Skip to main content

Romans 4:4-5: Now To The One Who Works, His Wages Are Not Counted As A Gift


Romans 4:4–5
[4] Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. [5] And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness, (ESV)

Imagine this scene for a moment. You are sitting at your desk. It is Friday morning. Your boss comes into your tiny cubicle and brings you an envelope for your attention. You are a bit anxious, not knowing what this could be about. You open up the envelope and discover it is your paycheck for the previous week.

You are overcome with emotion. You think of all the things that you can now do with this money. Your boss has already walked away but you run after him. You embrace him and begin to thank him profusely for this amazing act of generosity. You feel so unworthy to have received such a wonderful gift of financial blessing.

Sound ridiculous? I hope so! You recognize that you get a paycheck because you worked for it. It is not an undeserved gift by a generous boss. Consider what Romans 4:4 is saying. If salvation were by works then it would be something that God owed to you. You worked for it. He gave it to you. But we know that Scripture tells a very different story.

In Romans 4:5 Paul tells us that the one who does not work, but rather believes in a God who gives gifts to the ungodly who do not deserve it, it is him who receives God's righteousness. It is amazing how we try to add in the idea of works to salvation. They do not belong there. Some will say, believing is the work of salvation. That is contrary to this verse. Believing faith is also a gift, not a work.

God does not owe you salvation. You cannot possibly do enough work to earn it. Faith is the avenue by which we receive the true gift of God's righteousness. 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Romans 8:18: For I Consider That The Sufferings Of This Present Time Are Not Worth Comparing

Romans 8:18 [18] For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. (ESV) Perspective. What an important word. Let's be honest. We do not like the idea of suffering. We will do almost anything to avoid any kind of suffering. Some churches have gone so far as to preach against the idea of suffering, declaring it to not be a part of the true believer's life. Paul is not shy about the topic. Paul uses the sufferings of this present time as a means to consider the greater glory that awaits us. Perspective. Paul is not in any way attempting to diminish our suffering. A view toward eternity puts our suffering in a proper understanding. Yes, our suffering is terrible. In the grand scheme of eternity it is not even worth comparison. Maybe you are thinking that Paul does not know what he is talking about when it comes to suffering. In 2 Corinthians 11 Paul describes countless beatings, often near death,

Romans 11:24: For If You Were Cut From What Is By Nature A Wild Olive Tree, And Grafted, Contrary To Nature, Into A Cultivated Olive Tree . . .

Romans 11:24 [24] For if you were cut from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and grafted, contrary to nature, into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, the natural branches, be grafted back into their own olive tree. (ESV) We continue looking at the illustration of an olive tree. The root of the tree is the covenant relationship relationship of God with Abraham. Abraham's faith is what this spiritual tree is built on. The first branches would have been the faithful people of Israel, who like Abraham, placed their faith in God. They believed God, just like Abraham, and it was credited to them as righteousness. There were branches of the people of Israel who never placed their faith in God. Because these branches were not true followers of God they were broken off of the tree. Faith in God was the essential element that made the branches true branches of this spiritual tree. Some branches remained. Others, the faithless unbelievers, were removed. After Jesu

Romans 15:20-21: And Thus I Make It My Ambition To Preach The Gospel, Not Where Christ Has Already Been Named

Romans 15:20–21 [20] and thus I make it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named, lest I build on someone else's foundation, [21] but as it is written, “Those who have never been told of him will see, and those who have never heard will understand.” (ESV) We need to be reminded continually that the message of the Gospel is intended to move all across the world. Jesus said that his followers were to preach the Gospel, starting in Jerusalem, and continue preaching the Gospel to the whole world. Christians have not always been good at delivering the Gospel message as far and as often as they should. In the first century church it took intense persecution to motivate the disciples in Jerusalem to bring the Gospel to Judea and Samaria. Once the disciples fled to new regions they shared the Gospel wherever they went. Would the disciples have preached the Gospel without the persecution? We may never know. Some probably would have stayed in their co