That kind of faith is as dead as a corpse. These 'works' enjoined by James are the 'fruit' of Christian faith. They evidence true faith, but they do not create it. This is, therefore, the faith that those have who do not obey the Lord and who make optional his commandments. But what he says concerning faith applies to any faith in any age of the world.
Faith is faith wherever it is found and without regard to the age of the world in which it is found.
This means, of course, that the faith existed before it worked. It was already created and being a created entity already existing, it acts, and these acts are the result of faith. If a man wanted to say something which would express an exact opposite idea to that which James expresses, he couldn't beat this. James says that faith without works, or faith before it is expressed, manifested, and actualized by deeds is dead. Therefore, the deeds are necessary to faith, instead of coming as a result of something that was already completely created.