James 2:14–26

Faith and Deeds

¹⁴What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds?ⁿ Can such faith save them? ¹⁵Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food.^{o 16}If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it?^{p 17}In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.^q

¹⁸But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.”

Show me your faith without deeds,^r and I will show you my faith^s by my deeds.^{t 19}You believe that there is one God.^u Good! Even the demons believe that^v—and shudder.

²⁰You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless^d?^{w 21}Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar?^{x 22}You see that his faith and his actions were working together,^y and his faith was made complete by what he did.^{z 23}And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,”^ea and he was called God’s friend.^{b 24}You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone.

²⁵In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction?^{c 26}As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.^d