Depends on what part of the texts you read. Gnostics it is by understanding secret knowledge, Paul it is much more by just having the correct faith, James is the act good guy. Worth noting that the likelihood is when James was arguing for works he was arguing for following the rules of Moses i.e. kosher and circumcision not exactly running a charity program. Keep in mind we only know James by his apologists decades later long after the Moses rules vanished that and Paul. And Paul hints James was really concerned about those ancient Jewish laws.