“Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt.” – Romans 4:4
When Paul quoted Genesis 15:6—“Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness”—he wasn’t introducing a new concept. He was reminding his readers that salvation has always been by grace through faith. Abraham wasn’t justified because he was religious, moral, or obedient. He was justified because he believed God’s promise. His legal status before God was changed not by effort, but by faith. Paul then builds on this truth by using a simple, everyday example: wages. Everyone understands how pay works. You do the job, you get paid. It’s not a gift—it’s what you’re owed. But if salvation worked that way, it would mean God owes us something. And that’s not grace. That’s debt.
Think about it practically. If you work for salvation, then God becomes your employer, and heaven becomes your paycheck. That’s not the gospel—it’s a transaction. And it glorifies you, not Him. Paul dismantles this idea by showing that works-based religion leads to endless striving and no assurance. How many prayers are enough? How many rituals must be performed? How many good deeds will tip the scale? The truth is, no religion that teaches salvation by works can ever tell you when you’ve done enough—because you never can. Isaiah said, “All our righteousnesses are like filthy rags” (Isaiah 64:6). Paul went further, calling his religious achievements “rubbish” (Philippians 3:8)—literally, a pile of manure. That’s what human effort looks like before a holy God.
So here’s the call: stop trying to earn what God freely gives. If salvation could be earned, it would rob God of His glory—and He doesn’t share His glory with anyone. Abraham was saved by grace, and so are we. The Cross of Christ eliminates all boasting and all striving. It invites us to rest in the finished work of Jesus. If you’ve been trying to prove yourself to God, lay it down. Come empty-handed. Come believing. And let grace do what works never could—make you righteous before God.
“The very nature of a reward is that it is merited; it is something earned. But grace is unmerited favor, a free gift. Therefore, to confound the two is to destroy the very meaning of grace.” – Arthur W. Pink
surrendered devotions 