Verses 24-26: 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 begins again as in verse 22 with the phrase “you see.” But here he uses a different Greek word: horáō. We get our English word horizon from this word. By this James means to encourage them to get the big picture—to take in the Biblical principle which he is outlining for them (2:14-26).
The first thing to note is that James is making an emphatic and unequivocal declaration that a man is justified1 by works. Yet some may take objection to James’ dogmatic statement, claiming that he is proposing a work-related gospel of salvation—that a person must do or agree to do something after believing in Christ as a condition to receiving salvation. This is not what James intends. As explained in the previous post, this justification he refers to is the demonstration of ones’ faith before others in our sphere of influence.
Rahab Was Justified
To further support his viewpoint, James asserts that the evidence of Rahab the harlot’s faith, as detailed in Joshua 2, is the same as Abraham’s. “In the same way” is one word in the Greek denoting “perfect agreement, similarly.”2 Note Rahab’s expression of faith in God:
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. (Joshua 2:11)
And she then produced evidence of that faith when she hid Joshua’s reconnaissance spies from the king of Jericho. This resulted in the victory at Jericho (Joshua 6) and the further conquest of Canaan (Joshua 6—12).
Rahab’s expression of faith in the God of heaven was vindicated—justified, verified, proven—by the work she performed in protecting God’s people. This expression of her faith was her testimony before the world as evidence of her faith in God.
Faith Without Works Is Dead
James now summarizes this entire passage of faith and works (2:14-26) by stating in a definitive manner: faith without works is dead. He presents an analogy to support his line of reasoning: first, by affirming that when the spirit (the life force) leaves a person’s body—they are dead, nothing but a corpse. A corpse cannot be resuscitated to a living state (no matter what Hollywood might suggest). Hence, it is a fact that a corpse has a singular characteristic: a person’s spirit having been departed, verifies that the body no longer has life—it is inactive, dead.
Secondly, in concluding his analogy, he employs the phrase so also, which from the Greek actually means “in this way also.”3 This indicates that just as a person’s body without its spirit verifies it is dead, a believer’s faith without works verifies their faith is dead—it is useless, inoperative. However, this in no way insinuates that this person is unsaved.
What needs to be made clear is that when an individual believes in Jesus Christ, they are saved for all eternity. Afterwards, they have a personal choice to make: to seek guidance on what the Christian life is all about and what God has planned for them, or they could continue their life as if nothing had occurred. If they choose the former, they will be a winner with the potential for living the productive normal Christian life; if they choose the latter they will be forever saved but will lose out of realizing the eternal blessings4 with an unproductive, useless Christian life.
It should be remembered that the Apostle Paul maintained that salvation is always and only attained by grace.
For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. (Ephesians 2:8–9)
The faith of salvation transpired at the moment when the individual believed in Jesus Christ as their Savior. That faith is different than the content of faith by which a Christian lives. After salvation, that faith, which they expressed in belief of Christ, was by God’s design meant to grow with further knowledge in order to motivate the believer to perform good works; to verify the authenticity of their faith before others; and to share in an active, vibrant relationship with the Creator.
Therefore, whether believers choose to authenticate their faith is entirely their decision. However, Dr. L.S. Chafer provides a perspective concerning the Biblical responsibility of believers towards others:
Nevertheless, in the sphere of the Christian’s testimony, the Scriptures stress the reaction of the world to the Christian’s profession as of vital importance. The believer is appointed to “walk in wisdom toward them that are without” (outside the family of God, Colossians 4:5).5
This is the big picture James wanted us to see: that those who perform works justify their faith before others; and this is why James emphatically states that the believer is “justified by works and not by faith alone” (v. 24).
[1] The Greek tense and mood determine the certainty of a timeless fact. Wallace, D. B. (1996). Greek Grammar Beyond the Basics - Exegetical Syntax of the New Testament. Zondervan Publishing House and Galaxie Software , p. 448, 523.
[2] Zodhiates, S. (2000). The Complete Word Study Dictionary: New Testament (electronic ed.). Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, G3668.
[3] Vine, W. E., Unger, M. F., & White, W., Jr. (1996). Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words. Nashville, TN: T. Nelson, 2.227.
[4] Spiritual blessings—our inheritance from God, reserved in heaven (Ephesians 1:3; cf. 1 Peter 1:4).
[5] Chafer, L.S., (1976), Systematic Theology, Dallas, TX: Dallas Seminary Press, 3.298.
© 2023 David M. Rossi
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