What do you do when the Word of God is being violently abused by wicked men who love power, esteem and high office rather than God? You run to Jesus and His infallible Word. You don’t remain in the system. You don’t partake of the mysteries of the Whore of Babylon or commune at her altars. You don’t participate in her wicked doctrines, canons or traditions. Instead, you turn to the Law and to the Testimony, to the Almighty Son of God who by perfect Law keeping and sacred sacrifice has saved us from our sins. His Word will judge us on the last day, not the decrees of evil seducers and false teachers. The Protestant Reformation, while having grave pitfalls that must be addressed, exemplifies self-sacrifice for the sake of the Gospel and a return to apostolic and pure doctrine and practice in the life of the Church. Everything the Church is and does must be defined by God’s Word, because Christ is the Head of His one, holy, catholic and apostolic church. He has defined the parameters of soteriology, ecclesiology, eschatology, doctrinal unity and practice and so on. Men, whether gathered in council as bishops, or in their own congregations or religious institutions, can never overturn the teaching of God’s pure Word. Our heritage and forefathers speaks to the on-going call for standing on the Bible instead of being carried to and fro by every wind of doctrine while always reforming that which must be reformed [ecclesia reformata, semper reformanda].
It is a must to be grounded in the Gospel of God: “Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; by which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures…” (1 Corinthians 15:1-4). The 5 Solas of the Protestant Reformation provide windows into the grace of the Gospel by providing a foundation for theological Gospel-sanctity and protection. By grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, to the glory of God alone, and by the Gospel found in Scripture alone, are we saved. Any neglect or rejection of these truths leads to apostasy and perdition. These truths are clearly revealed in Scripture and must be cherished amongst Bible-believing, evangelical Christians. While the categorization of the Five Solas is a recent invention (20th century), the doctrinal content behind each Sola is an expression of the teaching of the true Gospel found in Sacred Scripture, and recovered in the 16th century to a massive and public extent during the Reformation. Growing up in the Protestant world milked by these principles is a creates a completely different world view from a Roman Catholic or Eastern Orthodox upbringing. The Solas are rehearsed in Protestant churches on every Reformation Day, and should be deeply instilled (if pastors have done their due diligence in proper teaching) in the hearts of the evangelical faithful world-wide (over 1 billion believers).
1. Sola Gratia – By grace alone.
By grace we mean the reception of God’s favour, love, energy, acceptance and forgiveness. God’s grace is transmitted to us through Jesus Christ our Saviour and Lord, through the heartfelt reception of His Gospel, in his Word and Sacraments and made efficacious through His precious atoning blood and sacrificial death. The grace we receive from God through Christ is completely free, meaning, we can never earn it or work for it in any way. Receiving God’s grace is as easy as having genuine faith in His Word and Promises. If you believe that God will freely forgive you for Christ’s sake, not because of your own merits but because of His blameless life and passion, you are forgiven. You do not need to purchase graces (such as by paying for a blasphemous sacrificial mass or visiting a shrine) or work for them (such as by praying for souls in purgatory or saying the rosary). Grace is received as a free gift, for, if someone works for God’s favour, grace is no longer a gift but a wage, and the Gospel becomes vain: “And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work” (Romans 11:6). “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: by whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God” (Romans 5:1-2). The moment someone tries to work for or merit towards God’s grace they fall into many grievous pitfalls. “Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works, saying: “Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin” (Romans 4:6-8).
Imputed righteousness on the basis of God’s grace is a cardinal doctrine of the faith once delivered unto the saints. If God does not freely give us His grace then we are completely hopeless in the world and without any means of grasping eternal life or forgiveness. The character of God is to be a gracious and merciful heavenly Father who greatly desires to give His children the Kingdom through accepting and adoring His Son. The free gift of salvation is offered to all who repent and turn to Him just as the Publican and the Prodigal Son were so liberally received into eternal dwellings. Those who try to earn favour with God through works or good deeds have desperately misunderstood the character and nature of God and the Gospel of salvation. A massive error in Christendom has been to turn our works into grace-accruing deeds that God is obliged to pay for in graces and benefits. This takes the focus off of Christ crucified and resurrected and puts the emphasis on our supposed sacerdotal or consecrated duties. Ministerial or lay works can never merit the grace of God simply because we are forgiven freely for Christ’s sake by grace through faith. If you are not willing to humble yourself and freely receive the gift of God’s love in Christ Jesus, you simply cannot receive the salvation of the Lord.
