²⁰ How foolish! Can’t you see that faith without good deeds is useless?

¹⁷ So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless.

²⁶ Just as the body is dead without breath,^[a] so also faith is dead without good works.

²¹ Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused.

²⁶ If you claim to be religious but don’t control your tongue, you are fooling yourself, and your religion is worthless.

¹⁰ For there are many rebellious people who engage in useless talk and deceive others. This is especially true of those who insist on circumcision for salvation.

⁶ But some people have missed this whole point. They have turned away from these things and spend their time in meaningless discussions.

⁸ Don’t let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the spiritual powers^[a] of this world, rather than from Christ.

³ If you think you are too important to help someone, you are only fooling yourself. You are not that important.