The Four Solas of the Reformation
The Four Solas of the Reformation
As we approach the annual commemoration of the Reformation, I wanted to briefly discuss one of the most important contributions the Reformation brought to the Church: the four solas. “Sola” is Latin for “only,” and each sola is a principle drawn from the Bible to help us read the Bible properly.
Sola Scriptura (Scripture Alone): “But as for you, continue in what you have learned…the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness” (2 Tim 3:14–16). Here, Paul is asserting that the main author of the Bible is God Himself, literally “God-breathed.” If the perfect and all-knowing God is the author, then what God wrote in Scripture must be perfect and sufficient for our salvation. In other words, the Bible is the only thing we need to believe in Christ and be saved. All other texts like the 3 Ecumenical Creeds and the Lutheran Confessions have authority because of their faithfulness to Scripture; similarly, sermons have authority because they faithfully teach the Bible. Therefore, all you need to believe in Christ and be saved is God’s Word recorded in Scripture (Sola Scriptura).
Sola Gratia (Grace Alone): “[Jesus said,] ‘Father…glorify your Son…since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent’” (Jn 17:1–3). This is one of the many places Jesus claims the right to give salvation (see also Lk 12:8–9, Jn 14:6). Therefore, if Jesus has the right to give salvation, we can-not claim salvation by anything we can do. Salvation is pure gift, and so we rightly confess that salvation comes by grace/gift alone (Sola Gratia).
Sola Fide (Faith Alone): “For 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” (Eph 2:8–9). This verse teaches both Sola Gratia and Sola Fide, but we will focus on faith. Salvation was won upon the cross by Jesus, and Sola Gratia teaches that Christ alone can give salvation. Sola Fide explains how we receive that salvation. Salvation is received “through faith,” believing in the “God-breathed” Bible and trusting that Christ died upon the Christ for us. Moreover, only faith is able to receive salvation, and Paul emphasizes that there is nothing we can do to earn salvation: “not a result of works.” Therefore, salvation is given freely by Christ (Sola Gratia), and we receive it by faith alone, not by our works (Sola Fide).
Solus Christus (Christ Alone): “[Jesus said,] ‘These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.’ Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and he said to them, ‘Thus it is written that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead’” (Lk 24:44–46). Finally, all of Scripture points to Jesus Christ and his saving work upon the cross. Jesus also said, “You search the Scriptures…and it is they that bear witness about me” (Jn 5:39). Jesus must be at the center of our reading of Scripture if we want to understand the Bible; if he is not, then we cannot understand Scripture (Solus Christus).
These four solas are some of the most important contributions to the Christian Faith. By citing Scripture, I hope that you will see that these principles were not made up by men in the 1700s, but that God Himself has given us these tools to rightly understand the Bible.
Your servant in Christ,
Vicar Mars