The Two Men in Luther Essay Example for Free

The Two Men in Luther Essay Martin Luther, a Christian theologian stated in 1520 that, â€Å"A Christian man is the most free lord of all, and subject to none; a Christian man is the most dutiful servant of all, and subject to everyone†. Although at first glance, this statement appears to be a paradox. Through the understanding of Luther’s beliefs between the difference of spirituality and physicality, one can realize that this statement is not contradictory. The Catholic church believs that one needs spiritual purity, as well as the performance of Christian acts to achieve salvation. Martin Luther believed that preforming Christain deeds was godlike, but not a component of reaching salvation. In the sixteenth century, the Catholic Church believed that to achieve salvation, one must be spiritually pure, and preform a sufficient amount of good Christian acts. The concept exists to allow christains more time to preform these acts to ensure salvation. Martin Luther disagreed with the catholic church in that to reach all one has to do to reach salvation is to be spiritually pure by accepting the word of god. He felt that the Catholic Church took advantage of its followers by saying that giving money was a Christian act and that one could buy their way to heaven. Luther’s doctrines formulated a new breed a christains that believed in spirituality as the key to achieving salvation. This spiritual side of a christain was referred to as the inward man. The inward man could achieve salvation by accepting the word of god.