This first section is in reply to all; not addressed to any person, but a general statement.
Faith
leads to works by its very nature. You
want to do good works, because your faith is not dead. If you have faith, good works is a natural result.
If your faith isn't correct, you won't do good works. It should permeate your life. As Romans 6 says, we are dead in Christ (our old life), reborn in Christ (our new life). Thus, if we are not doing good works in our own lives, it's because our faith is not what it should be and we need to re-evaluate what we believe and why we believe it.
There should be no argument over whether faith requires works to be alive.
James 2 bends over backwards to point out that faith without works is dead. No one can read it and come to any other conclusion.
Jesus, in Revelation, speaks of works as well, but differentiates between good and bad works.
To the church of Pergamos:
Revelation 2:13 I know thy works [bad], and where thou dwellest, even where Satan's seat is: and thou holdest fast my name, and hast not denied my faith, even in those days wherein Antipas was my faithful martyr, who was slain among you, where Satan dwelleth.
—
To the church of Thyatira:
Revelation 2:19 I know thy works [good], and charity, and service, and faith, and thy patience, and thy works; and the last to be more than the first.
—
To the world (churches and all):
Revelation 22:10-12 And he saith unto me, Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand. He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still. And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.
These verses indicate a clear closing of probation in the end time. If you are unjust, you might as well be unjust still, probation has closed. If you are holy, be holy still. God is separating the wheat from the tares. Notice the last sentence... reward according to his work shall be—good or bad; for we know that the wicked will perish at the second coming and the truly faithful will be saved.
Good works are manifested by faith, through the life of a changed individual. Bad works are works wrought through sin. Selfishness. Pride. Personal gain. Why do we get baptized if there is no life change? It comes down to your personal relationship with Jesus. If you are truly faithful, are seeking Him, good works will occur, not by effort, but because love is manifesting itself in your life. You genuinely care for your fellow man and want to do for others. Love is the focal point here. If you love God, love others, the natural result is good works, as long as sin doesn't abound.
This second section is a response to your original post. I agree, faith without works is dead. However, I wanted to address something you posted at the end, which I quoted.
Holiness. Commandment #4,
to keep it holy. This indicates some effort on our part, to do God's will in our lives. Sabbath commandment aside (for the moment), God is asking us to be holy and righteous Christians. The word I like to use is
devout.
Just what can we do to be holy, righteous people? Jesus is a vital component, along with the Holy Spirit, but we must make the effort ourselves, to align with God's will. The way we know we're holy is when we are in line with the character of God. Therefore, obedience is necessary. It's the only way to be in line with God's character.
If the New Testament law (love God, love others) is the only binding law, then why did Jesus point to the Ten Commandments in Revelation? Remember, this is the Revelation of Jesus Christ. This is Jesus coming to John with a clear, urgent, prophetic message for the churches and the people of the end time. Revelation is Jesus expressing in no uncertain terms His expectations for us.
And so you can't dismiss the following verses as irrelevant.
The true church (not a denomination, a remnant people) keeps the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus, which is His testimony. Notice that commandment keepers are the target of the dragon. *rubs chin*
Revelation 12:17 And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.
Jesus ties commandment-keeping with faith. He also references the commandments of God, not just the commandments of Jesus.
Revelation 14:12 Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.
The very last verses of Revelation. A clear reference to the Ten Commandments and the Sabbath; true worship vs false worship
Revelation 22:14 Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.
Looking back from Revelation, to the very words of Jesus about His new commandments. Nowhere does Jesus say, "Oh those old commandments? Yeah, just forget those. This is the new!"
Matthew 22:34-40 But when the Pharisees had heard that he had put the Sadducees to silence, they were gathered together. Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying,Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
John 13:34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
John 14:15 If ye love me, keep my commandments.
Just what are Jesus' commandments? He is our creator as per Colossians 1:16-20 et al, which is all-inclusive. The ones He gave to Adam and Eve. The ones He gave on Mt. Sinai (minus the obvious laws done away with at the cross). The ones He gave to the Pharisees that define ALL the law and the prophets around a central concept of love; the foundation of God's law. The first four of the Ten Commandments show us how to love God. The last six show us how to love others. Worship.
Works.
Lastly, a warning from Jesus in Revelation about adding or taking away from the word of God.
Revelation 22:18-19 For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.
And so, in my mind, you can't be holy unless you obey God's commandments that still apply to us. The Old and New Testaments are the two witnesses of God. Jesus is clearly pointing to the Ten Commandments. Jesus' work
expands on the law of God, pointing to it, hanging the law and the prophets off of a central concept called love;
the character of God.
One can't understand the concept of love without the law and the prophets (i.e. all of those words about commandment-keeping and how to be a Christian throughout the Bible). You can't pick and choose like a choose-your-own-adventure book (and I loved those as a teenager).
Jesus is tempted by Satan to turn stones into bread, because He is hungry.
Matthew 4:4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
In our hungriest (spiritually) times, it is the word of God that sustains us. We live by
every word.
In closing, it makes no sense for Jesus to come to earth, expand on the law of God that He Himself gave at creation, gave on Mt. Sinai, gave throughout His ministry and then just do away with it at the cross. The work of Jesus was to show us the importance of God's law, not replace it with an abstract view of love. God doesn't change. The law is God's law. The sacrificial laws pointed to the the cross and the sanctuary in heaven where Jesus is mediating for us right now. The civil laws laid the ground work for our own laws today (capital punishment et al). The dietary laws help us to keep our temples (bodies) holy. In these things, we can clearly discern what Jesus intended for His people to obey and not obey. If you love God, you keep His commandments that are still binding, through the lens of love God, love others. The takeaway is that we need to realize Jesus came to expand (give understanding to), not retract from the word of God (or His law).
—
To all readers: You don't have to agree with anything I say. Pray for discernment. Read the Bible. Come to your own conclusions.