Merit

Definition and Meaning

Merit (Latin meritum) refers to the idea that a person's good deeds serve as the ground for receiving a reward from God. Protestants speak more often of "the merit of Christ" than of human merit. The expression means that the obedience and atonement accomplished by Jesus Christ on the cross are the sole ground of salvation. The attempt to obtain salvation by one's own works is sometimes disparagingly called "works-righteousness."

Biblical and Historical Background

Scripture teaches that "every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour" (1 Corinthians 3:8). At the same time, it says that salvation is "not of works" (Ephesians 2:8-9). In the Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard (Matthew 20:1-16), the laborers who arrive late receive the same wage as the others. The parable is commonly read to mean that the reward depends not on the amount of work done but on the goodness of the householder.

In the fifth century, Augustine engaged in controversy with Pelagianism, which held that human beings could attain righteousness through their own efforts. In opposition to this view, Augustine is reported to have said that when God crowns our merits, He crowns nothing other than His own gifts.

Medieval theology developed the theory that acts performed in a state of grace are meritorious. The sale of indulgences, grounded in the merits of Christ and the saints, became a source of controversy that led in 1517 to Martin Luther's Ninety-five Theses.

• The Reformers: They championed grace alone and faith alone (the Five Solas). The Westminster Confession of Faith confesses that even our best works cannot merit the pardon of sin.
• The Catholic Church: The Council of Trent affirmed that the good works of a person who has received grace are truly meritorious, while explaining that such merit itself derives from the grace of God.

Practice in the Korean Church

Korean Protestantism, across denominational lines, teaches that justification cannot be attained through human merit. The common use in prayer of expressions such as "relying on the merit of the precious blood" reflects this understanding.

Denominational differences appear in how good works and heavenly rewards are emphasized.

• Presbyterian and other Reformed traditions: They regard good works as the fruit of salvation and teach that rewards, too, are given by grace.
• Methodist, Holiness, and other Wesleyan traditions: They hold that good works are not meritorious, but place greater emphasis on them as fruit that must be borne in the process of sanctification.

Opinions are divided on the emphasis placed on "heavenly rewards" in preaching. Some credit it with encouraging devotion, while others criticize it as liable to drift toward works-righteousness.