James 2:14 (WEB)

Passage

What good is it, my brothers, if a man says he has faith, but has no works? Can faith save him?

Nearby Context

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

James 2:13 For judgment is without mercy to him who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.

James 2:14 What good is it, my brothers, if a man says he has faith, but has no works? Can faith save him?

James 2:15 And if a brother or sister is naked and in lack of daily food,

James 2:16 and one of you tells them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled”; and yet you didn’t give them the things the body needs, what good is it?

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "faith", "good", "brothers", "says", "works", and "save". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "faith" and "good", 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 "And if a brother or sister is...", so "faith" and "good" 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 "good" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.