Faith and Works Go Hand-in-Hand

James 2:20-26 You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? 21 Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. 23 And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend. 24 You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone. 25 In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? 26 As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.

There are some things that naturally go hand-in-hand with each other, where you can’t have one without the other: fire and heat, smiles and laughter, teenagers and flat-screens. Here James adds one more inseparable pair to the list: faith and works. But the order here is essential—faith comes before works, or put another way works flow from faith. Faith without good deeds is an oxymoron—it doesn’t exist. As before, James gives us some Scriptural evidence that his premise is true that of two well-known Biblical characters, who at first glance couldn’t have been more different: Abraham and Rahab. 

First, a quick synopsis of Abraham’s life as recorded in the book of Genesis. The Lord told Abraham to leave his family and homeland in Babylonia and move to Canaan. He promised to be with him, to bless him, make him into a great nation, and be the ancestor of the Savior through whom all nations would be blessed. Abraham believed God and went with his wife, Sarah, and nephew, Lot, and all he had, but when he arrived in Canaan, he found that the land was packed with people and cities—so much for any thoughts of settling the wide-open west. Furthermore, Abraham and Sarah had a serious problem: Sarah was barren, and they were already 75 years old when they left for Canaan. As the years ticked away, you can understand that Abraham became anxious and wondered when and how this “great nation” promise would ever come about, but God appeared to him one night and told him to go outside and count the stars. So would Abraham’s offspring be. And then comes one of the impost important verses of the entire Old Testament: “Abra[ham] believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness” (15:6). With that simple phrase God declared that all of Abraham’s many good works didn’t make him holy in God’s sight, rather his faith and trust in God counted as righteousness before God.

Finally after 25 years of waiting, God miraculously allowed Sarah to conceive a son named Isaac, but then God did something strange, unheard of: he asked Abraham to sacrifice his only son. This was a test to prove to Abraham that he really loved the LORD above all things, even more than his one and only son. Abraham did just as God commanded. He took Isaac to the mountain God requested, built an altar, tied up his son, took out the knife and was set on sacrificing him, but before he could bring down the blade, the Angel of the LORD intervened and provided a ram in substitution of Isaac. Then God repeated the same promises he had made back in Babylonia decades earlier, and concluded that he would do all this, “Because you have obeyed me” (Gen. 22:18). Now we know that God does not change his mind, nor does he suddenly make his gracious promises conditional upon our obedience for their fulfillment (Num. 23:19). So why include the last phrase? James says it was to show Abraham and us that justifying faith, by which we sinners are declared righteous before God, is always accompanied by action. While it is faith that saves, faith must go hand-in-hand with godly actions. In this way the unseen faith of the heart inside is brought to completion—made real and visible on the outside.

The Biblical account of Rahab proves the same. Rahab was a prostitute in the city of Jericho as the invading Israelites under the command of Joshua were encamped on the opposite side of the Jordan River. Joshua sent two spies to get intel on Jericho and while they were there the king got word and tried to catch them, but they took refuge in Rahab’s house. She hid them safely on her roof and told the soldiers that the spies had already left. Naturally we wonder why she would so risk her life. She tells us why: it was because she was convinced that Israel’s God was the LORD of heaven and earth, who would give them this land, and although she was an enemy, she sought protection under his mighty wings. Despite her disreputable past, Rahab was spared and incorporated into the nation of Israel and ultimately included in the line of the Savior. Rahab’s fledgling faith in this foreign God instantly sprang into action for the sake of these Israelites, who were now her fellow-believers.

Abraham’s life. Rahab’s life. Your life and mine ought to be living testimonies that faith and good deeds go hand-in-hand. So much so that just like you can’t have a living body without a soul, so too you can’t have a living faith without godly works.

Reflection Questions:

1.) What do you find personally relatable or encouraging about the examples of Abraham and Rahab? 

2.) Take five minutes to list some of the things that faith in your heart prompts you to do that you wouldn’t do otherwise—not as a self-righteous pat on the back, but as evidence for yourself that faith in Jesus really does change how you live.  

Prayer: Lord God, thank you for declaring me righteous in your sight by faith in your crucified and risen Son, Jesus. Now put my sinful flesh to death in me and lift my spirit to new life that my faith and confession of you may go hand-in-hand with my deeds of love. I ask this in Jesus’ name. Amen.