Sorry to interrupt at this point of the conversation. I'll just give my opinion on the topic of the faith and the works. I definitely think that in our christian life they go together. When we read in James chapter 2, it speaks for both of them together, encouraging the believers to do good works. But that's the point. The letter that James wrote was directed to believers.
" What does it profit, my BRETHREN, if someone says he has faith, but does not have works? Can faith save him? " James 2:14
It is because those people were already saved, that's why works were required from them. Same as the parable of the sheep and the goats in Matthew 25:31-46
It speaks about the judgement, but not any judgement, if you notice. Something was required from those people. And this was to help, to reach out other people, giving them the good news. " For I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave me drink; I was a stranger and you took me in....." Matthew 25:35
Even if the parable speaks about clothing, feeding, etc, we can understand this as giving someone living water from His Spirit, feeding him with His word, that is bread, clothing him by showing him comfort and love. We can look at it spiritually as this is a parable and God is not mainly interested about the material way of helping someone. We can help someone also literally clothing and feeding him, but with the purpose that we can reach out to him, to give him the good news of the gospel.
This kind of help and attitude is required not from unbelievers, but from believers as they can see the purpose and can give these good news to the others. We know that for someone not being saved is needed faith alone and there are works prepared before hand for those being saved by grace. Ephesians 2:10
But don't you think that we as Christians can become a bit lazy toward those works sometimes?
There are parts of the scripture that speak about that, about being lazy, (somewhere in Proverbs I think) and definitely I don't think that if those works have been prepared before hand, then we just have to cross our hands and wait for them to come or that we must feel compelled somehow to do those things.
Do you think that if we don't answer God's call for something, He can send someone else to do it. I think that yes, He can do it, because He will definitely accomplish His work in one or another way.
But if He wants to use you, it is definitely by His Grace. So you need to profit the chance.
God used Paul to write so much on the faith because of the Jews from that time that set their trust in the law and obviously because if man in general that wants to achieve the salvation by something he does, which is impossible, because then he will boast of himself and that doesn't please God. But the works accomplished by the faith are performed with a humble heart and God always teaches us a lesson if we start getting proud by them.
I believe as well that one day God is going to demand from us what have we done with our faith, with the tallent He gave us and we are going to be judged a cording to that . I'm speaking for the believers.
Because if we see Matthew 25:14-29, where it speaks about the parable of the talents and God demanding his servants about those talents. And to whom are going to be given talents if not to a believer. And straight after that parable it comes the one speaking about the Son of man judging the nations, the parable of the sheep and the goats which also speaks about the works of the believers.
This is what He requires from us and what can help it to be accomplished is having faith and a prayer.
