Sometimes people can misunderstand the teaching of James and think that he may be teaching a different view of faith or a different understanding of justification than we have elsewhere in the New Testament. But, in fact, James is fully in accord with what we have, for example, in Paul's letters. The whole book of James is concerned that our faith is legitimate faith, it's real faith. And what can be confusing is sometimes James can speak of faith that is not a saving faith. There is a type of faith for James that is not a real faith, and so James can use the term to refer to both genuine saving faith and to faith that only claims to be genuine. And when one reads Paul, for example, and compares Paul to James, Paul generally refers faith to refer only to genuine saving faith. And so, in James 2, whenever he critiques those who say that have faith but have no works, what he is really critiquing is those who only claim to have faith. And in fact, if you look at James and Paul, they have many similar things to say about faith and works and justification. In fact, both James and Paul look to Abraham as an example of faith, and both James and Paul quote Genesis 15:6 to illustrate faith that believes God in his word and acts. Paul himself also believes that faith must be active. So, when we read the book of James and he says that our faith must be genuine, he says that our faith must have actions that flow from it. And when James says that faith must have works, we must understand very clearly that these are not the works that Paul himself says are inadequate to save us. James would agree that our works cannot save us, but the works that he commends to us are works of Christian obedience that flow from a genuine faith. When Paul critiques works, he is actually critiquing works of the law, which is a technical phrase to refer to Jewish ritual observances that some people were thinking modified or advanced their standing before God if they kept them. James and Paul would agree that genuine saving faith trusts Christ with empty hands, as we trust Christ to be the perfect sacrifice in our place. This position of a faith that must be active is, in James, in full agreement with Paul's emphasis on justification as a free gift of God. There was a New Testament scholar at the beginning of the twentieth century names J. Gresham Machen who helpfully summarized for us the similarities and differences between Paul and James. What J. Gresham Machen says is as the faith which James condemns… The differences in similarities between James and Paul were helpfully summarized by New Testament scholar J. Gresham Machen. Machen said as the faith, which James condemns is different from the faith that Paul commends, so the works that Paul condemns are different from the works that James commends. What that means simply is the works that Paul condemns are works of the law. The works that James commends to us are works of obedience that come from real faith in Christ. And the faith that James says is inadequate is a faith that does not act; whereas the faith that Paul speaks about is a genuine saving faith that actually does also lead to good works that are wrought by God's grace in us.