1. The Central Idea of the Text is that the faith that saves brings new life which bears the fruit of good deeds done in love for others.
2. Paul views justification from the divine viewpoint (Rom. 4:1-5), whereas James views it from the human viewpoint (Jam. 2:14-26). Paul deals with the root of justification, where James deals with the fruit of justification. Good works do not save (Rom. 4:1-5; Gal. 2:16; Eph. 2:8-9; Tit. 3:5), but once saved, they do prove a new heart (2 Cor. 5:17; Eph. 2:5; 1 Pet. 1:3, 23). God, who justifies and transforms our heart, continues to work in us to accomplish good works (Phil. 1:6), which He prepared in advance for us to walk in (Eph. 2:10; Tit. 2:11-14; 1 Pet. 2:5). It is a contradiction for a person to claim to be a Christian with a transformed heart, but not manifest any external evidence of a new life (Matt. 12:33; 1 John 2:29; 3:9; 4:7; 5:1; 3 John 1:11; cf. Rom. 7:18-23).
3. Abraham believed God for His promises and he was declared righteous (Gen. 15:6), and this occurred nearly thirty years before he offered his son Isaac as a sacrifice to God (Gen. 22:1-15). To justify means to declare righteous, not to make righteous. Abraham and Rahab’s works did not make them righteous, but revealed they were already righteous, and possessed a new heart that obeys God and loves His people. Faith matures over time as we learn God’s Word and trust Him in our daily circumstances (Eph. 4:11-13; 2 Tim. 3:16-17).
4. For James, Christian faith implies life with its attending manifestations. God sees faith in the heart (Rom. 4:1-5), but people can only see saving faith by our actions (Jam. 2:14-18). Those who are born again, given new life, made new creatures in Christ, will manifest some fruit of good works. However, not all those who do good works consistently demonstrate a new life, as there are some genuine believers who demonstrate sinful works (Aaron, Solomon, Christians at Corinth, etc.), and some unbelievers who do good works (i.e. Pharisees, Judas, etc.). But, genuine faith that has time to grow will manifest some fruit of a new life.