James 2:14-26

Contemporary English Version

Faith and Works

¹⁴ My friends, what good is it to say you have faith, when you don't do anything to show you really do have faith? Can this kind of faith save you? ¹⁵ If you know someone who doesn't have any clothes or food, ¹⁶ you shouldn't just say, “I hope all goes well for you. I hope you will be warm and have plenty to eat.” What good is it to say this, unless you do something to help? ¹⁷ Faith that doesn't lead us to do good deeds is all alone and dead!

¹⁸ Suppose someone disagrees and says, “It is possible to have faith without doing kind deeds.”

I would answer, “Prove that you have faith without doing kind deeds, and I will prove that I have faith by doing them.” ¹⁹ You surely believe there is only one God. That's fine. Even demons believe this, and it makes them shake with fear.

²⁰ Does some stupid person want proof that faith without deeds is useless? ^21 (A) Well, our ancestor Abraham pleased God by putting his son Isaac on the altar to sacrifice him. ²² Now you see how Abraham's faith and deeds worked together. He proved his faith was real by what he did. ^23 (B) This is what the Scriptures mean by saying, “Abraham had faith in God, and God accepted him.” That's how Abraham became God's friend.

²⁴ You can now see that we please God by what we do and not only by what we believe. ^25 (C) For example, Rahab had been a prostitute. But she pleased God when she welcomed the spies and sent them home by another way.

²⁶ Anyone who doesn't breathe is dead, and faith that doesn't do anything is just as dead!