Are people saved by good works?
No. Scripture teaches that good works never save anyone. Those in the passage were saved by faith in the message, not by their deeds. Good works follow salvation as the natural outflow of a Christian's new nature, as seen when believers helped others after believing.
Les explains that in the Matthew 25 passage, the righteous are believers gathered from all nations. They ask when they saw the King hungry, thirsty, a stranger, naked, sick, or in prison and ministered to Him. The King answers that whatever they did to the least of His brethren, they did to Him. Les points out that Jesus, in the flesh, was a Jew, so His brethren must be Jews, specifically the 144,000. He emphasizes that it was not their good deeds that saved them; it never is good works that save anybody. They were saved by their faith in the message, and as soon as they experienced salvation, they were willing to help those who brought it to them. Les gives the example of believers in Europe during Hitler's terror against the Jews, who hid Jewish people and helped them escape. He says this is because it is a Christian's nature to do things like this.