It is the hardest for those who attempt it under their own strength and resources. In the meantime, Jesus solved the problem. He said that with men, it is impossible but with God all things are possible. As far as James goes, I noticed that you failed to mention his examples of works. There were two. The first one was Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son. The second was Rahab the harlot's (yes, harlot) willingness to help God's messengers. In short, the point was simply that what we do indicates what we believe.
So what do we believe about life and righteousness? In Rom.5:15-19, Paul calls them free gifts. Therefore if one is working for these, their works prove what they believe, that they are not free. On the other hand when we bear fruit, we demonstrate what we have received by faith, not what we are hoping to receive by our outward deeds. This is why it is called fruit. James was simply reasoning with his readers that if they really had faith it would be more evident by their love for one another. Love, by the way, was the subject of his concern for them. Read the letter more carefully, I suggest. Love is the primary fruit of the Spirit. If it is absent, then the Spirit was never given. Then faith never happened, as the Spirit is received by faith. You are unfortunately in the business of putting the cart before the horse.
Here is the order. Life is offered as a gift of grace. It is received by faith. It is then demonstrated by way of fruit. We call this "works" sometimes. But works do not lead to life. They come after it has been given. You have been lied to. Maybe not deliberately, but nonetheless, you have been beguiled into working for a free gift. I can only hope and pray your eyes are opened..if in fact these things are true in your case.
And therein lies the unfortunate consequence of changing the wording of a text, in this case Heb.11:1. If, while one is engaged in a so called evident demonstration (works), he cannot at the same time be given the so called assured expectation of things hoped for (re: the NWT). His assurance becomes directly associated with and dependent upon his own demonstration of works. Therefore one's assurance becomes relevant to his own performance, not God's promise of a free gift. Faith comes by hearing, not by doing. Salvation is by God's work for us, not by our work for Him (or worse, for ourselves). There is only One Savior. He who seeks (is motivated) to save his own life, will lose it. A sobering thought.
