The Freedom of a Christian: The Third of Three Treatises of 1520

Summary

The third of Martin Luther’s 1520 treatises, also referred to as A Treatise on Christian Liberty, this work focuses on the topics of justification and total salvation. Boldly, unmistakably, and directly contrasting the teachings of the church, Luther argued for the truth he found in studying the Bible on his own. Introducing, for the first time to many readers, the argument for justification through faith alone, he knocked down the idea of being dependent on additional sacraments, penances, and works for salvation. In this treatise, Luther highlights the freedom found in God’s unconditional love and the life-changing and transformative power found in a personal relationship with Christ. This daring, published stance provided the sparks that ignited the Reformation as well as the invaluable push to individual believers to begin searching the Word themselves for God’s truth.