James 2:14 (ASV)

Passage

What doth it profit, my brethren, if a man say he hath faith, but have not works? can that faith save him?

Nearby Context

James 2:12 So speak ye, and so do, as men that are to be judged by a law of liberty.

James 2:13 For judgment [is] without mercy to him that hath showed no mercy: mercy glorieth against judgment.

James 2:14 What doth it profit, my brethren, if a man say he hath faith, but have not works? can that faith save him?

James 2:15 If a brother or sister be naked and in lack of daily food,

James 2:16 and one of you say unto them, Go in peace, be ye warmed and filled; and yet ye give them not the things needful to the body; what doth it profit?

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "faith", "doth", "profit", "brethren", "hath", "works", and "save". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "faith" and "doth", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 13's "For judgment is without mercy to him..." into verse 15's "If a brother or sister be naked...", so "faith" and "doth" belong inside that flow. In James context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "faith" and "doth" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.