James was written during Christ's earthly ministry. James states we are saved by faith that God is One (the Jewish shema) , and obedience to the law of Moses. When Christ died and rose again, Peter, John and Paul all emphatically made it clear that we are saved by faith in the shed blood of Christ for the remission of sins. There's no need to try to reconcile letters written to two different audiences. A "faith that works" is bad hermeneutics. James clearly wrote Abraham was justified by "faith AND works." But when James wrote his letter, Christ has not died.