14 What doth it profit, my brethren, if a man say he hath faith, but have not works? can that faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister be naked and in lack of daily food, 16 and one of you say unto them, Go in peace, be ye warmed and filled; and yet ye give them not the things needful to the body; what doth it profit? 17 Even so faith, if it have not works, is dead in itself. 18 Yea, a man will say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: show me thy faith apart from thy works, and I by my works will show thee my faith. 19 Thou believest that God is one; thou doest well: the demons also believe, and shudder. 20 But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith apart from works is barren? 21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works, in that he offered up Isaac his son upon the altar? 22 Thou seest that faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect; 23 and the scripture was fulfilled which saith. And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned unto him for righteousness; and he was called the friend of God. 24 Ye see that by works a man is justified, and not only by faith. 25 And in like manner v/as not also Rahab the harlot justified by works, in that she received the messengers, and sent them out another way? 26 For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, even so faith apart from works is dead.

It is right to say that James has no part in the popular discussion as to whether a man is saved by faith or Saved by works. His concern is to prove that faith and works are inseparable. He never questions that faith is the instrument of salvation, but he insists that if faith is real it will manifest itself in works. Faith is trust and devotion and obedience and love; a "faith" which is mere assent to a creed is not worthy the name. A faith which does not produce works cannot save, it is "dead," it is "barren" — this is the truth which James seeks to establish in this famous section of his epistle.

He has been warning his readers against the folly of trying to hold faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and at the same time breaking the law of love and showing "respect of persons." He has insisted that this is impossible; real faith in Christ will manifest itself in love. He now proceeds to enlarge upon this vital truth and to insist that real faith will always be manifest in conduct which is consistent with the law and love of Christ.

James introduces the discussion by the question: "What doth it profit, my brethren, if a man say he hath faith, but have not works? can that faith save him?" The answer implied is that such faith cannot save; it is not true faith. James shows that it is not true by a comparison. He likens such dead faith to lifeless love: "If a brother or sister be naked and in lack of daily food, and one of you say unto them, Go in peace, be ye warmed and filled; and yet ye give them not the things needful to the body; what doth it profit?" What, indeed, is the use of charity like that? Love which confines itself to empty words, to cheap advice, to pious hopes, is not worthy the name. "Even so faith, if it have not works, is dead."

James further proves his point by an imaginary challenge: "Show me thy faith apart from thy works." That exposes the fallacy. Without works there is no possible way of proving that faith exists. Such faith is a phantom, a dream, a delusion. But, one who truly believes can say without pride yet in all confidence, "I by my works will show thee my faith."

To show further the vanity of a faith which consists in mere intellectual assent to truth, James takes a case in point. He turns to some Jew who plumes himself upon being orthodox, because he believes in the unity of God, and repeats daily the formula of his faith : "Thou believest that God is one; thou doest well; the demons also believe, and shudder." The demons are quite orthodox in their beliefs and probably more exact in their knowledge than most mortals; but while conscious of their deserved doom and of their rebellion against God, their knowledge only adds to their distress: they shudder. Thus, James concludes, "faith apart from works is barren."

On the other hand, real faith necessarily embodies itself in action. The faith of a true believer will be indicated and demonstrated by works. To establish this positive side of his argument James employs two examples. The first is naturally that of Abraham, "the father of the faithful." When he was subjected to the supreme test, when he was asked to offer up Isaac his son upon the altar, his faith was found to be genuine; it was no mere assent to a creed, it was a faith that "wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect." Abraham was shown to have a supreme confidence in God, a matchless submission to his will; he really "believed God, and it was reckoned unto him for righteousness; and he was called the friend of God." So it is by works that a man is shown to be a true believer, James declares, and not by a mere profession of faith.

The second illustration is that of Rahab. She also was shown by her works to be sincere in her faith. At the risk of her life she hid the spies who entered Jericho, and "sent them out another way." It is true that her faith was not perfect; she was guilty of falsehood and deception; yet her faith was remarkable, and it was genuine. A poor, sinful woman of Canaan, with little opportunity for knowledge, she had become convinced that the God of Israel was the living and true God, and as opportunity offered of serving him, she imperiled her life to defend his messengers. The result was that she was saved; she was honored as a heroine in the Hebrew annals; she became the ancestress of Jesus Christ. Such is the power of a living faith. On the other hand: "As the body apart from the spirit is dead, even so faith apart from works is dead."

The days of dead orthodoxy are not gone; there are many persons whose faith consists in the recital of creeds and in the defense of dogmas, many who need to be reminded that "faith apart from works is dead"; yet again, on the other hand, it is time for men to cease proposing the false alternatives of "creed or character," "belief or conduct," "doctrine or duty"; these supposed alternatives are inseparable as causes and effects, as roots and fruit. When creeds are living, when belief is sincere, when doctrine is truly accepted, then character and right conduct and the performance of duty are sure to result. A living faith does save.