What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. James 2:14-17
“The question about the destiny of the inactive believer must be carefully answered. Only God is able to save. Only those who do the Word make valid claims to be believers. God will not show mercy in the judgment to those who have been unmerciful. But neither profession of faith nor deeds of faith actually “save” anyone; only God saves.
It is thus much more advisable to emphasize what James emphasized: faith without deeds is good to no one. He was not implying that the deeds of faith are effective for salvation. Rather, the deeds of faith demonstrate the validity of the claim to be a believer; without them the claim is empty or “dead”—but more importantly, without deeds the needy do not receive help.”
Kurt Richardson The New American Commentary. Vol. 36 (Nashville: Broadman & Holman, 1997).