James is using a rhetorical question to teach his audience. Alternate translation: "It is no good at all, fellow believers, if someone says he has faith, but he has no works." (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-rquestion]])
The abstract nouns "faith" and "works" can be expressed with the verbs "believe" and "do." Alternate translation: "if someone says he believes in God but does not do anything as a result of his belief" (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-abstractnouns]])
# works
Here "works" refers to things people do because they believe in God, such as obeying God and doing good to others.
James is using a rhetorical question to teach his audience. This can be restated to remove the abstract noun "faith." Alternate translation: "That faith cannot save him." or "If a person does not do what is good and right, then just saying he believes in God will not save him." (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-rquestion]] and [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-abstractnouns]])