The Lord Saves Only the Worst Sinners

James 2:25–26 teaches us that the Lord saves only the worst sinners. Jesus Christ is the only Savior of the world, and he saves only the worst sinners. According to the Bible, all people are conceived in sin, born sinners, and therefore practice sin daily. Professor John Murray said all sin is fundamentally against God. We should never underestimate sin. It is always against God, and therefore, God is against sinners. Our very nature is sin. And because we sin against an infinite, personal, holy God, our sin is infinite. We may pretend our sin is small. But when we do that, we are not comprehending the seriousness of sin. That lack of understanding is itself a part of the effect of sin on our minds.

Paul calls himself the worst sinner, saved by Jesus Christ (1 Tim. 1:15). And as Paul was the worst sinner, so were we all. We realize that we are the worst sinners only when we are convicted by the Holy Spirit. If we were not the worst sinners, he could not save us. But thank God, he saved us, the worst sinners in the world. So this is a message of great hope. First, then, let us examine the faith of Rahab, the worst sinner.

The Faith of Rahab

James established the principle in James 2:24 that a man is justified (i.e., declared righteous) by works and not by faith alone. He gave two illustrations to prove this principle. First, he spoke of the justification of Abraham, the father of all believers (2:21–23). From Joshua 24, we learn Abraham was originally an idolater and the worst sinner. Idol worship is worship of demons (1 Corinthians 10). Therefore, all religions that do not worship Jesus Christ worship demons. Abraham was declared righteous by a faith that worked, a faith that obeyed God especially in the costly obedience of sacrificing his son, his only son, the son whom he loved, Isaac (Gen. 22).

Now James gives the second example of the justification of another worst sinner: Rahab the Canaanite, the prostitute, the Gentile. John Calvin says, “James designedly puts together two persons, so different in their character, in order to show more clearly, that no one, whatever may have been his or her condition, nation or class in society, has ever been counted righteous without good works.”¹

As the people of Israel approached the Promised Land, Joshua sent out two spies to Jericho, a Canaanite city. This city had already been condemned to total destruction because in God’s calendar, the iniquity of the people of the land had finally reached its full measure (Gen. 15:16). God’s overarching purpose for sending the spies was to save Rahab and her household from utter destruction. Their salvation tells us that Rahab and her entire household were chosen in Christ before the creation of world to be adopted as God’s children (Eph. 1:4–5). They were objects of God’s mercy, prepared in advance for glory (2 Thess. 2:13–15).

So James asks the question, expecting an affirmative answer: “In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did?” (2:25). And the response should be: “Yes, likewise, Rahab the prostitute was justified by works when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them out safely in a different direction.”²

God is always saving only the worst sinners. This is good news for all sinful people of the world! In John 4 we read that Jesus had to go through Samaria because there was a sinful woman there who was chosen by God for eternal salvation and glory. Jesus saved her, as well as her friends and neighbors. In Luke 7 we meet a sinful woman whose sins Jesus forgave. In Luke 18 Jesus justified a publican in response to his prayer of faith. In Luke 19 we see Jesus saving Zacchaeus, a chief tax collector and a great sinner. Jesus said, “Today salvation has come to this house” (Luke 19:9). Jesus also went to the region of the Gerasenes in search of one sinner possessed by a legion of demons. He saved him and sent him as a missionary to his own Gentile people (Mark 5). Jesus also saved a woman caught in the very act of adultery and told her, “Neither do I condemn thee; go, and sin no more” (John 8:11, KJV).

In Matthew 1 we read that his name is Jesus “because he will save his people from their sins” (Matt. 1:21). And this Savior God who justifies us also sanctifies us. He makes us holy so that we may obey him.

Paul spoke of this sanctifying work of God in the lives of worst sinners: “Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God” (1 Cor. 6:9–11). God’s business is saving the worst sinners and totally changing them. So Paul says, “He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need” (Eph. 4:28).

As the prostitute of Jericho, Rahab was worst of sinners. What, then, happened to her infinite sins? They were all forgiven by the Lord. In Isaiah’s prophecy, the Lord proclaims, “I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more” (Isa. 43:25). And in the book of Jeremiah we read, “‘In those days, at that time,’ declares the LORD, ‘search will be made for Israel’s guilt, but there will be none, and for the sins of Judah, but none will be found, for I will forgive the remnant I spare’” (Jer. 50:20).

God saves the worst sinners who repent and believe in the God of Israel. As Paul explains, “Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption” (1 Cor. 1:26–30). We were zeroes, the worst sinners. But we were chosen by God and saved by Jesus through his death on the cross.

God forgave all Rahab’s sins, so the Bible does not describe her immoral background in detail. All her sins were forgiven and forgotten. Rahab’s living faith shines brightly against her dark background expressed in just two words: “the prostitute.” These two words describing her former life give hope to all sinners. Let us look back at our own dark backgrounds and praise God for his great salvation!