Religious works found in major religions such as Roman Catholicism, Islam and Rabbinic Judaism seek to propitiate God through the works of human hands. God rejects such impious notions and deeds because the only way He provides grace is through faith in His Son and His Word & Sacraments. When the Gospel is preached, spoken, taught or read, souls are saved; when a baptism takes place, a new creation is born; when the precious body and blood of Christ is received, our souls and bodies are purified. All of these gifts of God’s grace are free, unmerited, unearned. The only secure and proper way to receive the grace of God is by humble reception of the Word and Sacraments in trembling penitence, love and faith. One must be utterly hopeless in ones own ability to save him or herself or work to achieve any status before God as just or good or worthy of being blessed or graced. Works such as self-flagellation, baptisms and requiems for the dead and the holy souls in purgatory, making pilgrimages, decking images, lighting candles, saying novenas, attending vigils, receiving papal indulgences, or offering resources to the Church can never and will never merit the grace of God in the life of a Christian. Grace is free and will always remain free in God’s economy of salvation. To be a keeper of Holy Writ you must defend God’s sovereign grace with all you’ve got. God’s free grace is granted by God Himself in the Gospel, through faith in Christ, without any human mediation or works.
2. Sola Fide – Through faith alone.
Where do you place your faith? In whom do you place all of your trust and confidence? Your spouse? Girlfriend or boyfriend? Best friend? Maybe in a church leader or denomination, a religious practice or ritual of some kind, or maybe even in your own success and personal achievements? The Gospel of Christ presents a different way to have faith, which is the only genuine way to have true faith, faith in God and not in self, what one can do, who somebody knows, what church they attend, or what person gives them spiritual guidance. Faith in Jesus Christ demands picking up the cross and following after Him, losing all for the sake of Christ and His Gospel and Kingdom. For us to live is Christ and to die is gain; we are hidden with Christ in Holy Baptism and nourished by His true Body and Blood. The principle of sola fide is that the only way to grasp Christ and all of His benefits is by being granted the saving gifts of repentance and faith. The Great Exchange, whereby Christ takes our sins and gives us His perfect righteousness in return, cannot take place without genuine faith in the life, death, burial and resurrection of Christ, most-immaculate God and Man, the Divine and Eternal Son of God.
Christ cannot be received or grasped through ex opere operato religious works or ceremonies. Becoming united to Christ cannot be achieved by attending church without actually knowing the Lord Jesus personally and serving Him. You cannot purchase a passcard into the Kingdom of Heaven by giving to the poor or serving the oppressed. You must believe that Christ suffered, died and rose for your sins on the third day, that He is Lord and Saviour of all, the redeemer of mankind and the only mediator and advocate between God and men. You cannot hope that Mary intercedes for you on the Day of Judgment by wearing a Brown Scapular. You cannot enrol into monthly masses to receive the gift of faith or go to confession once and a while without real repentance and fruits proceeding while believing yourself to be a child of the Church. Faith in Christ demands radical transformation by the power of God. Believing the Gospel and being baptized is the only way to be saved according to our Lord: “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned” (Mark 16:16). You do not need to subscribe to a church council, canon, decree or dogma to be saved; you do not need to submit to a particular bishop or synodical conference; you do not need to work for God’s favour or grace; you can simply repent, believe and be baptized into Christ.
The doctrine upon which the Church stands or falls is rightly the doctrine of justification by faith. The moment faith alone being necessary for salvation is rejected the entire foundation of the Gospel is ruined. This opens a wide open door to works-based salvation that severs us from Christ. Imputed righteousness and justification through faith in Christ is what Sacred Scripture teaches. There is no other way to understand friendship and reconciliation with God. The Romish conception of infused righteousness badly misses the mark as it fails to see our total depravity and inability to contain any goodness in ourselves. We can only be accounted righteous before God because of the merits of Christ. We can never be considered righteous in and of ourselves simply because we do not have any righteousness of our own and we never will… being the fallen, sin-sick creatures that we are, it is impossible in this life full of depravity, darkness and tribulation we can ever become just.
It is true that we are born-again and freed in will unto good works by the Spirit of God who works in us both to will and and to carry out His good pleasure. This new status as children of God and heirs of eternal life is credited to our standing before God in Christ, yet we remain simul justus et peccator. Our nature is still depraved and we are still inclined to sin as the Holy Spirit wages war against our flesh. Our continual sanctification and growth in righteousness in conformity to Christ, whereby through Word and Sacrament we are divinized through sharing in the divine nature, does not in any way add to or take away from our imputed righteousness. Imputed righteousness occurs before sanctification and finds its basis in the perfect righteousness of Christ instead of any infused virtue in the believer. We are considered by our heavenly Father as righteous as His own Son our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, not because we have any goodness or righteousness in ourselves, but because He chose to freely clothe us in the robes of His glorious light and salvation. Genuine faith produces sanctification throughout the life of the believer that demonstrates that the gifts of repentance, faith and regeneration have been genuinely received.
