So also, faith, if it does not have works (deeds and actions of obedience to back it up), by itself is destitute of power (inoperative, dead).
James 2:17 AMPC
The popular notion of faith is that what a man does not deny, he believes. If a man will maintain a doctrine in argument, he will prove that he believes it. This may not be faith in the true sense at all; this is not living faith. The true notion of faith is conviction in actions and principles operating in life. Faith is practically nothing so long as it is merely in the head.
A man believes that if he puts his money into certain funds, he will get back good interest with the most assured security. Yet at the end of the year, he gets literally nothing. Why? Because, though he believed it, he did not put any money into the funds. Can the faith pay him? Another man thoroughly believes that if he takes a certain drug prescribed for him by good medical authority, he will recover from his disease. But he does not get better because, though he believed in the drug, he did not take it. Can his faith heal him?
Unfortunately, this is the very thing which some people want to do with religion! They develop a certain set of notions in their heads and expect those notions to save them. As flower is before the fruit, so is faith before good works. Works here, is not something merely added to faith, but something which proceeds from it. As life is seen by its actions, so is a living faith by its works.
This verse emphasizes the importance of not only having faith, but also putting that faith into action. In other words, it’s not enough to simply believe in something or someone, but we must also demonstrate that belief through our actions.
The verse also suggests that faith without works is powerless and ineffective. Indeed, faith without works is dead. This is because faith alone does not produce tangible results or impact the world around us. It’s only when we take action based on our faith that we can truly make a difference.
James 2:17 challenges us to put our beliefs into action, and to live out our faith in a way that produces tangible results. It’s a call to be not just hearers of the word, but also doers (James 1:22).