Christianity In Martin Luther's On Christian Liberty

Religion is the most important aspect of many people’s lives, serving as a roadmap to live a virtuous life 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 man 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. The Catholic Church adamantly disagrees with many of the ideas expressed by Luther, including the value that works, the church, and humility has in salvation.

The inner person is referred to as the spiritual nature and the soul, while the outer man is referred to as the bodily nature and the flesh. Salvation is entirely dependent on the inner man. 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 have no effect on the inner man or on salvation. Thus, it is clear that faith is achieved only through the inner man’s faith and God and is not affected in any way by works or the outer man. The inner man needs neither laws nor good works, and will actually be hurt by them rather than justified if he believes they will lead to his salvation. No external thing has any effect in producing Christian