Does James 2:24 contradict Paul's understanding of Justification by faith alone?

"You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone" (James 2:24).

The first thing we need to remember is that, though ultimately the Holy Spirit is the Author of Scripture, there are two different human authors speaking on the subject of justification in James and Paul. The Holy Spirit was using them as they came from different backgrounds, wrote to different audiences, in the context of different situations.

There is no doubt that both Paul and James make belief a major part of their definitions of the word "faith." For Paul we see this clearly in Romans 4:5. Here faith clearly points back to belief. For James it is seen in James 2:19, In the context of his argument that faith apart from works is dead he says, "You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!" So there is no disagreement between the two that faith includes intellectual consent to an idea.

The problem is that James is arguing that faith is not enough for one to be justified and Paul is arguing that it is the only means by (or through) which God justifies.

Once again I think if we look at the definitions of "faith" under which the authors are operating we will see that they believe the same thing. Going back to Romans 4 where Paul's argument on justification is being made we see that "faith" does not merely mean "believe" (Romans 4:20-21). Here faith is being spoken of in terms of trust. A fuller scope of Paul's definition will show that he also sees faith as an act of obedience (Romans 1:5, 16:26) by which the righteous man must live (Romans 1:17) and without which any man is sinning (Romans 14:23). All that said I think it is safe to conclude that Paul has an "all inclusive" definition of the word "faith."

James, for whatever reason, is not working with as full a definition as Paul. In fact, he is arguing for the kind of faith which Paul assumes. James 2:22 should suffice as an example of this, "You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works." James is arguing for a fuller, more complete faith; a faith like that of the apostle Paul.

Understanding this is important for many reasons. I hope your faith is strengthened by understanding faith. James is a hard book to read and should not be taken lightly but it does not contradict Paul's understanding of justification; it supports it.