The Five Solas

There are five central points around which the Protestant Reformation formed.  Termed the five "solas" from the Latin word meaning "only" or "alone", these are still as valid today as they were in Martin Luther's.  These are:

1. Sola scriptura - By Scripture alone
2. Sola fide - By Faith Alone
3. Sola gratia -By Grace Alone
4. Solus Christus-  By Christ Alone
5. Soli Deo gloria -  Glory to God, Alone

Note:  I would suggest the Bible scholar learn the Latin terms, understand that quidquid latine dictum, altum videtur or "Whatever is said in Latin sounds profound"

By Scripture Alone

By scripture alone means that we accept the Holy Scripture as the highest and final authority of our faith and practice.  While tradition and church organizations can provide the believer a framework to understand the scripture, and help to work towards edifying the body and provoking believers to good works, only the unchanging Word of the Everlasting God provides the foundation of our beliefs.  It defines what we see as right and wrong.  In a recent poll, only 22% of mainline Protestant denominations ¹ believe the Bible is the Word of God, meant to be taken literally.

By Faith Alone

We are saved when we put our faith in Jesus Christ.  It has nothing to do with how much we work, how good we are, how much we tithe, how many church services we attend, what clothes we wear, how much we sacrifice, or what we do.  True Christianity is not man reaching up to God, doing enough to merit salvation, but that a loving God reaching down to fallen humanity.  True Christianity teaches that man is depraved, completely corrupted, and unable to make up for what he's done. The wonderful news of the Gospel is that the cost of our sins were paid in full by God through the atoning work of Christ on the Cross.  God presents this expensive salvation as a free gift to all who believe. That's it.  Nothing else is required.  Every other religion teaches that man reaches up to their god, earning their own salvation by a series of rituals and duties.

By Grace Alone

Grace is unmerited favor.  My favorite description is an acronym, God's Riches At Christ's Expense, gives us the fullest understanding that we are not saved by what we do.  Further, it is not because God saw something worthwhile in us, only be God is so good.  I could repeat most of what I wrote about faith, but you get the idea.  We are saved because of what Jesus did, not because of what I've done.

By Christ Alone

We are saved by what Jesus did for us on the cross, if we accept His sacrifice and make Him Lord of our lives ².  By Christ alone, we have access to the Father.  By Christ alone, we receive salvation. We don't need a priest, a church, a pope, Mary, Peter, or anyone else.  There is no other name under which man can be saved.

Glory to God, Alone

The Bible is pretty clear.  We are to worship God and God alone.  We are not to worship saints, pastors, churches, ancestors, countries, flags, cows, frogs, chickens, sex, money or rock-and-roll.  While some quibble over the difference between 'veneration' and worship, I am a firm believer in Si suus ' sonat anatem anatem, which being translated means "If it quacks like a duck, it's a duck."  If you bow or pray to anything other than God, you're wrong.  Glory belongs to God alone.

1. http://www.evidenceunseen.com/theology/ecclesiology/understanding-american-protestant-denominations/#_ftn7

2 Romans 10:10 says to accept the "Lord" Jesus.  I am not advocating a form of Lordship salvation, that rests upon behavior, but simply pointing out that simple mental acceptance that the Gospel is fact isn't saving faith.  The devils believe but aren't saved.  The idea of true faith involves both the heart and the head.  When you honestly come to believe in and put your faith and trust in the God of Glory, whose hands hung and the the stars, your only rational reaction is to fall on your face, like Saul of Tarshish, and call Him Lord.