Perhaps no work of Martin Luther so captures the revolutionary zeal and theological boldness of his vision. By studying the On the Freedom of a Christian you have arrived at the very origin of the Reformation. Although the concept of justification by faith alone is well-founded in Scripture, it met with the utter rejection and resistance of the Renaissance Catholic Church. This should have come as no surprise, since Renaissance Catholicism had turned selling salvation to believers in exchange for money and services into an extremely profitable business. On the Freedom of a Christian is the second of the three landmark essays that made the case for Reformation in 1520. Reaching across half a millennium Luther teaches us in his own words why salvation is freely available to all believers, in exchange only for their faithful belief in God. Find out for yourself why the Renaissance Catholic Church found it impossible to defend their exploitative practices against Luther's argument.