Metmom agreed with me above that faith without works is dead.
You are basically correct that grace can be thought of as “spiritual power.” It is God giving of Himself in order to transform us.
This grace is freely received in the sacraments and not because of any action I do to merit it.
If we take God’s grace and do nothing with it, we have rejected God, have rejected salvation.
If we respond to the grace and show good works, we are in the same situation you are in. With a faith and works to show for it.
If we take God's grace and do nothing with it except believe and trust Jesus to be our Savior, we are saved Christians...
Faith - Not mental assent, a deep belief and acceptance in the Gospel. We believe in the Lord's Life, Burial and Resurrection. We accept Him at His word that those who Believe HAVE eternal life, not conditional life. We believe Him when he paid for ALL our sins (past, present, future), he took upon the tree all our sin and we took on HIS Righteousness. He accomplished it all, there is nothing that we lack in HIS sight. We continue to become like Him (Sanctification), but We already have His Righteousness in God's sight.
Works - Our works, done in HIS service are from Love, Gratitude, and our duty as His purchased trophies of Grace. We have been changed, our affections our different, We Love the Brethren, we occasionally sin and our regretful. Sin is no longer direction of our lives, We WANT to please Him. See 1 John 1.
James 2 is for those who say they have Faith, but do not show a change in their life or attitude. They either have only mental assent or are fooling themselves. Faith produces works. Fig tree and fruit. If there is no change in ones life, there is no life.
Intellectual assent is not saving faith.
True faith produces works as evidence of that faith being active. It is not completed by the works as in apprehending salvation.
Salvation itself is by grace through faith in Christ and NOT OF WORKS.
Paul could NOT have been more clear about it.
There is a difference that escapes Catholics about working out our salvation in meaning to become more Christlike in our salvation that we now have, and working out our salvation to earn it.
We are not saved by works nor are we kept by works. (Galatians 3, which I have already posted here before)
Jesus said the work of God is to BELIEVE Him who sent Jesus.