Saved by Faith Versus Saved by Good Works?

The issue of salvation by faith versus salvation by good works has been a perennial concern in Christianity. The Pelagian heresy, which emerged around 400 CE, stemmed from the British theologian Pelagius' notion that believers had the sovereignty to follow a set of rules using discipline and exercise of free will. Martin Luther read Paul's statements that minimized the importance of good works as evidence that the Catholic Church's selling of indulgences was not only greedy, but also in direct opposition to the teachings of the apostles.