It’s not surprising that the aspect of Christianity that is most unique is also the most misunderstood. Christianity makes the remarkable claim that God completely pardons sinners and gives them eternal life solely on the basis of their faith, not as a result of anything they have done morally or religiously to deserve it. This is what distinguishes the Christian message from almost every other religion.

But it raises an important question: What part do good works play in the Christian life? Doesn’t God care how a person lives? Our minds jump to scenes of criminals attending church services or confession, only to commit some shocking crime just hours later. Is that what the Bible teaches?

Two seemingly contradictory passages of the Bible help clarify the place of good works in a person’s salvation. Those passages can be summarized as simple equations that I’ve found helpful in explaining the gospel to people.

Faith + Works ≠ Salvation

The first passage is Ephesians 2:8-9. It says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” It says that a person is saved, “by grace … through faith.” In other words, God saves us as a gracious act that we don’t deserve, and we receive that salvation through faith when we put our trust in Jesus Christ.

Paul could have stopped there, but because this truth is so easily misunderstood, he restates it in different words to remove confusion. When he adds, “this is not your own doing,” he makes clear that even this salvation by grace through faith is not something we produce ourselves. Then he makes it even clearer: “it is the gift of God.” Salvation is not earned; it is given.

Finally, he concludes, “not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” People won’t be giving each other high fives in heaven, congratulating each other that they made it, because no one earns their way there. Salvation is entirely God’s gift, received through faith.

So we conclude that God saves a person through faith alone and not by works. Or more simply, Faith + Works ≠ Salvation.

Faith = Salvation + Works

Just when you thought you were beginning to understand, you turn to the Book of James, and it seems to be saying the opposite of what Paul wrote in Ephesians.

James 2:17 says, “faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.” And verse 26 adds, “faith apart from works is dead.”

Are James and Paul contradicting each other?

At first glance, it may seem that way, but a closer look reveals otherwise. James isn’t saying that we need to add works to faith in order to be saved. He’s describing the kind of faith that truly saves. He’s contrasting genuine faith with empty claims.

True saving faith inevitably produces good works. If we have truly repented of our sin and trusted in Jesus Christ, our lives will begin to change.

That’s why James asks in verse 14, “What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?” A person who merely claims to have faith but shows no evidence of change should question whether that faith is real.

James even points to the “faith” of demons. James 2:19 says, “You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!” Even demons believe true things about God, but they are not saved. Their belief doesn’t lead to repentance or obedience.

As Martin Luther famously said, “We are saved by faith alone, but the faith that saves is never alone.”

True faith leads to good works. When we trust in Jesus, God not only saves us, He also begins to change us. The growth may not be immediate or dramatic, but over time it should become evident.

So we can say that saving faith is a faith that leads to good works. Or to state it with another equation: Faith = Salvation + Works.

We don’t add good works to faith as the basis of salvation. But when good works result from faith in Jesus, they give evidence that our faith is genuine.

So the real question isn’t whether we should do good works or not. The question is whether we are relying on them for salvation or seeing them as evidence of a faith that truly saves.

Let these equations help you assess your own faith and explain the gospel to others: