FAITH WITHOUT WORKS IS DEAD
Friday – February 20, 2026
Video link: https://youtu.be/f3Z1hEqoGmc
Greetings dear ones and welcome to our ongoing study of the Book of James. I will once again continue with the study of faith and the fact that faith does not stand alone. Perhaps you will recall that in earlier studies we established that faith, love, and doing (works) are inseparable. Now, to our text for today.
James 2:23-26 (KJV)
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.
Let’s take a look at verses twenty-three and twenty-four in the Passion Translation for a little further insight.
James 2:23-24 (PassionNTPsa)
23 So in this way the Scripture was fulfilled: Because Abraham believed God, his faith was exchanged for God’s righteousness.
So he became known as the lover of God!
24 So now it’s clear that a person is seen as righteous in God’s eyes not merely by faith alone, but by his works.
By believing (faith) and doing (works) Abraham obtained Gods’ righteousness and so today you and I are made the righteousness of Jesus in the same way. We must believe in our hearts and say with our mouths and we are saved. James makes it clear again in verse twenty-four that we (“a person”) are seen as righteous in Gods’ eyes by faith with works. Now, let’s move forward.
James 2:25-26 (KJV)
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.
Let’s look at a little portion of the story of Rahab, who is in the genealogy of Christ, and hide the spies Joshua sent to Jericho.
Joshua 2:9-11 (KJV)
9 And she said unto the men, I know that the LORD hath given you the land, and that your terror is fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land faint because of you.
10 For we have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red sea for you, when ye came out of Egypt; and what ye did unto the two kings of the Amorites, that were on the other side Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom ye utterly destroyed.
11 And as soon as we had heard these things, our hearts did melt, neither did there remain any more courage in any man, because of you: for the LORD your God, he is God in heaven above, and in earth beneath.
You can clearly see that Rahab had faith in the God of the Jews and she acted upon that faith. She was fully persuaded; it wasn’t just interesting information. She hide the spies when the men from the King of Jericho came looking for them and then helped them escape. What was the work of Grace? She and all her house (people and goods) were spared supernaturally when the walls came down and by the two spies (Joshua 6:23).
Next James uses an analogy of faith and works saying that just as the body is dead without the spirit so is faith dead without works.
James 2:26 (KJV)
26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.
The spirit animates the body just as works animates or gives life to faith. Next week when we resume, we will be back to talking about our mouths, the words of our mouths.
TAKE HOME:
- We are righteous in God’s eyes by believing and doing same as father Abraham.
- Rahab the harlot believed that the God of Israel was the true God and acted upon that believe thereby saving herself and her house. Sound familiar? (Acts 16:31)
- Faith without works is dead. One might ask, if there is no reciprocal action is it real faith.
Lord willing, I will resume right here Monday. Remember, we love you, the Lord loves you, and there is nothing you can do about either one.
By: Dr. David R. Wood, Bible Teacher, and Prophetic Voice
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