As you may know, the senior high youth are going through the
Crazy Love book study that we just completed. They just completed chapters 4 and 5 which are probably the hardest-hitting in the whole book. Instead of immediately pressing on to chapter 6, we decided to revisit some of the topics from the previous two chapters. One issue that came up in our discussion was the adage of faith vs. works. In one of the videos, Francis Chan talked about it also. Following a discussion about giving, he warned the audience of not thinking that we can "buy" our way to salvation. So that begs the question, how does faith and works relate to our lives?
We probably know the faith/works verse best from James 2:26. It's often shortened to "faith without works is dead" (this also appears elsewhere in James), but the entirety of the verse reads: "As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead." It's a thought-provoking verse, but I don't think it should be read alone. I am as guilty as anyone about breezing over Scripture and not reading it deeply. If we're not careful, we can miss a beautiful picture in James 2 that occurs just one verse prior. In fact, the first several times I read this passage, I never thought much about James 2:25 or why it was in there. My NIV Bible presents verses 25 and 26 as a paragraph. They are purposely placed together. Here's how both verses read:
"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? As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead."
Who is Rahab? Why is a story of a prostitute getting in the way of one of the most well-known verses in the Bible?
Take a left in the Bible and head to Joshua 2. Read Joshua 2 in its entirety before you finish reading what's on this blog. It's only 24 verses, but it's packed with good stuff. Here's some background info on the passage...
The Israelites were God's chosen people. Under the authority of God, Moses led the people out of bondage and promised them that they would inherit the land of Canaan (i.e., the "Promised Land"). Canaan was rampant with sin, and God was not happy with it. After Moses died, Joshua took over (see Joshua 1). A few days before the planned overthrow of the land, Joshua sent two spies into Canaan (with special emphasis on the city/small kingdom of Jericho) to check it out first. This was a common practice in that time.
Once the guys got to Jericho, they went into the house of Rahab to hide. The king of Jericho got word that the spies were with Rahab and told her to give them up. Rahab tells the king that she doesn't know where the men went, when in actuality, she was hiding them in the upstairs of her house. Rahab took a HUGE risk in misleading the king. If caught, she would presumably be killed. In present day times, we would call this treason. She took in these random guys and lied to the government about hiding them.
Why did she do this? Check out what she says to the spies starting in verse nine. She basically tells these guys that she has heard about God and what He has done for His people and believes in Him. At the end of Joshua 2:11, she says, "For the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below." So she heard of God, believed in His word...now what? She comes to an agreement with the spies that, when they enter Canaan to take over the land, her life and that of her family will be saved. Look at verses 17-20. Rahab is to tie a scarlet cord to the window of her house. Once God's army sweeps through Canaan, all the people inside the house will live. Does this sound familiar? It's eerily, but not coincidentally, similar to the Passover.
During the Passover, God spared the lives of any family who had spread lamb's blood on the doorposts of their houses. Side note: if you're curious as to why a lamb's blood was required, look at John 1:36. God, who we often associate as pleasant, kind, and gracious, is also wrathful. He went through the land of Egypt picking off houses left and right, killing the firstborns therein. But when He looked down and saw the blood of the Lamb, that family was saved.
The same is true for us today. We are all born into sin. The only way we can be saved, the only way for us to not have the wrath of God fixed squarely upon us, the only way for us to truly have life, is to possess the blood of the Lamb - Jesus Christ. John 5:24 - "I tell you the truth, whoever hears My word and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life." Will God see the blood of Christ when He looks down at us?
Back to Rahab. There is so much to learn from the Old Testament. I still don't know much about it, but what I do know is that it paints beautiful pictures that are still relevant in our lives today. Rahab lived out what Jesus is saying in John 5:24. She heard God's word, believed in Him, and her life was spared when the power of God swept through Canaan. She had complete faith in God, and acted on it. She did what she did because of her
crazy love for God. Works were a
byproduct of, not a prerequisite for, her relationship with her Father.
Do we have that same faith in God? A faith that is often risky and unpopular? Do we act upon that faith? Do our lives suggest that we are truly and utterly dependent upon God?
We don't have to be ministers, missionaries, or Biblical scholars to live a life for God. All we have to do is believe in Him. Look at Rahab. She was a prostitute - the lowest rung in society back then, the worst of the worst. But now, she is heralded in the Bible (see Hebrews 11:31) for her faith. Rahab risked it all for God because she believed. Doesn't that make sense?
How, this week, can we live our lives - how can we risk it all - because of our faith in God?
"As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead."
