8.62 Rahab was justified by faith many years before the spies reached Jericho

Last Friday, we shared that Abraham was justified by faith before God many years before he offered Isaac at the altar. As the passage in James quoted Abraham and Rahab as examples, we will show you that Rahab was also justified by faith before God many years before the spies reached Jericho.

But when she acted in faith by sending the spies away, her actions justified her before man, and only confirmed the faith which already existed. Again, we say that true faith will always result in actions of faith.

(James 2:25)
Likewise, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out another way?

Let us go back to the book of Joshua to determine when she believed in God. It must have been 40 years earlier when she heard about how God parted the Red Sea and delivered Israel. She heard about what Israel did to the two kings of the Amorites. She believed that the God of Israel was the true God of heaven and earth. She believed in God, and anyone who believes in Him is justified before God by faith alone.

(Joshua 2:8-11).
Now before they lay down, she came up to them on the roof, and said to the men: “I know that the Lord has given you the land, that the terror of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the land are fainthearted because of you. For we have HEARD how the Lord DRIED UP THE WATER OF THE RED SEA for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were on the other side of the Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom you utterly destroyed. And as soon as we heard these things, our hearts melted; neither did there remain any more courage in anyone because of you, FOR THE LORD YOUR GOD, HE IS GOD IN HEAVEN ABOVE AND ON EARTH BENEATH.

But because she demonstrated her faith with actions of faith at the right time, today we get to read about her story. We know that she was truly a woman of faith. We also know that she found herself in the ancestral line of Jesus. Her works of faith made a difference.

With that we summarize the following: Justification before God is by faith alone apart from works of the law (Rom 3:28). When we have faith in the heart, that faith is demonstrated as works of faith that will justify us before man. The works of faith will demonstrate and perfect the faith which already exists in our heart. We will now move on to talk about WORKS OF FAITH which can transform lives and work miracles.