, hopeless, and notorious godlessness" (Luther and Dillenberger 44-45). It would seem statistics would favor the Church of Rome; however, such was not the situation. As the central figure of a violent religious rebellion in Germany, Martin Luther brought forth his principal theological doctrine about Christianity. According to Luther, mankind is justified by faith alone, and not by works. On the concept of this belief in a personal faith instead of the power of the Roman Catholic Church, Luther favored the abolition of many rituals and challenged the supreme authority of the pope. For York-9 this, Luther paid the ultimate penalty the Roman Catholic Church could inflict, he was excommunicated. Luther then went before the Diet of Worms, where he took a firm stand concerning his beliefs and was placed under the ban of the Holy Roman Empire. All of this entails considerably more details concerning Luther's concept of Christianity. Justification by faith, not by works is perhaps Luther's most important doctrinal contribution to the Reformation, and all it implies. According to Luther, salvation is a gift from God, and no human being can possibly do anything to merit this blessing. Thus good works are of no avail with regard to the salvation of one's soul. Therefore, the most a Christian can do is to have faith in Jesus Christ as their Savior. This is basically what a Christian is. Because Christianity has only two real sacraments (baptism and the Lord's Supper), it is necessary for a person to partake of both in order to actually be a Christian. Certainly, a heathen or pagan can go around doing good works, but this means nothing to God. Christ is the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, with the father being the First Person of the Holy Trinity, and the Holy Spirit being the Third Person. However, a Christian should do good works; yet, this will not save one's soul. God blesses certain Christian persons with His Divine Grace according to His D...
