by Pastor Baltazar A. Niangar, Pastor Emeritus, Th.B., A.B., D.D.
“For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.” — Romans 11:36
On what authority does the Church stand, and how is a sinner made right with God? Martin Luther faced those questions in 1517, and every generation of believers faces them again. The words change. The questions stay.
In this study I take the five Reformation solas one at a time and show that they are not five separate truths. They are one truth, stated from five angles. Remove any one, and the doctrine of salvation unravels. Hold to all five, and you hold to the Gospel.
Scripture Alone
The Church stands under the Word of God, not over it. The Bible comes to us by divine inspiration, is opened to us by the Spirit’s illumination, and is true and unfailing because God cannot lie (2 Tim. 3:16–17). It is not one authority among many. It is the final authority for faith and life.
Grace Alone
Grace is God’s love extended to us, at Christ’s expense, and experienced in our lives. It meets us while we are still sinners (Rom. 5:8). It cost the Father His own Son, and it carries the believer from election to glory. We are what we are by the grace of God.
Christ Alone
There is one Mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus (1 Tim. 2:5). He is the revelation of God, the representative of mankind, and the Redeemer of His Church. To add anything to Him, any merit or any other mediator, is to say that His sacrifice was not enough.
Faith Alone
Not all faith is the same. Saving faith has the right origin, because it is the gift of God (Eph. 2:8). It has the right object, which is Christ and not the strength of my own belief. And it has the right objective: it is a living faith that bears fruit for the glory of God.
To God Alone Be the Glory
Every sola ends here. God is glorified in creating all things, in condemning sin, and in covering and cleansing the sinner. The whole structure of the Gospel bends toward one conclusion, and I have tried to let the book bend that way too.
Where This Leaves Us
The five solas stand or fall together, like five faces of a single gemstone. Scripture grounds the whole, grace frees the conscience, Christ gives grace a face, faith receives the gift, and God’s glory is the end of it all. May you read, believe, and rest in that one Gospel.
Soli Deo gloria.
About the Author
Our All in Christ is the teaching ministry of Pastor Baltazar A. Niangar, sharing biblical resources to help believers grow in God’s Word and the grace of Christ. View All Manuscripts
READ THE FULL STUDY
The Reforming Christian Church
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The Five Solas adds a full chapter on each sola, three reflection questions per chapter, personal questions and challenges, a glossary, and a Scripture index.
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