In the past, traveling merchants would stay in Rahab’s house of ill-repute, which was built on the city wall. These traveling merchants would bring news from far places, like Egypt. No doubt Rahab learned from them the news of certain miracles the God of Israel had performed in punishing Egypt: how this true God dried up the Red Sea and brought out his people from the slavery of Egypt, and how he destroyed the Egyptian army in the waters of the Red Sea. These all occurred over thirty years earlier. And she heard that more recently this God of Israel, the almighty God, defeated the two kings of the Amorites east of the Jordan. He completely destroyed them and gave their land to the Israelites. She heard that this God and his people were now coming to Canaan to destroy totally the wicked people of Canaan, so that the Israelites could finally possess the land, as the Lord promised to Abraham in Genesis 15.

The hearts of the Canaanites were melting with fear, just as the Lord told Moses they would: “The nations will hear and tremble; anguish will grip the people of Philistia. The chiefs of Edom will be terrified, the leaders of Moab will be seized with trembling, the people of Canaan will melt away; terror and dread will fall upon them. By the power of your arm they will be as still as a stone—until your people pass by, O LORD, until the people you bought pass by” (Exod. 15:14–16).

Rahab also was afraid. Her heart was melting. She felt as if the spirit had left her body. She knew death was coming for all in Jericho, and that she and her household were surely going to die. Yet, as we said before, she and her household were chosen by God for eternal salvation. We know this because she did believe in the God of the people of Israel, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Rahab confessed her faith to the spies to whom she gave hospitality and sent them out safely in a different way. James, the brother of Jesus, knew of no salvation without faith in the true and living God of Israel. In fact, he addresses his readers as “my brothers, as believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ” (Jas. 2:1). James does not argue for a salvation by works without faith; rather, he argues for the proposition that we are saved and justified by works and not by faith alone (2:24). In other words, he opposes dead faith, a faith without works, without obedience to God’s will.

Rahab confessed her faith in the God of Israel and then pleaded for the salvation of her family. This is what the Bible says people should do. In Deuteronomy 4:39 we are told, “Acknowledge and take to heart this day that the LORD is God in heaven above and on the earth below. There is no other.” That is what this prostitute believed. She told the spies, “When we heard of [all the things the Lord had done on behalf of Israel], our hearts melted and everyone’s courage failed because of you.” Then she made her faith affirmation: “for the LORD your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below.” Then she said, “Now then, please swear to me by the LORD that you will show kindness to my family, because I have shown kindness [chesed, mercy, lovingkindness] to you. Give me a sure sign [a reliable sign, a sign of truth that I can count on] that you will spare the lives of my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all who belong to them, and that you will save us from death” (Josh. 2:11–13).

Rahab put her faith in God. She is the only woman cited for her faith by the writer to the Hebrews: “By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient” (Heb. 11:31).

Rahab believed, even though she was a Gentile. She believed as Ruth the Moabite did. Ruth affirmed her faith in the God of Israel in her statement to Naomi: “Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God” (Ruth 1:16).

Rahab believed, as did the Gentile general from Syria, Naaman, who told the man of God, “Now I know that there is no God in all the world except in Israel. Please accept now a gift from your servant” (2 Kings 5:15). There is no God except the God of Israel. That is still true.

James does not explicitly refer to the faith of Rahab, but he presupposes it, as he makes clear in James 2:24. But the Hebrews writer spoke of her true faith, a faith that worked. True faith rests in God. We read several times in Psalm 56, “In God we trust; therefore, we are not afraid.” True faith reckons that the word of God is absolute truth and therefore totally reliable. Further, true faith risks everything, even one’s life, in obedience to God.

Rahab risked her life by saving the lives of God’s messengers. Not only did she believe God for her salvation, but she also pleaded with him for the salvation of her household. (PGM) She had no husband or children, but she had her father and mother, brothers and sisters, and all their families.

The spies gave their oath in the name of the God of Israel to save Rahab as well as her extended family. Later on, the Gibeonites were also spared, but they did not become citizens of Israel (Josh. 9). But Rahab and her extended family became privileged citizens of Israel. This is God’s program, as Paul writes: “Consequently, you [Gentiles] are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household” (Eph. 2:19). He also explains, “This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus” (Eph. 3:6).

What about us? Do we cry out for the salvation of our spouses, our children, our parents? Do we earnestly desire that our extended family be saved from the wrath of God? Joshua said, “As for me and my household, we will serve the LORD” (Josh. 24:15). A person serves either the Lord God, or the devil, who is the god of this world. The devil comes to destroy; only Jesus saves.

God’s promise of salvation is for us and for our children. In Acts 16 we read that the Lord opened the heart of Lydia and the hearts of her household, and they were all saved. He also saved the Philippian jailer, as well as his family. Let us, therefore, earnestly ask the Lord to save our households. Let us pray for them and live holy lives before them. Let us bear witness to the gospel to them, so that they may believe in Jesus Christ, be baptized, and live obedient and blessed lives as members of God’s holy church.

