THE BOOK OF JAMES

(“Two Examples Of Saving Faith”)

James 2:14-26 (NASU)

²¹“Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar? … ²⁵In the same way, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way?” (James 2:21, 25)

(A) FAITH VS. WORKS – PAUL VS. JAMES

(1) Have you ever thought about what’s going to happen to you after you die? Baseball manager Ozzie Guillen once said: “After you die, they just pour a lot of dirt on you.”¹ If he’s right, then we don’t have anything to worry about do we? Of course, we don’t have anything to look forward to either, except eternal oblivion! – which (if we take that point of view seriously) makes life as a whole pretty meaningless, and our last years on earth especially depressing as our bodies succumb to the relentless ravages of old age.

(a) But suppose Mr. Guillen is wrong – suppose there IS life after death – suppose there is a heaven and a hell – have you thought about where you would spend eternity if you died this afternoon? Heaven and hell are indescribable places so far as human thought and language are concerned – heaven being a place of unspeakable beauty and eternal enjoyment for repentant sinners, who get to bask in the glorious presence of their God and Savior Jesus Christ (c.f. I Corinthians 2:9) – hell being a place of unutterable eternal torment (c.f. Luke 16:28), where unrepentant sinners receive a just (but merciless) penalty for having offended THE holy God.

(b) No one can earn their way into heaven – nor is anyone good enough to deserve a place in heaven. Heaven is a gift of God’s grace, given to sinful people who repent of their sins and profess faith in Jesus Christ. Hence, Scripture says it is “Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath to come” (c.f. I Thessalonians 1:10) – and again: “He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him” (c.f. John 3:36) – and once more: “having now been justified by (Christ’s) blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him” (c.f. Romans 5:9).

(2) The unmistakable teaching of Scripture is that salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone!² (a) Among other things, that means we do not contribute anything to our salvation except our need – we supply the sin, Christ supplies the blood to cleanse us (c.f. I John 1:7) – we are spiritually dead on account of our sins, He makes us alive (c.f. Ephesians 2:5) – we are enslaved to sin, He supplies the means whereby we are set free (c.f. Romans 6:6). Even the faith we must exercise in Christ in order to be saved is a gift of God’s grace (c.f. Ephesians 2:8-9) – even the ability to repent of our sins comes from Him rather than from ourselves (c.f. I Corinthians 4:7).

(b) Here, then, is a sampling of Scriptures that stress the fact we are saved (or justified) by faith alone. Romans 3:26 – “… we maintain that a man is justified BY FAITH APART FROM works of the Law.” Galatians 2:16 – “… a man is NOT justified by the works of the Law but THROUGH FAITH in Christ Jesus …” Ephesians 2:8-9: ⁸“For by grace you have been saved THROUGH FAITH; and that NOT of yourselves, it is the gift of God; ⁹NOT as a result of works, so that no one may boast.” II Timothy 3:15 – “… the sacred writings … are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation THROUGH FAITH which is in Christ Jesus.”

(3) All this seems pretty clear, UNTIL we get to the Book of James – at which point we encounter passages like these in this morning’s Scripture lesson: (verse twenty-one) “Was not Abraham our father JUSTIFIED BY WORKS when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar?” (c.f. James 2:21) (the implied answer being, “Yes, he was!”) – and again (verse twenty-five): “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?” (c.f. James 2:25) (again, the implied answer is, “Yes, she was!) – and once more (verse twenty-four): “You see that a man is JUSTIFIED BY WORKS and NOT by faith alone” (c.f. James 2:24).

(a) On the surface, it’s easy to see why some people get confused – why some people think there’s a conflict between Paul and James³ – why Martin Luther (who so adamantly opposed the Catholic doctrine of salvation by works, and so strongly defended the Protestant doctrine of salvation by grace alone through faith alone) (why even Luther) was not a big fan of the Book of James, calling it “an epistle of straw”⁴ because of the author’s statements about people being “justified BY WORKS and NOT by faith alone” (c.f. James 2:24)

(b) Jesus once said that “the Scripture cannot be broken” (c.f. John 10:35). Paul said: “all Scripture is inspired by God” (c.f. II Timothy 3:16) – including those passages we find hard to understand, or those that seem to conflict with other passages of Scripture. Indeed, Jesus statement about the “unbroken” nature of God’s word indicates there are no real contradictions in Scripture – only perplexing passages we haven’t figure out yet, or doctrines (like the Trinity) that are simply beyond our ability as finite human beings to fully comprehend.

