Romans 8:4
Romans 8:44so that the righteous standard of the law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
Jehovah's Witnesses cite to argue that Spirit-produced obedience is a distinct category from self-generated works and that this obedience contributes to the basis of justification. They distinguish between the "works of the law" Paul excludes in and the Spirit-empowered fulfilment of the law described here, treating the latter as a necessary ground of final salvation alongside faith. In the judgment-according-to-works framework, JWs present this verse as evidence that God evaluates believers' Spirit-led conduct as part of determining their final standing — making continued obedience a condition of surviving Armageddon rather than merely evidence of genuine faith.
The Protestant reading recognises the distinction between self-generated and Spirit-produced obedience as real in Paul's ethics but insists Paul never applies it to the basis of justification. The law's righteous requirement is fulfilled "in us" — not "by us" — as we walk according to the Spirit. This fulfilment is the necessary evidence of justification, not an alternative ground of it. The same Holy Spirit who produces the fruit is the one who applies Christ's righteousness to the believer. issues a categorical warning against seeking justification through any form of obedience — Spirit-empowered included. and use unqualified language excluding works from the basis of salvation. The judgment texts that reference works (, ) evaluate the fruit of a life already made new in Christ; they do not reopen the verdict on whether the believer is accepted. Spirit-produced fruit protects the doctrine of sola fide from cheap grace without replacing it with works-righteousness.