The Five Solas: God's Perpetual War Against Rome

In the Reformation, the Reformers developed a systematic formulation that delineated the distinction of the biblical Christian faith from the corrupted version held by Rome. These doctrines have come to be known as the Five Solas, from their Latin forms.

Sola gratia, by grace alone. The Bible says that justification is by the condescending mercy of God. It cannot be due to any will or worthiness in the sinner because there is none. 

Sola fide, by faith alone. For those whom God has mercifully chosen to save, that justification is applied to them by means of faith. That is, faith is not meritorious, but is rather an instrument for applying justification. 

Solus Christus, on the basis of Christ alone. Everything necessary to justify God's people was achieved by the atoning work of Jesus, i. e., His perfect life, atoning death, and victorious resurrection. No additional intent, ritual, or action of men is necessary or possible, because Jesus did all that was necessary. 

Soli deo gloria, for the glory of God alone. God's purpose in justifying His people was not for our sakes, though we are certainly the beneficiaries. He did it to display the glories of His mercy and to glorify His Son with a church. 

Sola scriptura, in Scripture alone. Everything necessary to know about our sin, God's judgment, the redemption purchased by Christ, and the life of sanctification is and can be found in the Bible alone, using the ordinary means of reason, illuminated by the Holy Spirit. No human tradition added to Scripture or in its place can ever bind the conscience of the man of God. 

Even after the five centuries which have passed since the start of the Reformation, these truths have not changed. Nor has Rome ever repented of her errors here opposed. When professed Protestants practice fellowship and cooperation with the Catholic Church, it is not because she has given up her errors, but because the Protestants have accepted them.

Faith Is a Gift, but Not One from Us to God

"Faith" has become a psychological term in modern America. Any time someone has a crisis, the advice he gets is that he "just has to have faith." Faith in what? Or in whom? Nothing, but just faith in faith.

Even among professing Christians, the word has lost its biblical content. While evangelicals still profess to believe that we aren't saved by works, they have come to mean "saved by faith" as saved by a merit that I offer to God. I have even been asked by a Mormon, "Isn't faith a work?" And the answer is no, it's not a work. Nor is it a merit that earns us salvation. God is not impressed with our giving Him our faith, as if He

were a wife impressed by roses from her husband. But isn't that the attitude that most people have? "Gee, God, aren't you honored that I place my faith in You?"

And, no, He isn't.

If the wife in my analogy told her husband that she wanted flowers, and gave him the money to buy them, would she feel special because of his "gift"? Obviously not! Even less if she handed him the flowers, to be handed back to her.

In the same way, God is not obligated to us by the faith that He creates in us. Oh, no! He didn't just say that! Yeah, I did.

"By grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast" (Ephesians 2:8-9). These words from Paul are repeated frequently. And properly so! However, it is rare that the person spouting them actually pays attention to what he is saying. It is usually quoted to prove justification by faith. but is that exactly what it say? No, it's not. Paul says that we are saved by grace through faith. Faith is the instrument of salvation, the means by which it is applied, not its basis. It is grace that saves, according to these verses. What is grace? Grace is God's application of the merits of Christ. That is why Paul goes on to say that it is a gift!

The Christian is saved by grace, which produces faith in the believer. The believer does not produce faith. therefore, it cannot have merit before God. "Through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith" (Romans 12:3 NASB). Here Paul explicitly states that faith is given by God, though in different levels in respective Christians (compare Mark 9:24).

That which God gives us cannot be then something that we can claim as merit before Him.

In Honor of the Pope's Visit to the United States

Back in 1987, then-Pope John-Paul II visited the United States, including a stop in neighboring South Carolina. At the time, a co-worker, a professing atheist, said to me, "You must be excited." "Why?" I asked her. "Because of the Pope's visit," she replied. "But I'm not Catholic," I explained, to her blank face. She didn't understand the distinction between Catholics and Protestants. I am saddened to say that my experiences, even with Protestants over the years, has convinced me that few of us understand, either.

Beginning with the nailing of his 95 Theses on the Wittenburg Church door by Martin Luther on October 31, 1517 (so the 500th anniversary is approaching), Protestants have systematized our conflict with Rome in the so-called Five Solas:

Sola Scriptura: that our only infallible standard for spiritual truth is the Holy Bible, in the Old and New Testaments, and what by necessary logical consequence might be based on them.

Soli Deo Gloria: that our salvation and sanctification are for the glory of God alone, not based on any works for which a man might claim credit.

Solus Christus: that our salvation is based on the finished work of Christ alone, in His life, crucifixion, resurrection, and eternal intercession.

Sola Gratia: by grace alone, that is, by God's voluntary condescension, not because of any obligation that we have placed upon Him.

Sola Fide: that it is by faith alone, as the instrumental means, that the works of Christ are imputed to us for our justification.

These Five Solas (Latin for "alone") are the essential points of conflict between the churches of the Reformation and the Church of Rome. She has never changed her denial of these five truths, so our repudiation of her legitimacy must be maintained, for the rest of human history, if need be. Any ecumenical relationship, while she continues in her apostasy from the Gospel, can only carry Protestants into judgment with her. As Jesus Himself says (Revelation 18:4): "Come out of her, My people, lest you take part in her sins, lest you share in her plagues."