Religion is the most important aspect of many people’s lives, serving as a roadmap to live virtuously while promising eternal life and salvation. In his work On Christian Liberty, Martin Luther writes on what it means to truly be Christian and how to achieve salvation. Luther discusses many aspects of Christian faith, including the difference between the inner person and outer man, the effect of works on salvation, the marriage with Jesus as a result of faith, how individuals should act towards others, and the important notion of Christian liberty that arises because of one’s faith. Luther’s ideas were highly controversial at the time as many of them opposed the thinking of the Catholic Church, one of the most powerful institutions in the world. …show more content…
Human beings have a two-fold nature, consisting of an inner person and an outer person. The inner person is referred to as the spiritual nature and the soul, while the outer person is referred to as the bodily nature and the flesh. In order to become a Christian, one must preach and have faith in Christ, which can only be achieved through the word of God. Salvation is entirely dependent on the inner man. Salvation is concerned only the inner person. A Christian achieves salvation through faith in God alone, as expressed by Luther when he writes “therefore it is clear that, as the soul needs only the Word of God for its life and righteousness, so it is justified by faith alone and not any works”. External works …show more content…
The Catholic Church, and on a larger extent the Catholic faith as a whole, adamantly disagrees with Luther’s notion that works have nothing to do with salvation or faith. In his letter to one of the leaders of the Protestant Reformation in John Calvin, Jacopo Sadoleto, a Roman Catholic Cardinal, agreed that we achieve salvation through faith alone. However, Sadoleto argued that faith included not only preaching Christ but included works as well, making works vital to an individual’s salvation. While both Sadoleto and Luther agree we achieve salvation by faith alone, they have differing views of what that statement truly means, with Sadoleto including works in faith while Luther views works as serving a different purpose. Sadoleto’s stance on the importance of works is reflected in James, as it reads “What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but do not have works? Can faith save you?” This passage reflects the Catholic Church’s thinking that both faith in the Word of God and participation in good works towards others are vital to one’s hopes of salvation. In addition to Sadoleto and the Bible, this point was discussed by the Council of Trent in their ninth Canon on justification. It reads “If anyone says that the sinner is justified by faith alone, meaning that nothing else is required to cooperate in order to obtain the grace of justification, and
In Martin Luther’s Freedom of a Christian Man, Luther describes what he believes should be the relationship between faith and good works in the life of Christian people. His beliefs became integral to the Protestant and Lutheran ideologies. The basis of Luther’s pamphlet was “A Christian is a perfectly free lord of all, subject to none. A Christian is a perfectly dutiful servant of all, subject to all.” (31) This central thought provides readers dialogue on what is truly a selfless, act and if these acts do in fact have an effect on one’s
The Reformation debate letters from John Calvin and Jacopo Sadoleto illustrate the religious controversy of the sixteenth century. Sadoleto’s letter was addressed to the magistrates and citizens of Geneva, pleading them to come back to the Catholic church, as they had fallen to the ways of the Reformers. In his letter, Sadoleto painted the Reformers as ‘crafty’ and ‘enemies of Christian peace’ (30), never directly addressing them. Calvin does, however, address Sadoleto’s insinuations directly in his response. The two letters disagree when it comes to justification, Sadoleto believing that it comes by faith and works and Calvin, more so along the lines that faith is what really matters. Calvin successfully argues against Sadoleto’s premise and presents influential points, making his argument more convincing than his opponent’s.
James Kittelson’s biography on the life of Luther is thought provoking and informative. Kittelson does not have a concise thesis, but as it is a biography the central theme of Luther the Reformer is an insightful narrative of Martin Luther’s life from his birth in Eisleben until his death on February 18, 1546 in Eisleben. Kittelson thoroughly and with great detail and sources explains Luther’s mission to reform the catholic church. Luther the Reformer seeks to condense Luther’s life in a manner which is more easily read for those who do not know the reformer’s story well. Luther is portrayed not only as a theologian throughout the book, but as a person with struggles and connections throughout the Germanic region in which he lived. Luther’s theology is portrayed throughout the entirety of the book, and Kittelson approaches Luther’s theology by explaining Luther’s past. The inclusion of
November 10, 1483, in Eisleben, Germany, which was part of the Holy Roman Empire, a role model for all Christians worldwide, was born. His name was Martin Luther, and this man changed the course of history forever. The Holy Roman Empire was an era where there was feudalism and a time of institutional growth and also a period of political importance. This empire encompassed the countries we know today as Czech and Slovak Republics, Austria, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, and also eastern parts of France, Slovenia, northern Italy, and western Poland. The Holy Roman Empire lasted from 962 CE all the way until 1806 CE. That in all, is 844 years of many Popes, wars between countries, and a large number of different rulers.
The Pagan Servitude of the Church – Composed in 1520, this work by Luther is one of his most important contributions to Christian history and theology. In the Pagan Servitude of the Church, Luther addresses critical issues that surround the seven sacraments that the Roman Catholic Church practices, but for this session, only the sacrament of the Eucharist is covered. Luther does not start gently, as he immediately contradicts the norm by advocating for the administration of both elements of the Lord’s Supper to the laity. His argument brings to light opposing comments from other theologians and leadership of the Roman Catholic Church, but Luther overcomes them all with a simple redirection to Scripture. He uses a combination of his interpretation of Scripture from the Gospels and Paul’s epistles along with logic and common sense to declare that the laity should have the right and privilege to partake in both the bread and the wine elements.
