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Read the Bible

THE MESSAGE

Romans 4:4

If you're a hard worker and do a good job, you deserve your pay; we don't call your wages a gift. But if you see that the job is too big for you, that it's something only God can do, and you trust him to do it—you could never do it for yourself no matter how hard and long you worked—well, that trusting-him-to-do-it is what gets you set right with God, by God. Sheer gift.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Abraham;   Bigotry;   Catholicity;   Employee;   Employer;   Faith;   Grace of God;   Justification;   Master;   Salvation;   Servant;   Wages;   Works;   Scofield Reference Index - Grace;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Reward of Saints, the;  

Dictionaries:

- Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Boasting;   Faith;   Justification;   Law;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Baptize, Baptism;   Genesis, Theology of;   Law;   Charles Buck Theological Dictionary - Justification;   Sandemanians;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Impute;   Justification;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Church;   Grace;   Impute, Imputation;   Justification;   Old Testament Quotations in the New Testament;   Patriarchs, the;   Romans, Book of;   Works;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Grace;   Hebrews, Epistle to;   Justification, Justify;   Law;   Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament - Atonement (2);   Debt, Debtor;   Grace ;   Guilt (2);   Justification;   Justification (2);   Law;   Reward;   Romans Epistle to the;   Trade and Commerce;   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Grace,;   Impute, to,;   The Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary - Impute;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Grace;   Imputation;   Justification;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Saul of Tarsus;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Now to the one who works, pay is not credited as a gift, but as something owed.
King James Version (1611)
Now to him that worketh, is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt.
King James Version
Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt.
English Standard Version
Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due.
New American Standard Bible
Now to the one who works, the wages are not credited as a favor, but as what is due.
New Century Version
When people work, their pay is not given as a gift, but as something earned.
Amplified Bible
Now to a laborer, his wages are not credited as a favor or a gift, but as an obligation [something owed to him].
New American Standard Bible (1995)
Now to the one who works, his wage is not credited as a favor, but as what is due.
Legacy Standard Bible
Now to the one who works, his wage is not counted according to grace, but according to what is due.
Berean Standard Bible
Now the wages of the worker are not credited as a gift, but as an obligation.
Contemporary English Version
Money paid to workers isn't a gift. It is something they earn by working.
Complete Jewish Bible
Now the account of someone who is working is credited not on the ground of grace but on the ground of what is owed him.
Darby Translation
Now to him that works the reward is not reckoned as of grace, but of debt:
Easy-to-Read Version
When people work, their pay is not given to them as a gift. They earn the pay they get.
Geneva Bible (1587)
Nowe to him that worketh, the wages is not counted by fauour, but by dette:
George Lamsa Translation
But to him who works, wages are not considered as a favor but as that which is due to him.
Good News Translation
A person who works is paid wages, but they are not regarded as a gift; they are something that has been earned.
Lexham English Bible
Now to the one who works, his pay is not credited according to grace, but according to his due.
Literal Translation
Now to one working, the reward is not counted according to grace, but according to debt.
American Standard Version
Now to him that worketh, the reward is not reckoned as of grace, but as of debt.
Bible in Basic English
Now, the reward is credited to him who does works, not as of grace but as a debt.
Hebrew Names Version
Now to him who works, the reward is not accounted as of grace, but as of debt.
International Standard Version
Now to someone who works, wages are not considered a gift but an obligation.Romans 11:6;">[xr]
Etheridge Translation
But to him who worketh, his wages are not reckoned to him as of favour, but as that which is owing to him:
Murdock Translation
But to him that worketh, the reward is not reckoned as of grace, but as a debt to him.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
To hym that worketh, is the reward not reckened of grace, but of duetie.
English Revised Version
Now to him that worketh, the reward is not reckoned as of grace, but as of debt.
World English Bible
Now to him who works, the reward is not accounted as of grace, but as of debt.
Wesley's New Testament (1755)
Now to him that worketh, the reward is not reckoned of grace, but of debt.
Weymouth's New Testament
But in the case of a man who works, pay is not reckoned a favour but a debt;
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And to hym that worchith mede is not arettid bi grace, but bi dette.
Update Bible Version
Now to him that works, the wages aren't reckoned as of grace, but as of debt.
Webster's Bible Translation
Now to him that worketh, is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt.
New English Translation
Now to the one who works, his pay is not credited due to grace but due to obligation.
New King James Version
Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt.
New Living Translation
When people work, their wages are not a gift, but something they have earned.
New Life Bible
If a man works, his pay is not a gift. It is something he has earned.
New Revised Standard
Now to one who works, wages are not reckoned as a gift but as something due.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Now, unto him that worketh, the reward is not reckoned by way of favour but by way of obligation,
Douay-Rheims Bible
Now to him that worketh, the reward is not reckoned according to grace but according to debt.
Revised Standard Version
Now to one who works, his wages are not reckoned as a gift but as his due.
Tyndale New Testament (1525)
To him that worketh is the rewarde not reckened of favour: but of duty.
Young's Literal Translation
and to him who is working, the reward is not reckoned of grace, but of debt;
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Vnto hi yt goeth aboute wt workes, is the rewarde not rekened of fauoure, but of dutye:
Mace New Testament (1729)
the reward is not counted as a favour to him that has done good actions, but as a debt:
Simplified Cowboy Version
Think about it this way, a fellow that day works is owed a wage because of his work. It ain't a gift.

