Romans 4 4

Romans 4:4 kjv

Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt.

Romans 4:4 nkjv

Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt.

Romans 4:4 niv

Now to the one who works, wages are not credited as a gift but as an obligation.

Romans 4:4 esv

Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due.

Romans 4:4 nlt

When people work, their wages are not a gift, but something they have earned.

Romans 4 verses

Romans 4 4 Meaning

Romans 4:4 succinctly distinguishes between two forms of recompense: wages and gifts. It posits that for an individual who performs work, the payment received is not a benevolent gift but a deserved remuneration, viewed as an obligation or debt. This statement serves as a foundational premise for Paul's subsequent argument on the nature of Abraham's justification, emphasizing that righteousness, when credited by God, operates on a principle contrary to human merit earned through works.

Romans 4 4 Context

Romans 4:4 serves as a critical logical antithesis within Paul's grand argument for justification by faith in Romans 4. Having stated in Romans 4:3 that Abraham's belief in God was "counted to him as righteousness," Paul now explores the nature of this "counting" or "reckoning." He contrasts Abraham's experience with the universally understood concept of earning a wage. Historically and culturally, in both Jewish and Roman societies, a person who performed labor was contractually owed a wage. This debt-based relationship was distinct from receiving a gift. Paul introduces this common, understandable scenario to starkly differentiate Abraham's spiritual accounting from any system based on human effort and merited reward. The immediate context of chapter 4 establishes Abraham, the revered patriarch of Israel, as the prime example that justification has always been by faith and not by adherence to the Law or any form of human works, directly challenging prevalent Jewish legalism and notions of earning salvation.

Romans 4 4 Word analysis

• Now (Δέ - De): A conjunctive particle functioning as a transition or a mild adversative. Here, it introduces a contrast or alternative perspective to the prior assertion about Abraham, setting up the logical framework for distinguishing earned wages from credited righteousness.
• to the one who works (τῷ ἐργαζομένῳ - tō ergazomenō): Dative singular, "to the worker" or "to the one laboring." This phrase identifies an individual engaged in an activity that naturally yields compensation. It speaks of a contractual relationship where performance obligates payment, representing human effort to earn something.
• his wages (ὁ μισθός - ho misthos): The direct recompense for labor or service; payment. In ancient society, this referred to a stipulated, expected payment for work performed, a clear reflection of earned entitlement.
• are not counted (οὐ λογίζεται - ou logizetai): "Are not reckoned" or "are not credited." The Greek term logizomai is a key accounting verb in Romans 4. In this instance, coupled with "ou" (not), it signifies that the payment is not viewed as an act of generosity but rather as a necessary entry in a ledger, fulfilling an outstanding obligation.
• as a gift (χάριν - charin): Literally "as grace" or "as a favor." This word (from charis) denotes something given freely, without expectation of repayment or previous deserving. It's the antithesis of a wage.
• but (ἀλλὰ - alla): A strong adversative conjunction, emphatically introducing a contrasting idea or corrective.
• as his due (κατὰ ὀφείλημα - kata opheilema): Literally "according to debt" or "as what is owed." Opheilema signifies a debt or an obligation. This phrase explicitly states that the wages are an fulfillment of an outstanding financial or contractual liability, not an unmerited donation.

Words-Group Analysis:

• "Now to the one who works": This phrase immediately grounds the discussion in a common, everyday scenario of human endeavor and reward. It introduces the paradigm of earning.
• "his wages are not counted as a gift": This clause emphasizes the inherent nature of wages. They are compensation, not philanthropy. The use of "counted" or "reckoned" (logizomai) underscores that the transaction is one of calculated entitlement, not gracious imputation.
• "but as his due": This strongly reinforces the idea of obligation and debt. A wage is received because it is owed, based on work performed. It is a contractual entitlement, putting the recipient in a position of meriting the payment, contrasting sharply with the concept of a "gift."

Romans 4 4 Bonus section

The "wage" analogy (místhos) was common in Greco-Roman society, and Paul shrewdly uses this relatable concept to convey a profound theological truth about justification. By contrasting wages (deserved payment) with a gift (unmerited favor, charis), Paul sets up the theological impossibility of earning divine righteousness. He's arguing against any system—whether pagan philosophical attempts at self-perfection or Jewish legalistic interpretations—that posits humans can accrue enough merit to demand salvation from God. This verse is not about the value of good works after conversion, but rather the mechanism by which one becomes righteous in God's eyes, firmly locating it outside human meritorious effort.

Romans 4 4 Commentary

Romans 4:4 profoundly elucidates the crucial distinction between a meritorious system and a grace-based one. Paul asserts that when a person performs work, the resulting payment is legally and morally due to them; it is a compensation earned, not a charitable offering. This establishes a baseline for understanding human efforts within a framework of justice and contract. If righteousness were obtained through human labor or adherence to the Law, it would logically fall into the category of "wages"—something earned and therefore deserved. This foundational truth serves to highlight the radical nature of Abraham's justification: if Abraham's faith was "counted as righteousness," it bypassed the human system of earning and entered into God's divine economy of grace, where a gift is freely bestowed rather than a debt being satisfied. The verse powerfully dismantles the notion that humans can obligate God to bestow salvation through their deeds, thereby paving the way for the doctrine of salvation as an unearned gift of grace through faith alone.