Is faith without works dead?
Well, as God says,
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. (Eph 2, 8-9)
A person of faith performs good works because the spirit of the Lord dwells within them. So if someone declares they are a person of faith, but there iare no works that can be seen in their life, then their faith is dead.
But works follow faith. Any works that get ahead of faith are useless, hollow attempts to be good enough to earn eternal life. And eternal life is far too precious for any sinner to earn. It must be freely given and freely accepted.