Respond to both 200 words or more + REF
Paul starts this section of Scripture with a thesis statement that is literal Heaven to our ears, those of us who are Gentiles. He claims that " a righteousness from God , apart from the law, has been made known...". He is telling us that salvation is possible without having to go to a priest and sacrifice. A new righteousness is possible now that Jesus Christ has died on the cross for us.
Paul states that God presented Jesus a sacrifice of atonement and through faith in Christ blood we can be saved. Atonement in the Old Testament was made when someone would bring an animal to the priest and he would sacrifice on an altar and the person would be good for another determined period of time. Notice that they would have to come back.
Although the priest would say that they were clean for a little while this was something that was on the outside. Jesus coming to cleanse the inside once and for all was the ultimate atonement of sin.
James says that we are justified by works and not just in faith alone as where Paul says we are justified by our faith. There is no tension here between these two guys. We are justified by our faith in Christ and that is what will allow us to enter Heaven. We are also justified by our works in the sense that we will want to do works in we truly have faith in Christ.
We will want to do our best to fulfill Matthew 28 and go and make disciples. This will involve us doing things for people and this alone doesn't save but faith and works go hand and hand.
In Romans 3:21-4:25, Paul makes a case for salvation by grace rather than through obedience to the Law. He opens in 3:21 with a thesis statement saying that the righteousness of God came to fruition apart from the Law. He follows by saying that the Law and the prophets have borne witness to God's righteousness but are not themselves the source.
Paul build his case by beginning with what Jesus had done in His life, death, and resurrection. He tells them that all people have sinned and are incapable of having equal footing with God, and that the only way to gain the righteousness of God is through faith in Jesus Christ.
In this there is no room for boasting in our ability to be "good enough" or for there to be exclusivity for the Jewish people, since all are equally in need. Paul then states that within our salvation by faith, we still aim to uphold the Law.
Next Paul uses the example of Abraham in a way that was definitely countercultural and likely very offensive to many listening to him. He claimed that the fulfillment of God's promise to Abraham and his offspring came through faith and not through the Law.
He references the Scripture that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness," to make the case that despite Abraham's following of the Law, he was not owed righteousness but that it was a gift. Paul claimed that Abraham was not righteous through circumcision but that his circumcision was a sign of his righteousness through faith.
In James 2:14-26, James talks about the relationship between faith and works stating that they are interconnected and talks about faith fueling and motivating works, even using Abraham as an example again.
While James is making a case for the importance of works in the Christian life, he is not making the case that works are what bring salvation and give us the righteousness of God. Because of this, what Paul says in Romans and James' statements are not conflicting or contradictory, rather complimentary.