And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work.
Parallel translations
- WEB And if by grace, then it is no longer of works; otherwise grace is no longer grace. But if it is of works, it is no longer grace; otherwise work is no longer work.
- BSB And if it is by grace, then it is no longer by works. Otherwise, grace would no longer be grace.
- NKJV And if by grace, then it is no longer of works; otherwise grace is no longer grace. But if it is of works, it is no longer grace; otherwise work is no longer work.
- NASB But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works, since otherwise grace is no longer grace.
- NLT And since it is through God’s kindness, then it is not by their good works. For in that case, God’s grace would not be what it really is—free and undeserved.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Salvation by grace and salvation by works are mutually exclusive; grace would cease to be grace if mixed with merit.
Overview
Paul presses the logic of grace: if the remnant is chosen by grace, it cannot also rest on works, for the two principles cancel each other. This protects the gospel's foundation that justification is God's free gift received by faith, not a wage earned (cf. Romans 4:4-5). It underscores that all standing before God depends wholly on Christ's finished work, not human achievement.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Gal 2:21I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.
- 2 Tim 1:9Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,
- Rom 4:4–5Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt.
- Rom 3:27–28Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith.
- Titus 3:5Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;
- Eph 2:4–9But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
- Gal 5:4Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace.
- 1 Cor 15:10But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.
- Deut 9:4–6Speak not thou in thine heart, after that the LORD thy God hath cast them out from before thee, saying, For my righteousness the LORD hath brought me in to possess this land: but for the wickedness of these nations the LORD doth drive them out from before thee.
- Rom 5:20–21Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound:
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Christ at the center
Paul unfolds the gospel in full: Christ our righteousness received by faith, the second Adam in whom many are made righteous, in whose death and resurrection we are buried and raised.
How Romans 11:6 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.