Contextual Overview

1So how do we fit what we know of Abraham, our first father in the faith, into this new way of looking at things? If Abraham, by what he did for God, got God to approve him, he could certainly have taken credit for it. But the story we're given is a God-story, not an Abraham-story. What we read in Scripture is, "Abraham entered into what God was doing for him, and that was the turning point. He trusted God to set him right instead of trying to be right on his own." 4If you're a hard worker and do a good job, you deserve your pay; we don't call your wages a gift. But if you see that the job is too big for you, that it's something only God can do, and you trust him to do it—you could never do it for yourself no matter how hard and long you worked—well, that trusting-him-to-do-it is what gets you set right with God, by God. Sheer gift. 6David confirms this way of looking at it, saying that the one who trusts God to do the putting-everything-right without insisting on having a say in it is one fortunate man: Fortunate those whose crimes are carted off, whose sins are wiped clean from the slate. Fortunate the person against whom the Lord does not keep score. Do you think for a minute that this blessing is only pronounced over those of us who keep our religious ways and are circumcised? Or do you think it possible that the blessing could be given to those who never even heard of our ways, who were never brought up in the disciplines of God? We all agree, don't we, that it was by embracing what God did for him that Abraham was declared fit before God?

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Romans 9:32, Romans 11:6, Romans 11:35, Matthew 20:1-16

Reciprocal: Genesis 6:8 - General 2 Chronicles 15:7 - your work Psalms 33:18 - hope John 6:29 - This Acts 20:24 - the gospel Galatians 3:12 - the law Galatians 5:4 - justified Colossians 3:24 - ye shall 2 Thessalonians 2:16 - through Titus 2:11 - the grace Titus 3:7 - being

Cross-References

Genesis 4:16
Cain left the presence of God and lived in No-Man's-Land, east of Eden.
Genesis 4:17
Cain slept with his wife. She conceived and had Enoch. He then built a city and named it after his son, Enoch. Enoch had Irad, Irad had Mehujael, Mehujael had Methushael, Methushael had Lamech.
Genesis 4:19
Lamech married two wives, Adah and Zillah. Adah gave birth to Jabal, the ancestor of all who live in tents and herd cattle. His brother's name was Jubal, the ancestor of all who play the lyre and flute. Zillah gave birth to Tubal-Cain, who worked at the forge making bronze and iron tools. Tubal-Cain's sister was Naamah.
Genesis 15:17
When the sun was down and it was dark, a smoking firepot and a flaming torch moved between the split carcasses. That's when God made a covenant with Abram: "I'm giving this land to your children, from the Nile River in Egypt to the River Euphrates in Assyria—the country of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaim, Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites, and Jebusites."
Numbers 16:35
Then God sent lightning. The fire cremated the 250 men who were offering the incense.
Numbers 18:17
"On the other hand, you don't redeem a firstborn ox, sheep, or goat—they are holy. Instead splash their blood on the Altar and burn their fat as a Fire-Gift, a pleasing fragrance to God . But you get the meat, just as you get the breast from the Wave-Offering and the right thigh. All the holy offerings that the People of Israel set aside for God , I'm turning over to you and your children. That's the standard rule and includes both you and your children—a Covenant-of-Salt, eternal and unchangeable before God ."
Judges 6:21
The angel of God stretched out the tip of the stick he was holding and touched the meat and the bread. Fire broke out of the rock and burned up the meat and bread while the angel of God slipped away out of sight. And Gideon knew it was the angel of God! Gideon said, "Oh no! Master, God ! I have seen the angel of God face-to-face!"
1 Kings 18:38
Immediately the fire of God fell and burned up the offering, the wood, the stones, the dirt, and even the water in the trench.
2 Chronicles 7:1
When Solomon finished praying, a bolt of lightning out of heaven struck the Whole-Burnt-Offering and sacrifices and the Glory of God filled The Temple. The Glory was so dense that the priests couldn't get in— God so filled The Temple that there was no room for the priests! When all Israel saw the fire fall from heaven and the Glory of God fill The Temple, they fell on their knees, bowed their heads, and worshiped, thanking God : Yes! God is good! His love never quits!
Hebrews 11:4
By an act of faith, Abel brought a better sacrifice to God than Cain. It was what he believed, not what he brought, that made the difference. That's what God noticed and approved as righteous. After all these centuries, that belief continues to catch our notice.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Now to him that worketh,.... The apostle illustrates the former case by two sorts of persons in this and the next verse, who have different things accounted to them, and in a different manner. The one is represented as working, the other not. By the worker is meant, not one that works from, and upon principles of grace. The regenerate man is disposed to work for God; the man that has the Spirit of God is capable of working; he that has the grace of Christ, and strength from him, can work well; he that believes in Christ, works in a right way; he that loves Christ, works freely, and from a right principle; and he that has Christ's glory in view, works to a right end: but the worker here, is one that works upon nature's principles, and with selfish views; one that works in the strength of nature, trusting to, and glorying in what he does; seeking righteousness by his work, and working for eternal life and salvation. Now let it be supposed, that such a worker not only thinks he does, but if it could be, really does all the works of the law, yields a perfect obedience to it; what

