John, 3:16: "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."
The Lord indeed commands us to perform works in His name, but a million "works" without belief in the Grace of Jesus Christ, and the soul faces the Judgment of the Father.
“Believes” in Him, means His Teaching as proclaimed by Peter, and His other disciples. Before the New Testament was written, there were oral traditions passed down by Peter and to His successors. The Catholic Church is the one true repository of this teaching and faith based on scripture, sacred tradition, and revelation through its saints and martyrs. We can’t have 35, 000 different “Christian” sects proclaiming this belief from Rev. (Kool-Aid) Jim Jones and David Koresh to Rev. (”God Damn America”) Jeremiah Wright.
The question of faith begs the further question, faith in what? taught by whom?