Are we saved by faith, as Paul says, or by faith and works, as James says?
Paul would teach that we are saved by faith, e.g. Rom. 3:28 "For we hold that man is justified by faith without works of the law. And James says that faith without works is dead. James 2:17 "So it is also with faith: if it be not accompanied by works, it is, in itself, dead.
Luther even wanted to remove the letter of James from the canon.
A contradiction according to many. Luther even wanted to remove the letter of James from the canon. What is going on here? If we study the word "faith" and "believing" with Paul we see that with him obedience is an aspect of believing, e.g., in Rom. 1:5 (cf. 16:26) "through whom we received grace and apostleship to work obedience of faith for his name's sake among all the Gentiles.
But James uses the word "believe" differently; with him, to believe is to accept a truth. According to James, you can believe in God without obeying him. So do the demons believe says James in 2:19. And such faith without works is dead. A different use of the word "believe," but no difference in message between Paul and James.
We should also remember here that we usually use the word believe in the sense of James!
