Martin Luther became a monk in the Catholic Church and earned his way up in rank through devotion, prayer, and hard work. Martin soon became a priest within the Catholic Church. Martin was a firm believer in God's word and soon began teaching others in the classroom. As Martin continued to read and study his Bible, he started questioning some of his Church's beliefs and practices. As he continued to read the Bible he started to see certain discrepancies between God's written Word and the Catholic Church's practices. He started to see the truth that was written in God's Word. Martin decided that he needed show the Catholic Church where they were wrong in their teaching of God's word. In 1517, Martin Luther posted 95 theses on the church door in Wittenberg. Luther welcomed challenges and debates of the Catholic doctrine. Luther argued that the Bible, not the pope, was the central means to discern God’s word — a view that was certain to raise eyebrows in Rome. Further, Luther maintained that salvation was granted by faith alone; good works and the sacraments were not necessary in order to be saved. Luther was especially appalled by the church practice of selling indulgences. These documents of the pope were sold as penitents of sin. To Luther, this was like buying salvation, and he knew that this was not right. The 95 Theses were quickly distributed throughout Germany and then made their way to Rome. In 1518, Luther was summoned to Augsburg, a city in southern Germany, to defend his opinions before an imperial assembly. On November 9, 1518 the pope condemned Luther’s writings as conflicting with the teachings of the Church. One year later a series of commissions were convened to examine Luther’s teachings. The first papal commission found them to be heretical, but the second merely stated that Luther’s writings were “scandalous and offensive to pious ears.” Finally, in