James 2:14 - Can such faith save him?

What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him?

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

What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him?

James 2:14

Commentary

James is describing the man who has nothing but a profession of faith. He says he has faith, but there is nothing about his life that indicates it. The second helpful key is brought out in the NASB. There, the verse closes with the question "Can that faith save him?" In other words, can that kind of faith save? It is all words, and nothing else.

MacDonald, W., & Farstad, A. (1997, c1995). Believer's Bible Commentary : Old and New Testaments (Jas 2:14). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.

James 2:26 - Faith without deeds is dead

As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.

For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.

Pues como el cuerpo sin el espíritu está muerto, así también la fe sin obras está muerta.

James 2:26

Commentary

James compares faith to the human body. He likens works to the spirit. The body without the spirit is lifeless, useless, valueless. So faith without works is dead, ineffective, worthless. Obviously it is a spurious faith, not genuine saving faith. To summarize, then, James tests our faith by our answers to the following questions. Am I willing like Abraham to offer the dearest thing in my life to God? Am I willing like Rahab to turn traitor to the world in order to be loyal to Christ?

MacDonald, W., & Farstad, A. (1997, c1995). Believer's Bible Commentary : Old and New Testaments (Jas 2:26). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.

The body (Gk. sōma) represents faith (Gk. pistis). Breathing (works) demonstrates the body is alive. Works demonstrate that faith is alive.

Radmacher, E. D., Allen, R. B., & House, H. W. (1999). Nelson's new illustrated Bible commentary (Jas 2:26). Nashville: T. Nelson Publishers.