Gabe, Thanks for your comment. 
Craig, Thanks for your comments as well.
My thought is that the problem lies in the wording of it all. In saying that salvation is a gift from God, we say it is free and therefore requires no action or works on our part. All we have to do is have faith. But as James says, “Faith without works is dead.” No faith is also dead. So it’s basically the same as saying that neither faith nor works is required. The gift is God’s word, given to us and carried out by God Himself in person,and the price He paid for doing so. This being done out of love for us. Salvation is the result of following His word. There is a purpose for the works. They are an integral part of God’s word.
- As I mentioned before, they build us up spiritually
- We are a part of the working creation, and if we fail to work, the creation suffers. For example, the heart is a part of the body, if it quits working we die. Ecclesiastes 10:18 says "Because of laziness the building decays, and through idleness of hands the house leaks.
- We instruct others who are trapped in sin and provide a refuge to those who suffer.
There may be more reasons than these. As you’ve noticed, I do stress the works, not that I think faith is unimportant. On the contrary, I believe faith is just as important. But, in observation of the world at present, I think the works are being neglected.