Concerning Christian Liberty

by Martin Luther

Overview

Luther first focuses on the freedom of the inner 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 soul's freedom is not tied to external factors that affect the body, for "what harm can ill health, bondage, hunger, thirst, or any other outward evil do to the soul?" Instead, "one thing, and one alone, is necessary for life, justification, and Christian liberty, and that is the most holy word of God, the gospel of Christ.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781088065853
Publisher:	Dalcassian Publishing Company
Publication date:	09/01/2023
Pages:	40
Sales rank:	686,043
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.08(d)

About the Author

Martin Luther (10 November 1483 - 18 February 1546) was a German monk, Catholic priest, professor of theology and seminal figure of the 16th-century movement in Christianity known later as the Protestant Reformation. He strongly disputed the claim that freedom from God's punishment for sin could be purchased with monetary values. He confronted indulgence salesman Johann Tetzel, a Dominican friar, with his Ninety-Five Theses in 1517. His refusal to retract all of his writings at the demand of Pope Leo X in 1520 and the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V at the Diet of Worms in 1521 resulted in his excommunication by the Pope and condemnation as an outlaw by the Emperor.

Luther taught that salvation and subsequently eternity in heaven is not earned by good deeds but is received only as a free gift of God's grace through faith in Jesus Christ as redeemer from sin and subsequently eternity in Hell. His theology challenged the authority of the Pope of the Roman Catholic Church by teaching that the Bible is the only source of divinely revealed knowledge from God and opposed sacerdotalism by considering all baptized Christians to be a holy priesthood.[3] Those who identify with these, and all of Luther's wider teachings, are called Lutherans even though Luther insisted on Christian as the only acceptable name for individuals who professed Christ.