The Five Solas

When Martin Luther, the former Augustinian monk, nailed his 95 theses to the door of the Wittenberg church, no formal explanation of the Solas existed. Luther had been radically changed by God’s Word, particularly Romans, as he considered justification by faith alone. It was so earth shattering to Luther that he desired to see the Catholic Church reformed to be better aligned with Scripture.

When Luther first began to understand that salvation could not be merited through human effort but depended solely on God's grace, he found himself at an impasse with the church. Although he did not have the clean and clear Solas of the Bible, these Solas would frame the theology of the early reformers and lead to the beginning of the Protestant faith. Sola in Latin simply means “only” which helps outline our understanding of theology through firm points.

The Legacy of the Solas

Every evangelical church is indebted to the work of the early reformers and those that followed with clarification through the Solas. This puts a few questions before us now:

• What are the Solas?

• Why is it important that we preach through and know them as a body of believers?

  
  

Sola Scriptura

Scripture alone is the source of every believer’s authority and theology. God reveals himself rightly in the Word. In that revelation God shows us the way of salvation and how to live in worship toward him. The Holy Spirit illuminates our mind to understand the truth of God’s Word (1 Cor. 2:10–14).

Sola Christus

Christ alone is the only way a believer can be saved from their sin. In fact, the entire point of God’s Word is to testify about who Jesus is and how people should follow him in belief. Salvation cannot be reached in any other way. Only Christ can save someone from their sin (Acts 4:12).

Sola Fide

Faith alone is how we are to be saved and live a life pleasing to God (Heb. 11:6). The works or acts of contrition, confession, and satisfaction, by which a priest grants absolution, are held by the Catholics as works (historically the selling of indulgences and papal authority on the level of Scripture) delivered ritualistic devotion rather than individual faith. Without faith, salvation and godly living are impossible.

Sola Gratia

Grace alone is the understanding that God brought us salvation and lavishes things upon us that we do not deserve. What compelled God to send Jesus to earth to save his sin-marred creation? Grace and grace alone. God’s grace brought us life, but it also brought eternal life (Titus 2:11–14).

As the pastor/theologian Dallas Willard has rightly said:

“Grace is not opposed to effort, grace is opposed to earning.”

Grace does not mean we are free to live how we want, but God’s grace propels us to live in response to salvation each day.

Sola Deo Gloria

God’s glory alone is at the center of all things. The worship and exaltation of God is at the core of our existence—the highest good in life. Salvation does not find its highest peak in the transference of man from death to life but in the redemption every believer sees and experiences in the glory of God. We as believers respond in worship.

It was not the glory of the pope, saints, or Jesus’ mother Mary by which we live. We live to the glory of God alone (Col. 3:17).

Why the Solas Matter Today

These Solas hold together not to simply summarize the Protestant faith but to clarify and defend it against the world’s beliefs and call sinners into right relationship with the Father. I hope this brief summary will stir your interest in deeper reading of the Solas on your own.

Recommended Reading

I would recommend the Sola Series which can be found here:

The Five Solas Series (Amazon)

For a shorter read but just as thorough: 

Whatever Happened to the Gospel of Grace? by James Montgomery Boice (Amazon)