James 2:24 You all see that it is because of actions that a man is pronounced righteous, and not simply because of faith.
There is a difference between what people see and what God sees. Man looks on the outward appearance but God looks at the heart (I Samuel 16:7). From Barnes' Notes on the Bible:
How that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only - Not by a cold, abstract, inoperative faith. It must be by a faith that shall produce good works, and whose existence will be shown to men by good works. As justification takes place in the sight of God, it is by faith, for he sees that the faith is genuine, and that it will produce good works if the individual who exercises faith shall live; and he justifies men in view of that faith, and of no other. If he sees that the faith is merely speculative; that it is cold and dead, and would not produce good works, the man is not justified in his sight. As a matter of fact, therefore, it is only the faith that produces good works that justifies; and good works, therefore, as the proper expression of the nature of faith, foreseen by God as the certain result of faith, and actually performed as seen by men, are necessary in order to justification.
In other words, no man will be justified who has not a faith which will produce good works, and which is of an operative and practical character. The ground of justification in the case is faith, and that only; the evidence of it, the carrying it out, the proof of the existence of the faith, is good works; and thus men are justified and saved not by mere abstract and cold faith, but by a faith necessarily connected with good works, and where good works perform an important part. James, therefore, does not contradict Paul, but he contradicts a false explanation of Paul's doctrine. He does not deny that a man is justified in the sight of God by faith, for the very passage which he quotes shows that he believes that; but he does deny that a man is justified by a faith which would not produce good works, and which is not expressed by good works; and thus he maintains, as Paul always did, that nothing else than a holy life can show that a man is a true Christian, and is accepted of God.
James does not contradict Paul's writing to ALL Christians to understand that:
God who saves us showed how kind and good he is. We were not saved by any good things we did ourselves, but he saved us because he is so kind. He washed us clean. We were born again as a new person. The Holy Spirit has made us new.
God is rich. And he gave the Holy Spirit to us because of Jesus Christ our Saviour. He did this so that we can be put right with God, by his kindness. He did this so that we can become his children. So now we can look forward to everlasting life. (Titus 3:4-7)
Exactly... but no one reads the book of james.. they have one verse out of context and bet their eternity on it... it is a fools bet