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***I’ve always felt that a definition of “good works” helps in discussions of this sort. Are good works, keeping the laws, partaking of sacraments, baptism, helping someone, etc. Or are all these “good works”?***

All of these are, yet they are not all encompassing. I’d suggest a reading of Matt 5 through 7 - the Sermon on the Mount. A study of the Beatitudes might also serve.

Matt 5:
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13 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.
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Amen, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter will pass from the law, until all things have taken place.
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Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do so will be called least in the kingdom of heaven. But whoever obeys and teaches these commandments will be called greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 14
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I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter into the kingdom of heaven.
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15 16 “You have heard that it was said to your ancestors, ‘You shall not kill; and whoever kills will be liable to judgment.’
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17 But I say to you, whoever is angry 18 with his brother will be liable to judgment, and whoever says to his brother, ‘Raqa,’ will be answerable to the Sanhedrin, and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ will be liable to fiery Gehenna.
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Therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar, and there recall that your brother has anything against you,
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leave your gift there at the altar, go first and be reconciled with your brother, and then come and offer your gift.
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Settle with your opponent quickly while on the way to court with him. Otherwise your opponent will hand you over to the judge, and the judge will hand you over to the guard, and you will be thrown into prison.
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Amen, I say to you, you will not be released until you have paid the last penny.
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19 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’
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But I say to you, everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
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20 If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one of your members than to have your whole body thrown into Gehenna.
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And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one of your members than to have your whole body go into Gehenna.
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21 “It was also said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife must give her a bill of divorce.’
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But I say to you, whoever divorces his wife (unless the marriage is unlawful) causes her to commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
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22 “Again you have heard that it was said to your ancestors, ‘Do not take a false oath, but make good to the Lord all that you vow.’
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But I say to you, do not swear at all; 23 not by heaven, for it is God’s throne;
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nor by the earth, for it is his footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King.
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Do not swear by your head, for you cannot make a single hair white or black.
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24 Let your ‘Yes’ mean ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No’ mean ‘No.’ Anything more is from the evil one.
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25 “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’
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But I say to you, offer no resistance to one who is evil. When someone strikes you on (your) right cheek, turn the other one to him as well.
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If anyone wants to go to law with you over your tunic, hand him your cloak as well.
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Should anyone press you into service for one mile, 26 go with him for two miles.
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Give to the one who asks of you, and do not turn your back on one who wants to borrow.
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27 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’
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But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you,
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that you may be children of your heavenly Father, for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust.
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For if you love those who love you, what recompense will you have? Do not the tax collectors 28 do the same?
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And if you greet your brothers only, what is unusual about that? Do not the pagans do the same? 29
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So be perfect, 30 just as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Matt 7:
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“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, 10 but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.
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Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name? Did we not drive out demons in your name? Did we not do mighty deeds in your name?’
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Then I will declare to them solemnly, ‘I never knew you. 11 Depart from me, you evildoers.’
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12 “Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock.
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The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. But it did not collapse; it had been set solidly on rock.
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And everyone who listens to these words of mine but does not act on them will be like a fool who built his house on sand.

Throughout the Gospels, Jesus exhorts us to do as He commands. Whoever does not act on His words will be like a fool. The house of sand is a belief only and not an action.

Matt 25:
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14 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit upon his glorious throne,
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and all the nations 15 will be assembled before him. And he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.
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He will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
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Then the king will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
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For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me,
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naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.’
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Then the righteous 16 will answer him and say, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink?
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When did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you?
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When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you?’
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And the king will say to them in reply, ‘Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.’
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17 Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you accursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.
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For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink,
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a stranger and you gave me no welcome, naked and you gave me no clothing, ill and in prison, and you did not care for me.’
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18 Then they will answer and say, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or ill or in prison, and not minister to your needs?’
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He will answer them, ‘Amen, I say to you, what you did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for me.’
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And these will go off to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”

I am not the Judge; I cannot fully define what ‘good works’ are or how they apply in all cases. All I can do is point to the vast expanses of the Gospels in which Jesus tells us to do. I do not believe that ignoring these will result in other than what He tells us the results will be.