11. Luther on the Danger of his Doctrine.--It proved to be so even during the lifetime of Luther; for it led some of his followers to believe that Christ had abolished the moral law; and that Christians, therefore, were not obliged to observe it.[30] Luther himself saw the danger of his doctrine and thus spoke of it: If faith be preached, as of necessity it must be, the greater part of mankind will interpret the doctrine in a carnal way, and so understand spiritual liberty as to allow indulgences of the flesh. This we {237} may see in all the ranks of life. All profess themselves to be evangelical; all boast of their Christian liberty; and yet give way to their lusts and passions, for example to covetousness, pride, envy, pleasures, and such like. Who discharges his duty faithfully? Who serves his brother in a true spirit of charity? The disgrace which such conduct brings on the profession of the gospel puts me sometimes so out of temper that I could wish these swine, that tread precious pearls under their feet were still under the tyranny of the pope; for it is impossible that a people so much resembling those of Gomorrah, should be kept in due subjection by the mild maxims of the gospel of peace.[31] 12. It counts for nothing that Luther denounced this corrupt state of morals among his followers; it was the legitimate outgrowth of his fundamental doctrine--the doctrine of nearly all Protestants--of justification by faith alone, a faith which man had no part in generating, but which came through the grace of God alone. The tree of his planting produced bitter fruit; it was vain for him to proclaim against the fruit so long as he insisted that it was a good tree on which it grew. 13. Teaching of the Church of Rome on Justification.--The Catholic Church at the time, whatever errors in respect to other doctrines it entertained, held that salvation, justification before God, resulted through the exertion of man's free will, aided by the grace of God. It came through a union of faith and works on the part of man, and the rich outpouring of grace on the part of Deity; a doctrine which man is conscious of as operating upon and influencing human conduct, and at once in harmony with the whole tenor of revelation, and consonant with the great facts underlying the free will of man which have been already stated in this section.