James 2:16

16 and say, "Good morning, friend! Be clothed in Christ! Be filled with the Holy Spirit!" and walk off without providing so much as a coat or a cup of soup - where does that get you?

James 2:16 Meaning and Commentary

James 2:16

And one of you say unto them
That is, one of the same faith, and in the same communion and church fellowship.

Depart in peace;
wishing them all prosperity and happiness, inward and outward:

be ye warmed and filled;
clothed and fed; signifying, that they wished them all the accommodations of life:

notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful for
the body;
neither clothes to wear, nor food to eat; nothing to warm their bodies, or fill their bellies:

what doth it profit?
the Ethiopic version reads, "what doth it profit them?" either the poor brother, or sister, to whom these good words are given, and nothing else; for these will neither warm them, nor fill them; or the persons themselves, that say these tidings to them: and the apostle, by this instance, shows, that as that charity which lies only in words, and in tongue, and not in deed, and in truth, is unprofitable, and good for nothing, even to them that profess it; so that faith, which a man says he has, and yet is without works, is alike unprofitable unto him.

James 2:16 In-Context

14 Dear friends, do you think you'll get anywhere in this if you learn all the right words but never do anything? Does merely talking about faith indicate that a person really has it?

15 For instance, you come upon an old friend dressed in rags and half-starved

16 and say, "Good morning, friend! Be clothed in Christ! Be filled with the Holy Spirit!" and walk off without providing so much as a coat or a cup of soup - where does that get you?

17 Isn't it obvious that God-talk without God-acts is outrageous nonsense?

18 I can already hear one of you agreeing by saying, "Sounds good. You take care of the faith department, I'll handle the works department." Not so fast. You can no more show me your works apart from your faith than I can show you my faith apart from my works. Faith and works, works and faith, fit together hand in glove.