Their salvation depended solely on their individual relationship with God. On the other hand, John Calvin believed that predestination was the final word; God did not create all in equal condition, in fact there was "eternal life for some, eternal damnation for others." Calvin insisted that God did not want all men to be saved, and the reason some were was not based on His knowledge of their faith, but solely by His grace. Although the bible talks of God's will for the salvation of all men and of His efforts of "no one being lost," Calvin mostly dismissed this passage and interpreted part of it as specifically talking about the Elect. The Elect summarized Calvin's theories; each Elect was somebody who, through the grace of God, unknown to themselves and others, was the Elect and was predestined to go to Heaven. (All who were not part of the Elect were predestined to eternal damnation.) Then why do anything? Although practicing one's faith and being loyal to God would not increase one's chances of being one of the Elect, those who were loyal would be relieved of anxiety and be reassured of the likelihood of perhaps being one of the Elect. Most importantly, he/she would have the glory of God throughout their life. Although Martin Luther and John Calvin's theories regarding spiritual matters varied, both leaders based their ideas in predestination-therefore affecting their theories by making them both similar yet different from each other.
Martin Luther and John Calvin's theories did not stop at spiritualism, in fact, both leaders had strong ideas regarding secular matters as well; Luther urged his followers to obey secular authority but not the Church, while on the other hand, Calvin believed that everyday conduct should be religious. In 1517, Martin Luther involved himself with a large controversy against the church. Pope Leo X had foolishly spent the church's money on lavish parties, and in a desperate attempt to regain the money lost, the church invented indulgences and sold them to the public.