Abraham and Rahab | James 2:14-26

James knows that words can be slippery. People can redefine faith however they want. So he grounds his teaching in Scripture and history. To prove that faith without works is dead, he turns to two unlikely examples: Abraham, the patriarch of Israel, and Rahab, a Gentile prostitute.

Two lives, worlds apart. One the father of the covenant people, the other an outsider. Yet both demonstrate the same truth: real faith produces real obedience.


Abraham: Faith Counted as Righteousness
James 2:21–22 says: “Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works.”

At first glance, this sounds like Abraham was saved because of what he did on Mount Moriah. But the whole Bible tells us otherwise. Genesis 15:6 makes it clear: “Abraham believed the LORD, and he counted it to him as righteousness.” Abraham was justified by faith before he ever lifted the knife.

So what is James saying? He is showing that Abraham’s faith was proven and matured by his works. Faith was already present—credited as righteousness in Genesis 15. By Genesis 22, that faith was tested and revealed through obedience.

Abraham’s faith did not remain theoretical. It was embodied in action. He trusted God so fully that he was willing to lay his beloved son on the altar, believing God could even raise Isaac from the dead (Hebrews 11:19). That is saving faith—faith that acts because it trusts.


Faith Completed by Works
James uses the word “completed.” This does not mean Abraham’s faith was lacking until he obeyed. It means his obedience demonstrated the maturity and reality of his faith.

Think of fruit on a tree. The life is already in the root, but the fruit shows that life is real and healthy. Abraham’s obedience was the fruit of his faith. Without it, his faith would have been a dead claim.

Martin Luther’s famous line captures it: “We are justified by faith alone, but not by a faith that is alone.” Abraham’s faith was never alone—it walked, it trusted, it obeyed.


Rahab: Faith Outside the Camp
James then shocks his readers by bringing Rahab into the picture: “And in the same way was not also Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way?” (James 2:25).

Abraham and Rahab could not be more different. Abraham was the father of the Jewish nation, revered for his covenant with God. Rahab was a Gentile woman, a prostitute in Jericho, living on the edge of destruction.

Yet both were saved the same way—by faith. Hebrews 11:31 explains: “By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she had given a friendly welcome to the spies.”

Rahab heard the reports of Yahweh’s mighty acts. She believed. And her belief led her to hide the Israelite spies and risk her life to side with God’s people. Her works did not earn her salvation. Her works proved her faith was genuine.

So much so that Rahab was grafted into Israel, married into the covenant line, and became an ancestor of Jesus Christ (Matthew 1:5). From harlot to heroine, from outsider to mother in the Messiah’s line—Rahab’s story shows the power of saving faith.


One Faith, Two Witnesses
Why Abraham and Rahab? Because together they show that this truth is universal. From patriarch to prostitute, the mark of true faith is the same: it acts.

• Abraham shows that even the greatest saint is not saved by works, but his works prove the reality of his faith.
• Rahab shows that even the greatest sinner is not beyond God’s saving grace—and that true faith transforms life immediately.

In both cases, faith and works are inseparable. Where there is faith, there will be works. Where there are no works, there is no saving faith.


The Body and the Spirit
James concludes with a vivid image: “For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead” (James 2:26).

A corpse may look like a person, but without breath it is lifeless. In the same way, a confession of faith without obedience may look Christian, but it is spiritually dead.

This is why James presses so hard. He wants no one to rest on empty claims. He wants no one to say, “I believe,” while their life shows no evidence of Christ. He wants his readers—and us—to examine whether our faith breathes obedience.


Lessons for Us
The stories of Abraham and Rahab call us to examine our lives.

• Do we trust God enough to obey Him, even when it costs dearly, as Abraham did?
• Do we believe God enough to side with His people, even at great risk, as Rahab did?
• Do our works prove that our faith is alive, or do they reveal that our faith is empty?

True faith will not be perfect, but it will be present. It will grow, mature, and show itself in obedience.


Conclusion
James gives us two witnesses—Abraham and Rahab—to silence every excuse. Faith without works is dead. But faith that breathes obedience is alive, powerful, and saving.

Abraham proves that faith is not static; it matures and shows itself through costly obedience. Rahab proves that no one is too far gone for God to save—and that genuine faith always bears fruit, no matter your past.

Christian, look to the fruit and you will find the root. If you see obedience, however imperfect, thank God for His Spirit at work in you. If you see no fruit, no works, no evidence—do not rest until you repent and trust Christ for a living, breathing faith.

For as James says, “Faith apart from works is dead.”