Trust in Jesus Christ is necessary for salvation. Trust in Jesus Christ results in reception of the free gift of eternal life. Baptism naturally follows genuine conversion amongst adults, but if a person dies without baptism, without despising it, yet trusts in Christ, they can still be saved. Nothing we do in our Christian life can merit the forgiveness of God: we receive His mercy through faith alone. Yet our works prove our genuine faith in Christ. If we say we love our brother, but do not clothe him or feed him when he is naked and hungry, what kind of love do we possess? If we say we have faith in God but do not keep His commandments or live according to His will, is our faith even real? If we bite and devour our brethren, but say we worship and love God, aren’t we hypocrites and liars? True faith always produces good works that are pleasing and acceptable sacrifices to God in Christ in the Holy Spirit. The sweet smelling aroma of faith in God through Christ has justified all of our fathers, including Abraham, Moses, Jacob, Joseph, Daniel, and David; Peter, Paul, John, Andrew, James and Thomas, and all the blessed apostles and prophets of the Lamb. No one comes to God in pride or arrogance, demanding salvation because of what they have piously done or said. Such Pharisees are not allowed into God’s courts. “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him” (Hebrews 11:6). The just shall live by faith, not by the vain traditions and customs of men, or the doctrines of demons that teach salvation comes through any other method than by child-like faith in Christ.
3. Solus Christus In Christ Alone
We do not need the aid of the saints or their merits because our salvation has been wrought and won by our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ alone, without the help of any other. The principle of Christ alone when properly understood means that without the salvation of Christ, which is freely offered to sinners who repent, believe and are baptized into Christ, we are utterly hopeless: there is no religious practice, belief, ritual or way to be saved outside of Christ. The way of salvation has been laid down in Scripture: repent, believe, be baptized. Anything added is adding to salvation which is heretical and blasphemous. Reception of Christ means Christ alone and nothing added. Jesus told us that He is the only way to the Father, the way, the truth, and the life. The resurrection and the life. His name, Yeshua or Jesus means “He shall save His people from their sins.” Without His perfect life, death, burial, resurrection, and ascension unto the right hand of the Father to perpetually intercede for us, we would be hopeless, without God in the world, completely devoid of life and hope.
Turning to the Blessed Virgin Mary through prayers, vows, consecrations or pilgrimages, the decrees or dogmas of the Pope who believes himself able to infallibly lead the people of God and overturn Scripture or add to it by decree, religious cults and their leaders (such as the Mormons or the Watch Tower), or other types of sacrilegious religious practices are anti-Christ and blasphemous as they viciously attack the doctrine of solus christus. They try to rob Christ of His glory by adding other saviours, or false Christs, as our Lord warned us about, to the economy of salvation, instead of receiving eternal life, freedom from the Devil and the forgiveness of sins from faith in Christ alone. Our Lord said: “For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect” (Matthew 24:24). Anyone who tries to lead you away from Christ is leading you to the Devil. There is absolutely no other way to be saved. I love what Article 23 of the 39 Articles of Religion says concerning obtaining eternal salvation only by the Name of Christ: “They also are to be had accursed that presume to say, That every man shall be saved by the Law or Sect which he professeth, so that he be diligent to frame his life according to that Law, and the light of Nature. For Holy Scripture doth set out unto us only the Name of Jesus Christ, whereby men must be saved.”
I want to give you a perfect, real-world example of what is means to embrace (or not) the doctrine of Christ alone. I know a man who is a devout Roman Catholic; I will spare you his name. He is a nice gentleman, but he is sorely deceived by his religion. I want you to think about his ecclesial situation. You have to understand about what his church teaches to understand how they negate and reject Christ alone as a doctrine divinely revealed in Scripture (it’s obvious then why they refuse the other solas as well). Instead of recognizing Scripture as carrying the final say in all things related to the Church, faith, doctrine, morals, practice etc., Rome teaches that a Christian must hold to the teachings of 1) Scripture 2) Holy Tradition and 3) ex cathedra infallible statements of the Popes. Obviously Scripture and Tradition (including the teachings of the councils, fathers, canons etc) are interpreted [supposedly under the guidance of the Holy Ghost] in a perfect and absolute way [in a manner directed by the Spirit] so that all other churches must accept the Roman Church’s declarations.
