James 2:25 Meaning and Explanation
“Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way?”
King James Version (KJV)
Read this verse in context with translation switching:
Read Full Chapter →Rahab too was justified by works when she sheltered the messengers and helped them escape.
What Does James 2:25 Mean?
James gives a second witness, as different from Abraham as could be: Rahab, a Gentile and a harlot. Was she not also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? Her faith, like the patriarch's, became visible in what she did.
Rahab had heard of what God was doing and believed; she proved that belief by hiding the spies at great risk and aiding their escape. From the revered father of the faithful to an outsider with a shameful past, the principle holds: faith that saves is faith that acts. James shows that this is no narrow rule but the very nature of living faith, found wherever it is real. The reader sees that no background bars a person from the faith that works, and none is excused from it.
Frequently Asked Questions About James 2:25
What does James 2:25 mean?
Rahab too was justified by works when she sheltered the messengers and helped them escape.