Luther Paper: On Christian Liberty
In the 16th Century, during the Reformation
period, there was a debate among the Catholics and the Protestants about salvation.
One prominent figure that emerged from the Protestants was Martin Luther. In
his book, On Christian Liberty, he presented
his arguments in two sections. In the first section, Luther opposed that good works
were necessary for salvation. However, in the second section, his arguments
focus on the fact that those who believe still need to do good works even
though they were freely saved by grace. Luther was right about the importance of
still doing good works. There are many pieces of evidence to support Luther’s claim. First,
for we are made in the image of God, it is our nature to do good works. Second,
being atoned means that people are inwardly justified and thus should be
externally justified too. Lastly, good works are necessary as an example of
living righteously for our neighbors. Hence, although some people believe that
good works are unnecessary after the free grace, it is still indeed necessary.
Firstly, it is important to
comprehend that human sins are compensated by Jesus Christ’s sacrifice on the
cross. The sacrifice and sufferings that Jesus had endured on the cross are priceless.
No matter how many good works and how much money a human may have, none of us would
have the power to repay Jesus’ sacrifice. One simple thing that we could do is to
follow His steps to be more like Him. For we are made with the image of God, it
is our fundamental nature to actualize the divine quality which God has
equipped.
“Although the
Christian is thus free from all works, he ought in his liberty to empty
himself, take upon himself in the form of a servant, be made in the likeness of
men, be found in human form, and to serve, help, and in every way deal with his
neighbor as he sees that God through Christ has dealt and still deals with him”
(Luther, 52).
In this quote, Luther
implies that Jesus Christ has set an example for us by being a servant. The
notion to “serve, help, and in every way deal with his neighbor” is not a mere
quality that every living being has. Those qualities are only visible in humans
to whom God has given the divine quality of servanthood. Martin Luther clearly
implies in the passage that even though people are given free salvation, they must
still take the form of a servant just as Jesus Christ had done in the first
place. This proves that Luther was placing an emphasis on the importance of
good works after salvation. “From Christ the good things have flowed and are
flowing in us” (Luther, 62). All His love and self- sacrifice are forms of a
humble servant. Jesus did all of that not to exhort His divinity, but to set an
example of a true servant that clearly fulfills His duties on Earth. “Love by
its very nature is ready to serve and be subject to him who is loved” (Luther,
3). Therefore, Luther claims if we identify ourselves as Christian and love
our Creator, then it is in our own very nature to serve and reflect his
qualities through doing good works despite free salvation.
Through Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross, we have been
inwardly justified. Hence, because our inner soul is already justified by
Christ, our external actions should reflect our cleansed hearts. “Since by
faith the soul is cleansed and made to love God, it desires that all things,
and especially its own body, shall be purified so that all things may join with
it in loving and praising God” (Luther, 36). The desire of a pure heart should be
“loving and praising God” and therefore reflect the good works that a purified
heart must-have. Luther believes that leaving sin aside, it is our very own nature
to do what is right and to follow the heart. However, seeing the reality
itself, sin has trespassed every way in the lives of humans, including the inner
and outer beings of humans. That being the case, it is the goal of a Christian
to strive to do what is right. Whatever roles a Christian has in the world, he
or she must still demonstrate the cleansed soul that Christ had given, for “Good
works do not make a good man, but a good man does good works; evil works do not
make a wicked man, but a wicked man does evil works” (Luther, 39). This is from
an excerpt in Martin Luther’s book, in which he gave an illustration of a
bishop and his action. If a bishop does not do good works, people would
scrutinize him. A bishop should have displayed a Christ-like character. “Make
your gifts freely and for no consideration, so that others may profit by them
and farewell because of you and your goodness. In this way you shall be truly
good and Christian” (Luther, 60). In such a way a bishop could not be called a
true bishop if his actions do not illustrate his character, this applies in
Christianity as well. The word Christian is not just a matter of religion, but
it’s a matter of the good works too. Christian’s actions must mirror the image
of the Creator. “But as faith makes a man a believer and righteous, so faith
does good works” (Luther, 41). Luther is arguing that is we are made righteous
by faith, our actions should reflect that. This combats those who believe once we
are saved we do not need to do good works. In addition to that, Jesus also said :
“A good tree cannot bear bad
fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit” (Matthew 7:18). Therefore, just as Christians are made righteous by
God, all of the external actions should produce good works as proof that they are
indeed true Christians.
If external actions are clearly important to show that
the believer’s hearts are purified, then what are the results of those actions?
Good works mean that we set an example of servanthood to our neighbors. “A man
does not live for himself alone in this mortal body to work for it alone, but
he lives also for all men on earth; rather, he lives only for others and not
for himself” (Luther, 47). Just as Jesus had come to serve for us, it is our
duty to live for others. “I will therefore as a Christ to my neighbor, just as
Christ offered himself to me; I will do nothing in this life except what I see
is necessary, profitable, and salutary to my neighbor, since through faith I
have an abundance of all good things in Christ” (Luther, 52-53). Luther
believes that Christ has given us the opportunity to have an eternal life
freely, and we must not take it for granted. Only by grace, we are saved, and
without the unimaginable grace, we are nothing. Consequently, through our one
chance at living, we must do every work that is “necessary, profitable, and
salutary” to our neighbors. “We conclude, therefore, that a Christian lives not
in himself, but in Christ and in his neighbor” (Luther, 62). As a servant,
Jesus came to us, not for Himself, but for us, the sinners. Hence, as we are
made in the image of God, our good works must impact our neighbors so that
God’s light may shine to each of them. For true love is not about caring
for ourselves, but it’s about others. “Love is patient, love is kind. It
does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not
dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it
keeps no record of wrongs” (1 Corinthians 13:5). Therefore, just as Christ had
loved and served us in the first place, we must also set an example for our
neighbors by loving and serving them through doing good works.
In conclusion, it is certain that good works are
necessary even after the free salvation. Indeed, it is true that it is given
freely without any expectation that humans can compensate the sufferings and
the sacrifice. However, we are made in the image of God and are already
inwardly justified by Christ. Thus, to prove that we are indeed true Christians,
it is our fundamental nature to do good works. In addition to that, just as
Christ had served us in the first place, hence we must also serve our neighbors
by doing good works. “For we
are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good
works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them”
(Ephesians 2:10).
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