The apostle James speaks of one of the fundamental truths of our faith. Several times, in different formulations, the apostle writes that faith without works is dead...
The apostle James speaks of one of the fundamental truths of our faith. Several times, in different formulations, the apostle writes that faith without works is dead. First the apostle asks whether faith that is not expressed in works can save a person. Then he says that faith without works is dead; a little lower he emphasizes that faith without works is ineffective; and again, at the very end, he repeats the words that faith without works is dead. The prophet Habakkuk heard from the Lord the revelation that the righteous shall live by faith. Faith in the biblical sense of the word is, first of all, a source of life for a person, because only by faith do we enter into communion with the Creator.
The apostle James says that this faith must be expressed in life, in our actions and deeds. Otherwise it is precisely ineffective and gives us nothing for salvation from death. A person's faith must become a power acting in the world and transfiguring it. What use is it if this power does not act? The three examples the apostle James gives allow us to see exactly what expression true faith must find: mercy toward people, trust in God, and respect for the truth. As the prophet Micah said: "O man! You have been told what is good and what the Lord requires of you: to act justly, to love deeds of mercy, and to walk humbly before your God."
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2:17 So likewise that faith which hath not works is a mere dead, empty notion; of no more profit to him that hath it, than the bidding the naked be clothed is to him.