Understand the order of things.
4But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),
6and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
8For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;
9not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.
10For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.
Eph 2:4-10 NASB
True believers in Christ come to Him through faith and only faith. There is no work you can do to earn your faith as noted above. It is God's gift that we can come to Him through faith.
Once we become a disciple of Christ we are to follow and keep His commandments. As Jesus said, "My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples (John 15:8 NASB).
If we are doing this we are bearing fruit...or call it works. Either way, we are now working for Him and His kingdom.
Good luck getting him to listen!
When I quoted that to him, he raged that St. Paul never wrote that, and still has refused to admit what is plainly in Scripture.
It was at that point that I gave up on him and spent the rest of the thread just getting as many giggles as I could out of it.
If we are doing this we are bearing fruit...or call it works. Either way, we are now working for Him and His kingdom.
Mathew 5
48 “Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
Matthew 6:
33 “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
15 If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food,
16 And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?
17 Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.
18 Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.
This is where we bear the fruit.