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You see that faith was working with his works, James continues to explain, and as a result of the works, faith was perfected. It is not that salvation requires faith plus works, but that works are the consequent outgrowth and completion of genuine faith. As Jesus pointed out on several occasions, the purpose of a plant is to grow and to bear fruit—fruit representing its natural produce, whether figs, olives, nuts, flowers, or whatever.

But James doesn't say that Abraham's works were the fruit of his faith. He says they perfected (made complete) his faith.

Is a fig tree still a fig tree if it doesn't have figs on it? Of course. In fact, Jesus once cursed a figless fig tree.

"Even so faith, if it have not works, is dead in itself."
"For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, even so faith apart from works is dead."

Is a fig tree dead if it doesn't have fruit? No.

So the works don't come as the "produce" on a "faith-tree" so to speak. They're what makes the faith complete or perfect. They aren't the fruit, but as James says, they're what makes the faith alive and fruitful. Without that, he says, faith is barren and dead. "The demons believe," he says. Trying to separate faith from works is like separating the spirit from the body. What you end up with is a corpse.

This is a common misunderstanding of faith and works, and has tragic consequences. Some even teach that baptism is a work and thus unnecessary for salvation. These false teachers don't believe Peter when he says that baptism saves the sinner (I Peter 3:21), and anyone who listens to them over an apostle of Jesus Christ will share their fate at the judgment.

So the works don't come as the "produce" on a "faith-tree" so to speak. They're what makes the faith complete or perfect. They aren't the fruit, but as James says, they're what makes the faith alive and fruitful. Without that, he says, faith is barren and dead. "The demons believe," he says. Trying to separate faith from works is like separating the spirit from the body. What you end up with is a corpse. This is a common misunderstanding of faith and works, and has tragic consequences. Some even teach that baptism is a work and thus unnecessary for salvation. These false teachers don't believe Peter when he says that baptism saves the sinner (I Peter 3:21), and anyone who listens to them over an apostle of Jesus Christ will share their fate at the judgment.

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. (Rom. 4:2–5)

The common misunderstanding is rather when some teach that works MUST be added to faith in order to justify us before God. That is completely wrong as the Holy Spirit makes plain in many passages of Scripture including the above from the book of Romans. We don't add our works to Christ's sacrifice in order to make us worthy of God's grace. Grace means unearned, undeserved, unmerited and not worked for. We nullify grace if we try to add our works of righteousness to the equation. Good works are the fruit of genuine faith just as figs are produced by a fig tree planted and nourished by the farmer - it's a natural result.