Four Works

I have no issues with works being involved in salvation. I do not hold to the faith-only paradigm. While I don't believe the concept of works necessarily demands rewards, I do believe works are required to be saved. I do not deny salvation by grace.
Grace causes salvation. There is nothing human-centric that causes salvation.
Obedient faith is not the cause of salvation, but it is the conduit through which God sends His grace to the individual in order to save them. Obedient faith is what humans choose to do to be saved.
Works come in four different kinds in the scriptures.
== Works of the Devil ==
1 John 3:8 - these are either works the Devil does or his agents do. These works do not save as they are contrary to the will of God.
=== Examples ===
Sin
Persecution of the Church
Twisting the Scriptures
== Works of the law (of Moses) ==
Romans - these works are works particular to Israel and were given by God for them to do to preserve them as the vehicle to fulfill the promise to Abraham to bless all the nations of the world by bringing Messiah into the world. These works do not save as the law of Moses cannot save.
=== Examples. ===
Circumcision
Sacrificing Animals
Tithing
== Works of Self-Righteousness/Merit ==
Romans 10:3; Eph. 2:8-9 - these works are about reward, about trying to save ourselves. The person who rejects God's plan and tries to devise their own and then say to God, "God, I did this, you owe me salvation." Works of this kind are about an economic exchange of things allegedly of equal value.
=== Examples ===
Indulgences
Good Actions
Vain Worship
== Works of Faithful Obedience ==
- James 2:24 - these works are about submission to God's will, about doing what God has given us to do in humility, knowing that when we do them, we are still considered "unprofitable servants" and that "we have done that which was our duty to do" (Luke 17:10). There is no intrinsic value in these works and they are not offered in exchange for salvation as if they did. Yet, God has declared that we must do them and that grace flows through them.
=== Examples ===
Plan of Salvation
Living Christlike
== Faith Only ==
Most struggle to understand the nature of that last one. They struggle to separate out the concept of works and reward as if the two are inherently linked (they are not). Because they do not understand the position, they simply assert that it is not true and dismiss it rather than address it and attempt to show why it is wrong from scripture.
Any other position, most of which are a "faith only" position, creates a contradiction between Paul and James. This position does not. It recognizes that Paul is talking about works of the law of Moses and works of self-righteousness and James is talking about works of obedient faith. No conflict is generated and there is absolute harmony between all the scriptures without the need for invention and eisegesis.
"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." Matthew 7:21
You can't even get into the church, the body of the saved (the kingdom) without doing the will of God, much less Heaven. That's an explicit statement and is ungetaroundable.
== Conclusion ==
The Bible describes four different kinds of works, each with a different purpose and outcome. Only one kind of work is "of God" and required for salvation. This kind of work, works of obedient faith, does not earn salvation as a reward. Rather it is how we submit to the will of God, understanding that He has declared He will save us if we do them.
In Truth and Love.