As a pastor, I’ve attended and presided over my share of funerals. The body of the deceased is usually laid in a casket and nicely dressed. The facial cosmetics are flawless, and the hair is perfectly groomed. But while every effort is made to make the loved one appear natural, we all realize that the body is dead.

In James 2, the author says that without works, our faith is dead. He writes: “As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead” (v. 26). To illustrate the close relationship between what we believe and what we do, James presents two examples from the Old Testament.

First, James points to Abraham who believed God’s promise and acted in obedience. In Hebrews 11, we read: “By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice” (v. 17). Abraham believed two things that seemed contradictory: 1) God had told him his lineage through Isaac would be multiplied (Gen. 17:21); and 2) God had instructed him to sacrifice Isaac (Gen. 22:2). Because Abraham believed God’s promise, he acted in faith.

The second example is Rahab. In Joshua chapter 2, two spies were sent into the Promised Land where they met a prostitute named Rahab. Acting in faith, she hid the spies from the king of Jericho. She stated, “I know that the LORD has given you this land and that a great fear of you has fallen on us, so that all who live in this country are melting in fear because of you.” Because she believed, Rahab acted. She explained, “The LORD your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below” (Josh. 2:9–11). For Abraham and Rahab, faith resulted in action.

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