James 2:8-26

8You are doing right if you obey this law from the highest authority: “Love your neighbor as you love yourself.”

9If you favor one person over another, you’re sinning, and this law convicts you of being disobedient.

10If someone obeys all of God’s laws except one, that person is guilty of breaking all of them.

11After all, the one who said, “Never commit adultery,” is the same one who said, “Never murder.” If you do not commit adultery but you murder, you become a person who disobeys God’s laws.

12Talk and act as people who are going to be judged by laws that bring freedom.

13No mercy will be shown to those who show no mercy to others. Mercy triumphs over judgment.

14My brothers and sisters, what good does it do if someone claims to have faith but doesn’t do any good things? Can this kind of faith save him?

15Suppose a believer, whether a man or a woman, needs clothes or food

16and one of you tells that person, “God be with you! Stay warm, and make sure you eat enough.” If you don’t provide for that person’s physical needs, what good does it do?

17In the same way, faith by itself is dead if it doesn’t cause you to do any good things.

18Another person might say, “You have faith, but I do good things.” Show me your faith apart from the good things you do. I will show you my faith by the good things I do.

19You believe that there is one God. That’s fine! The demons also believe that, and they tremble with fear.

20You fool! Do you have to be shown that faith which does nothing is useless?

21Didn’t our ancestor Abraham receive God’s approval as a result of what he did when he offered his son Isaac as a sacrifice on the altar?

22You see that Abraham’s faith and what he did worked together. His faith was shown to be genuine by what he did.

23The Scripture passage came true. It says, “Abraham believed God, and that faith was regarded as the basis of Abraham’s approval by God.” So Abraham was called God’s friend.

24You see that a person receives God’s approval because of what he does, not only because of what he believes.

25The same is true of the prostitute Rahab who welcomed the spies and sent them away on another road. She received God’s approval because of what she did.

26A body that doesn’t breathe  is dead. In the same way faith that does nothing is dead.