Faith must be with works, without works it is not faith at all (Jas 2:26).

Friends, faith is doing whatever God tells you to do, which all the time is against your will. When Noah was told to build an ark, he built it; when Abraham was told to offer his son as a burnt offering to God, he offered him; when Moses was told to lead his people out of Egypt, he led them out; when Jesus was told to drink his cup of sufferings, he drank it; when the apostles were told to proclaim the good news and witness for Christ, they left behind what they were doing and did so. These were the good works that accompanied their faith.

All of them exchanged their own will to do God’s will. There is no faith without the exchange of wills. If these men had not disregarded their own will to obey the will of God to do the good works that He had prepared for them (Eph 2:10), will their faith be counted as righteousness?

So when God tells you to do something, you must first disregard what you want to do, so you can do the good works that God wants you to do. There is no ground for boasting because it is the spirit that does the work, if indeed the spirit dwells in you. You must first die, so to speak, so you may live for God (John 12:24). That is faith with good works.

Think about it.