Blake Long

In 1517, an incredible 507 years ago, the Protestant Reformer Martin Luther pinned his 95 Theses on the doors of Castle Church in Wittenburg, Germany. This revolutionary act of biblical fidelity led the Protestant Reformation. You can view the 95 Theses here.

And 507 years later, we are still protesting the Roman Catholic Church’s teachings. This is done primarily through the five solas—five beliefs that fly in the face of Rome. Below are a brief summary of each, and should be the anthem of every Christian!

Sola Gratia (Grace Alone)

We are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, by Christ alone, according to Scripture alone, to the glory of God alone.

The million dollar question everyone should ask is this: How are we saved? The simple answer is we are saved by God’s grace alone.

Ephesians 2:8, among other passages, is abundantly clear, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God” (ESV). We’re not saved by our works; we’re not saved by pulling ourselves up by our bootstraps; we’re not saved by doing “good deeds.” We are saved by the pure, divine, sovereign grace of God. Nothing more, nothing less.

Perhaps you will be surprised to know that the Christian faith stands alone in this doctrine. All other religions in the world—including those that disguise themselves as Christianity—say you must do something in order to obtain salvation. Even if it means you receive grace first, and then you must work—you’re still working. Biblical Christianity teaches that our works are as filthy rags—menstrual garments (Is. 64:6)—before the Lord. We couldn’t work for salvation even if it were possible! We are tainted by sin. And that’s why the message of salvation by grace alone is so beautiful.

Sola Fide (Faith Alone)

We are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, by Christ alone, according to Scripture alone, to the glory of God alone.

Faith is the instrument by which we receive the free gift of salvation Christ Jesus. Even more, the faith we exercise to trust in Christ came from God—it wasn’t our own!

We receive the salvation purchased for us not by faith plus works, faith plus tithes, or anything else of our own merit. Simply faith.

Where confusion lies is what type of faith is saving faith? “We are saved by faith alone,” Martin Luther said, “but the faith that saves is never alone.” This simply means that good works always accompanies saving faith. Good works are a natural byproduct of saving faith—the evidence. It’s the argument of James 2:17, “So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.” A dead faith doesn’t save. The faith that God gives for us to receive Christ’s substitutionary work is a faith that causes good works. If there are no good works, perhaps there is no true, saving faith.

Solus Christus (Christ Alone)

We are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, by Christ alone, according to Scripture alone, to the glory of God alone.

Who saves us? That answer is quite simple: Jesus Christ. He is our substitute, our Savior, our Lord, our King, our God.

Christ is the one who lived a perfectly righteous life pleasing to the Father on our behalf. Christ is the one who resisted temptation in the garden when we did not. Christ is the one who hung on a tree, dying for our sins, when we deserved that. Christ took on the full brunt of God’s holy wrath so we didn’t have to.

It was Christ—and only Christ. Our salvation depends on the finished work of Jesus Christ; our salvation is as sure as that—and we know it’s perfect!

Sola Scriptura (Scripture Alone)

We are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, by Christ alone, according to Scripture alone, to the glory of God alone.

The Bible is the highest authority we humans have. No other religious document or textbook has the words of eternal life in it. No other written words are inspired, breathed out by God. The way of salvation, the only salvation, is in the pages of Scripture.

On a similar note, sola Scriptura doesn’t mean we can’t have traditions; those are fine so long as they don’t trump the Bible. It just means that everything we need is found in the perfect Word of the Bible. “Scripture is therefore the perfect and only standard of spiritual truth, revealing infallibly all that we must believe in order to be saved and all that we must do in order to glorify God,” John MacArthur wrote. “That—no more, no less—is what sola Scriptura means.”

Soli Deo Gloria (Glory of God Alone)

We are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, by Christ alone, according to Scripture alone, to the glory of God alone.

Salvation belongs to the Lord (Jonah 2:9). All the glory goes to Him. God is the end of all things, our fullest reality. All things come from Him and all things, including us, exist for His glory. He receives glory in electing sinners to Heaven and damning unrepentant sinners to Hell.

Friends, we are still protesting because God’s name is still being blasphemed and a works-based salvation is still being proclaimed by others, specifically Rome. Salvation comes to us by God’s sovereign grace—the only thing we bring to the table is our sin.