A thorn in the flesh

"And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure." 2 Corinthians 12.7

The Work of God, or the destruction of the works of satan, demands total selflessness. And the greater the revelations of the Spirit, more humility is required. It is not known exactly what kind of thorn in the flesh Paul had. But surely, God allowed him to stay protected from pride.

The Work of God

"He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil." 1 John 3.8

The work of God is to destroy the devil's work. To do this, we must be able to confront Hell. Only those who are sealed, anointed with the Holy Spirit, are able to do so. If a Christian says he is baptized with the Holy Spirit but he is not, in the confrontation with hell, he loses. This is the reason why many have fallen in faith ...

The zeal of God

"For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness." Romans 1.18

In His Infinite Greatness, God makes sure that no injustice go unpunished. His anger is kindled against all forms of injustice that, in other words, are the works of the flesh: "...adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God." Galatians 5.19-21

Dead faith

 "For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also." James 2.26

The text leaves no doubt: faith without works is dead, hopeless. And what has been impeding people from taking actions of faith?
The feelings of their hearts.
These feelings are hindering people from the sacrifice that brings results.

Children of Abraham?

"They answered and said to Him, 'Abraham is our father.' Jesus said to them, 'If you were Abraham’s children, you would do the works of Abraham.'" John 8.39

The children of Abraham do the works of Abraham. Those who make excuses to avoid Abraham's example of sacrificial obedience have nothing to do with him.
In other words, Jesus is saying that anyone who does not imitate Abraham is not his child in faith.

Humbleness

"Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself."

Philippians 2:3

God sees everything we do, the good and the bad works. But what really matters though is who we are, that is, our character.

Corpse

"The very moment you separate body and spirit, you end up with a corpse. Separate faith and works and you get the same thing: a corpse." James 2:26

Faith without works is a corpse. The body may be perfect, but without the spirit, it must be buried...