"Who has been justified by faith alone without works of the law? Thus, in my opinion, that thief who was crucified with Christ should suffice for a suitable example. He called out to him from the cross, 'Lord Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom!' In the Gospels nothing else is recorded about his good works, but for the sake of this faith alone Jesus said to him, 'Truly I say to you: Today you will be with me in paradise.'" - Origen of Alexandria, Commentary on Romans, Book III
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What about James 2:14-26?
Origen's response: "What, James says, that man is not justified by faith alone, but also by works, does not
at all militate against the preceding view. The reconciling of the two views depends chiefly
on the drift of the argument pursued by James. For the question with him is not, how men
attain righteousness before God, but how they prove to others that they are justified, for his
object was to confute hypocrites, who vainly boasted that they had faith. Gross then is the
sophistry, not to admit that the word, to justify, is taken in a different sense by James, from
that in which it is used by Paul; for they handle different subjects. The word, faith, is also
no doubt capable of various meanings. These two things must be taken to the account, before
a correct judgment can be formed on the point. We may learn from the context, that James
meant no more than that man is not made or proved to be just by a feigned or dead faith,
and that he must prove his righteousness by his works. See on this subject my Institutes."
Thanks for your response.