Once Abraham put his trust in God, he entered into a spiritual relationship with the Lord. It is the same with us. We don't clean up our life first. We believe God accepts us as He said in His Word. Not of works lest any man should boast.
Genuine faith works.
A. Salvation doesn't stop with a beginning. James realizes genuine faith will produce something. After Abraham believed, he proved he had faith when he offered up his son, Isaac. B. Faith that doesn't work, isn't real. For James, justification is not acquittal but evidence.