Faith Alone - Works Alone?

This study is was one of the topics that Luther struggled with, he is quoted saying “Therefore St James’ epistle is really an epistle of straw, compared to these others, for it has nothing of the nature of the Gospel about it.” —Martin Luther

What was Luther so opposed to, this very passage about works and faith, he believed that it contradicted the statements of Paul, and his epistles about justification by study is going to show that Luther was incorrect in his statement, that none of God’s word contradicts itself, that it is congruent from start to finish.

A question to ponder is how does one get a painting without paint? How does one get work done without labor? How is anything accomplished without something being done, even when that something is nothing? This sounds self-refuting, it can sound confusing, it can lead people to wonder the possibility to work their way to salvation, which would indeed contradict the rest of the Bible. However, what about the possibility of faith defined by the works that surround it? The thought that because of faith there are works defining it.