Scriptures

New Living Translation (NLT)

James 2
²² You see, his faith and his actions worked together. His actions made his faith complete.
²³ And so it happened just as the Scriptures say: “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.” He was even called the friend of God.
²⁴ So you see, we are shown to be right with God by what we do, not by faith alone.
²⁵ Rahab the prostitute is another example. She was shown to be right with God by her actions when she hid those messengers and sent them safely away by a different road.
²⁶ Just as the body is dead without breath, so also faith is dead without good works.
James 3
¹ Dear brothers and sisters, not many of you should become teachers in the church, for we who teach will be judged more strictly.
² Indeed, we all make many mistakes. For if we could control our tongues, we would be perfect and could also control ourselves in every other way.
³ We can make a large horse go wherever we want by means of a small bit in its mouth.
⁴ And a small rudder makes a huge ship turn wherever the pilot chooses to go, even though the winds are strong.
⁵ In the same way, the tongue is a small thing that makes grand speeches. But a tiny spark can set a great forest on fire.
⁶ And the tongue is a flame of fire. It is a whole world of wickedness, corrupting your entire body. It can set your whole life on fire, for it is set on fire by hell itself.