Martin Luther’s “Freedom of a Christian” cited the power of a human being not existing in the physical world but in the one hereafter. This world is to be contained in the word of God, and by His word, the humanity can be saved and be a part of a treasure that can only be obtained inwardly. This possibility could only be obtained, can only be found by acknowledging the soul. By acknowledging the soul, humanity can accept opportunity that is not in the present time—that is not of the weaker state of life—but has foundation in faith. To believe in faith is to access the greater man, the inner man, which cannot be distracted by the tangible means in life. To have faith is to realise that your soul is eternal, and what you do with it can lead to an existence that gives greater satisfaction and exceeds the tangible, worthless merits.
Martin Luther’s “Freedom of a Christian” is a bill of faith. It not only tells us what the human being is, but what he does. Luther advises that the human being is not only a shell for God’s word, but a body capable of true understanding.
Luther describes human nature in two ways, the binary inner and outer. These two aspects, natures, are not separate but coexist, dividing humanity between the internal soul and the external flesh. The difference between them is that the inner soul is the spiritual nature. It is where the real man exists, in the blooming consciousness for intrinsic merits. As for the outer nature, the body and its flesh, it is merely a shell. The body is only a means of the now, the present self, the diminishing time—and what will be left is the everlasting soul.
The purpose of knowing the binary of humanity is justified by Christian Liberty. In fact, the justification is necessary, the consciousness is necessary, in order to be closer to God. To be closer to God is to have access to His word, and your soul enlightened. This is why the only thing necessary for Christian Liberty is God’s word because it provides awareness. It examines the fragility of human subsistence that can only meet true life—true everlasting life—by means of faith.
The justification of Faith is what Luther believes in. It’s an extension of his disapproval of mimicry or tangible merits that are connected to the opposite of Faith: Works. Works is a material not a concept; works can corrode, or disappear, and be coveted. To believe in Faith, the importance and justification of Faith, is to exclusively believe in the word of God. This is because the worth of something intangible, something that can be accepted inwardly, gives value to the soul. A work gives value to nothing; it can only be touched by the hands, not the immortal inner man.
If works is useless to the soul, the question would be Why is it of use?—what is it used for? The purpose of works is to show we exist. As in, proof of humans, not humanity. Works are simply a show of tangible admiration, but this admiration isn’t for God. This work, this object of esteem, oddly enough, is not even for oneself but for the next person. It is for our neighbor. Amongst humans, works has become a habit. It is the labor and the means of performing for someone you can see and connect with physically. Works connects humans and keeps them in communication and proves only that we live for one another. It proves we live in the present. It is a compensation for how our bodies keep us separate, and ignores that there can only be true existence if we look inward instead of outward.
Reading “Freedom of a Christian” reminds that the soul is a not only a concept but a place. Luther describes it as the key and the lock to where true life is. It is not only the indefinable character of a person but it is the one place that God can be reached, where substance of life can be reached. To believe in otherwise, to be in the physical and touchable object is to find one already dead. Dead by clutching the material life; and killed by denying spiritual prospects.
