{"id":5844,"date":"2014-11-19T01:40:48","date_gmt":"2014-11-19T01:40:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/?p=5844"},"modified":"2014-11-19T01:40:48","modified_gmt":"2014-11-19T01:40:48","slug":"james-225-26-rahab-faith-and-works","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/?p=5844","title":{"rendered":"James 2:25-26\u2014Rahab, faith, and works"},"content":{"rendered":"

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.<\/em>\u00a0 James 2:25-26<\/p>\n

James cited Rahab as the second example of an individual who demonstrated her faith by works. Whereas Abraham is known in the Bible as the father of faith (see Galatians 3:7), Rahab was a common prostitute who lived in an apartment on the walls of Jericho. If James had been promoting \u201cbeing good\u201d as the work which demonstrates faith, then probably he would not have mentioned Rahab.<\/p>\n

However, Rahab is honored in the Bible for her faith. Not only does James refer to her, but she is also included in Hebrews 11 as one of only two women named among the great men of faith who lived in Old Testament times. Moreover, she was not of Jewish blood\u2014she was a Gentile from Jericho. And to top it off, she is found in the lineage of the Lord Jesus Christ (see Matthew 1:5 and Luke 3:32).<\/p>\n

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?<\/em><\/p>\n

How did Rahab exemplify faith? She received the messengers and sent them out by another way. <\/em>When the king sent for Rahab to release the spies into his custody, she told him they had already departed when they were actually hiding up on her roof. What was it about her action that prompted James to consider it on par with the obedience of Abraham, the friend of God? Let Rahab speak for herself as she explained her decision to the spies:<\/p>\n

\u201cI know that the Lord has given you the land<\/em><\/strong>, and that the terror of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the land have melted away before you. For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and Og, whom you utterly destroyed. When we heard it, our hearts melted and no courage remained in any man any longer because of you; for the Lord your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath<\/strong><\/em>\u201d (Joshua 2:9-11, emphasis added).<\/p>\n

Very little touches the heart of God as deeply as faith toward His promises concerning the land of Israel. And this woman of ill-repute declared boldly that God had given the land to the Jews. Moreover, she declared out of her mouth that the Lord your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath<\/em>. Her faith in God and His purposes for Israel set her apart as a woman of unusual faith.<\/p>\n

Had she kept her feelings about the God of the Jews to herself, or for fear of her own government neglected to help the spies, we would have never read of her in Bible; indeed she would have lost her life when Jericho fell, and her DNA would have never flowed through the Messiah\u2019s veins.<\/p>\n

Rahab and Abraham were two entirely different persons, each living in his or her allotted time span; yet both were honored in Scripture as individuals of great faith. Surveying what was recorded in the Bible about both of these faithful souls, you can see that neither was perfect, yet each bear the distinction of being commended more than once in the New Testament as people of faith.<\/p>\n

As you consider the lives of both Rahab and Abraham and the faith each one demonstrated, be encouraged. God does not view you as others do; God looks deep within, at your heart. He reads the thoughts and motives that are there and delights as you seek to act on the Word\u2014however awkward, shaky, or unpolished you may be. Whereas others may scoff or turn away from you in embarrassment or disgust as you allow your faith to shape your behavior, God rejoices. As you exalt God and His Word more and more, practicing your faith boldly in your life, the fear of man will lose its power to control you. And you will discover that for you, faith is very much alive.<\/p>\n

May your faith shine through your actions!<\/p>\n

Dorothy<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t hide your light! Let it shine for all; let your good deeds glow for all to see, so that they will praise your heavenly Father.\u00a0<\/em>Matthew 5:15-16, Living Bible<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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.\u00a0 James 2:25-26 James cited Rahab as the second example of an individual who […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5844","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-james-2"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5844","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5844"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5844\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5845,"href":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5844\/revisions\/5845"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5844"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5844"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5844"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}