Luther's View of Christian Liberty

Martin Luther's view of Christian liberty can best be summed up in this way; "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 every one" (Luther, 1520).  Luther balances Christian liberty with service by indicating that there are two natures within the man, the spiritual and the sinful flesh. They are combating each other, so these sort of paradoxes come into play, where one is both completely free and also a dutiful servant of all.

But of course Luther indicates that one cannot have anything, such as freedom or duty, aside from in Christ Jesus the savior.  And there can be no hope or faith put in works to find a basis for liberty. Luther sees good works as those things which do not justify anyone before God, but are works that build toward the subjection of the fleshly nature to Christ. Also, he refers to fulfilling our call to please God in response to God's gift of salvation in Christ.

Martin Luther (1520) characterizes the joy of Christian liberty in this way: "Here is the truly Christian life, here is faith really working by love, when a man applies himself with joy and love to the works of that freest servitude in which he serves others voluntarily and for nought, himself abundantly satisfied in the fulness and riches of his own faith."

So Martin Luther views Christian liberty as being completely and totally justified in Christ Jesus from beginning to end by faith. And thus the Christian is completely free to do anything. But a real Christian will want to do good works and is under duty to do good works, but these works do not in any way threaten or improve their justification in Christ.

I would evaluate this in the following way: Obviously this is a ground breaking doctrine that changed how the entire world viewed salvation.  But as a Christian who values holiness theology I can't help but feel that he neglects the importance of holiness, which makes holiness not just a shove in the back for a Christian, but a necessity, a requirement for a Christian. And thus though justification is by Christ alone, a laziness to live in sin is possible and would threaten the salvation of the one living this way.  Luther's famous equation leaves no stark command to holiness, only a vague urge that you should do it, but leaves no requirement for it to be done.  This is where holiness theology succeeds, in more than just encouraging it, but making holiness a requirement of the faith, one must live it out and cooperate with the Spirit in obtaining entire sanctification. Instead Luther and Calvinists after left only a vague stand to suggest that sinning must continue until death, an unbiblical position in my view. Holiness theology offers us this great divine window to see, "Yes, you can be free from sin in this life, yes you can be holy." This to me is the essence of the conclusion of Luther's equation.  It is completed by holiness theology.

The Relationship between Scripture and Tradition

Martin Luther the famed reformer, understood the balance between scripture and tradition as scripture and tradition walking along side each other, as long as tradition doesn't violate scripture.

I would articulate my own understanding between tradition and scripture in this way: Scripture is the infallible, inerrant word of God. Scripture's application in the historic church and to the present is expressed through tradition. Tradition then is fundamentally a good thing, an expression of the various acceptable forms in which scripture may be lived out. There are many different forms in which true worship to God and adherence can be lived out. Some churches emphasize contemplation, other churches emphasize experience, other churches emphasize doctrinal purity, still other churches emphasize ritual. These are all legitimate expressions of scriptural Christianity. But there is a zone outside this bubble which ought to be considered perverted tradition, or traditions that contradict the scriptures. Examples would include churches in which the tradition is to reject the scriptures, or lower the view of the scriptures to being simply symbolic and not historical. Another example would be pluralistic churches that attempt to mesh Christianity with other world religions. Still another example would be churches that ordain homosexual pastors.

In defense of this position, it seems clear that scripture is our guide to living out biblical tradition. The scriptures are useful for teaching, exhortation, and rebuking. The scriptures are our guide to God. But the expressions of these principles are left open to us. The Bible does not specifically prescribe what instruments to use in worship, or what rituals must be performed, or how sermons should be preached. So there is an open area for tradition to function in a diverse and biblical way. But the Bible as a razor's edge also "cuts off" certain forms of worship and preaching and doctrine, as outside the realm of biblical Christianity.

The best objection I've heard to this idea of scripture being superior to tradition is from Catholic apologists who indicate that this principle of "sola scriptura" is stated nowhere in the Bible. And they would also cite apostolic succession passed from Jesus to Peter. I would counter by stating that Christ was not passing on the authority to dictate truth but the authority to pass on truth from Jesus to Peter. And the concept of sola scriptura could be indicated in Revelation 22 when the word says that anyone who adds or takes away from the account in Revelation will face punishment from the Lord. This principle could be applied to the entire Bible.

The Book of Romans: Justification by Faith, Life in the Spirit, Weak & Strong Believers

Romans is a systematic presentation of what it means to be a Christian. Romans was written by Paul during his stay at Corinth, to the early church forming in Rome. It really outlines a deep dive into the overall theology of our faith. 

This is the beloved book of the Bible that helped transform Martin Luther’s life. Luther was obsessed with justification, how could he be right with God? He was a catholic priest, who struggled greatly to understand what salvation is. He spent time in the monastery as a monk, and he would go the priest to confess his sins multiple times a day, because he was so obsessively concerned that he might’ve done something to offend God. He would beat himself with whips, he would fast for days, he would repent all day long, and it was never quite enough. But later when he traveled to university, he at last began to study the new testament, and he found in the book of Romans, the incredible concept that we are justified by God not through our own works, but by grace given by God, through faith in Jesus Christ. Our sins, are forgiven, wiped out, and this is what grace means, to receive something we don’t deserve, we receive forgiveness, and are justified before God by putting our faith in Jesus Christ.

