The Meaning of Romans 4:4 Explained

Romans 4:4

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

YLT: and to him who is working, the reward is not reckoned of grace, but of debt;

Darby: Now to him that works the reward is not reckoned as of grace, but of debt:

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

KJV Reverse Interlinear

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

What does Romans 4:4 Mean?

Context Summary

Romans 4:1-8 - Blessedness Follows Faith
In this chapter the doctrine of justification by faith is illustrated from the life of Abraham. It is evident that he was not justified because of his good works. Nothing is said of them, though he had crossed the desert in obedience to the divine command. No; he believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness, Romans 4:3. The life of God in the soul of man is one and the same in every age. The measure of light may vary from the twilight in Ur to the meridian glory of Patmos, but the attitude of the soul toward God must always be the same.
From the earliest times men have been justified by faith, Hebrews 11:4. Faith has two invariable elements: attitude and receptiveness; that is, the right position toward God, and the power of receiving the full inflow of the divine nature. We are made "partakers of the divine nature," 2 Peter 1:4. This was the case with the great Hebrew pilgrim-first of the pilgrim race. Rising above the rest of his contemporaries, he saw the advance gleam of the day of Christ and was glad, John 8:56. David also sings of the same grace which justifies the sinner and counts him as righteous, notwithstanding his iniquities and sins, Psalms 32:1-2. [source]

Chapter Summary: Romans 4

1  Abraham's faith was credited to him as righteousness;
10  before he was circumcised
13  By faith only he and his seed received the promise
16  Abraham is the father of all who believe
24  Our faith also shall be credited to us as righteousness

Greek Commentary for Romans 4:4

But as of debt [αλλα κατα οπειλημα]
An illustration of the workman (εργαζομενωι — ergazomenōi) who gets his wages due him, “not as of grace” (ου κατα χαριν — ou kata charin). [source]
The reward [ὁ μισθὸς]
See on 2 Peter 2:13. [source]
Not of grace but of debt [οὐ κατὰ χάριν ἀλλὰ κατὰ ὀφείλημα]
Lit., according to grace, etc. Not grace but debt is the regulative standard according to which his compensation is awarded. The workman for hire represents the legal method of salvation; he who does not work for hire, the gospel method; wages cannot be tendered as a gift. Grace is out of the question when wages is in question. [source]

Reverse Greek Commentary Search for Romans 4:4

Matthew 6:12 Our debts [τα οπειληματα ημων]
Luke (Luke 11:4) has “sins” In the ancient Greek οπειλημα — opheilēma is common for actual legal debts as in Romans 4:4, but here it is used of moral and spiritual debts to God. “Trespasses” is a mistranslation made common by the Church of England Prayer Book. It is correct in Romans 4:14 in Christ‘s argument about prayer, but it is not in the Model Prayer itself. See Matthew 18:28, Matthew 18:30 for sin pictured again by Christ “as debt and the sinner as a debtor” (Vincent). We are thus described as having wronged God. The word οπειλη — opheilē for moral obligation was once supposed to be peculiar to the New Testament. But it is common in that sense in the papyri (Deismann, Bible Studies, p. 221; Light from the Ancient East, New ed., p. 331). We ask forgiveness “in proportion as” It means to send away, to dismiss, to wipe off. [source]
Galatians 5:4 Ye are fallen from grace [τῆς χἁριτος ἐξεπέσατε]
For a similar phrase see 2 Peter 3:17. Having put yourselves under the economy of salvation by law, you have fallen out of the economy of salvation by the grace of Christ. Paul's declarations are aimed at the Judaisers, who taught that the Christian economy was to be joined with the legal. His point is that the two are mutually exclusive. Comp. Romans 4:4, Romans 4:5, Romans 4:14, Romans 4:16. The verb ἐκπίπτειν tofall out, in the literal sense, Acts 12:7; James 1:11. In Class. of seamen thrown ashore, banishment, deprivation of an office, degeneration, of actors being hissed off the stage. [source]

What do the individual words in Romans 4:4 mean?

To the [one] now working the reward not is reckoned according to grace but debt
Τῷ δὲ ἐργαζομένῳ μισθὸς οὐ λογίζεται κατὰ χάριν ἀλλὰ ὀφείλημα

Τῷ  To  the  [one] 
Parse: Article, Dative Masculine Singular
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
δὲ  now 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: δέ  
Sense: but, moreover, and, etc.
ἐργαζομένῳ  working 
Parse: Verb, Present Participle Middle or Passive, Dative Masculine Singular
Root: ἐργάζομαι  
Sense: to work, labour, do work.
μισθὸς  reward 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: μισθός  
Sense: dues paid for work.
λογίζεται  is  reckoned 
Parse: Verb, Present Indicative Middle or Passive, 3rd Person Singular
Root: λογίζομαι  
Sense: to reckon, count, compute, calculate, count over.
κατὰ  according  to 
Parse: Preposition
Root: κατά 
Sense: down from, through out.
χάριν  grace 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Feminine Singular
Root: χάρις  
Sense: grace.
ὀφείλημα  debt 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Neuter Singular
Root: ὀφείλημα  
Sense: that which is owed.

What are the major concepts related to Romans 4:4?

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