It gets disheartening sometimes how often people from Bible-believing true Christian churches dispute the true gospel online, writing me to demand I accept the popular but wrong view that good works MUST accompany faith for someone to obtain eternal life. It is not as if the Bible doesn’t speak to this issue so that we have to take the words of man. The Scriptures clearly declare that this message that our change of behavior saves us is “another gospel which is really not another;” declare the message “anathema” or “accursed” even if an apostle or angel from heaven preaches it; call such preachers “false apostles” and “wolves;” say those Christians who believe it are “bewitched” and have “fallen from grace;” and declare that if that false message that our works are part of our justification were true, then “Christ died in vain.” It is wrong to preach to the lost, “Believe in Christ and clean up your behavior to be saved.” It is evil to preach that. It is sinful to preach that. It is a shameful wrong dividing the word of truth to do what they always do next (pull two verses from James 2 out of context and say that their interpretation of them trumps the clear teaching of the entire rest of the New Testament that shows their interpretation of James 2 is wrong.) The Bible’s message to the lost world is Christ died for our sins and rose from the dead, so “believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.” The Bible’s message to the lost person who wants to work instead of believe for eternal life is, “This is the work of God, that you believe on the One that He has sent.”
From Romans 4:
3 For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.” 4 Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. 5 And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness, 6 just as David also speaks of the blessing of the one to whom God counts righteousness apart from works:
7 “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven,
and whose sins are covered;
8 blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin.”
Walk of Faith - Dave Bunnell 