DAILY TEXT, Wednesday, October 22, 2025. Faith alone, without works, is dead (James 2:17).

Let's Examine the Scriptures Every Day 2025

Wednesday, October 22, 2025

Faith alone, without works, is dead (James 2:17).

James pointed out that a person can claim to have faith, but in reality their works prove otherwise (James 2:1-5, 9). He also spoke of someone who saw a brother or sister in need of food or clothing but did nothing to help them. Even if that person claimed to have faith, since they weren't demonstrating it with actions, it was of no use (James 2:14-16).

To describe someone who demonstrated faith through her actions, James mentioned the example of Rahab (James 2:25, 26). This woman had heard about Jehovah and knew that he was helping the Israelites (Josh. 2:9-11). What did she do to demonstrate her faith in Jehovah? She protected two Israelite spies from being killed. As a result, like Abraham, this woman was declared righteous even though she was imperfect and not an Israelite. Her example teaches us that it is very important to demonstrate our faith through actions.

How did James explain the relationship between faith and works?

In the first example, James said that Christians were to be impartial and treat all people equally. He pointed out that if they treated a rich person kindly but despised a poor person, even if they claimed to have faith, their actions actually proved otherwise (James 2:1-5, 9). In the second example, he spoke of someone who saw a brother or sister in need of food or clothing but did nothing to help them. Even if that person claimed to have faith, since they weren't demonstrating it with actions, it was of no use. James wrote, “Faith alone without works is dead” (James 2:14-17).

How do you explain the difference between what Paul and James wrote?

As we have seen, Paul and James spoke about faith and works from different perspectives. On the one hand, Paul told Christians of Jewish origin that they would never gain Jehovah's approval by performing the works of the Law. On the other hand, James explained that all Christians must demonstrate their faith by doing good works.

Mention some ways to demonstrate our faith with works.

When Jehovah says we must closely follow in Abraham's footsteps of faith to consider ourselves righteous, he doesn't mean we must do exactly what he did. In fact, there are many ways we can demonstrate our faith through actions. We can welcome newcomers to the congregation, help those in real need, and do kind things for our family members. All of these please Jehovah. (Rom. 15:7; 1 Tim. 5:4, 8; 1 John 3:18)

One of the most important ways we demonstrate our faith is by preaching with enthusiasm. (1 Tim. 4:16) We can all demonstrate by our actions that we have faith that Jehovah's promises will be fulfilled and that his way of doing things is the best. And if we do this, we can be absolutely certain that God will declare us righteous and consider us his friends.

All Rights Reserved Copyright © 2024 Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania JW.ORG.