Sunday, August 14, 2011

An Example of Faith and Works (James 2:24)

You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone. 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? For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.
(James 2:24, NASB)

Rahab is an unlikely example of faith. She was, indeed, a harlot, a prostitute. For reasons we’ll never know, she made her living by giving her body away.

But God redeems those who seek Him.

Rahab lived in Jericho, a city that God had promised to His people. But the city was surrounded by high walls, and God’s people needed to see more of the city. So two spies snuck into the city and found shelter with Rahab. And this woman—who was not a member of God’s chosen people—hid the spies and saved their lives.

Somehow, though, she knew of their God:
“I know that the LORD has given you the land … Now therefore, please swear to me by the LORD, since I have dealt kindly with you, that you also will deal kindly with my father’s household, and give me a pledge of truth, and spare my father and my mother and my brothers and my sisters, with all who belong to them, and deliver our lives from death” (Joshua 2:9, 12-13).
She knew this God whom she didn’t serve was the one true God. And she knew He could save and protect His people—and those who helped His people.

She had faith, and she demonstrated that faith through her actions.

And Rabab—that unlikely example of faith—became the mother of Boaz, who married Ruth. And is in the line to Joseph … the earthly father of Jesus.

When we claim to have faith, our heart’s desire should be to show that faith through serving others. And when people see faith in action, they’ll be attracted to the One in whom we’ve placed our faith.

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