Tuesday, September 22 — Faith You Can Actually See
Everybody says they believe. James wants to know what your believing has cost you lately.
James 2:18-26 — KJV
18 Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works. 19 Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. 20 But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? 21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? 22 Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect? 23 And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God. 24 Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only. 25 Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way? 26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.
James 2:18-26 — WEB
18 Yes, a man will say, "You have faith, and I have works." Show me your faith without works, and I by my works will show you my faith. 19 You believe that God is one. You do well. The demons also believe, and shudder. 20 But do you want to know, vain man, that faith apart from works is dead? 21 Wasn't Abraham our father justified by works, in that he offered up Isaac his son on the altar? 22 You see that faith worked with his works, and by works faith was perfected; 23 and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, "Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him as righteousness"; and he was called the friend of God. 24 You see then that by works, a man is justified, and not only by faith. 25 In the same way, wasn't Rahab the prostitute also justified by works, in that she received the messengers, and sent them out another way? 26 For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, even so faith apart from works is dead.
Explanation
James is writing to scattered believers who had learned the language of faith and were getting comfortable in it. They could say the right things. They could sit in the right room. And James, who does not have much patience for religious performance, asks a question that still lands: show me. Show me the faith you keep talking about, with the talking removed. What is left?
Then he throws in a line that ought to stop us cold. "The demons also believe, and shudder." Correct theology is not the finish line. You can believe every true thing about God and still be nowhere near Him. Belief that never moves your hands, your calendar, or your bank account is belief that has already died and just has not been buried yet.
To make the point, James reaches for two examples, and the pairing is deliberate. First Abraham — the patriarch, the father of the nation, the man at the top of every Jewish family tree. Then Rahab — a Canaanite woman with a reputation, from a city God's people were about to level. James puts them in the same paragraph, on the same footing, justified by the same kind of living faith. He does not apologize for the pairing. He does not put Abraham in one category and Rahab in a lesser one.
And notice what he calls Rahab's "work." It was not a sacrifice on a mountain or a lifetime of religious discipline. It was one night of hospitality and one act of protection. She received the messengers and sent them out another way. That is it. That is the work God counted.
Which should quiet two kinds of anxiety at once. If you have been measuring your faith by how much you know, James says knowledge is not the measure. If you have been measuring it by how impressive your service looks compared to everyone else's, Rahab says it does not have to be impressive. It has to be real, and it usually costs something.
So what does that look like on a Tuesday? It looks like actually making the phone call instead of saying you will pray about it. Driving the person to the appointment. Paying the light bill for a family that will never be able to pay you back. Telling the truth in the meeting when staying quiet would be easier and cheaper. Taking the casserole. Sitting in the hospital waiting room. None of it makes the bulletin. All of it is the body and spirit staying together.
Sunday's lesson is God's compassion for Rahab, and this is the hinge. Rahab did not talk her way into the story of God's people. She acted her way in, on one dark night, at real risk, before she had any guarantee it would work out.
Thought for the Day
Faith you can't see in action isn't faith yet.
Reflection Question
What is one thing your faith has been telling you to do that your schedule keeps overruling?
Prayer
God, I am good at believing and slow at moving. Take the faith I claim on Sunday and put it in my hands on Tuesday. Show me one person this week I can actually help, and keep me from talking myself out of it. Let my life show what my mouth keeps saying. Amen.
This week we walk toward Sunday's lesson: God's Compassion for Rahab.