Legalism (theology)

Righteousness by works is a central theological concept of the Lutheran doctrine of justification. It stands for the view that one can be justified before God, when you do good works. - This view rejected Luther and emphasized justification by the grace of God by faith in the redemptive death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Most Christian churches teach that a man is not justified by his good works before God, but by God's grace. In particular, in the Protestant theology, this is summarized in the principles Sola gratia Sola fide (Eng. " by grace alone " and " by faith alone "). A counter-proposal to the righteousness of works is because the predestination doctrine of Calvinism. The Reformed theologian John Calvin and Ulrich Zwingli represented originally the sharpest form of predestination, that is the fundamental predestination of each human being either to salvation (without merit) or to damnation ( without guilt ) as double predestination.

Communities, who are often accused of Lutheran or Reformed side works righteousness are ( among others):

• Quaker
• Seventh- day Adventists
• Mennonites
• Jehovah's Witnesses