James 2:17-18
Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself. But someone may well say, 'You have faith, and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works'.
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Our faith, like our Lord and His Word, is supposed to be living and active in our lives {Heb.4:12}, or otherwise it will be ineffective and wither away. That faith and the resulting works speak volumes, not about us, but rather about the faithfulness of Jesus who gave His life for us at the cross which is why the apostle Paul would proclaim that he had determined to know nothing among us but Christ and Him crucified. {1Cor.2:2}

Paul also wrote that it is not the hearers of the word but the doers of the word who will be justified. {Rom.2:13} And far more importantly, Jesus Himself said in the Sermon on the Mount that when we hear His words we are to act on them and continued by saying: “And everyone who hears these words of Mine, and does not act upon them, will be like a foolish man, who built his house upon the sand. And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and burst against that house; and it fell, and great was its fall.” {Mat.7:26-27}
 
Our faith, in action, testifies of the power of our God to all who see it. They may not respond to the Lord or even recognize His work but that is not our responsibility—actively and faithfully living by faith certainly is. The Holy Spirit will make His love visible to all who will receive it. That great and monumental 'faith chapter', Hebrews 11, does not talk about what faith those saints had but about the works that their faith empowered them to do. A very partial list:
    - Abel offered (vs 4)
    - Noah prepared an ark (vs 7)
    - Abraham went out (vs eight)
    - Sarah conceived (vs 11)
    - Moses refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter and chose to endure ill-treatment with the people of God rather than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin (vs 24-25)
 
Oh, and of course it always goes back to Jesus who surrendered His will to the Father and went to the cross in my place and in your place to pay the price for our sins! He said to His Father, “nevertheless, not My will but Thy will be done!” {Lk.22:42} And He said to us:

“Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” Matthew 5:16

TO GOD BE THE GLORY