The Freedom of a Christian Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Freedom of a Christian - Essay Example This essay will review one of the Three Treatises by Martin Luther, titled as ‘The Freedom of A Christian’ which is considered to be the final treatise in the collection. Martin Luther in his treatise â€Å"The Freedom of the Christian† begins by making two inconsistent statements where he narrates that a Christian is not restricted from any external influences and is entitled to serve other community selflessly as a slave. It is quite interesting to take into consideration that a Christian is not only free but also a servant to the society as narrated by Luther. Luther further states that being the servant of the society it is significant to perform the good work that is vital to bind neighbour with neighbour facilitating peace within the community. In this context, it can be claimed that Luther contradicts himself by asserting that tasks or responsibilities bestowed are not needed for the purpose of good reason; however, it is important that a Christian needs to be both free and a servant. Stating precisely, he affirmed that until a person is servant to others he cannot be a Christian. Furthermore, to serve the society playing the role of a selfless and faithful servant, it is important to perform supportive and accountable responsibilities. Therefore, it can be affirmed that towards the end of the treatise, Luther’s position becomes similar to that of the Catholic position, since he also considers the responsibilities performed for the good of the society as an essential feature to be a Christian. Luther discusses that one particular thing which a person needs in life in order to become virtuous is the word of God, which he defines as Gospels. Luther also states that good work as well as good deeds is not so significant for an individual owing to the fact that they are external to the individual’s body. However, the author places greater emphasis upon faith and grace as they are related with the soul of the person and hence are attributed as internal. The author asserts that a person tends to build the quality of true faith from his devotion and acc ountability towards God which needs to be built internally rather than generating from external influences. At the end of the document the author unambiguously advocates that if God has failed to fill the individual’s soul with faith and grace, the nature is most likely to express disapproval of it. Section 3: Extended Analysis of the Document Martin Luther’s ‘Freedom of a Christian’ was first made available in the year 1520. It was considered as one of the important documents of the sixteenth-century, Protestant Reformation. In the present day context as well, his work remains one of the classic tracts of the Protestant culture. The book was written on the eve of Martin Luther’s excommunication from the Church, as his final ecumenical signal towards Rome prior to making his pretentious exit. The Tract was dedicated to Pope Leo X by Luther embellishing it with a strong preamble addressed to the ‘blessed father’. As can be observed, in t he later pages of the ‘Freedom of a Christian’ Luther aimed at considering other people who were basically exaggerated because of their ostensible dignity from being respected as a Christian similar to his discussions in other tracts published in the year 1520. It can further be learnt that Luther’s ‘Freedom of a Christian’ became his bold new announcement on human character and human autonomy that aimed at describing all Christians irrespective of their degree of solemnity as being traditionally defined. The influence of then external environmental factors such as society, politics, and cultural values can also be apparently witnessed in the treatises, which were documented during an age featured by considerable changeovers