In Christian theology, "legalism" (or "nomism") is a pejorative 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 as Conservative Anabaptists who have said that being a disciple of Jesus means being obedient to New Testament commands (such as the holy kiss, baptism, communion, headcovering, and feet washing), and the same is "crucial evidence that an individual has repented, believed, and yielded to Christ.
[5] Additionally, legalism pejoratively refers to the view that Christians should not engage in social practices perceived as contrary to a Christian witness, such as gambling, dancing, consuming alcohol, enjoying secular entertainment, or wearing immodest clothing; abstinence from these things is found among fundamental Baptist, Conservative Anabaptist and Conservative Holiness denominations.
[5][6][7] What is viewed as "legalistic" may depend on the Christian denomination; in contrast to Lutheran theology that revolves around the doctrine of justification by faith, Christians of the Anabaptist 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 the holy kiss, baptism, communion, headcovering, and feet washing), is "crucial evidence that an individual has repented, believed, and yielded to Christ.
"[8][4] The Anabaptist theologian Menno Simons rebuffed the Lutheran charge of legalism by referencing John 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.