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14 What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?

15 If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food,

16 And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?

17 Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.

18 Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.

19 Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.

20 But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?

21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar?

22 Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect?

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.





What does the above mean? Could someone explain it to me?

Well, I get out of it "Lip service to God isn't worship. One must not just profess believe, but also perform acts of charity and goodwill."

You have to back your beliefs with action to be of any use.

Do you have to use KJ? Because it is hundreds of years behind on its English.

Not a giant fan of the King James Version, so I'll go ahead and post the NASB translation:

What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,” and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that? Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself.

But someone may well say, “You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works.” You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder. But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless? Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar? You see that faith was working with his works, and as a result of the works, faith was perfected; and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness,” and he was called the friend of God. You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone. In the same way, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.

The first thing to consider is that there is really not much point to just look at a Chapter, let alone a few verses, in isolation. James, as well as Paul, dealt with differing opinions about how works relate to faith and how they are related to one another in gaining or expressing justification. It is also important that "works" are not just something like "things we have to do as Christians" but that "works" include your behavior and the way you interact with everyone around you.

One side of the argument was addressed by Paul, who argued that people gain salvation by having Faith that they are in fact justified by Christ and that salvation is not gained by Works. It is that Faith alone, and not the way you act, that justifies you before God.

Which may have lead to the argument that James is addressing in his letter: that as long as you have Faith, works are no longer needed at all.

The argument made by James is that while works without Faith is useless, they are indeed a visible and valid sign of your faith. You are not saved because of your works, but your works (your deeds, your lifestyle, the way you interact with others) are influenced by your justification and relationship with God.

Also:

 d-usa wrote:


The argument made by James is that while works without Faith is useless, they are indeed a visible and valid sign of your faith. You are not saved because of your works, but your works (your deeds, your lifestyle, the way you interact with others) are influenced by your justification and relationship with God.

So, you can tell if a person actually has faith by how they act?

 EmpNortonII wrote:

So, you can tell if a person actually has faith by how they act?

I think it's far easier to tell who DOESN'T have faith by how they act.

Acts are a result of Faith. If you have true Faith in Christ you follow his teachings. As opposed to doing good deeds but not having the Faith that should be the reason behind them.

Paul taught us that you cannot be saved through deeds alone but only by Faith in Jesus Christ. James emphasizes that those who profess Christ should act like it and do good deeds.


That part of James has one of my favorite verses. "even the devils believe in God and tremble." Saying you believe in God so you're Christian is sticking your toes in the pool and calling it swimming.

 EmpNortonII wrote:

 d-usa wrote:


The argument made by James is that while works without Faith is useless, they are indeed a visible and valid sign of your faith. You are not saved because of your works, but your works (your deeds, your lifestyle, the way you interact with others) are influenced by your justification and relationship with God.

So, you can tell if a person actually has faith by how they act?

I think it's more a matter of looking at yourself and how you act.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 daedalus wrote:

 EmpNortonII wrote:

So, you can tell if a person actually has faith by how they act?

I think it's far easier to tell who DOESN'T have faith by how they act.

And just for me to get this out of the way early: plenty of folks with zero faith, and no desire for faith, are living lives filled with caring, compassion and good deeds. Not trying to claim that "acting good" is the reserved realm of faithful adherents of any particular religion

You cannot do one thing and say another when it comes to faith. Faith alone will not be enough, you must act in accordance to your faith.

Faith alone is not enough.

Believing in marriage and what it stands for means nothing if you cheat on your spouse. Simply having faith, but not acting is not enough. Merely believing in God means nothing to him if you go around murdering.

Faith and actions go hand in hand. Faith without action is futile.

This is necessary for many reasons as a christian. You cannot preach love (part of your faith) then beat your children. You must show your faith in all ways of life. So when you see a priest who has molested a child for example, immediately you know he has failed to take heed to this scripture, he has also tarnished the image of God and so on.

" And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit? "

If you see someone dying of starvation, then wish them to have a happy and full life, what good does that do? Likewise when it comes to faith. If you consistently say to love your neighbor, yet throw rocks at their houses, what good does that do?

Thats how I remember it being taught anyway.

Dont use it as a method of judgement though. Faith is more to do with yourself and how you do things, not others. There are a few scriptures about that too.

We can just spam religious passages as their own thread now? It is a whole new day on OT.

 Ahtman wrote:
We can just spam religious passages as their own thread now? It is a whole new day on OT.

I thought the same but there is a question at the bottom that I missed initially.

 Ahtman wrote:
We can just spam religious passages as their own thread now? It is a whole new day on OT.

They merely asked its meaning.

At least its more interesting then the same few people arguing over news articles

 Swastakowey wrote:

 Ahtman wrote:
We can just spam religious passages as their own thread now? It is a whole new day on OT.

They merely asked its meaning.

At least its more interesting then the same few people arguing over news articles

Oops, I missed the tiny bit at the end asking for meaning. Still...

 Ahtman wrote:
We can just spam religious passages as their own thread now? It is a whole new day on OT.

I mean, I think it should be regulated, like ordinance.

I was willing to play along though.

Yeah, there are probably far more appropriate places on the internet to discuss the meaning of bible passages...