Essay Sample about Martin Luther and the Freedom of a Christian

“Through faith in Christ, man is completely free, he's not subject to anyone. But at the same time, in his outward self, he is a dutiful servant to his neighbor, subject to everyone.” When Martin Luther spoke on the freedom of a Christian, he referred to the spiritual being within the person. Luther argued that for a person to be free, all they had to do is have faith in Christ. Luther believed that through faith, scripture, grace, and most importantly Christ, a person could receive salvation freely rather than earn it. The Christian liberty that Luther explained swept Europe off its feet as he unknowingly initiated the Protestant Reformation by nailing 95 grievances against the Catholic Church on its doors.

Growing up in an extremely pious household, Martin Luther was taught to believe that to enter heaven, he had to do good works on earth. For example, when Luther traveled to Rome in 1510, he witnessed Church authorities selling letters of indulgence, also known as indulgences. Indulgences were granted by the Pope of remission of the temporal punishment in purgatory still due for sins after death. In other words, if common citizens gave a certain amount of money, they would get a letter of indulgence pardoning them or a loved one of the punishment that comes after death. When Luther witnessed such practices: attending masses, alms, and gifts to the Church, he decided that he would rebut these with actual text from the book they were following blindly, the Bible. These practices were not inherently evil in and of themselves, but when followed blindly without any belief or conviction, they became a chore. Luther believed that people who practiced indulgences and good works without faith were not free, but were actually just obedient. Luther argued that when you have faith in the Bible, good works come along with the belief that salvation is not earned. Martin Luther taught that salvation is given freely through the price that Jesus paid when He died on the cross for the sins of everyone. Works are nothing without faith alone. 

Luther was fortunate to grow up literate as he would refute the Roman Catholic Church with text extracted from the book that they supposedly taught. Many of the common folks in Europe were illiterate, so they were told to blindly follow the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church because they had no way of knowing if it was legitimate. Luther used many scriptures from Saint Paul, who wrote many books in the New Testament. He taught that the Bible should not be followed blindly, but followed with intent and belief. In other words, the biblical interpretations that were told to the common people of Rome were not questioned or thought twice about. Martin Luther also translated the Bible into German from 1522-1534 so that the German people could read and follow exactly what he taught. Through the following of scripture comes faith, and through faith comes grace. 

Grace is defined as being given something that you do not deserve. Martin Luther believed that through grace alone, salvation is given freely to everyone. The common people of Rome were taught to do good works in order to receive eternal life (salvation). This idea that salvation is a gift was extremely appealing to many of the people that believed works were more important than faith. Although Luther’s main objection to the Roman Catholic Church was indulgences, his main premise was that grace is given freely to all that have faith in Jesus Christ. Christian liberty is derived from the free gift of grace that is given through the price of Christ Jesus dying for the sins of every person, past, present, and future. 

Luther taught that without believing in Christ first, faith would not exist. Many of the Roman Catholic “Christians” followed the teachings of the middlemen within the church instead of Christ alone. For example, the common people would believe in the teachings of the pope without questioning if Jesus actually taught about such practices. Luther argued that Christ is a personal God who through Him and Him alone, grace is given freely with the price that His son paid on the cross. The common people were following the Church authorities blindly and were not having a personal relationship with the one who offers this gift so freely. 

Through belief in Christ and the following of scripture comes faith in Jesus, through faith comes the free gift of grace. Ultimately faith alone is what drove Martin Luther to teach that Jesus paid the ultimate price for the sins of everyone. Through his faith, he was able to stand against church authorities and initiate one of the biggest movements Christianity had ever seen.