That good works is not the merit for salvation but the fruit of saving faith is biblical.
But It is also a delicate point. For if I am persuaded that saving faith must produce good deeds, yet I strive to force them out of fear that my faith alone cannot save me, then those deeds risk becoming works of fear rather than fruit of the Spirit.
As the Apostle John reminds us: love is perfected not by fear, but by love.
Yet when Jesus’ love for me stirs love for my neighbors, words and deeds of compassion flow naturally. So my 2¢: don’t force good deeds out of fear of being lost, but don’t let opportunities for deeds of love pass us by—for we love Jesus, and we love our neighbors.
For James also said,
“So you see that Abraham’s faith and the things he did worked together. His faith was made perfect by what he did.”
Ja2:22NCV