Faith and Deeds

What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don't show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone? Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing, and you say, "Good bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well"- but then you don't give the person any food or clothing? What good does that do?

So you see, faith by itself isn't enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless. Now some may argue "Some people have faith; others have good deeds." But I say, "How can you show me your faith if you don't have good deeds? I will show you my faith by my good deeds."

You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, they tremble in terror. How foolish! Can't you see that faith without good deeds us useless?

James 2:14-20 (NLT)

The other day I had a discussion with a good friend of mine about these verses. We are always told that God doesn't require anything of us, but don't these verses imply that we have to work to get into heaven? 

My personal opinion is that if we have faith, we will desire a relationship with God. And if we have a relationship with God, he will place the desire in our hearts to do good deeds. I have never had a heart for service, and in the past few months, God has given me such a strong desire to serve! If Jesus were here today, I can guarantee we wouldn't find him preaching at a huge church (I won't name any names), we would find him at a food bank, or a soup kitchen, or a homeless shelter.  That is where I would like to be found, as well.