James 2:14

Faith and Works Together

2:14 What good is it, my brothers and sisters, ¹  if someone claims to have faith but does not have works? Can this kind of faith ²  save him? ³ 

James 2:22

2:22 You see that his faith was working together with his works and his faith was perfected by works.

Romans 14:23

14:23 But the man who doubts is condemned if he eats, because he does not do so from faith, and whatever is not from faith is sin. ⁴ 

Romans 14:1

Exhortation to Mutual Forbearance

14:1 Now receive the one who is weak in the faith, and do not have disputes over differing opinions. ⁵ 

Colossians 1:2

1:2 to the saints, the faithful ⁶  brothers and sisters ⁷  in Christ, at Colossae. Grace and peace to you ⁸  from God our Father! ⁹ 

Galatians 5:6

5:6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision carries any weight – the only thing that matters is faith working through love. ¹⁰ 

Hebrews 11:6

11:6 Now without faith it is impossible to please him, for the one who approaches God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.

Hebrews 11:31

11:31 By faith Rahab the prostitute escaped the destruction of ¹¹  the disobedient, because she welcomed the spies in peace.

¹ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:2.

² tn Grk “the faith,” referring to the kind of faith just described: faith without works. The article here is anaphoric, referring to the previous mention of the noun πίστις (pisti") in the verse. See ExSyn 219.

³ sn The form of the question in Greek expects a negative answer.

⁴ tc Some mss insert 16:25-27 at this point. See the tc note at 16:25 for more information.

⁵ tn Grk “over opinions.” The qualifier “differing” has been supplied to clarify the meaning.

⁶ tn Grk “and faithful.” The construction in Greek (as well as Paul’s style) suggests that the saints are identical to the faithful; hence, the καί (kai) is best left untranslated (cf. Eph 1:1). See ExSyn 281-82.

⁷ tn Grk “brothers,” but the Greek word may be used for “brothers and sisters” or “fellow Christians” as here (cf. BDAG 18 s.v. ἀδελφός 1, where considerable nonbiblical evidence for the plural ἀδελφοί [adelfoi] meaning “brothers and sisters” is cited).

⁸ tn Or “Grace to you and peace.”

⁹ tc Most witnesses, including some important ones (א A C F G I [P] 075 Ï it bo), read “and the Lord Jesus Christ” at the end of this verse, no doubt to conform the wording to the typical Pauline salutation. However, excellent and early witnesses (B D K L Ψ 33 81 1175 1505 1739 1881 al sa) lack this phrase. Since the omission is inexplicable as arising from the longer reading (otherwise, these mss would surely have deleted the phrase in the rest of the corpus Paulinum), it is surely authentic.

¹⁰ tn Grk “but faith working through love.”

¹¹ tn Grk “did not perish together with.”