No. 275: The Epistle of James (10)
At first glance, James’s assertion that one is "justified by works" appears to contradict Paul’s teaching in his epistles that one is "justified by faith." One way to resolve this issue is to consider that James is speaking of being "justified before God and the Lord," whereas Paul is speaking of being "justified before God."
Another perspective is that for James, "works" refers to "love for one's neighbor," while for Paul, "works" refers to the "Old Law."