King James Bible
"What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?"
James addresses his audience as family in faith, posing a rhetorical question about benefit or gain. This opening establishes an intimate teaching tone while signaling that what follows challenges empty religious claims. The emphasis on "say" highlights mere verbal profession versus demonstrated reality. James contrasts claimed faith with absent works, introducing his central argument that genuine faith necessarily produces visible action. This pointed question expects a negative answer—such faith cannot save because it is dead, not true faith at all. James challenges any notion that intellectual assent alone, divorced from transformed behavior, constitutes saving faith.