Martin Luther's On Christian Liberty

We understand from Martin Luther's On Christian Liberty that "A Christian is a perfectly free lord of all, subject to none. A Christian is a perfectly dutiful servant of all, subject to all." ( Martin Luther) Another line that encompasses the overall theme of Martin Luther's messages is "this faith cannot exist in connection with works." ( Martin Luther) The purpose behind this line is to illustrate that someone of faith cannot only be devoted to the works of God, as those who want to reach salvation only require faith. Luther sees this as a common theme in traditional Christianity and will continue to hint at it throughout the text. Luther's definition of freedom will always highlight that if someone was indeed to reach salvation, they need

Luther wished to extend freedom, and looking back at the quote, "this faith cannot exist in connection with works." ( Martin Luther) As Luther put more importance on faith alone than works, he wanted to show people were able to reach salvation through faith, not just acts. (Weaver and Brakke 90). An example would be Luther translating scripture into German, making it available to people. Luther felt that if people were to hear and understand the scripture, it was a form of the sacrament. Luther believed that if people could understand scripture, it would influence them. Luther also argued that scripture creates unity, as Luther would suggest that people did not have to be confined to the official interpretations of the Church. Luther wanted to give people the freedom to interpret the Gospel in their way. Luther, of course, shared his insights and told people what the best interpretations were; he believed that his interpretations would lead people to have more understanding and more knowledge of scripture as he saw it to be more of a scriptural model of the Church. (Weaver and Brakke 90) Luther insisted that the Church was not a hierarchy but a "priesthood of all believers" and a fellowship. (Weaver and Brakke 90) And we were meant to interpret the Gospel and can become priests in the eyes of

Furthermore, you can not dwell in sacred places to assure salvation, nor can you go out and occupy yourself with religious duties by doing any work that can be done by the body and in the body. Meaning praying aloud, abstaining from certain foods, and fasting are forms of work hypocrites could imitate. Luther believed that works like these could produce hypocrites; along with this, Luther thought it would not harm the soul if the body is clothed in secular dress, dwells in unconsecrated places, eats and drinks as others do, does not pray aloud, as he would see that God attests a person's faith. Faith alone will allow you to reach