I believe the above conclusions drawn by AI above to be incorrect. These verses, as with all verses, must be evaluated very closely against the full council of the whole Bible, considering the words the Bible uses (as closely as possible) in their entirety to find truth, which AI did not do. Instead, as is obvious from its conclusions, it used the superficial, immediately obvious meanings of those verses of the book of James which it restricted to themselves, and shoe-horned in an explanation to fit them– forcing a square peg into a round hole- without due regard for the doctrines stated in rest the Bible. The following contrasts the AI’s explanations above, with biblical doctrine that uses Christ as foundation as demonstrated by the whole Bible.
[
Jas 2:14 KJV] 14 What [doth it] profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?
2:14 - is actually teaching of what Christ achieved. It is saying that should someone claim that of themselves they have produced their own faith, then that faith also had better have works commensurate to their claim – both of which must be perfect and sufficient to bring forth salvation - that one cannot exist without the other. It was Christ alone who produced perfectly perfect faith AND perfect works thereby satisfying both requirements. Both of which become imputed to, and manifested by, those whom He saves. Otherwise, man, of himself, could never produce them sufficiently to satisfy God’s requirements, and man’s faith and works, never being able to save him - nor could man's faith independent of his works, being standalone save him. Further, the verse lacks specification about the type, amount, and frequency, which those works must occur to make a dead faith alive, or to keep a living faith alive -it lacks that crucial level of specification whereby one is notified of exactly how they can satisfy its requirements, which, if it were as AI states it, the writer would have had to include, but nevertheless did not include, meaning that it was never deemed as needed because it was never intended as AI interpreted it.
[
Jas 2:17 KJV] 17 Even so faith, if it
hath not works, is dead, being alone.
2:17 - This verse is saying that the true faith being spoken of, must already HAVE (“hath”) works as being integral to it for it to be a true saving faith. While we do produce works from our faith – they are a byproduct of, and from, faith - but works that come out of faith are not the works being spoken of in this verse (I think this is more easily be seen in the KJV). In the KJV, notice the
"faith, if it hath not works"- by stating " if it
hath not works " (“hath” in the present tense), is telling us that the works must already accompany, and present
within, or as part of, the faith, not come
FROM or out of faith after the fact – that the faith must already
HAVE works - not produce works for salvation, yet only Christ's faith alone already has within it perfect works (along with righteousness), which, through/by His ministry, were formed from His sacrifice and offering while on this earth - they alone brought salvation. Notice that the verse does not say " if it hath
not the works
of faith" - which is what it should say if the intension was that works indeed from our faith are needed, but it does not say that, instead it says "faith, if it
hath not works”, meaning the true faith itself must already have works. The distinction between the two is subtle, possibly hard to perceive, yet critical.
[
Jas 2:18 KJV] 18 Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works,
and I will shew thee my faith by my works.
2:18 - confirms 2:17. The "man" in the verse is a reflection of Christ. It tells us that His faith is/was evidenced in/by His works, and anything less than one’s faith that includes perfect works, must be the equal of what Christ had achieved, otherwise, it would be insufficient for salvation and any attempt for man to achieve it if it falls short (which it will), will be judged as sin. Consider the “and I will shew thee my faith by my works” in the verse. That links the two – that faith for it to be a saving faith, must also have works worthy of bringing salvation - that faith alone (belief alone) cannot stand on its own to do so - only Christ's faith can.
[
Jas 2:20-21 KJV]
20 But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?
21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar?
2:20 - 21. Those works were not Abraham's; they were Christ's which were imputed to Abraham, as is clearly stated in
Rom 4:2:
