And yet the same author who wrote Romans 4 also wrote Philippians 2:12 which says "Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling"
Church teaching is that we can do nothing to merit the grace that comes to us in baptism, which is the normal beginning of the Christian life. In fact, the Council of Trent condemned anyone who taught that we can save ourselves or who taught even that God helps us do what we could do for ourselves. The Church teaches that we can be saved only by God’s grace. Following Paul, the Catholic Church teaches that justification comes by faith. Only it says that it doesn’t come through faith alone. If you look carefully at Paul’s writings, you will notice that he never says that our righteousness comes from faith alone—only that it comes from faith apart from works.
And more importantly to read the Bible as a whole we see James saying that "a man is justified by his works". Do James and Paul contradict each other? No. because Paul always talks about works through the law i.e. he always is talking about the OT law. In Galatians he is specifically talking against circumscion. Paul speaks about Christians fulfilling the law by following the command to "love your neighbor as yourself" (Gal. 5:14). He then explains that we must show the "fruit of the Spirit" (Gal 5:16–26) and bear one another’s burdens (Gal. 6:1ff) as a way of fulfilling the "law of Christ" (Gal. 6:2). All Paul’s teaching comes down to this: Our own works can never justify us, but works that grow out of faith in Christ are part of our justification. That’s why Paul says in Philippians 2:12 you must "work out your own salvation with fear and trembling." And that squares with James’s teaching that works that grow from faith justify
In Romans Paul said that Abraham was not justified by works but by faith. Paul means that Abraham was not justified by keeping the Old Testament law, while James means that Abraham was justified by doing a work that grew out of his faith in God (James 2:21 ""Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered his son Isaac upon the altar?" ")
As documented above, the Reformationists did not teach that righteousness comes from faith which is alone, nor do the requirement of works as a resuit of faith teach justification is merited by them, while what Rome means by salvation by grace is that by God’s grace, dispense thru her sacraments, one does works by which they truly merit eternal life.
As regards Romans 4, this teaches imputed righteousness, not based upon a constitutional change in ones heart, while the negation of salvation by the merit of O.T. law-keeping is not limited to the Law, but that represented the standard, and negates all works are meriting salvation. (Titus 3:5) If this were not the case, imputed righteousness by faith would not be needed. “But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. {6} Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works,” (Rom 4:5-6)
To hold that one is justified by faith apart from works, but that works merit eternal life, is inconsistent and not Biblical.
As for James, if he is indeed teaching that faith-works themselves justify, then he both contradicts both Paul and Genesis 15:6. However, if he is teaching, in reaction to antinomianism, that only a faith which is manifested in works is salvific, being not alone, then they both agree.
But such works are not the same as perfunctory professions or even good works which one rests upon for God to justify Him by. And if Rome pressed upon its people that they were in dire need of salvation due to their sins and utter inability to justify themselves and escape eternal damnation, and must cast all their faith upon the Lord Jesus for salvation and the new birth, rather than treating them as saved souls because of infant baptism thru proxy faith, then evangelicals and Catholics could have some fellowship in the Spirit.