Very true, but the difference makes all the difference. Faith that works is the sancification process, which is all of God. It is the EVIDENCE of justification, not the means -- and it's all of God. Thankfully, God gives us the means to test the genuineness of our faith. The evidence is the work of the Holy Spirit in a regenerated, already justified, heart. Number one evidence: conviction and hatred of sin.
Anything else is the belief that you can save yourself by being good.
The works of the justified man are more than just the evidence of justification, like Christ's works are more than just the evidence of his divinity.
The "the belief that you can save yourself by being good" is the heresy of Pelagianism.