Salvation, Canons of Two Distinct Kingdoms, & Parental Responsibility

Student Name
Professor
Course
Date
Martin Luther’s Three Topics
Martin Luther (1483-1546) is mainly recognized for his significant role in the Protestant Reformation. He is often recalled as a reformer who nailed the Ninety-Five Theses to the entrance of the Wittenberg Castle church. Through his actions and words, Luther advanced a movement that reformulated various fundamental principles of the Christian faith, culminating in a Western Christendom division between Roman Catholicism and the emergent Protestant traditions, mainly Calvinism, Lutheranism, the Anti-trinitarians, the Anglican Communion, and the Anabaptists. This paper discusses Martin Luther’s views on the doctrine of two kingdoms, salvation of humankind, parental responsibility, and the justifications for the respective topics.
In his topic about the principles of the two kingdoms, Luther articulated the need to separate God’s jurisdiction (right-hand kingdom) from the kingdom of the world (left-hand kingdom). In this way, the church ought to remain autonomous concerning issues of ministers, spirituality, doctrine, etc. On the other hand, the left-hand kingdom should be led by secular authorities rather than the church. Luther justified this by arguing that secular governments are driven by laws that do not surpass the world’s property, life, and external affairs. God is the only one who rules over the soul and would not permit anyone to attain such realms. In this vein, it is uncalled for to intertwin the two principalities (Burreson 5). Therefore, the Roman papacy undermined God’s will by joining the two kingdoms, including their attempts to control secular issues.
Regarding salvation, Luther noted that no person could deserve or earn salvation. Luther made this insight after an extended period of studying and reflecting and via a life-changing material of St. Augustine’s perspectives on predestiny &nd...