Martin Luther’s realization completely changed the religious landscape of the time in which he lived. A new movement broke away from the catholic church, and it became known as Protestantism. Because Luther protested against the doctrines of the catholic church.

Luther developed some base beliefs that challenged the prevailing views of the day, famously documented as the 5 solas:

Faith alone

Grace alone

Christ alone

Scripture alone

To the glory of God alone

But as much as I’d love to delve deeply into Martin Luther and the reformation, that is not our purpose today.

One of my favorite scriptures is from Romans chapter 5. It’s so incredibly beautiful. One of the hallmarks of my life as a Christian, was understanding salvation from this perspective, “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we[a] have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we[b] boast in the hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only so, but we[c] also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.” -Romans 5:1-5

One of the most important factors of the book of Romans is the way of salvation in Christ being explained so clearly. In fact “the Romans road” has long been a road map for explaining how to be receive Jesus as savior. Let’s take a look at some of those scriptures:

1. THE BIBLE SAYS ALL HAVE SINNED
Romans 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

2. THE BIBLE SAYS SIN CARRIES THE PENALTY OF DEATH
Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord

3. THE BIBLE SAYS ETERNAL LIFE IS GOD’S GIFT THROUGH JESUS CHRIST
Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord

4. THE BIBLE SAYS CHRIST DIED FOR SINNERS BECAUSE OF GOD’S LOVE
Romans 5:8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

5. THE BIBLE SAYS WE MUST CALL UPON THE LORD TO BE SAVED
Romans 10:13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

6. THE BIBLE SAYS WE MUST CONFESS AND BELEIVE IN JESUS AND HIS RESURRECTION
Romans 10:9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

Romans 10:10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

That is the Romans road of salvation, used in evangelism. But when I read that I wonder to myself, what’s missing there? There’s something missing. Well, several things are missing. First, repentance is missing, there’s no clear call to turn away from our sins and put our faith in Christ. Both of those aspects are important. Secondly, there’s no explanation of continuance in the faith. Is it just one and done? From that explanation, one might think, well, alright, I’m done here, I prayed a prayer, I confessed with my mouth, I’m done, I can go back to whatever I was doing before. But that’s not true. The Christian life is just beginning at this moment of salvation. So we have to be careful about oversimplifying the salvation equation.

But let’s dive into several concepts from Romans. First the concept of our identity:



Romans teaches that every individual's identity is with God, through Christ, if indeed they’ve been saved. Romans teaches that we are all sinners and deserve death (Romans 3:10). There is no way humanity can earn eternal life. Eternal life is a free gift from Jesus Christ, through our faith in him (Romans 3:22). Humanity could not fulfill the requirement of the law and all fall short of God's standard (Romans 3:23). All humans are sinners in identity but find true identity through Jesus Christ (Romans 5:21). Before I had my identity in Christ, I believed what the world said about me. The world constantly told me I wasn't attractive enough. It told me I needed more money, more stuff, and more power. Now I understand that I have great value through the eyes of my God. I am chosen, loved, and protected by the living God.

Second, the concept of fallen creation due to Adam’s sin

Romans 8:19-21 (NLT) says " For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who his children really are. Against its will, all creation was subjected to God’s curse. But with eager hope, the creation looks forward to the day when it will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay." All of creation awaits the return of Jesus Christ. It all draws from the sin of Adam, that lead to the curse of sin being placed on all mankind (Romans 5:12). This curse of sin is why there is so much suffering and disaster in the world. Civilization crumbles due to it's own sin.

And that brings us to Romans 8, the classic so often referenced chapter of Romans.

Romans 8 deals with salvation in Jesus Christ and living in the Spirit not by the desires of the flesh.

It says, Romans 8:1-2, “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.”

And Romans 8:12-13 says, “12 Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. 13 For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live. -Romans 8:12-13

Those two scriptures from Romans 8 really balance what Paul is talking about as what salvation is. We’ll get back to that in a second.

Several of the following chapters deal with holy living and Paul’s great desire to see the nation of Israel come to know Jesus. Romans 12 deals with holy living, unity in the body of Christ, and love as tangible actions. Romans 13 deals with submission to government authorities, love as fulfilling the law, and a challenge to live out our faith, because the hour is late for the return of Jesus

It says in Romans 13, “13 Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. 14 Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh.”

There it is again, that dual focus of Paul’s letter. There is a constant referencing to this equation of salvation: Salvation is by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. Therefore live your life in step with the Holy Spirit, and resist the desire to gratify your fleshly desires. Paul repeats it many times, and give instructions along these lines, explaining how both concepts work in daily practice. Remember that, grace through faith in Jesus, and living by the Spirit not the flesh.

Chapter 14 is very interesting it deals with basically what sin is, and the difference between “strong believers” and “weak believers.” This is not to say that they are physically weak or weak in faith, but it goes to a difference in appetites.

