Slideshow image

During the early 16th century, the language typically used by academics and theologians for important written documents was Latin.  The Protestant reformers of the time memorialized their theology in five Latin phrases known as The Five Solas.  The Latin word sola means “alone” or “only.”

 

SOLA SCRIPTURA

Sola scriptura means “scripture alone.”  By this the reformers affirmed their belief that the Bible is the sole authority for faith and practice.  They distinguished themselves from Roman Catholics, who held that church tradition, church councils and papal degrees were authorities as well as scripture.

The reformers believed that over the centuries, the Roman church had gradually assumed the position that Catholic tradition was a source of God’s revelation and that the pope and the Roman Catholic Church were the final authority in questions of faith and practice.  The reformers insisted that this was improper and inconsistent with the view of the early church.  They endeavored to return the Roman church to what they believed to be its proper role.

The doctrine of sola scriptura does not mean that sources of information other than the Bible should be ignored or completely discounted.  It means that the final authority in all matters is scripture.  It also means that no one may add to or take away from that which is found in the Bible.

 

SOLA FIDE

Translated as “faith alone,” sola fide affirms the reformers’ belief that justification before God and the salvation that flows from it is by faith in Christ only.  The reformers believed that good deeds and merit, the merit which may accrue to a person as a result of good deeds, contribute nothing to justification.  Justification comes by faith alone, a faith that is a gift from God (see Sola Gratia).

Sola fide distinguished reformed doctrine from Roman Catholic doctrine, which reflected the Roman Catholic belief that justification was by faith, but not by faith alone.  Faith was necessary for salvation in the Roman system, but it was not sufficient for salvation in the Roman system.

 

SOLA GRATIA

Sola gratia means “grace alone.”  Grace is unearned favor, a free gift.  The doctrine of sola gratia teaches that salvation is entirely due to the grace of God, having nothing to do with our efforts.  Salvation, according to reformed theology, is unearned and undeserved.  It is not a result of our merit or achievements.

By the late middle ages, the Roman church had come to see justification as a cooperative effort between a gracious God and a willing sinner.  To clarify this concept, an analogy has been drawn between the sinner and a drowning man.  In order for the drowning man to be saved, he must reach out for the life preserver God graciously offers him.  In this scenario, the one saved clearly contributes to his own salvation.

In contrast to the Roman view, the reformers would have said that the correct analogy does not involve a drowning man seeking to save his life.  It involves a dead man, one who has already drowned, a lifeless corpse at the bottom of the ocean.  Such a man is completely incapable of doing anything, let alone cooperating in his own salvation.  If he is saved, it is solely an act of a gracious God, who breaths new life into one who is completely dead in sin.  It is entirely an act of grace.  Hence comes the phrase, sola gratia.

 

SOLUS CHRISTUS

This phrase means “Christ alone.”  It reflects the reformed belief that salvation comes through faith in him only and that Christ is the sole mediator between God the Father and mankind.

The debate between the reformers and the Roman Catholic Church was not about who Christ was and is.  It was about how the work of Christ was applied to mankind.  In the Roman system it was not by faith alone.  It was by means of faith plus a complex system of sacraments and sacramental works administered by the Roman Catholic Church.  To the reformers, it seemed that Christ’s grace was meted out to his people through this system of priests and sacraments.  Moreover, the reformers believed that this system obscured the work of Christ and usurped his prerogatives in salvation.  The reformers saw the Roman Church as stepping into the shoes of Christ and making itself the dispenser of God’s grace.

Solus Christus was in sharp contrast to the Roman Catholic sacramental view of justification.  The reformed view was that Christ bore all the pain (the penalty for our sins) and deserves all of the credit for our salvation.  According to the reformers, any credit attributed to works of penance or any other sacramental activity detracts from the work of Christ.

 

SOLI DEO GLORIA

Soli Deo Gloria translates to “glory to God alone.”  It encapsulates reformed theology in three simple words and it incorporates all the other solas by implication.  It asserts that all human activity should bring glory to God only.  Nothing we do should be for the purpose of bringing glory to anything or any person other than God and him alone.