Eternal life is a free gift received by faith. Eternal life isn’t earned and it cannot be lost. However, God’s intention for our lives is not merely to give us eternal life, but to transform our lives so that we reflect His character. And this is James’ concern as well – maturity. Mature faith expresses itself outwardly in good works that glorify God. Immature faith, or as James describes it, “faith without works,” is useless and cannot save a Christian from a worthless life and a poor evaluation at the judgment seat of Christ. So, James exhorts us express our faith through our good works and not miss out on all that God intends for our good.