is the reward that is, and will be

reckoned to him? There is no reward due to the creature's work, though ever so perfect, arising front any desert or dignity in itself: there may be a reward by promise and compact; God may promise a reward to encourage to obedience, as he does in the law, which is not eternal life; for that is the free gift of God, and is only brought to light in the Gospel; and though heaven is called a reward, yet not of man's obedience, but Christ's; but admitting heaven itself to be the reward promised to the worker, in what manner must that be reckoned to him?

not of grace: for grace and works can never agree together; for if the reward is reckoned for the man's works, then it is not of grace, "otherwise work is no more work", Romans 11:6; and if it is of grace, then not for his works, "otherwise grace is no more grace", Romans 11:6; it remains therefore, that if it is reckoned for his works, it must be

of debt: it must be his due, as wages are to an hireling. Now this was not Abraham's case, which must have been, had he been justified by works; he had a reward reckoned to him, and accounted his, which was God himself, "I am thy shield, and exceeding, great reward", Genesis 15:1; which must be reckoned to him, not of debt, but of grace; wherefore it follows, that he was justified, not by works, but by the grace of God imputed to him; that which his faith believed in for righteousness. The distinction of a reward of grace, and of debt, was known to the Jews; a the one they called פרס, the other שכר: the former d they say is הגמול, "a benefit", which is freely of grace bestowed on an undeserving person, or one he is not obliged to; the other is what is given, בדין, "of debt", in strict justice.

d Maimon. Bartenora & Yom Tob in Pirke Abot, c. 1. sect. 3.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Now to him that worketh ... - This passage is not to be understood as affirming that any actually have worked out their salvation by conformity to the Law so as to be saved by their own merits; but it expresses a general truth in regard to works. On that plan, if a man were justified by his works, it would be a matter due to him. It is a general principle in regard to contracts and obligations, that where a man fulfils them he is entitled to the reward as what is due to him, and which he can claim. This is well understood in all the transactions among people. Where a man has fulfilled the terms of a contract, to pay him is not a matter of favor; he has earned it; and we are bound to pay him. So says the apostle, it would be, if a man were justified by his works. He would have a claim on God. It would be wrong not to justify him. And this is an additional reason why the doctrine cannot be true; compare Romans 11:6.

The reward - The pay, or wages. The word is commonly applied to the pay of soldiers, day-laborers, etc.; Matthew 20:8; Luke 10:7; 1 Timothy 5:18; James 5:4. It has a similar meaning here.

Reckoned - Greek, Imputed. The same word which, in Romans 4:3, is rendered “counted,” and in Romans 4:22, imputed. It is used here in its strict and proper sense, to reckon that as belonging to a man which is his own, or which is due to him; see the note at Romans 4:3.

Of grace - Of favor; as a gift.

Of debt - As due; as a claim; as a fair compensation according to the contract.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Romans 4:4. Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. — Therefore, if Abraham had been justified by works, the blessings he received would have been given to him as a reward for those works, and consequently his believing could have had no part in his justification, and his faith would have been useless.


 
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