In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead — the metaphor of death (nekra) suggests that such faith lacks the vital principle of animation; it is a corpse, not a living thing. The 'in the same way' (homoiōs) draws the parallel between the useless words and the useless faith: both are devoid of efficacy. This verse is the structural hinge of the faith-works discussion, establishing that dead faith is a contradiction in terms.

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