As James says, faith without works is dead.
Thankfully, in this age, we are given Christ's faith, so we do not have to stand on our works (the works of Christ's faith are imputed to us!):
Romans 3:22 Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:
There is a proper dispensational application for the book of James, but the easiest way to understand the "works and faith" question is to recognize that we are given Christ's faith. We don't just have faith
in Christ; as Romans 3:22 says, when we believe, we actually get Christ's faith. And with that comes Christ's works!