Paul draws a powerful distinction between those who are able to moderate their choices, and those who have what we might call today “an addictive personality.” You’ve probably noticed this in society and in yourself in various areas. Some people are very good at only having one serving of something, maybe ice cream, maybe one drink, maybe someone who has a strong self control in regard to most decisions they make. Paul would call this person strong.

Then there is the weak believer, this would be more characteristic of myself. These people struggle to moderate. If they have one drink, they feel a strong urge to take more and more and more drinks. If they have one cupcake, they tend to crave more and more. If they get into exercise, pretty soon they’re exercising too much and getting sick from it. So, this “weaker” believer simply abstains from many things. They abstain from sweets. They abstain from alcohol. They abstain from anything that threatens to take control of their appetites and become addictive, which is sin.

Paul writes in Romans 14, “2 One person’s faith allows them to eat anything, but another, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. 3 The one who eats everything must not treat with contempt the one who does not, and the one who does not eat everything must not judge the one who does, for God has accepted them. 4 Who are you to judge someone else’s servant?”

Me, I can’t eat anything, it becomes out of control for me. But someone who can moderate their eating shouldn’t judge me. And I shouldn’t judge them if I see them eating an ice cream Sunday or something. They have the ability to moderate in that area when I don’t.

Paul indicates this applies to other areas as well, some people think certain days of special, some Christians will practice certain Jewish holidays, others think of everyday as the same. Either way, don’t judge the other. A lot of this probably had to do with the fact that the body of Christ was at this time made up of Jews and gentiles. Jews must’ve felt much more prone to practice special days, and gentiles did not. Jews must’ve felt a desire to only eat certain foods, but gentiles ate anything, and it wasn’t a big deal for them. Or vice versa.

The last two chapters Romans 15 and 16 deal with unity in the church, serving one another out of love, and Paul’s closing remarks and greetings to the church in Rome.

In conclusion today, there is so much more we could’ve gone into in Romans. It’s so hard to go through a whole book in one sermon, so read it for yourself! Go through the book of Romans, read a chapter or half a chapter a night. It’s amazing to see the depth of theology in Romans. Truly inspiring.

My final point though is this, we shouldn’t over-emphasize the book of Romans, as if it’s more important than any other book in the new testament. That is sometimes a problem we face in protestant theology. We take everything from Romans as our way, but we don’t incorporate the gospels or the other letters or revelation into that theological perspective. That is a mistake, and it can even become idolatry, where we focus on Romans so much, we make an idol out of God, by excluding the things we don’t like from other books that don’t match our theology as drawn from Romans. Romans is no more or less important than any other book in the Bible. Always remember that. We want to understand God as he depicts himself in the entire Bible, not just the feel good verses or the books that we prefer. Amen? Amen.

Remember it’s grace through faith in Jesus Christ, but your response to that is to live the most holy life, realizing that if we live to indulge the sin of the flesh, we will not be saved in the end. The way of the flesh is death, but the way of the Spirit is life and peace. Amen.

According to the Christian Worldview, you do actually live in the Matrix

"Who are we!?" cried out the man in the military uniform. He and four strangers, a clown, a ballerina, a hobo and a bagpiper found themselves in a strange cylindrical area. Little did they know, they were simply toys, at the bottom of a salvation army toy donation bin.  

But is our experience so different? The cylindrical drum we find ourselves in is simply bigger and wider with more amenities. Yet we all have those moments in life where we look up into the sky and wonder, who am I?  

Honest moments are rare, for humans like you and I. We keep ourselves busy. We avoid the big questions. We delight in the good things of life and endure the bad things. 

But there are desperate moments in our lives, when we call out, "Who am I? What is this place?"  It's not such a far cry from the twilight zone. 

There are terrifying moments, moments we shove away into the darkness, that make us dread the fires below that await us. It is too horrifying to fathom, the danger we are in. So we hide quite expertly from it. 

I used to run. I ran and I ran. I ran day and night. I even dreamt of running. But there is nowhere to run. The sphere we find ourselves in goes in a big circle, walk far enough and we'll come around to ourselves once again. 

This is a temporary matrix we find ourselves in. It will not exist forever. It is only a temporary construct, a distorted, darkened, shadowed reality, a squirrel cage, surrounded by a forest. This life is nothing.  It is nothing, aside from, a last chance for every human who lives on it. 

It is our last chance to choose life, and live in peace with God.  Or to choose death, and eternal sorrow.  Choice.  It's all about holiness, purity, righteousness, an objective moral standard that God upholds, and we choose to come to God, through Jesus Christ, for liberty, purity, holiness, or to reject God, and receive judgment and condemnation as a result.  It is a temporary, tangent construct, designed by God, in it's fallen state, to exist as a last chance for humans to reject the rebellion of Satan, which many have joined, and to embrace the road home in Christ.  

You live in the matrix right now.  And everything here is designed to either draw to Christ or deceive you to destruction. Why is it all set up just like the way it is? I have no idea, I'm sorry. I can't explain every detail.  All I know is that God is just, I trust that, so the present construct must be just, despite all the evil, and in delight of all the good. Glory to God. Choose Life. Choose Jesus.