As I've stated before, I agree, works don't save us, works are only a expression of faith,
True works don't come into play unto after you have faith, Once that is done works are manifested,
How can I say "I believe God" but I say God's name in vain, or worship my car instead of God?? steal from my neighbor, or hate my brother?
If you really love God you'll keep his commandments, Not so you can impress God, but because you love him, God doesn't need us, we need God, God's trying to bring us back to the original Man, Adam and Eve, No sin, no hatred,Pride,Selfishness,Covetousness, All of that taken out of our character through communion with him, However how can you know that Adultery (Covetousness) is bad without the law?
1 Timothy 1
8But we know that the law is good, if a man use it lawfully; 9Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, 10For whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for menstealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine; 11According to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which was committed to my trust.
The law doesn't make us holy, Only show us we need to be saved, That's why Jesus came, However the purpose of the law still stands, to show us were sinning,
Does not sinning make us holy? Yes and No, however that's impossible without the law, Not that law can make you holy, It's weak through the flesh to do so, our own carnal natures can't keep the law, does that mean the law is weak? No, were the weak ones, God gave us the power to keep the law, through loving him.
"If You Love Me Keep My Commandments"
But loving God must come first, we must love Jesus, and all he's done for us, we want to be separated from sin, and our carnal nature, so we can be closer to God and his character, once that happens the law has knew meaning, we automatically stop breaking it because we don't want to hurt him, Not through own power, we must ask him to help us, pray without ceasing, and my God's grace we overcome.
Works mean nothing on their own, Don't ever let me tell you that, they are empty, just doing something so you can get favors from God, However that's totally different from doing something because the idea that your gonna hurt your savior and be separated from him if you do this thing,
Just let me ask you, If works are no longer important, then is committing adultery alright? or murder? or cursing God? or Worshiping Satan himself? Because if works have no purpose in religion as you seem to be hinting then all of those things are perfectly fine, and Jesus attest to that.
I'm not saying were gonna get into Heaven by our works, No, definitely not, but those works are only truly manifested if you have faith, and love God, otherwise it's done selfishly, but God didn't intend for it to be that way, Satan always has a counterfit of what God wants, he make our good works to do as God has commanded because we love him, Into trying to apeas God with our afflictions that we put on ourselves and God never gave,
But that doesn't make works bad, only why your carrying out those works.