When the Pope decrees that something must be believed and accepted de fide, that is, according to the faith, every genuine Catholic must confess and uphold belief in the newly established dogma with the threat of eternal damnation if they refuse to do so. The last two dogmas were pronounced by Pope Pius IX in 1854 and Pope Pius XII in 1950 on the Immaculate Conception and the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary respectively. Thus one must believe that Mary was conceived without original sin and is the immaculate Queen of Heaven and that she was assumed body and soul into Heaven (not ascended or taken into the Third Heaven but assumed). If you don’t believe these two doctrines you will end up in Hell according to the Roman Catholic Church: “Canon 750 – § 1. Those things are to be believed by divine and catholic faith which are contained in the word of God as it has been written or handed down by tradition, that is, in the single deposit of faith entrusted to the Church, and which are at the same time proposed as divinely revealed either by the solemn Magisterium of the Church, or by its ordinary and universal Magisterium, which in fact is manifested by the common adherence of Christ’s faithful under the guidance of the sacred Magisterium. All are therefore bound to avoid any contrary doctrines.”
A Roman Catholic’s soul will be lost and cast into Hell forever if he refuses to submit to his Pope’s divinely appointed teaching authority. You simply cannot be in good standing in your local Roman Catholic parish without firm faith in all of the “divinely revealed” dogmas of the deposit of faith found within Roman Catholicism. This includes all the dogmas that the Roman Catholic Church treats as actually belonging to apostolic tradition, including the dogmas and decrees proceeding from all the 21 councils Rome considers ecumenical. The problem is that for the large part, most magisterial dogmas were unknown to the early Church and have no basis in Sacred Scripture. Most doctrines are actually diabolic in nature and subvert the true faith of the Church. Here are two examples. The first is the teaching that one must submit in both soul and body to the Pope and his supposed God-granted prerogatives to be saved: “Furthermore, we declare, we proclaim, we define that it is absolutely necessary for salvation that every human creature be subject to the Roman Pontiff” (Pope Boniface VIII 1302 – Unam Sanctam). Second, to teach that we receive the grace of God through the mediation, prayers, intercession and means of the Blessed Virgin Mary as the Mediatrix, Neck and Sequestra of all graces (as Pius XI, Benedict XV, Pius X, Leo XIII, Bernard and so on taught in different ways) instead of through a direct channel between us and God (as we are promised in Scripture) is the height of blasphemy. The grace of God is freely given to us by and through and in Christ Jesus through faith according to the free love and mercy of Almighty God. You can grasp Jesus Christ entirely, and all of His benefits, right now, without anyones help, through genuine repentance, faith and baptism.
Now let me ask you a question: would my friend be abandoning Christ by clinging to Mary or the Pope? Or what about the two Mormon missionaries I tried to plant seeds with while street evangelizing at a local college recently. Do they understand Christ alone or any of the other solas? Their church teaches them that they need to pay for a yearly Temple Pass to continue their relationship with God in their journey towards Heaven. Their good deeds, such as wearing special purity underwear, maintaining a healthy diet, evangelizing and performing baptisms for the dead keep them in good standing within the LDS community. If these good works don’t add up, the bounteous next world full of endless sex with spirit wives and becoming gods will be barred. Even drinking coffee can send you to Hell in Mormonism. But where is Christ in any of this? Where is faith in Christ and His free offer of eternal life, forgiveness and blessedness? “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30). “Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: and whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?” (John 11:25-26).
Can receiving salvation be as simple as repenting of one’s sins and trusting in Christ? Yes it can be, and is. Romans 10:9-13 clearly tells us: “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Jew and Gentile are the same in this respect. They have the same Lord, who gives generously to all who call on him. For “Everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved.” Does the Scripture say we must call upon Mary to intercede with her Son to give us a little bit of grace? Does it say we need to devote ourselves to the Pope or the Quorum of the 12? Do we need to believe extra-biblical dogmas that Scripture expressly repudiates? Do we need a priest’s sacerdotal ministry to save our souls? Obviously not. Let’s stick to Christ alone being sufficient for our salvation. Why would you need or want anyone else to save you? No one else has the power to, no one else has, no one else can.