At the beginning of the sixteenth century church theologian, Martin Luther, wrote the 95 Theses questioning the corruption of the Roman Catholic Church. In this essay I will discuss: the practices of the Roman Catholic Church Martin Luther wanted to reform, what Martin’s specific criticism of the pope was, and the current practices Pope Francis I is interested in refining in the Roman Catholic Church today.
In this short text, Luther discusses three virtues of faith. The three virtues are faith gives Christian liberty, meaning we are free the the law, faith honours God, and thirdly faith unites the soul to Christ.On the political viewpoint the virtues of faith on Christian are debatable because many may not agree with it. For example, Luther states “ He has suffered and risen again for you, that, believing on him, you might by this faith become another man, all your sins being remitted, and you being justified by the notion of another, namely of Christ alone.”(pg.1 paragraph 13) This quote discusses the baptism of a man turning from his old life of sins to a new life in Christ. On the political scale of law, an individual can not erase their sins or crimes just by having a baptism. Giving your old life to Christ and receiving a new one does not make an individual pure or sinless, according to others. However, for the Christian religion a baptism erases all the harmful or cruel things a person has ever done.The political debate whether being baptise erases your sins is different for every religion. The Christians strongly believe that Christ has the power to eliminate one 's sins, while many argue that you can not make your sins vanish because they have shaped you into the sinful person you are. Another example, that shows effects of religion and politics is the virtue that faith gives Christians the liberty to be free from the law “But if he has no need of works, neither has he need of the law; and if he has no need of the law, he is certainly free from , and the saying is true, the law is not made for a righteous man . This is that Christian liberty, our faith, the effect of which is, not that we should be careless or lead a bad life , but that no one should need the law or works for justification and salvation.” ( pg.2 paragraph 22) This quote
The political organization and religion aspects during the 16th century influenced Protestant Reformation to occur in Germany. Martin Luther’s writings reflect on his views and perspectives of German politics and religion at the time. Martin Luther’s ideas in the Letter to the Christian Nobility of the German Nation and The Statement of Grievances mentions Martin Luther’s thoughts about how corrupt the church is, why the corruption in the church needs to end, and what Martin Luther’s ideas are to change the way of the church.
During Luther’s early life he faced a severe inner crisis. When he sinned he looked for comfort in confession and followed the penance, the fasting, prayer and observances that the church directed him. But, he found no peace of mind and worried about his salvation. But reading St. Paul’s letters he came to believe that salvation came though faith in Christ. Faith is a free gift, he discovered, it cannot be earned. His studies led him to a conclusion that, “Christ was the only mediator between God and a man and that forgiveness of sin and salvation are given by god’s grace alone” (Martin Luther, 01). Historians agree that, “this approach to theology led to a clash between Luther and the Church officials, precipitating the dramatic events of Reformation”.
with his 95 Theses. A strict father who most likely did not accept “no” as an
Martin Luther authored the Protestant Reformation. It is undisputed the supreme prominence that it deserves in the great religious revolution of the sixteenth century. But for the unique personality of the former Augustinian monk was, it seems clear that the success of the reformer is also due, in large part, to the concurrence of a series of particularly appropriate circumstances. Luther had the art of being an interpreter of ideas and feelings widespread among his countrymen and then happened to give answers that satisfied the religious aspirations of some political ambitions of others. The speed with which the fire of the Reformation spread is a good indication that the wind was in his favor and the situation was favorable.
Luther preaches grace and in so free choice is abolished, suggesting that divine grace and human freedom are contradictory concepts. Because reconciliation between God and humans is made possible through the death of Jesus, God’s gift, it is foolish to assume that the exercise of freedom could have any relevance to salvation. Human freedom in Luther’s eyes is derived from the notion that individual’s are already saved through God’s righteousness and confirmed with the works of Christ, you are saved because of your possession of faith. "We reach the conclusion that faith alone justifies us and fulfils the laws; and this because faith brings us the spirit gained by the merits of Christ. The spirit, in turn, gives us the happiness and freedom at which the law aims.
Salvation through faith in Jesus Christ is the inward change, which in turns perpetuates an outward visible signs of the inward change in the form of works.
He mentions the inner and outer beings of a person. The inner is referring to a new spirit, meanwhile the outer is speaking about an old man, which is the flesh nature of person. “We first approach the subject of the inward man, that we may see by what means a man becomes justified, free, and a true Christian; that is, a spiritual, new, and inward man.” The basis of his concept is stated thus: “A Christian man is the most free lord of all, and subject to none; a Christian man is the most dutiful servant of all, and subject to every one.” [104] He then refers to the Bible to make sure , Leo X , so he can draw true ratiocination as to what he is saying “'Though I be free from all men, yet have I made myself servant unto all' (1 Cor. ix. 19)
Justification by faith is of great importance, it is the foundation of our whole position and standing with God. Martin Luther wrote, “When the article of justification has fallen, everything has fallen.” John Calvin called it, “the main hinge on which religion turns.” Thomas Watson said, “Justification is the very hinge and pillar of Christianity.” The issue of Justification was the primary dispute between the reformers and the Roman Catholic Church, and the problem was, and still is, between salvation by faith alone and salvation based on good works.