Certainly I do and we must not confuse "descriptive" passages of scripture (John 5:28-29) with "prescriptive" passages of scripture (John 1:12; 3:15,16,18,36; 5:24; 6:29,40,47; 11:25,26) The good deeds of the redeemed (those who have done good) are not the basis or means by which they obtain salvation, but is the evidence of it. A person's conduct, whether good or evil, reveals the condition of his heart.
Doing good flows inescapably from a heart that is saved and doing evil flows equally inescapably from a heart that is unsaved, as we also see in Romans 2:6-10. *Notice that
ALL who come forth unto the resurrection of life (believers - vs. 24) are
described as those who have done good and
ALL that come forth unto the resurrection of damnation (unbelievers) are
described as those who have done evil.
What did Jesus say in John 3:18? - He who
believes in Him is not condemned; but he who
does not believe is condemned already.. Are believers described as "those who have done good" or those who have done evil?" Are unbelievers described as those "who have done evil" or "those who have done good?"
In James 2:20, "faith without works is dead" does not mean that faith is dead UNTIL it produces works and then it becomes a living faith (which would be like saying that a tree is dead UNTIL it produces fruit and then it becomes a living tree) or that works are the source of life in faith or that we are saved by works. James is simply saying
faith that is not accompanied by evidential works demonstrates that its dead. If someone
says-claims he has faith but
lacks resulting evidential works, then he has an
empty profession of faith/dead faith and not authentic faith. (James 2:14) So James does not teach that we are saved "by" works. His concern is to
show the reality of the faith professed by the individual (James 2:18) and demonstrate that the faith claimed (James 2:14) by the individual is genuine. Simple!
Remember that James is discussing the
evidence of faith (
says-claims to have faith but has no works/I will show you my faith by my works - James 2:14-18) and
not the initial act of being accounted as righteous with God (Romans 4:2-3). Works bear out the justification that already came by faith.
The comparison of the human spirit and faith converges around their modes of operation. The spirit (Greek pneuma) may also be translated "breath." As a breathless body emits no indication of life, so fruitless faith exhibits no indication of life. The source of the life in faith is not works; rather, life in faith is the source of works (Ephesians 2:5-10). More later...
I agree works do not save, and much of what tyou say, but Jesus does save and He makes it . But we can call it descriptive, perscriptive it is ignoring what Jesus says and God says, it is not optional:
Acts 3:22-23, " 22 Moses said, ‘The Lord God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brothers.
You shall listen to him in whatever he tells you. 23 And it shall be that every soul who does not listen to that prophet shall be destroyed from the people.’
Mat 25:31-46, “And
when the Son of Aḏam comes in His esteem, and all the set-apart messengers with Him, then He shall sit on the throne of His esteem. And all the nations shall be gathered before Him, and He shall separate them one from another,
as a shepherd separates his sheep from the goats. And He shall set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. Then the Sovereign shall say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the reign prepared for you from the foundation of the world for I was hungry and you gave Me food, I was thirsty and you gave Me drink, I was a stranger and you took Me in, was naked and you clothed Me, I was sick and you visited Me, I was in prison and you came to Me. Then the righteous shall answer Him, saying, ‘Master, when did we see You hungry and we fed You, or thirsty and gave You to drink? And when did we see You a stranger and took You in, or naked and clothed You? And when did we see You sick, or in prison, and we came to You? And the Sovereign shall answer and say to them, ‘Truly, I say to you, in so far as you did it to one of the least of these My brothers, you did it to Me. He shall then also say to those on the left hand, ‘Go away from Me, accursed ones, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his messengers for I was hungry and you gave Me no food, I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, was naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me. Then they also shall answer Him, saying, ‘Master, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not serve You? Then He shall answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, in so far as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into everlasting life.”
Matthew 24:45-51, “Who then is a trustworthy and wise servant, whom his master set over his household, to give them food in season?
Blessed is that servant whom his master, having come, shall find so doing. Truly, I say to you that he shall set him over all his possessions. But if that evil servant says in his heart, ‘My master is delaying his coming, and begins to beat his fellow servants, and to eat and drink with the drunkards, the master of that servant shall come on a day when he does not expect it, and at an hour he does not know, and shall cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites – there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
John 3:36, “He who
believes in the Son possesses everlasting life, but he who
does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.”
“
does not obey” is word #G544 - apeitheó: to disobey, Original Word: ἀπειθέω, Part of Speech: Verb, Transliteration: apeitheó, Phonetic Spelling: (ap-i-theh'-o), Short Definition:
I disobey, rebel, am disloyal, Definition:
I disobey, rebel, am disloyal, refuse conformity.
it says the people of God keep His commands. and those that don't are liars.
1 John 2:3-6, " 3 And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. 4 Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, 5 but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: 6 whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.
Now without doubt its HIS SPIRIT that causes the change and empowers the action:
Hebrews 10:16-17, " 16 “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws on their hearts, and write them on their minds,” 17 then he adds, “I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.”
John 3:18-19, " 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. 19 And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.
I will stand in front of Him just like every being will, He is the judge not me, I just want to serve Him.
Finally it is very clear, we can call it descriptive, perscriptive it is ignoring what Jesus says and God says, it is not optional
John 5:28-29, " 28 Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice 29 and come out,
those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment."
I would offer a thought that I think you explained and agree with in you breakdown of James 2, that those who believe will do what Jesus says, not perfectly but they will follow Him and grow in His ways. I think that those who do not believe, even if they claim to will no do what He says to do (
those who have done good to the resurrection of life) and therefore have a imitation faith and will not do what He says but find and excuse not to (
those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment). Again I will stand in front of Him just like every being will, He is the judge not me, I just want to serve Him. I do not place myself in eithr catagory nor anyone else, I just want to do His will, and this discussion with you is a little side tracked I know but I think it leads to the main topic also, I want to follow Him as He said. He said His words will never pass, the ones He spoke while with the disciples. God sais Jesus is the one we have to pbey, not optional, I take this serious.
In the light of that I want to bring this verse back up I think it displayes perfectly what I mean:
John 3:36, “He who
believes in the Son possesses everlasting life, but he who
does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.”