Here they will point out that 'this is the only place in the Bible where these two words (faith & alone) come together, and the Bible is very clear when it says 'that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only.'
Keep in mind that the context of James 2:24 is dealing with Abraham, and this verse concerns the time when Abraham was about to offer up his son Isaac upon the altar.
And here James asks the question, "Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar?"
Yes, Abraham was justified by his works-
But is this passage talking about Abraham's (forensic or legal) justification before God, where God 'deemed, or declares Abraham as righteous,' or is the passage talking about Abraham being justified (shown, deemed, or declared as righteousness) before men?
Anyone who understands James 2:24 to be talking about Abraham's justification before God has a real contradiction problem, because when Paul talks about Abraham's justification in Romans 4, the very point that he is making is that Abraham's justification before God was not because of his works, but rather because of his faith:
"For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the Scripture say? "Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness." Romans 4:3
Therefore James 2:24 cannot be talking about Abraham's justification before God, but rather about how Abraham was 'shown, deemed, or declared as righteous' before men because of his works.
James 2:18 says, "But someone will say, "You have faith, and I have works." Show ME your faith without YOUR works, and I will show YOU my faith by MY works."
Looking at the context of James 2:24, Abraham’s justification before men by works fulfilled his positional justification before God, which was by faith many years before.
In other words, when Abraham believed, God 'deemed and declared Abraham as righteous,' and he was righteous in his position; this was a legal and binding act. However, when Abraham offered up Isaac, he was living his life in such a way before men that it was consistent with his position.
But there's another (grammatical) point that needs to be made as it relates to the Greek words only and faith used in the passage.
James 2:24 says, "You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only."
The Greek word faith used in this passage is pistis, which is a noun.
The Greek word translated only in this passage is monon, which is an adverb.
Please note, adverbs modify adjectives, verbs, or other adverbs.
Adverbs do not modify nouns; Adjectives modify nouns.
We know that the word only in this passage is an adverb (monon) and not an adjective (monhs) since the Greek uses a different form for each word.
The point of all this is that the Greek adverb only used in this passage (i.e. monon) does not modify the word faith (i.e. a noun), but rather modifies the verb justified implied in the sentence- 'and not (justified) by faith only.'
In other words, James is saying that 'by-faith justification' is not the only kind of justification there is. There is also a 'justification by-works.' We are justified before God by faith; we are justified (shown, deemed or declared as righteous) before men by our works.
Thus, we might paraphrase James 2:24 in this way:
'You see then that a man is justified by works, and not only (justified) by faith.'
This distinction is also found in Paul’s writings in Romans 4:2. The apostle tells us that there is such a thing as a "by works" justification before men, but not before God:
"For if Abraham was justified (before men) by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness."
Thus, the only way a man can be justified before God is by faith.
Conversely, the only way for a person to be justified (shown, deemed, or declared as righteous) before men is by their works.
References:
1) Zane C. Hodges, The Epistle of James: Proven Character Through Testing (Irving, TX: Grace Evangelical Society, 1994), 71
2) Zane C. Hodges, The Gospel Under Siege: Faith and Works in Tension, Second Edition (Dallas: Redención Viva, 1992), 34