Romans 11:6
Romans 11:66And if it is by grace, then it is no longer by works. Otherwise, grace would no longer be grace.
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.
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 ("you have been saved… not owing to works") and ("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.
The NWT systematically renders charis as "undeserved kindness" in soteriologically loaded passages (, , etc.) while rendering the same word as "gracious" () or "favour" () elsewhere. In , 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.