Good Works

[Knee V]

In Paul's epistles he is refuting the Judaizers, and that context is often missed. For Paul, "works" is shorthand for "works of the Law". In other words, Paul is telling the Judaizers that the ritual observance of the Law of Moses does not justify us. He is not talking about "deeds" or "actions" in a general sense; he is referring to a very specific set of actions.

Throughout his epistles Paul contrasts two different systems: being in Moses or being in Christ. "Works" is being in Moses, and "faith" is being in Christ. It is not "trying" vs "trusting" or anything else like that. If one wants to get a good big picture idea of what Paul is talking about in his epistles, the Epistle to the Hebrews, imho, does the best job of articulating in very plain terms what Paul talks about in the rest of his epistles.

 

[faroukfarouk]

Faith without works is dead!

James is a good book of the New Testament to read!

 

[PROPHECYKID]

Thank you all for your responses and your efforts to help me to understand.
I now understand that James and Ephesians are speaking about the same concept: true faith results in good works.

You got it. So they do not contradict each other at all.