Directly, undeniably, OBVIOUSLY opposite things.
You try to make your case by just IGNORING what James said here:
"Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures" (Jas.1:18).
Can you not even understand that these words of James make it plain that a person receives the new birth by faith and faith alone? And of course you IGNORED Peter's words which say the same thing:
"Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever....And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you" (1 Pet.1:23,25).
You failed to address those verses and I can understand why. On the other hand I will address James' words in the second chapter, verses which you quoted in a failed attempt to try to prove what he said at James 1:18 cannot be believed.
Here is the clue to understanding exactly what James is referring to in that chapter:
"Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works" (Jas.2:17).
In his discourse in the second chapter James is speaking about what one person can know about another person's faith. The only way a person can know if another person has faith is to see good works. If no good works are seen then as far as others can see that kind of faith is a dead faith and will save no one.
Sir Robert Anderson writes,
"Paul's Epistle (Romans) unfolds the mind and purposes of God, revealing His righteousness and wrath. The Epistle of James addresses men upon their own ground. The one deals with justification as between the sinner and God, the other as between man and man. In the one, therefore, the word is, 'To him that worketh not, but believeth'. In the other it is, 'What is the profit if a man say he hath faith, and have not works?' Not 'If a man have faith', but 'If a man say he hath faith' proving that, in the case supposed, the individual is not dealing with God, but arguing the matter with his brethren. God, who searches the heart, does not need to judge by works, which are but the outward manifestation of faith within; but man can judge only by appearances...He (Abraham) was justified by faith when judged by God, for God knows the heart. He was justified by works when judged by his fellow men, for man can only read the life " [
emphasis added] (Sir Robert Anderson, The Gospel and Its Ministry, [Kregel Publications, 1978], pp.160-161).
Clete, you do not even understand the most basic teaching of the Bible, that all people who are saved are saved by grace through faith apart from works:
"Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all" (Ro.4:16).
Do you not know that "works" and "grace" are mutually exclusive?
Since I have addressed the verses which you cited from James please address his words at James 1:18 and what Peter said at 1 Peter 1:23-25.