(4) Having said that, the relationship between faith and works is not really as mystifying as it first appears. (a) Like a great mountain, whose beauty and majesty can only be fully appreciated by viewing it from several different directions – so God the Holy Spirit used Paul and James to give us two different (but compatible) views of salvation. For example, Paul deals primarily with the MEANS by which a genuine salvation experience takes place (which is by faith alone, in Christ alone) – while James deals primarily with the PROOF (or evidence) that a genuine salvation experience HAS occurred (which involves the presence of good works).⁴

Paul deals with HOW to be saved (which is by faith alone) – while James deals with how to KNOW we have been saved by faith alone (which involves the presence of good works). Paul’s point is that no one can be saved by doing good works – while James’ point is that no one can prove they’ve been saved without good works.

Paul addresses the legalist who thinks he can work his way into heaven by his own best efforts – James addresses the antinomian and easy-believism crowd, who thinks it doesn’t matter how a person lives, so long as they have made a verbal profession of faith in Christ.⁵

Paul uses the word “justified” to describe God’s declaration that He has accepted a man as righteous on the basis of his faith in Christ – in keeping with verse twenty-three, where we’re reminded that “Abraham BELIEVED God, and it (i.e. his belief, or faith) was RECKONED to him as righteousness” (c.f. James 2:23). James uses the word “justified” to describe how a man demonstrates to a watching world that he has already been accepted by God on the basis of his faith in Christ – in keeping with verse twenty-one, where we’re reminded that “Abraham (was) justified by works WHEN he offered up Isaac his son on the altar” (c.f. James 2:21) – and also verse twenty-five, where we’re told that “Rahab (was) justified by works WHEN she received the messengers and sent them out by another way” (c.f. James 2:25).⁶

(b) There are two errors we need to avoid, then, when trying to understand the biblical relationship between faith and works – the first error is that a person can be saved by doing good works (which isn’t true, because we are saved by faith in Christ!) – the second error is that a person can be saved even though they don’t have any good works to prove it (which isn’t true, either). The first error says we don’t need faith, just works – the second error says we don’t need works, just faith.

(c) The truth is that we are saved by faith ALONE – BUT, saving faith ALWAYS produces fruit.⁷ This truth is expressed in a passage we quoted earlier from Ephesians chapter two (albeit only partially) that says: ⁸“For by grace you have been SAVED THROUGH FAITH; and that NOT of yourselves, it is the gift of God; ⁹NOT as a result of works, so that no one may boast. ¹⁰For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus FOR GOOD WORKS, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them” (c.f. Ephesians 2:8-10) – and also in Titus chapter three, where, after reminding us that God “saved us, NOT on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy …” (c.f. Titus 3:5), Paul went on to add a few verses later that AFTER we’ve been saved, we “must … learn to engage in GOOD DEEDS … so that (we are) not … unfruitful” (c.f. Titus 3:14).

(5) So, James is not contradicting the doctrine of salvation by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. (a) His point is that the absence of good works, following a profession of faith in Christ proves, that person does not have saving faith – hence, he says: “faith, if it has no works, is dead, BEING BY ITSELF” (i.e. faith by itself is dead) (c.f. James 2:17) – and again: “faith without works is USELESS” (i.e. it’s useless so far as being able to save us from the wrath of God is concerned) (c.f. James 2:20).

James would agree that saving faith comes first – then works. HIS POINT IS: no works – no saving faith. To which we can add, no saving faith – no heaven!

(b) In today’s text, however, James comes at this SAME truth from a different angle. Drawing upon two examples from the Old Testament, James demonstrates that the PRESENCE of good works proves a person’s PREVIOUS profession of faith was valid – that they really do have the SAVING faith they “say” they have (c.f. James 2:14) – that they really do have the kind of faith that will stand them in good stead when they die – that will close the doors to hell, and open the doors to heaven.

Let’s take a closer look, then, at how James develops his argument, and makes his point.

(B) A PATRIARCH AND A PROSTITUTE

(1) The first Old Testament example James uses is the Jewish patriarch “Abraham”, whom he refers to as “our father” (c.f. James 2:21).

