Romans 3:28
Romans 3:2828For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the law.
JWs downplay this verse's force by emphasising ("a man is declared righteous by works and not by faith alone") as a counterbalance. The Watchtower reads Paul and James as teaching the same thing: faith must be accompanied by works of obedience to earn salvation. The NWT renders pisteuo as "exercise faith," converting trust into an ongoing activity.
Paul declares that "a man is declared righteous by faith apart from works of law." The phrase "apart from" (chōris) is absolute — it excludes works from the basis of justification entirely. Paul and James are answering different questions: Paul asks "what grounds our right standing before God?" (faith, apart from works), while James asks "how do we tell whose faith is real?" (works, the visible fruit). James's word "completed" (eteleiothe) in 2:22 means "brought to maturity," not "added to" — Abraham's faith was real at and its character was displayed at Genesis 22. repeats the point three times in one verse: "not justified by works of law… through faith in Christ… not by works of law." Paul anticipated the objection and answered it with emphatic repetition.