James, the oldest half-brother of Jesus, was telling us here we should demonstrate our inward faith by outward actions.  So it’s basically the difference between having living faith or lifeless faith.  Between just giving lip-service to the needs we see around us or actually jumping in to help others.  A few verses later James adds to this, “You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone.” (James 2:24)  So in the life of a Believer, faith and deeds must go hand in hand…there is not one without the other…and so in this lies the big difference between living and lifeless faith.