The 16th – century reformers—Luther, Calvin, Zwingli, Knox and others—were derisively nicknamed, “the Sola – ists.” They distilled the essence of the gospel in five short Latin slogans each prefaced by the word sola meaning only, solely or exclusively.
This five – fold slogan was: sola gratia, sola fide, sola scriptura, solo Christo, soli Deo gloria (grace alone, faith alone, scripture alone, Christ alone, to God’s glory alone).
A clearly polemical purpose lay behind this summary. Scholastic theology spoke of grace and reason, faith and works, scripture and tradition, Christ and the mediation of Mary and the saints, God’s glory and papal glory. The reformers’ rebuttal was to confess grace only, faith only, scripture only, Christ only, God’s glory only. It was not that reason, works and tradition had no value; the reformers argued that they were simply not of equal value.
“By faith alone” is then part of this larger formula and is rightly understood only in terms of the other solas. Thus when Luther affirmed that justification is “by faith alone” he meant “by grace through faith alone.” As Calvin said, faith is simply an empty vessel that receives God’s grace. Important though it is, it makes no contribution to God’s work of salvation.
There is a second significant consequence. Luther spoke of justification by grace through faith alone as “the doctrine on which the Church stands or falls.” “If we lose the doctrine of justification,” Luther wrote, “we lose simply everything.” Yet while this doctrine has a dignity of its own as part of a closely connected complex of doctrines—grace, foreknowledge, predestination, calling, glorification—(Romans 8:28 – 30), nevertheless, it is not to be made into an absolute principle. It testifies to and upholds a more central doctrine: Christ alone. Ultimately, it is on Christ alone that the Church stands or falls.
Luther’s emphasis on grace alone, faith alone proceeded from and was informed by his “theology of the cross.” Contrasted with what he called a “theology of glory” (which he characterized as an attempt to climb up to God on the ladder of works and reason), he emphasized God’s gracious condescension in the humility, suffering and death of Christ on the cross. The theology of glory puffs up, he argued; the theology of the cross humbles us, for salvation is God’s sole work.
In articulating the five solas, the reformers believed they were revisiting and fighting again Paul’s battle against the ideas of salvation by works in Romans, Galatians and Ephesians, of false traditions in Colossians and of other mediators in the anonymous author’s Letter to the Hebrews.
Specifically, Luther based his teaching on Romans 3:28: “For … a person is justified by faith apart from works of law,” and on Ephesians 2:8 – 9: “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God—not because of works, lest anyone should boast.”
Are works then superfluous? Yes!—as far as earning salvation; No!—as far as the Christian life is concerned. A lively faith works gratefully and untiringly by love to produce good works. “Faith … is the alone instrument of justification,” the Westminster Confession states majestically, “yet is it not alone … but is ever accompanied with all other saving graces, and is no dead faith, but worketh by love.” —James ii, 17, 22, 26 (XI, II).
“By grace alone through faith alone” has broken through with special force at critical times in the church’s history: in the fifth century with Augustine; in the 12th with Bernard of Clairvaux; in the 16th with Luther and Calvin; in the 18th with the Wesleys; and in the 20th with Karl Barth.
Not to rely on grace and faith alone is Christianity’s failing. “You’re worth it,” proclaims the L’Oréal cosmetic ad. It’s natural to assume: my religious sensitivity, my splendid spirituality, my superb generosity are deserving before God. Luther of all people confessed: “I myself have now been preaching … [justification by faith alone] for almost 20 years and still … [I want] to deal with God so that I may contribute something and He will have to give me His grace in exchange ….”
We are summoned as the Presbyterian Church and individually to rediscover and to hold firmly to the gospel of the five solas!
