Protestant Christians around the world believe that we receive salvation by grace alone through faith, as the apostle Paul taught. And yet, we also come across the words of James: “Faith without works is dead.” This seeming contradiction has led believers of every generation to wonder, “Do the things we do impact how God sees us? Do our works contribute to our righteousness?” Together, let’s examine the book of James as a whole to understand his teachings on grace and works in context. We’ll compare what we learn from James to what Paul teaches about the relationship between God’s grace and our works, and then consider what it means for our daily lives.