James 2:14-26

My friends, what's the good of someone saying they trust in God when they don't do what's good and right? Can such “trust” save them? If a brother or sister doesn't have clothes, or food for the day, and you say to them, “Blessings on you! Stay warm and have a good meal!” and you don't provide what they need to survive, what's the good of that? By itself even your trust-based faith in God is dead and worthless if you don't actually do what's good and right. Someone may argue, “You have your trust in God; I have my good deeds.” Well, show me your trust in God without good deeds, and I will show you my trust in God by my good deeds! You believe that God is one God? That's great—but demons believe in God too, and they're scared of him! You foolish people! Don't you know that trust in God without doing what's right is worthless? Wasn't our father Abraham made right by what he did—by offering his son Isaac on the altar? You notice that his trust in God worked together with what he did, and through what he did his trust in God was made complete. In this way scripture was fulfilled: “Abraham trusted God, and this was considered as him doing right,” and he was called the friend of God. You see that people are made right by what they do, and not just by trusting God. In the same way, wasn't Rahab the prostitute made right by what she did when she looked after the messengers and then sent them away by a different road? Just as the body is dead without the spirit, trust in God is dead if you don't do what's right.