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InChristian theology, "legalism" (or "nomism") is apejorative term applied to the idea that "by doing good works or by obeying the law, a person earns and merits salvation."[1][2][3] The term has been criticized by certain Christian traditions, such asConservative Anabaptists who have said that being a disciple of Jesus means being obedient to New Testament commands (such as theholy kiss,baptism,communion,headcovering, andfeet washing), and the same is "crucial evidence that an individual has repented, believed, and yielded to Christ."[4]
TheEncyclopedia of Christianity in the United States defineslegalism as a pejorative descriptor for "the direct or indirect attachment of behaviors, disciplines, and practices to the belief in order to achievesalvation and right standing before God", emphasizing a need "to perform certain deeds in order to gain salvation" (works).[5] Additionally,legalism pejoratively refers to the view that Christians should not engage in social practices perceived as contrary to aChristian witness, such asgambling, dancing, consuming alcohol, enjoying secular entertainment, or wearingimmodest clothing; abstinence from these things is found amongfundamental Baptist,Conservative Anabaptist andConservative Holiness denominations.[5][6][7]
What is viewed as "legalistic" may depend on the Christian denomination; in contrast toLutheran theology that revolves around the doctrine ofjustification by faith, Christians of theAnabaptist tradition (who teach salvation by "faith that works") have argued that being a disciple of Jesus by careful obedience to New Testament commands (such as theholy kiss,baptism,communion,headcovering, andfeet washing), is "crucial evidence that an individual has repented, believed, and yielded to Christ."[8][4] The Anabaptist theologianMenno Simons rebuffed the Lutheran charge of legalism by referencingJohn 14:15:[8]
Because we teach from the mouth of the Lord that if we would enter into [eternal] life, we must keep the commandments; that the love of God is that we keep his commandments, the [Lutheran] preachers call us heaven-stormers and meritmen, saying that we want to be saved by our own merits even though we have always confessed that we cannot be saved by means of anything other than by the merits, intercession, death, and blood of Christ.[8]
Reformed commentator Anna Grace Wood stated, "If in 1 Corinthians 11, God commands the wearing of fabric head coverings in worship and we reject this teaching, we are in sin because we are rejecting the Word of God."[9] The Christian expositor Tony Cooke, citingPhilippians 2:12, has stated that the term "legalist" has been often applied incorrectly to those following biblical directives "that pertain to holiness, obedience, and living godly lives", concluding that "God's grace leads us into obedience, not away from it."[10] In the same vein, the theologianLeonard Ravenhill summated: "When there is something in the Bible that churches don't like, they call it 'legalism'."[10]
ThePharisees andSadducees, as described in the Gospels, are often regarded in general by Christians as legalists.[5] Historically, many ChristianNew Testament scholars attackedJudaism for supposedly being "legalistic"; this accusation has been rebutted by other scholars, such asE. P. Sanders, who identify this criticism as inaccurate and ahistorical.[11]
Antinomianism is often regarded as the opposite of legalism,[12][13] withsituational ethics as a third possible position.[13]
In 1921,Ernest De Witt Burton stated that inGal. 2:16, the Greek wordnomos was "evidently used ... in its legalistic sense, denotingdivine law viewed as a purely legalistic system made up of statutes, on the basis of obedience or disobedience to which individuals are approved or condemned as a matter of debt without grace. This is divine law as the legalist defined it."[14]
Because of their emphasis on Christ-like living, Anabaptists have repeatedly been subject to the charge of legalism. Luther was one of the first. When Anabaptists emphasized that faith is visible and genuine only if expressed in action, Luther saw nothing but a new system of righteousness by works.
