---
title: Romans 11:6
url: https://jw-apologetics.app/verses/romans-11-6/
markdown: https://jw-apologetics.app/verses/romans-11-6.md
type: verse
perspective: Protestant (historic Nicene) response to Jehovah's Witness teaching
reference: Romans 11:6
testament: NT
section: Letters
index: https://jw-apologetics.app/llms.txt
---

# Romans 11:6

## Text (Berean Standard Bible)

> And if it is by grace, then it is no longer by works. Otherwise, grace would no longer be grace.

## JW Usage

JWs acknowledge grace ("undeserved kindness" in the NWT) as part of salvation but add requirements: accurate knowledge, organisational loyalty, field service, meeting attendance, and endurance to the end. The NWT's rendering of charis as "undeserved kindness" throughout soteriological passages dilutes the rhetorical force of Paul's grace-versus-works argument by turning a single resonant term into a cumbersome phrase.

## Protestant Usage

Paul states the mutual exclusivity of grace and works with surgical precision: "if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace." The logic is binary — if any works-condition is added, grace ceases to be grace. The NWT preserves this logic even while rendering charis as "undeserved kindness," making the verse effective in the Witness's own Bible. Combined with Ephesians 2:8–9 ("you have been saved… not owing to works") and Titus 3:5 ("not by works of righteousness"), Paul builds an airtight case that salvation originates entirely in God's initiative. The Watchtower's system — which explicitly requires works for salvation — directly contradicts the either/or Paul establishes here.

## NWT Issue

The NWT systematically renders charis as "undeserved kindness" in soteriologically loaded passages (Romans 11:6, Ephesians 2:8, etc.) while rendering the same word as "gracious" (Colossians 4:6) or "favour" (Luke 2:40) elsewhere. In Romans 11:6, the resulting phrasing — "if it is by undeserved kindness, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise, the undeserved kindness no longer proves to be undeserved kindness" — dilutes the rhetorical force of Paul's elegant contrast.

## Arguments Using This Verse

- [Grace vs Works](https://jw-apologetics.app/arguments/romans11-grace.md) — Romans 11:6 in the NWT [Salvation]
- [The Corresponding Ransom Chain](https://jw-apologetics.app/arguments/ransom-chain.md) — Romans 5 — Not Like the Trespass [Salvation]
- [Saved by Grace — Past Tense](https://jw-apologetics.app/arguments/ephesians2-grace.md) — Ephesians 2:8-9 [Salvation]
- [Just AND Merciful — How the Cross Solves the Problem](https://jw-apologetics.app/arguments/just-and-merciful.md) — Romans 3:26 / Exodus 34:6–7 [Salvation]