James 2:14–26 — Faith and Works

A man is justified by his deeds and not by faith alone." That's in your Bible. James wrote it. And if you've been taught that we are saved by faith alone — which you have, and which is true — then that sentence is either a problem to solve or a verse to quietly avoid. Most people avoid it. Everything turns on a word so small most readers walk straight past it: such. Not can faith save him — can such faith save him, the kind that claims and produces nothing. On the brother who got a blessing instead of a coat, the demons whose theology is flawless, and the Paul question met head-on: Abraham was credited righteous decades before the mountain, which tells you what James means by justified. As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead — which doesn't say the body is saved by breathing. It says a body that isn't breathing is a corpse. Companion study: the free interactive study of James at interactivebiblestudio.com/course-james — no account, no advertising.