Faith Benefits Our Neighbors

Since the original audience of James was made up largely of Jewish Christians, the Apostle could count on his initial readers’ having familiarity with the Old Testament. James therefore appeals to the Old Testament to support his argument. We have seen his use of Abraham to show that the authenticity of our claim to faith and our friendship with God is demonstrated by our good works (James 2:20–24). In today’s passage, James turns to another Old Testament figure to prove his point regarding faith and works.

James 2:25 takes us to the story of Rahab, the Canaanite woman who trusted in the God of Israel and consequently helped the Israelite spies (see Josh. 2). Rahab is an interesting choice, for although Jewish tradition applauds her hospitality, she is definitely a more obscure figure than Abraham, who is lauded for his faith. Jewish tradition also praises Abraham for having a high moral character, but Rahab, at least before her conversion, was a prostitute and thus of ill repute. Finally, Rahab almost certainly lived in poverty, but Abraham was a wealthy man who had many servants and was rich in silver, gold, and livestock (see Gen. 13:1–7). Two more different individuals we could hardly imagine, yet both Abraham and Rahab demonstrated their union with God and the presence of saving faith in their hearts by doing good works. Certainly, then, John Calvin is right to say that James “designedly put together two persons so different in their character, in order more clearly to show, that no one, whatever may have been his or her condition, nation, or class in society, has ever been counted righteous without good works.” No one is justified—declared righteous in God’s sight—by doing good works; our good works do not merit a righteous status before the bar of divine justice. At the same time, however, no justified person has ever been wholly devoid of good works.

Today’s passage shows us that saving faith benefits other people, unlike the bare profession of faith that sees needs but does not seek to meet them (see James 2:15–17). Rahab’s saving faith moved her to risk her life to hide the spies, for the Jericho authorities would have surely harmed her if she had been caught. Matthew Henry comments, “This Rahab believed the report she had heard of God’s powerful presence with Israel; but that which proved her faith sincere was, that, to the hazard of her life, she received the messengers, and sent them out another way.”