"Where then is boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? Of works? No, but by a law of faith. 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. Do we then nullify the Law through faith? May it never be! On the contrary, we establish the Law.
What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, has found? For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the Scripture say? 'ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS CREDITED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS.' Now to the one who works, his wage is not credited as a favor, but as what is due. But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness, just as David also speaks of the blessing on the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works: 'BLESSED ARE THOSE WHOSE LAWLESS DEEDS HAVE BEEN FORGIVEN, AND WHOSE SINS HAVE BEEN COVERED. BLESSED IS THE MAN WHOSE SIN THE LORD WILL NOT TAKE INTO ACCOUNT.' Is this blessing then on the circumcised, or on the uncircumcised also? For we say, 'FAITH WAS CREDITED TO ABRAHAM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS.' How then was it credited? While he was circumcised, or uncircumcised? Not while circumcised, but while uncircumcised; and he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had while uncircumcised, so that he might be the father of all who believe without being circumcised, that righteousness might be credited to them, and the father of circumcision to those who not only are of the circumcision, but who also follow in the steps of the faith of our father Abraham which he had while uncircumcised." Romans 3:27-4:12
"What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, and one of you says to them, 'Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,' and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that? Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself.
But someone may well say, 'You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works.' You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder. But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless? Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar? You see that faith was working with his works, and as a result of the works, faith was perfected; and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, 'AND ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS RECKONED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS,' and he was called the friend of God. You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone. In the same way, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead." James 2:14-26
Did you notice that both Paul and James quote the same Old Testament passage? "And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righeousness" (Gen. 15:6). Did you also notice that Paul says, "a man is justified by faith," (Rom. 3:28) while James says, "a man is justified by works" (James 2:24)? Paul and James are not polarized here. They are not saying two different things.
Paul was attacking the Pharisaic idea that our works (works of the Law, good deeds) will commend us to God. No one is good enough to earn salvation! If you are obeying the Law, or you are performing good deeds, merely to earn favour with God, then you are engaging in legalism. Your actions do not stem from faith.
James was attacking the idea that genuine saving faith does not need to do anything ("works," produce fruit). Genuine faith always produces fruit and results in good works (deeds) that we were foreordained to do. If you are obeying the Law, or you are performing good deeds, because you love Jesus and you desire to obey His commands, your actions are rooted in faith.
The Law is not a bad thing. Scripture tells us this repeatedly. The Law was our schoolmaster leading us to Christ. What Jesus hated the most, and what He spoke against the most, was hypocrisy. Pharisees said one thing but did another. They paid lip service to God but their hearts were far from Him.
When James is talking about Abraham and being justified by "works," what do you suppose he was talking about? Was he talking about "works of the Law"? Did Abraham perform some "work of the Law" by offering Isaac up as a sacrifice? Nope! The Law would not come for another 400 years. Was he talking about "good deeds"? Did Abraham perform some "good deed" by offering Isaac up as a sacrifice? Nope! While we were created to do good deeds and ought to do so, Abraham was performing no such thing. So what kind of "work" was he performing? Living faith or faith in action.
What did Abraham believe God for? God had promised him a son and that through his son he would be father of many. But then God asks him to sacrifice his only son. Because God had promised him a son and that he would be the father of many, Abraham believed that God would either spare his son or resurrect him in order to fulfill His promise. God asked for his only son, and Abraham acted in faith. Every instance of faith in Scripture is accompanied by faith in action (works). They are inseparable.
Faith is having a complete trust or confidence in something or someone. If you have such a trust or confidence in something or someone, you act according to that capacity. If you say you believe something but act contrary to your words, then you do not truly believe what you profess to believe. I am sure that by sola fide, this is what the Reformers meant. If they meant it as most people today try to apply it, having "faith" but no actions that corroborate and correspond with it, then I reject sola fide because Scripture teaches the former. Faith is not a mere mental assent to the facts, nor is it something merely contained in the heart. Genuine faith produces like fruit, fruit that corroborates and corresponds with the faith.
Salvation and works are both from God: "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them" (Eph. 2:10).
"Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again from above he cannot see the kingdom of God. . . . Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." ← When you are born from above, there is no boasting in your salvation. → "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, so that no one may boast." Regeneration, being born again, is not the product of man's action; it is the product of the Holy Spirit's action.