In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
Where do we start here? What is faith? Is faith alive? How can faith be dead? What is James talking about here?
James uses a word that gets everyone’s attention. “Dead” is a word that everyone understands. Dead is dead. From a worldly point of view, a dead body isn’t going anywhere under its own power. Dead means there is no life in it. Dead means that it is, like Beethoven, decomposing.
As a metaphor for faith, “dead” brings to mind something without life or motion. A dead person or animal ceases to have any worth.
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