(a) Scripture says Abraham is “the father of us all” (c.f. Romans 4:16). Elsewhere we’re learn that he’s not only the physical father of the Jews (c.f. John 8:39), as well as many Arab nations (c.f. Genesis 16:15; 25:1-4), he’s also (and more importantly!) the spiritual father of ALL those who profess saving faith in Jesus Christ (c.f. Galatians 3:6-7, 28-29), regardless of physical ancestry – regardless of whether they are Jews, or Arabs, or Gentiles (c.f. Colossians 3:11)! Hence, the illustration James uses is especially applicable to Christians – or at least to those who “say” they have saving faith (c.f. James 2:14).

(b) The incident to which James refers is recorded in Genesis chapter twenty-two (c.f. Genesis 22:1-19), and it concerns the time God told Abraham to “(sacrifice) Isaac his (only) son on (an) altar” (c.f. James 2:21).

Here’s a brief summary: God promised to give Abraham numerous descendants – to make him the father of many peoples, nations, and kings (c.f. Genesis 17:1-8). BUT, by the time Abraham was 99-years-old, and Sarah his wife was 89-years-old, they still had no children. The following year, however, God miraculous enabled them to have a son whom they named Isaac (c.f. Genesis 21:1-3). Isaac was the child through whom God promised to fulfill all His covenant promises to Abraham (c.f. Genesis 17:18-21) – AND, he was the only child Abraham and SARAH ever had.

Some years later, God told Abraham to take his only son and offer him as a burnt offering on a certain mountain in the land of Moriah (c.f. Genesis 22:1-2). We’re told that Abraham immediately obeyed (c.f. Genesis 22:3-10) – but we aren’t told about the internal struggle he must have gone through, EXCEPT for a glimpse in the Book of Hebrews where we read these words: ¹⁷“By faith Abraham, when he was TESTED, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was offering up his ONLY begotten son; ¹⁸it was he to whom it was said, ‘In Isaac your descendants shall be called.’ ¹⁹He (Abraham) considered that God is able to raise people even from the dead (which had never happened in the history of the world up to that point), from which he also received him back as a type” (c.f. Hebrews 11:17-19).

One writer put it like this: “(Abraham) … trusted God, (even though) there was no way he could … grasp what was in (God’s) mind … or reconcile (God’s) original promise with (this) present course of action.”⁸ Of course, we know from the Book of Genesis that “the angel of the Lord” stopped Abraham at the last moment from killing his son, saying (in part): “now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me” (c.f. Genesis 22:11-12).

(c) Returning to our Scripture lesson, James says that as a result of Abraham’s actions (verse twenty-three), “the Scripture was fulfilled which says, ‘And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness,’ and he was called the friend of God (c.f. James 2:23).

The Scripture James quotes comes from Genesis 15:6 – and there are at least two important things to note about it. First, this passage from Genesis is the same one Paul quotes twice (c.f. Romans 4:3; Galatians 3:6) to prove that we are saved by faith alone in Christ alone – i.e. the fact Abraham believed God, and God credited his faith to him as righteousness, is one of the foundation stones upon which the New Testament doctrine of justification by faith is built (c.f. Romans 4:1-6)!

Now, James quotes that same verse from Genesis to prove the parallel truth that saving faith is always a working faith – saying (in verse twenty-two), “You see that faith was working with his works, and as a result of the works, (Abraham’s) faith was perfected” (c.f. James 2:22).

And that leads us to the second thing we need to note about this quote from Genesis 15:6 – namely, that God credited Abraham’s faith to him as righteousness some thirty years BEFORE he was told to offer up his only son Isaac on an altar (c.f. James 2:21; Genesis 22:1-12). James’ point is this – that the incident in Genesis chapter twenty-two proves the faith Abraham professed in Genesis chapter fifteen was saving faith! Abraham wasn’t saved in Genesis chapter twenty-two – he was saved in Genesis chapter fifteen (if not before). Abraham wasn’t saved because he was willing to sacrifice his only son Isaac on an altar – he was willing to sacrifice his only son because he had saving faith. In other words, his actions (or works) in Genesis chapter twenty-two proved that the faith he had been professing for over thirty years was genuine, saving faith.

That’s what James is getting at in verse twenty-four when he says: “You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone” (c.f. James 2:24). Had Abraham been unwilling to obey God, it would have proven that his profession of faith was bogus – the fact he was willing, proved his faith was genuine.

(d) The question for us is, what do the tests we face prove about our faith? What do our good works (or lack thereof) say about our profession of faith? Do we have the good works needed to support our claim of being a Christian – or does our lack of works show that the faith we profess is dead and useless, so far as getting us to heaven is concerned?

(2) James could have stopped right here, with Abraham – but he doesn’t. Instead, he presses home his point in dramatic fashion⁹ by drawing upon a second example from the Old Testament – namely, “Rahab the harlot” (c.f. James 2:25).

(a) The contrasts between Abraham and Rahab could not be greater. For example, Abraham was a patriarch, Rahab was a prostitute – Abraham was a moral man, Rahab was an immoral woman – Abraham was a wealthy and noble Chaldean, Rahab was degraded and lowly Canaanite – Abraham was a great leader, Rahab was just a common citizen – Abraham would have been at the top of the social ladder, Rahab at the bottom.¹⁰

So again, I say, that the contrasts between these two people could not be greater – nor is James’ choice of Rahab an accident – for it shows us that EVERYONE, from the greatest to the least, is saved exactly the same way (i.e. by faith alone, in Christ alone) – and that EVERYONE who professes to be a Christian, from the greatest to the least, must prove it by their good works (c.f. Matthew 3:8).

(b) The specific incident to which James refers – i.e. of Rahab “receiving messengers and sending them out by another way” (c.f. James 2:25) – is recorded for us in Joshua chapter two (c.f. Joshua 2:1-24). Here’s a brief summary: poised on the edge of the Land of Promise, Joshua sent two men to spy out the country, and especially the city of Jericho. Upon arriving in Jericho the men lodged at Rahab’s house, which was located on the wall of the city. When the king of Jericho learned Israelite spies were in town, he conducted a search of Rahab’s house – but she hid the spies on her roof, and told the king they had come and gone and were no longer in the city. Later, she helped the two men escape through a window. But before they left, she made this confession, saying (in part): ⁹“I KNOW THAT THE LORD HAS GIVEN YOU THE LAND, and that the terror of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the land have melted away before you. ¹⁰For 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. ¹¹When 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” (c.f. Joshua 2:9-11).

Later, when the city of Jericho fell to the Israelites, Rahab and her immediate family were the only ones spared (c.f. Joshua 6:17, 25).

(c) It’s clear from the Book of Joshua that Rahab was a believer BEFORE the Israelite spies arrived at her door – that she received the spies in peace, protected their lives, and helped them escape BECAUSE of her faith in the God of Israel.⁹ Hence, Hebrews chapter eleven holds Rahab up as an example of saving faith, saying: “By faith Rahab the harlot did not perish along with those who were disobedient, after she had welcomed the spies in peace” (c.f. Hebrews 11:31).

(d) James’ point is that Rahab’s works (i.e. in aiding the Lord’s people) showed that her profession of faith was genuine¹¹ – that the faith she had BEFORE the spies arrived was saving faith. Rahab’s faith was every bit as real as Abraham’s – even though their circumstances were entirely different. Hence, verse twenty-five says: “Rahab the harlot (was) justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way” (c.f. James 2:25) – meaning that her profession of faith was justified by her works, not that she was saved by them – that her works showed she had saving faith.

(e) James concludes this passage on faith and works by saying (in verse twenty-six): “For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead” (c.f. James 2:26). In other words, no good works – no saving faith.¹¹ No saving faith – no heaven.

(f) The sobering reality is that not everyone who “says” (c.f. James 2:14) they have faith in Christ is actually saved and on their way to heaven. Jesus put it like this: “Not everyone who (calls) Me, ‘Lord’ … will enter the kingdom of heaven, but (only) he who DOES the will of My Father …” (c.f. Matthew 7:21). That’s also why a verse we quoted earlier from the Gospel of John says: “He who BELIEVES (faith) in the Son has eternal life; but he who DOES NOT OBEY (works) the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him” (c.f. John 3:36).

(g) In light of these things, Paul urges us to “test ourselves to see if we are in the faith” (c.f. II Corinthians 13:5) – to see if we have saving faith. Abraham and Rahab stand for all time as examples of people who passed the test – whose good works proved they really had been saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone!¹²

BIBLIOGRAPHY

¹USA Today: February 24, 2006; Section C, page 1.

²Keddie: The Practical Christian; p. 115.

³Calvin’s Commentaries: Vol. XXII; The Catholic Epistles

(James); p. 314.

⁴The MacArthur New Testament Commentary: James; p. 136.

⁵Keddie: Ibid; p. 116.

⁶Blanchard: Truth For Life; p. 175.

⁷The New Geneva Study Bible: Footnote on James 2:22; p. 1961.