Works-Righteousness

Definition and Meaning

Works-righteousness (Korean gongnojuui, 功勞主義, literally "meritism") is the belief that a person receives salvation or God's approval in return for accumulated merit, that is, for efforts such as good deeds, devotion, and religious rites. It is also commonly called "salvation by works." The term is used mainly by Protestants, who hold that "salvation is given by God's grace alone, through faith," to criticize differing views. For this reason, almost no denomination describes itself as holding to works-righteousness.

Biblical and Historical Background

Protestants cite Romans 3:28, Galatians 2:16, Titus 3:5, and the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector as grounds for criticizing works-righteousness. James 2:21–24 and Ephesians 2:10 are also cited in discussions of the relationship between faith and good works.

In church history, the fifth-century refutation by Augustine of Pelagianism, which emphasized human will and effort, is regarded as the starting point of this debate. The Reformation, which began in 1517 when Martin Luther criticized the sale of indulgences, challenged the medieval church's understanding of merit by proclaiming "grace alone" and "faith alone" (the Five Solas).

Since the Council of Trent, the Catholic Church has taught that human merit is grounded in God's grace and made possible by that grace. Accordingly, the Catholic Church maintains that what Protestants call "works-righteousness" differs from its own teaching. In 1999 the Lutheran World Federation and the Roman Catholic Church issued the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification, stating that they had reached agreement on basic truths concerning justification (God's declaring the sinner righteous).

In Practice in the Korean Church

Denominations differ in how they explain the place of good works.

• The Presbyterian and Reformed tradition, following chapter 16 of the Westminster Confession of Faith, teaches that good works are the fruit of salvation and an expression of gratitude, not merit by which salvation is obtained.
• Lutherans guard against works-righteousness through the framework of the distinction between law and gospel.
• Methodists and Holiness churches, following Wesleyan theology, confess justification by faith while also emphasizing a holy life lived in response to grace and sanctification (the process of becoming progressively holier).

In Korean preaching and church discourse, the term is used to criticize two opposite tendencies. The first is a climate that treats the amount of one's offerings, church service, attendance at early-morning prayer meetings, or church office as a measure of faith or a condition for receiving blessing. This criticism also arises in discussions of prosperity theology and the tithing debate. The second addresses the opposite problem: the attitude that "since we are saved by grace, works do not matter." In this context, the phrase "cheap grace," used by Dietrich Bonhoeffer, is frequently quoted.