¹⁸But someone may well say, “You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works.”

James pits two men arguing their perspectives on the relationship between faith and works. He begins with “someone” assailing the author for his premise that faith without works is dead. The argument goes like this: faith and works are separate entities on an equal footing; there is no relationship between them. One might even argue that while both are important, neither depends upon the other.

The NASB translation places the closing quotation marks at the end of the verse. But other translations (ESV, NIV, NKJV, NET) conclude the quotation after the first phrase: “You have faith and I have works,” so that the remainder of the verse is James’ response. The original Greek did not use punctuation, so the quotation marks in our English Bibles are placed according to the translators’ interpretations. The latter view is preferrable and more natural to the flow.

James responds, essentially, that faith and works are not two equal but independent entities; rather, works are the proof of genuine faith. His use of the phrase “show me” means he is addressing not how the Lord knows the genuineness of one’s faith—after all, “[t]he Lord knows those who are His (2 Tim. 2:19a)—but how we fellow humans are to evaluate it. Most importantly, James wants to undercut any false claim to faith that is not demonstrated in a changed life.

The principle is this: a genuine faith not only saves a person, but also changes a person. Since words can be easily mouthed, whether with great emotion and apparent sincerity or logical argumentation, we need more than words to convince us that a person is a Christian. James is saying the evidence is not simply saying words of faith, but doing works that show faith in action.

We cannot see the wind, but we know it is there because of the movement of leaves on a tree. We cannot see electricity, but we observe its effect when the light switch is flipped on. We cannot see faith, but we can observe the evidence of faith, its effect. To the objector, James lays down the challenge: Prove to me your faith without showing me any effects. You have nothing to show for it; you give me nothing to go on except your words. In turn, I offer evidence of my faith by what I do, not just by what I say.

Lord, I am saved because, by Your grace, I have believed in the Lord Jesus and His death for me. And I am changed, as evidence of my new life in Christ.