On the Freedom of a Christian

E58678

Christian literature Reformation writing theological treatise

On the Freedom of a Christian is a 1520 theological treatise by Martin Luther that argues Christians are spiritually free through faith in Christ while still bound to serve others in love.

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All labels observed (4)

Label	Occurrences
On the Freedom of a Christian canonical	3
The Freedom of a Christian	3
To the Christian Nobility of the German Nation	1
Von der Freiheit eines Christenmenschen	1

How this entity was disambiguated

This entity first appeared as the object of triple T469581 — resolving that mention is where its identity was fixed. The disambiguator weighed these candidate entities and picked the highlighted one (or “None”, minting a new entity). This is how homonymy is resolved: the same surface form can point to different entities.

NED1 Entity disambiguation (via context triple) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: On the Freedom of a Christian
Context triple: [Martin Luther, notableWork, On the Freedom of a Christian]

A. De veritate religionis Christianae
De veritate religionis Christianae is a 17th-century apologetic treatise that presents a rational defense of Christianity, written by the Dutch jurist and theologian Hugo Grotius.
B. Institutes of the Christian Religion
Institutes of the Christian Religion is John Calvin’s seminal 16th-century theological work that systematically outlines Reformed Protestant doctrine and became a foundational text of Calvinism.
C. A Letter Concerning Toleration
A Letter Concerning Toleration is a seminal 1689 work by philosopher John Locke arguing for religious freedom and the separation of church and state.
D. Commentary on True and False Religion
"Commentary on True and False Religion" is a 1525 theological treatise by Swiss Reformer Huldrych Zwingli that systematically contrasts what he saw as genuine Christian faith with the errors and abuses of the late medieval Catholic Church.
E. The Kingdom of God Is Within You
The Kingdom of God Is Within You is a non-fiction work by Leo Tolstoy that expounds his Christian anarchist philosophy and advocacy of nonviolent resistance.
F. None of above. chosen
G. Unsure - the case is ambiguous/there is not enough information to decide.

NED2 Entity disambiguation (via description) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: On the Freedom of a Christian
Target entity description: On the Freedom of a Christian is a 1520 theological treatise by Martin Luther that argues Christians are spiritually free through faith in Christ while still bound to serve others in love.

A. De veritate religionis Christianae
De veritate religionis Christianae is a 17th-century apologetic treatise that presents a rational defense of Christianity, written by the Dutch jurist and theologian Hugo Grotius.
B. Institutes of the Christian Religion
Institutes of the Christian Religion is John Calvin’s seminal 16th-century theological work that systematically outlines Reformed Protestant doctrine and became a foundational text of Calvinism.
C. A Letter Concerning Toleration
A Letter Concerning Toleration is a seminal 1689 work by philosopher John Locke arguing for religious freedom and the separation of church and state.
D. Commentary on True and False Religion
"Commentary on True and False Religion" is a 1525 theological treatise by Swiss Reformer Huldrych Zwingli that systematically contrasts what he saw as genuine Christian faith with the errors and abuses of the late medieval Catholic Church.
E. The Kingdom of God Is Within You
The Kingdom of God Is Within You is a non-fiction work by Leo Tolstoy that expounds his Christian anarchist philosophy and advocacy of nonviolent resistance.
F. None of above. chosen

Statements (49)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	Christian literature ⓘ Reformation writing ⓘ theological treatise ⓘ
arguesThat	Christian freedom leads to loving service of others ⓘ Christians are spiritually free through faith in Christ ⓘ good works are the fruit of faith, not the cause of justification ⓘ
author	Martin Luther ⓘ
centralThesis	A Christian is a perfectly dutiful servant of all, subject to all ⓘ A Christian is a perfectly free lord of all, subject to none ⓘ
countryOfOrigin	Electorate of Saxony ⓘ
dedicatedTo	Pope Leo X ⓘ
doctrine	bondage and freedom of the will in relation to faith ⓘ justification by faith alone ⓘ
genre	religious treatise ⓘ theological essay ⓘ
hasInfluenceOn	Lutheran confessional identity ⓘ modern Protestant views of Christian liberty ⓘ
historicalContext	conflict between Martin Luther and the papacy ⓘ debates over indulgences and church authority ⓘ
influenced	Lutheran theology of vocation ⓘ Protestant understanding of Christian liberty ⓘ later Reformation confessional documents ⓘ
keyConcept	imputed righteousness ⓘ inner spiritual freedom ⓘ outer works of love ⓘ union with Christ ⓘ
language	German ⓘ Latin ⓘ
mainTheme	Christian freedom through faith in Christ ⓘ relationship between faith and works ⓘ service to neighbor in love ⓘ
opposes	legalism in Christian life ⓘ reliance on works for justification ⓘ
originalTitle	De Libertate Christiana ⓘ Von der Freiheit eines Christenmenschen ⓘ linked to: On the Freedom of a Christian
publicationYear	1520 ⓘ
relatedWorkByAuthor	Ninety-five Theses ⓘ linked to: Luther’s Ninety-five Theses The Babylonian Captivity of the Church ⓘ To the Christian Nobility of the German Nation ⓘ
religion	Christianity ⓘ
religiousContext	Protestant Reformation ⓘ linked to: Reformation
structure	discussion of the inner spiritual person and the outer bodily person ⓘ
subject	Christian ethics ⓘ ecclesiology ⓘ soteriology ⓘ
supports	Scripture as authority in matters of faith ⓘ
theologicalTradition	Lutheranism ⓘ Protestantism ⓘ linked to: Protestant Christianity
timePeriod	16th century ⓘ

How these facts were elicited