two trusted in the One True God and serve as examples of saving faith. James gives to us, from their examples, three things that true, saving faith produces.
First, true faith produces obedience to the Word of God. He puts forward the example of Abraham being willing to offer his son Isaac. How do we know that Abraham truly believed God’s promises? We know because when God asked Him to offer up his son Isaac, he willingly obeyed. Genesis 15:6 records for us that “Abraham believed in the Lord; and He counted it to him for righteousness.” That happened years before Abraham ever offered up Isaac in Genesis 22. Therefore, James cannot be teaching that Abraham was saved by offering up Isaac. Rather, what James is saying is that the way we know that Abraham’s faith was genuine in Genesis 15:6 is that he willingly obeyed the Word of God in Genesis 22 when God commanded him to take Isaac and offer him. The word “justified” here means “vindicated” or “proven.” Abraham’s faith was proven to be true by offering up Isaac. His faith “wrought with [meaning, worked together] with his works” and demonstrated that his faith was “perfect,” or “complete” as verse 22 tells us. One great test of true saving faith is what a person does with the Word of God. Do we obey it (1 John 2:3-6; 3:7-10)? Do we treasure it (1 Peter 2:1-3; Psalm 119:97)? Abraham was so convinced of the truth of God’s Word that He obeyed God without question. He did so because He knew that God would somehow keep His promise about Isaac, even if it meant raising him from the dead (Hebrews 11:17-19). Charles Stanley used to say often, “Obey God and leave all of the consequences to Him. Do we trust God enough to obey Him and leave the results to Him?
The second thing that true faith produces is trust in God’s person. Faith is about entering into a relationship with the Creator of the universe (John 17:3). When we come to Him by faith, we are trusting, not only His Word, but His perfect character (Hebrews 11:6). James now goes back to Genesis 15:6 where we are told about Abraham’s faith and how God justified him. As a result of that faith, Abraham was called “the Friend of God.” How did we know that Abraham was God’s friend? We know because of what he did with Isaac. James says that Genesis 15:6 “was fulfilled” when Abraham offered Isaac. This doesn’t mean that God justified Abraham because He foresaw Abraham’s eventual faith in that moment, but rather what Abraham did in Genesis 22 with Isaac was the outward proof of what happened in Genesis 15:6. Abraham trusted in the living God because he counted him trustworthy. He knew that God would not lie nor fail in His promise. Therefore, Abraham willingly obeyed and took Isaac up the mountain, knowing that God would not default on the promise He had made years before (Hebrews 11:17-19). Abraham was the “Friend of God,” not because of anything good in him, but simply because he trusted in God’s person. We know that he did so because he obeyed Him. Jesus would later tell his disciples, “Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you” (John 15:14). Do we know God in this way?
Lastly, James shows that true faith produces following God’s ways. It involves acting according to how God has revealed Himself. Rahab did not know much about the God of Israel. She didn’t necessarily know about the Ten Commandments or the sacrifices required of the Jewish people, but she knew enough that she wanted to be on His side because she had heard of His great power in delivering them from Egypt. Her own words in Joshua 2 tell us this. She said, “I know that the Lord hath given you the land…we have heard…He is God of heaven above, and in earth beneath.” She had heard about the things God had done, His ways, and acted accordingly. She hid the Hebrew spies in Jericho who came to search out the city and, for her help, she was rescued and saved when God brought the walls of the city down and Israel defeated them. We know that Rahab trusted in God because she acted according to the light of truth she had received. While her actions were far from perfect (she lied), God honored her trust in Him, not her imperfect actions. This is why we never read where God condones her lying, just her protecting the spies. The Bible promises a future time when Jesus will return victorious over all His enemies. We are called to look forward to that time and live in light of it. Do you believe that the God of the Bible is the same God today? Are you willing to trust Him as Rahab did?
True faith obeys God’s Word, trusts in His person, and follows His ways. We know that both Abraham and Rahab believed God and had true faith because of what they did as a result of their belief. Both entered into a saving relationship with the One True God from their different background, knowledge, and circumstances and they are both in heaven today because they were saved by grace and through faith (Ephesians 2:8). If someone were to look at our lives, would they conclude that knowing Christ has made a difference? What we do outwardly does not save us, but what we do and how we live is the proof of our salvation. Would the world know that we belong to God by how we live?