Try the end of Matthew 25 on for size ... no works, and it's in the everlasting fire with you!
Jesus told those stories to remind the Jews of their own Law, which, because they keep on breaking, shows them how sinful they are, and that they are under the curse of God.
Paul said if a person is depending on the good works of the Law for salvation, they he has to follow them to the letter, without fault. One fault and the whole Law is broken and the curse of is upon that person.
This means that every one of us has broken the Law countless times since our youth, so we are all under the curse of God, and are subject to the penalty and wrath of God for breaking His Law.
If a person wants to have faith in Christ, and obey the commandments at the same time, they have to obey every single commandment without one single fault. It is not a matter of obeying just a few commandments and thereby satisfying the standards of God. You have to obey all of them perfectly, otherwise the curse of God is upon you. This means that faith in Christ means nothing, it is just empty words for the person who is attempting to follow the commandments as well.
There are only two ways of achieving salvation:
1. Obey every single command of the Law and of the commands that Christ made in the gospels, or:
2. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and put our faith in His finished work alone without any personal attempt to follow the commands.
There is no other way. The two cannot be mixed. If a person is able to follow all the commands perfectly, without fault from youth, then the finished work of Christ on the cross is unnecessary for that person, because there is no sin to be atoned for.
But that is not the reality for any of us. We all have sinned and therefore are subject to death, and unless we have faith in Christ alone apart from works, we remain under the curse of God.
Paul is quite clear about that in Romans and Galatians.