Faith comes by hearing the gospel. The merchants told Rahab the story of God’s defeat of the Egyptians and deliverance of the Israelites. They told of God’s utter defeat of Kings Og and Sihon. Rahab heard and believed in the true God of Israel, and she was saved, and her household.

But faith also works. The spies made certain demands of her:

1. She could not tell anyone of their visit.
2. She must bring her whole family into her apartment.
3. She and her family must stay inside.
4. No one must go out.
5. She must tie the scarlet cord the spies gave her in the window so that they could come and identify where she lived and save her.

Rahab gave the spies food and hid them. She counseled them about a safe way to return to the Israelite camp and then lowered them by a rope to the outside of the city, as Paul was lowered in a basket outside the city of Damascus (see 2 Corinthians 11). She tied the scarlet cord in the window. She spoke the gospel to every one of her extended family, and they all believed and followed her to that apartment on the wall of Jericho. They remained inside the house, as the Israelites did when they celebrated the Passover.

Faith works. Hebrews 11 gives a partial list of the heroes of faith who were also heroes of great works. In this list, we see the name of only one heroine of faith with her works: Rahab the prostitute.

Finally, the Israelites came. The gates of Jericho were shut. But the gates of hell shall not triumph over church of Christ. The church came, the people shouted, and the city wall collapsed, except the portion of the wall where Rahab’s house was.

In Joshua 6 we read, “When the trumpets sounded, the people shouted, and at the sound of the trumpet, when the people gave a loud shout, the wall collapsed; so every man charged straight in, and they took the city. They devoted the city to the LORD and destroyed with the sword every living thing in it—men and women, young and old, cattle, sheep and donkeys” (vv. 20–21). Everything was destroyed except Rahab the prostitute and her extended family.

All the citizens of Jericho were destroyed except those who were staying with Rahab in her house, marked by the scarlet cord, a symbol of the blood of the Passover lamb. When the spies came, they saw the scarlet cord and saved Rahab and her household as promised. Rahab became the wife of Salmon and mother of Boaz. She became one of only four women listed in the genealogy of Jesus Christ. Rahab believed and obeyed. Rahab and her family were greatly blessed.

Faith without Works Is Dead

What can we conclude from the story of Rahab? Faith without works is dead; it cannot save anyone: “As the body without spirit is dead, even so faith without works is dead” (James 2:26).

Man is dichotomous—he consists of spirit and body. In Luke 16 we read about a rich man. When he died, his body was buried with great pomp. But his spirit went to hell, to exist in eternal conscious misery. That is where the spirits of all who hated Jesus Christ and refused to believe in him are. They now believe, but it is too late.

The rich man’s spirit went to hell to exist in eternal conscious misery. The poor Lazarus also died, and his spirit, having been perfected, went to heaven to enjoy conscious, eternal enjoyment of communion with God. This was also the case for the justified thief on the cross, who said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Jesus told him, “Today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:42–43).

There is a hell and there is a paradise. Do you want to go to paradise? Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.

A person who claims to believe in Jesus Christ but refuses to obey Jesus is like a body without a spirit. The spirit animates the body. When the spirit leaves, the body dies, rots, and stinks. If you touch that, it makes you unclean. In same way, a professing Christian who lives in sin will make you stink. Do not associate with such people. They are a stench before God and his holy church.

Dead faith is non-saving faith. Rahab’s faith was inseparable from her obedience. The faith that trusts is the faith that works. Good works are the effects of saving faith.

God who justifies also makes us holy. Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me” (Matt. 16:24). He also said, “Anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me” (Matt. 10:38).

In Jesus Christ, we died to sin and live to God. So Paul writes, “In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 6:11). Then he makes an indicative statement: “For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace” (Rom. 6:14). If we are Christians, sin is not our master; Jesus Christ is.

Rahab, a Gentile, the worst sinner, and her family, were saved by faith. In contrast, by unbelief, Achan, an Israelite, and his family, perished. Let this be a hope and a warning to us.

Every unbeliever, like Paul, is the worst of sinners. Jesus came, not to save the ninety-nine who pretended to be righteous, but the one who cried out, “Have mercy upon me, a sinner!” But our faith must also work. In the parable of the two sons, Jesus asked his critics, “‘Which of the two did what his father wanted?’ ‘The first,’ they answered.” Then Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him” (Matt. 21:28–32).

Are you like Rahab the prostitute, the worst sinner? The name of Rahab should give you hope. Are you outside of Jesus Christ? Are you outside of the ark? Are you outside of Christ’s holy church? Take heart; you don’t have to remain there.

Now is the accepted time. Jesus will save you today, even as he saved Rahab. You have no certainty about tomorrow. In fact, we don’t know what will happen today. Therefore, do the first things first. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved, you and your household. Jesus said so, and he keeps every promise he makes. Then get baptized, and become a living member of his holy church, where you can live in faith and in sure hope that you will be with Christ at death.

¹ John Calvin, Commentaries on the Epistle of James (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1999 reprint), 316.

² For background, please read Joshua 2 and 6, and also my book on Joshua (Victory in Jesus: A Feast from Joshua).