Genuine faith is not a mere mental assent to the facts and truth about Christ Jesus. Faith involves actions that work with your faith and perfect or complete your faith. Those actions must also be done in faith, or else they amount to absolutely squat.
I have repeatedly made the point pertaining to James 2 that we are also justified by our works, but that these works are not "works of the Law" nor "good deeds," but are "works of faith" or "faith in action" or "living faith."
I also often talk about repentance, obedience, and holiness. Well, Romans 1:5 illustrates perfectly what I keep trying to bring to the forefront of the minds of my brothers and sisters in Christ. "Obedience of faith." You see, mere behavioural modified obedience will accomplish nothing. Our obedience must be done in and by faith. "Without faith it is impossible to please Him."
What do Habakkuk 2:4, Romans 1:17, Galatians 3:11, and Hebrews 10:38 say? "The just/righteous shall live by faith." "Shall live" is an action. It speaks of what every facet of their life will look like and be identified by. How will the justified righteous person live? "By faith." Their entire life—their words, their actions—will be seasoned by faith. This is pointing to both "a man is justified by faith" and "a man is justified by works." What the justified righteous person does is driven by their faith, but their faith is perfected or completed by their works. Abraham believed God and proved it by his actions. Both Paul and James use Abraham as their example for what they are saying. There is no contradiction between them. Their words are in complete agreement.
Sadly, many Reformed and Baptist brethren are ignorant of the dichotomy here and so attempt to lump all works together and then, via eisegesis, attempt to claim that everywhere in the Bible faith is opposed to works of any kind. All the verses they attempt to use for proof texts of this false teaching backfire in their faces. These brethren somehow miss those three little words, "of the Law." Here are some of the verses they attempt to use:
"For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law. Or is God the God of Jews only? Is He not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, since indeed God who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith is one." Romans 3:28-30
"But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is reckoned as righteousness." Romans 4:5
"For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes." Romans 10:4
"But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works, otherwise grace is no longer grace." Romans 11:6
"Nevertheless knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we may be justified by faith in Christ, and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law shall no flesh be justified." Galatians 2:16
"I do not nullify the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly." Galatians 2:21
"Does He then, who provides you with the Spirit and works miracles among you, do it by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith? Even so Abraham BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS RECKONED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS." Galatians 3:5-6
"Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, that we may be justified by faith." Galatians 3:24
"For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works [of the Law], that no one should boast." Ephesians 2:8-9
"And may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith." Philippians 3:9
The Law is clearly in view in every single one of these verses. Yet, these Reformed and Baptist brethren attempt to join good deeds and works of faith in with works of the Law. Maybe this is due to being influenced by the poison of Dispensationalism, which rejects repentance, obedience, and holiness as necessary in a Christian's life. In order to maintain their false interpretation of a "carnal Christian"—someone who can believe in Jesus yet live like the Devil and somehow make it into Heaven, they must.
I pray that I have been able to help clarify the issue and reconcile the words of Paul and James. Romans 1:5 demonstrates what I have been trying to clarify between Paul and James for quite some time. We are not obedient for the sake of being obedient; our obedience must come from faith. Otherwise our obedience is merely behavioural modification, which is still disobedience. It is obedience for the sake of attempting to try and earn something, which is legalism. If you are obedient merely for the purpose of trying to gain God's favour, then you are merely engaging in works-salvation. We are obedient because something has already been earned on our behalf, and we accept it as being applied to us by faith. Jesus did what we cannot. We would be fools to attempt to try and earn something we are incapable of earning. The intelligent thing to do is to accept what Jesus did on our behalf and thank God for it.
See the uselessness of mere morality. Honesty, morality and such things may be very good among men. But all these things put together, without faith, do not please God.
Without saving faith, all moral virtues are but splendid sins!
You will as surely be lost if you trust to your good works, as if you had trusted to your sins!
Trust Jesus, and you are saved.
Trust self, and you are damned.
—Charles Spurgeon
We strive for holiness not in order to gain favour from God, which would be legalism, but because God demands it and commands it and because of what has already been earned on our behalf. We strive for holiness because it pleases Him. Unless we renew our minds and change our way of thinking, we are only going to hinder ourselves. Jesus asked, "When the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?" Will He? Will He find it in you? Or are you being so influenced by the world around you that your faith is being corrupted and removed? If your faith is genuine and true, it will be evidenced by your entire life. Everything you say or do will reflect your faith and be rooted in your faith. If it is not, you need to ask yourself if you are in the faith to begin with. Let these words penetrate your heart and mind, and meditate on them deeply...
"THE JUST / RIGHTEOUS ONE SHALL LIVE BY FAITH."