Dead faith and living charity

Religions consist of beliefs and rites. Believers believe in a future, an afterlife. This afterlife is the target of their present life. Believers live up to their beliefs, putting them into practice. Christians are no exceptions. Being followers of Christ, they follow the examples and teachings preached by Jesus. Jesus preached the Kingdom of God which is both in the present life and the after. Therefore, leading an earthly life, Christians are gradually admitted into the Kingdom of God. Problems arise when Christians think that they are able to earn the Kingdom of God through their good works. They are mistaken when they think that performing rituals and charity is sufficient to gain entry into heaven.
It was at this point that Martin Luther appeared on the stage. He re-introduced the importance of faith through which man is justified. Picking up a section of the Bible, viz. the epistles of St. Paul, he explained that it was not works, but faith that justified a man. He also brought in an essential element for salvation not found in man. It was grace. Grace comes from God alone. Grace denies the merits of man. By these, Luther corrected the extremes of gaining salvation through good works. Yet, this is only part of the teaching of the Bible, not the complete whole. His teaching needs to be balanced by James.

For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy; yet mercy triumphs over judgment. What does it profit, my brethren, if a man says he has faith but has not works? Can his faith save him? (James 2:13-14)
Without mercy, without charity, a man will not pass God's judgment. That is, he will not be justified before God.
So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead.
But some one will say, "You have faith and I have works." Show me your faith apart from your works, and I by my works will show you my faith (James 2:17-18).
Faith is intangible. It must be substantiated by works. Even Jesus had to cure the paralyzed man in order to show that he had effectively forgiven his sins. Forgiving sins is intangible. Jesus must substantiate the act of forgiving with the cure.
You see that faith was active along with his (Abraham's) works, and faith was completed by works (James 2:22).
You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone (James 2:24).
For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so faith apart from works is dead (James 2:26).
Here, James seemed to have turned the table around. Faith is the body and works is the spirit!
But can I paraphrase it this way?
For as the spirit apart from the body is dead, so faith apart from works is dead.No! Because all along, people believe that the spirit survives the death of the body. Therefore, you can have a dead faith. But charity will survive.

My Advocate, You are the Spirit of truth and of love. Strengthen me to animate my faith with charity. I love my students. Help me to love more.
Our Lady, may your motherly love nourish me to love Your Son forever more. Amen.