What Does James 2:18 Mean?

(18) **Yea, a man may say . . .**—The bearing of this verse is commonly misunderstood; its words are those of scorn, uttered probably by some enemy of the faith—Jewish or Pagan—and are another instance, like that of the unruly tongue, by which those outside the pale of Christianity may and will judge us within. James 2:18-22 are all the speech of this practical opponent of first century solifidianism. The English version, “Show me thy faith *without* thy works” is correct, though according to some editors (see marginal variation) it should be *by or from.* The sense is obvious; and whether the speaker be Christian or no, he lays claim to faith in God, the Father of all, as the efficient cause of his good deeds.