John Calvin Commentary James 2:20

"But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith apart from works is barren?" — James 2:20 (ASV)

But wilt thou know. We must understand the state of the question, for the dispute here is not concerning the cause of justification, but only what value a profession of faith without works has, and what opinion we should form of it. Absurdly, then, do those act who strive to prove by this passage that a person is justified by works, because James meant no such thing, for the proofs he adds refer to this declaration, that no faith, or only a dead faith, is without works. No one will ever understand what is said, nor judge words wisely, except the one who keeps in view the writer's design.