“A Christian is a lord perfectly free of all, subject to no one. A Christian is a perfectly devoted servant to all, submissive to all. » This paradox is the basis of Luther's concept of Christian freedom. For Luther, his reform liberated Christians doubly. Christians were free from false assumptions about salvation and the commandments of the Old Testament. For Luther, only God could grant salvation. Despite this freedom, Christians still had to obey earthly laws. The differences between spiritual freedom and temporal freedom seemed contradictory, but for Luther it was clear that faith would liberate the Christian soul. Luther defined freedom for a Christian as freedom through faith. Salvation was granted by God alone. However, their flesh was still bound by temporal laws on earth because it did not affect the soul. First, the basis of Christian liberty was Luther's belief that there was an inner man and an outer man. The inner man was the spiritual man and the outer man was the flesh. For Luther, freedom was not reserved for the outer man but for the inner person. Since the needs of the soul ran counter to the needs of the flesh, external forces acting on the flesh could not affect the inner soul. Here Luther explains why works, as in the Catholic tradition, could not liberate the soul. Works do not affect the soul, whether good or bad. Only faith could free the soul. This belief was in direct opposition to the Catholic doctrine of doing good works to help earn salvation. Luther saw this as hypocrisy. It was putting something that only God could do into the hands of man. Therefore, faith was the basis for truly liberating the Christian soul. Furthermore, Luther was adamant that the freedom of the inner person came from the knowledge that works could not save the soul. “They are... in the middle of a paper... that Christian's soul was free. By living like a true Christian, we can help our neighbors and preserve peace. This freedom ultimately belonged to the inner man and not the outer man, so that Christians remained under the authority of the lords. This didn't matter to Luther since their souls were finally free. Works Cited Martin Luther, Freedom of a Christian, in Hans Hillerbrand (ed.), The Protestant Reformation (1968), pp. 33 Luther, F.C., p. 33Luther, FC, p. 33Luther, FC, p. 49Martin Luther, Commentary on the epistle of Saint Paul to the Galatians, in Hans Hillerbrand (ed.), The Protestant Reformation (1968), pp. 126Luther, F.C., p. 37Luther CP, p. 131Martin Luther, Concerning Governmental Authority in Hans Hillerbrand (ed.), The Protestant Reformation (1968), pp. 74Luther, GA, p. 75Luther, GA, p. 76Luther, GA, p. 83Luther, Georgia, p.. 88