For those that say "works" are not important, only faith, how do you reconcile these verses from the Bible?
My caps for emphasis....
Matthew 7:21
¶ Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that DOETH the will of my Father which is in heaven.
Proverbs 24:12
12 If thou sayest, Behold, we knew it not; doth not he that pondereth the heart consider it? and he that keepeth thy soul, doth not he know it? and shall not he render to every man ACCORDING TO HIS WORKS?
Matthew 5:16
16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good WORKS, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
James 2:14-26
14 What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?
15 If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food,
16 And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?
17 Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.
18 Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.
19 Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.
20 But wilt thou know, O vain man, that FAITH WITHOUT WORKS IS DEAD?
21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar?
22 Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect?
23 And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.
24 Ye see then how that BY WORKS A MAN IS JUSTIFIED, and not by faith only.
25 Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way?
26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.
Revelations 20:12-13
12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and THE DEAD WERE JUDGED out of those things which were written in the books, ACCORDING TO THEIR WORKS.
13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged EVERY MAN ACCORDING TO THEIR WORKS.
James 1: 22-23
22 But be ye DOERS of the word, and NOT HEARERS ONLY, deceiving your own selves.
23 For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass:
Romans 2:13
13 For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the DOERS of the law shall be justified.
I am not denying the need for and importance of faith. The Bible teaches that we should have faith.
What I am saying is that according to the BIBLE as clearly pointed out, we need works as we will be judged according to our works. We are justified in our faith by Jesus Christ, but he also judges us according to our works. We need to have good works or we will be judged accordingly as the Bible points out.
John 5:22
For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son:
CJ: How do you reconcile Matthew 7:21 that says "not everyone enters heaven save he doeth the will of the faither. Doeth is works.
Would you be saying that Matthew was a liar then?
Dude: You are missing the point. I agree that faith is important, and that NO AMOUNT of works can save us without Christ. But the Bible is clearly saying works is important. You have not answered the question. How do you explain these verses about the importance of works? Are they not to be believed?
Xeus: You are close to the point I am suggesting. You need BOTH. But in saying that, you do indeed need WORKS too. You cannot dismiss WORKS. It goes hand in hand with faith.
Jay: I agree with your point. We of course need faith in Christ. And faith brings works. They go together. Yet, only having faith without works, as James says, profits us nothing. I am simply saying you have to DO (works) along with your faith.
Mike Matney: You are uincorrect sir. James is NOT talking about those that are already saved. Where does James say that? He does not. Again, why would the Master, Jesus Christ say in Matthew 7:21 that even those that proclaim him "Lord, Lord" which is faith and belief, are not then saved. You have to DOETH the will to enter heaven.
Gothni: That is my point and that is what I think the Bible is clearly pointing out. No amount of faith alone is going to save you. Just decaring "I believe" is not going to cut it. You have to also "DO."