Is salvation acheived by faith alone, or does it in fact require some works? I was raised a Lutheran, and am looking for an answer from someone (like a Lutheran) who believes in salvation by grace alone (by faith alone, etc.). I still believe in salvation by faith alone because much of the New Testament seems to indicate this (John 3:16, Romans 3:28, 1 Corinthians 3:11, etc), but I am wondering how we rationalize these words of Jesus (below) and how they can be reconciled with the 'faith alone' philosophy. They seem to explicitly state that one 'must do the will of the father' in order to enter the Kingdom of Heaven (have salvation, right?).

Jesus said, in Matt 7:21-23
(NASB)
21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. 22 Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many [a] miracles?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.’
James 2:14-26 answers your question perfectly.

Faith is shown through works. I've included the excerpt below *. 

Symbolically, sin can be likened to nakedness, whereas clean white robes represent good deeds which are obviously tied with faith. 

Revelation 19:8


  8 She has been permitted to dress in fine (radiant) linen, dazzling
  and white—for the fine linen is (signifies, represents) the
  righteousness (the upright, just, and godly living, deeds, and
  conduct, and right standing with God) of the saints (God’s holy
  people).


With the amount of reference to "white robes" in Revelation (such as Revelation 7:14 ), and their correlation to faith (deeds) which is the result of both Christ's sacrifice and good works on the part of the follower, we can conclude that works are a large part of faith.

There is a definite correlation between good works (by which faith can be measured) and being counted among Christ's people. 

Matthew 25:36 Compare to James below:


  36 I was naked and you clothed Me, I was sick and you visited Me
  [j]with help and ministering care, I was in prison and you came to see
  Me.



James 2:14-26 


  14 What is the use (profit), my brethren, for anyone to profess to
  have faith if he has no [good] works [to show for it]? Can [such]
  faith save [his soul]?
  
  15 If a brother or sister is poorly clad and lacks food for each day,
  
  16 And one of you says to him, Good-bye! Keep [yourself] warm and well
  fed, without giving him the necessities for the body, what good does
  that do?
  
  17 So also faith, if it does not have works (deeds and actions of
  obedience to back it up), by itself is destitute of power
  (inoperative, dead).
  
  18 But someone will say [to you then], You [say you] have faith, and I
  have [good] works. Now you show me your [alleged] faith apart from any
  [good] works [if you can], and I by [good] works [of obedience] will
  show you my faith.
  
  19 You believe that God is one; you do well. So do the demons believe
  and shudder [in terror and horror such as [a]make a man’s hair stand
  on end and contract the surface of his skin]!
  
  20 Are you willing to be shown [proof], you foolish (unproductive,
  spiritually deficient) fellow, that faith apart from [good] works is
  inactive and ineffective and worthless?
  
  21 Was not our forefather Abraham [shown to be] justified (made
  acceptable to God) by [his] works when he brought to the altar as an
  offering his [own] son Isaac?
  
  22 You see that [his] faith was cooperating with his works, and [his]
  faith was completed and reached its supreme expression [when he
  implemented it] by [good] works.
  
  23 And [so] the Scripture was fulfilled that says, Abraham believed in
  (adhered to, trusted in, and relied on) God, and this was accounted to
  him as righteousness (as conformity to God’s will in thought and
  deed), and he was called God’s friend.
  
  24 You see that a man is justified (pronounced righteous before God)
  through what he does and not alone through faith [through works of
  obedience as well as by what he believes].
  
  25 So also with Rahab the harlot—was she not shown to be justified
  (pronounced righteous before God) by [good] deeds when she took in the
  scouts (spies) and sent them away by a different route?
  
  26 For as the human body apart from the spirit is lifeless, so faith
  apart from [its] works of obedience is also dead.