4. Soli Deo Gloria – To the glory of God alone.
Pompous men love to be adored and worshipped. They want prestige, esteem and honour. They love big crowds and clapping, worshipful and smiling pawns. Remember when God smote Herod for receiving praise as a god? “And Herod was highly displeased with them of Tyre and Sidon: but they came with one accord to him, and, having made Blastus the king’s chamberlain their friend, desired peace; because their country was nourished by the king’s country. And upon a set day Herod, arrayed in royal apparel, sat upon his throne, and made an oration unto them. And the people gave a shout, saying, It is the voice of a god, and not of a man. And immediately the angel of the Lord smote him, because he gave not God the glory: and he was eaten of worms, and gave up the ghost” (Acts 12: 20-23). Think about all the cultish tales throughout the ages, where men have been worshipped as living gods. Even in Rome our Lord said to give to Caesar what was Caesar’s, and to God His proper worship and honour. Demons love to entice men to seek praise rather than to praise God; they entice men with the original lie: you can be like God. But God alone is to be glorified: “Thou shalt have no other gods before me” (Exodus 20:3). Instead of expanding the power or influence of any man or institution (like the Pope, the LDS Church. Islam, Rabbinic Judaism etc.,) the gift of salvation in Christ redounds only to the glory of God, because it is a free gift from God Himself that can never be earned or worked for. The Scripture tells us that we have been predestined unto the adoption of sons by Jesus Christ to “the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein He hath made us accepted in the beloved” (Ephesians 1:6).
When someone exclaims: “Soli Deo Gloria!” they are confessing that God alone receives all the glory for our salvation, because, from beginning to end, salvation is of the Lord (monergistic): “But the salvation of the righteous is of the LORD: he is their strength in the time of trouble” (Psalm 37:39). We receive salvation by grace through faith in Christ alone. God is glorified in His Son when sinners repent and receive Christ Jesus as Lord and Saviour. God commands all men everywhere to repent. And, when they do [by His gracious gift of repentance and being granted faith in Christ] our Father receives them freely into His Kingdom as one of His dearly beloved children. There is no mediator, or mediatrix, who can steal the glory of God. Only through repentance towards God and faith in Jesus Christ our Lord can we be saved. Jesus is our only Redeemer, Mediator and Advocate. He is glorified when we obey Him, and His Word, not the words, doctrines, commandments or traditions of men.
5. Sola Scriptura – The Scriptures as the supreme and sole infallible authority in matters of faith and practice.
When considering the doctrinal principle of Scripture alone, I want to assert that I am not pushing for distrusting, disfavouring or altogether rejecting lesser theological, doctrinal and practical authorities in the Church, such as the teaching of the fathers or the ecumenical dogmas, decrees, canons, or creeds of the undivided, universal Christian Church. While these lesser authorities are subject to fallibility and error because they proceed from man (instead of the Holy Ghost as the RC & EO churches claim), the Holy Word of God (consisting of the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments) are God-breathed, and thus the very words of God Himself, divine revelation, which necessitates Scripture carrying the highest authority in religious matters, having the power to bind and loose all other lesser authorities. Anything or anyone that contradicts, adds to, takes away from, tries to overturn, reject or repudiate God’s holy Word actually fights against God Himself. To reject God’s Word is to reject God, plain and simple, because God has revealed Himself to us through Scripture. The way God speaks to us today is through Scripture in the Holy Spirit. God has decided that the way in which we are to live is according to His Good News, His Law and Gospel in Jesus Christ our Lord.
The Holy Bible has been infallibly and perfectly preserved for us by God Himself: “The words of the LORD are pure words: As silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, Thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever” (Psalm 12:6-7). Everything in the Bible was verbally inspired, and, thus, is perfectly inerrant, sufficient and authoritative. Books like the Book of Mormon or the Quran that claim to edit or overturn the teaching of the Bible are works of Satan. Any dogma, canon or decree that tries to do the same is also of the Evil One. The Lord warns those who try to add to or take away from His pure Word: “I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book…” (Revelation 22:18). Do you really want to trust the depraved and fallen, carnal and sensuous wisdom of men rather than God’s wisdom found in His Word? ” … the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy” (cf. James 3:17). Think about all of the cults and pseudo-Christian religious institutions that bind mens consciences, not to the Word of God or sound doctrine or sound morals, but to their own filthy and personal interpretations of the truth that is in Jesus. The Apostles did not interpret Scripture according to their own fancies, but instead in the sight of God they were blameless, speaking the mystery of Christ with all fear and meekness: “Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost” (2 Peter 1:20-21).
Genuine Christians must diligently hold fast to the Biblically-inspired doctrinal principles called the Five Solas of the Protestant Reformation. These five doctrinal principles are bulwarks of salvation that protect us against all manner of false teaching and devilish pride against God’s glory. Holding to the five solas will obviously separate you from those who reject one or more of the principles. But to be a faithful Christian we must guard the deposit of faith, found in the Word of God, which is merely highlighted and exalted by the five solas. Instead of upholding the traditions and doctrines of men that replace the commandments of God with vanity (cf. Mark 7:13) we are called to preach the true Gospel that we are saved by grace through faith in Christ alone. Any more, or any less, is heresy, according to God in Sacred Scripture. Go on Christian soldier and spread the TRUTH of the Gospel!
