Albert Barnes Commentary James 2:24

"Ye see that by works a man is justified, and not only by faith." — James 2:24 (ASV)

You see then. This is evident from the course of reasoning pursued and the example referred to.

How that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only. Not by a cold, abstract, inoperative faith. It must be by a faith that will produce good works, and whose existence will be shown to men by good works. Since justification takes place in the sight of God, it is by faith, for He sees that the faith is genuine and that it will produce good works if the individual who exercises faith lives; and He justifies men in view of that faith, and of no other.

If He sees that the faith is merely speculative, that it is cold and dead, and would not produce good works, the man is not justified in His sight. As a matter of fact, therefore, it is only the faith that produces good works that justifies; and good works, therefore, as the proper expression of the nature of faith, foreseen by God as the certain result of faith, and actually as seen by accomplished men, are necessary for justification.

In other words, no man will be justified who does not have a faith that will produce good works and is of an operative and practical character. The ground of justification in this case is faith, and that only; the evidence of it—its carrying out, the proof of the faith's existence—is good works. Thus, men are justified and saved not by mere abstract and cold faith, but by a faith necessarily connected with good works, where good works perform an important part.

James, therefore, does not contradict Paul. Instead, he contradicts a false explanation of Paul's doctrine. He does not deny that a man is justified in the sight of God by faith, for the very passage he quotes shows that he believes that; but he does deny that a man is justified by a faith that would not produce good works and is not expressed by good works. Thus, he maintains, as Paul always did, that only a holy life can show that a man is a true Christian and is accepted by God.