“But in order to be saved you cannot just wait for these works to be some kind of chemical product of the faith. You have to either do the good works or you will kill your faith, as St. James so thunderously states. “Why call you me, Lord, Lord; and do not the things which I say?” (Luke 6:46). Faith is what we do.”
That statement has so many contradictions in it as to be unintelligible.
How can lack of good works kill your faith if “Faith is what we do”?
One has to believe someone is Lord in order to call him “Lord”. What Jesus is saying is the evidence of that belief is obedience.
I agree. I asked a question a number of days ago, on this thread, but it was never answered. Maybe you, annalex, would like to give it a try.
If a person trusts in Jesus Christ as Lord and savior, accepts the gift of grace God has given, and commits his life to serve the Lord in obedience to his commandments - not to be saved, but out of love and gratitude for God's mercy and grace. Would that person be a Christian and have assurance of heaven when he died? Leave out religious affiliations or labels. Would you consider that person a Christian and a brother in Christ?
For example, health is what we do. Do not do what the doctor says, and that choice of yours will destroy your health. Likewise, if you do not do what the Divine Doctor says (Mt 5-7 is a good summary), your faith will be dead (James 2:20-26).
Why do you think Protestants seek to reduce Christianity to a minimum subset of already truncated by them scripture? Because their faith is dying.