1 Timothy 4:16
16 Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.
James 5:20
20 Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.
Jude 1:23
23 And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh.
The three passages above are grouped together, because they all speak of "saving" another person, all in the context of reforming the behavior of the person to be saved.
Does this speak of securing the eternal Salvation of others, or ourselves, by way of reforming one's life?
The key to understanding all three of these passages is to recognize that the word "saved" in Scripture - "sozo" in Greek, frequently refers to temporal deliverance from judgment or peril, and does not always refer to the eternal deliverance from Hell.
For instance, the same Greek word used in all three of the passages in question is used in the following passages, also translated "save":
Matthew 14:30
30 But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me.
John 12:27
27 Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour.
Acts 2:40
40 And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation.
Acts 27:20, 31
20 And when neither sun nor stars in many days appeared, and no small tempest lay on us, all hope that we should be saved was then taken away.
31 Paul said to the centurion and to the soldiers, Except these abide in the ship, ye cannot be saved.
James 5:15
15 And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.
Jude 1:5
5 I will therefore put you in remembrance, though ye once knew this, how that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed not.
The above passages all bear witness to the fact that the Greek word often translated "save" is frequently used in reference to physical deliverance, which is especially relevant in the case of the passage in question from James, where we are told that turning a sinner from his way shall "save a soul from death".
In that instance, the same error that was made with the word "save" - assuming that it can only refer to Salvation from Hell - is often made with the word "soul", also, in assuming that it only refers to a person's seat of consciousness, which if dead, implies being sent to Hell after death, being spiritually lost, etc.
In reality, once again, we can look at different places where the Greek word "psuche", translated "soul" in James 5:20, refers to a person's mortal life:
Matthew 2:20
20 Saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel: for they are dead which sought the young child's life (psuche).
Matthew 6:25
25 Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life (psuche), what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life (psuche) more than meat, and the body than raiment?
Acts 15:26
26 Men that have hazarded their lives (psuche) for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Philippians 2:30
30 Because for the work of Christ he was nigh unto death, not regarding his life (psuche), to supply your lack of service toward me.
1 Peter 3:20
20 Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.
1 John 3:16
16 Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life (psuche) for us: and we ought to lay down our lives (psuche) for the brethren.
Just as in the examples given earlier for the word "saved" meaning temporal deliverance, we have many, many more examples which could be given for the above, as well. The word psuche, very frequently, just refers to someone's life.
Therefore, the salvation referred to in the three passages in question is temporal - salvation from peril, or judgment, here in this life, as a result of the chastening of the Lord (Hebrews 12:6), which can include things up to illness, and even death (1 Corinthians 11:30-32).
Declaring that words, especially words that have been translated, can only ever be used in one sense, and have only one meaning, is an illogical, reckless way to read any text, let alone the Bible.
In each situation, care has to be taken to examine context, and ensure that we are understanding the word in the sense in which it was intended to be used, rather than the sense that some theological dogma wishes it were used, especially if that dogma is the anti-Biblical position of works Salvation.