James 2:14
“What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?”
King James Version (KJV)
Read this verse in context with translation switching:
Read Full Chapter →Context
James moves to the heart of his letter, challenging readers who claim faith but show no corresponding action, and inviting them to examine whether their faith is genuine.
What Does James 2:14 Mean?
James poses a pointed question about a faith that is only spoken. He pictures a man who claims to have faith but produces nothing from it, and he asks whether such a faith can do him any good. The wording is careful: the man "say[s] he hath faith." James is examining a profession of faith and asking what it actually amounts to.
The question "can faith save him?" is meant to make the reader pause. James is not weighing faith against works as rivals; throughout this passage he treats works as the visible evidence and outworking of living faith. A claim of faith that never moves a person to love, to help, to obey, raises the honest question of whether that faith is real at all. In the verses that follow, James gives a vivid example -- speaking kind words to a hungry, cold person while doing nothing to meet their needs -- and concludes that such empty profession profits no one. The point is that genuine faith is alive and active; it shows itself. James lets the question stand so that each reader will examine the nature of his own faith and see whether it bears fruit.
In the Original Language
The word "profit" is ophelos, meaning benefit or advantage; "works" renders erga, deeds or actions that flow from one's life.
Cross References
“Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.”
- James 2:17
“For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.”
- James 2:26
“Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.”
- Matthew 7:21
Application
Examine whether your faith shows itself in action, letting what you say you believe become visible in how you treat others and obey God.