James 2:18 - Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible

A man; any true believer. May say; to any such boasting hypocrite. Thou hast faith; thou pretendest to have faith, or admit thou hast faith; and an historical faith he might have, as James 2:19. And I have works: I do not boast of my faith; or, to say nothing of my faith, yet works I do profess to have. Show me thy faith without thy works: there are two readings of these words, but in both the sense agrees with the rest of the apostle's discourse. If we take the marginal reading, show me thy faith by thy works, the sense is, evidence the faith thou pretendest to by thy works, as the fruits of it; let thy actions vouch for thy profession. But if we take the reading in the text, without thy works, it is a kind of ironical expression; q.d. Make it appear by convincing arguments that thou hast true faith, when yet thou wantest works, the only argument of the truth of it. Understand here, but this thou canst not. And I will show thee my faith by my works; I will easily prove my faith to be true and genuine, by those good works it brings forth in me. Demonstrate the cause to me without the effect, if thou canst; but I will easily demonstrate the cause by the effect, and prove the root of faith to be in me, by my bringing forth that fruit which is proper to it. It cannot hence be inferred, that wherever such works are, as men count and call good, there must needs be faith: the apostle's meaning only is, that wherever true faith is, there good works will certainly be.