Five Sola’s Of Reformation
October 31st should be a commemoration for Protestants who accepts God’s Word as their final authority. Much has happened since the day Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses on the door of the Wittenberg Church in Germany. Now I know that Luther had his temper and he was also wrong about the Jews. Luther was not perfect neither any one of us. But, despite his short coming he was called by God to oppose the Church’s institution that day. Without making this far too long, Luther almost single handedly freed people from the shackle of ignorance and superstitions. He also manage to make us realise that God does not favor anyone whether it be a constitution or a Church, we are all under God’s judgment. The Reformation brought to us freedom and more relationship with God, and God alone. The main points of the reformers was to put God and his word in the center. And this became the five famous “solas.” On of the five solas states that The doctrine that the Bible alone is the ultimate authority was the “Formal Principle” of the Reformation. The Five solas can be summarized like this;
- Sola Scriptura (the Scripture Alone)
- Solo Christo (By Christ’s Work Alone are we Saved)
- Sola Gratia (Salvation Alone by Grace)
- Sola Fide (Justification by Faith Alone)
- Soli Deo Gloria (Glory to God Alone)
The five solas above are the marks of a true protestant and was stressed by the great reformers such as Luther, Calvin, Knox etc. Not only was the five solas emphasized and preached, it is also most likely what the Scripture teaches. The principles of the five solas is seen to give honor solely to God. No need for articles, journals, the WatchTower Magazines or any written word can sufficiently instruct us to live by the Word of God alone. No churches, no pastors, no elders, no institutions, or priests or anybody else can save us from our sinful state but Christ alone. Furthermore, nothing we could possibly do in favor of our own merit. This is to say that, no matter what we do, no matter how hard we try, no matter how much we donate our money towards the needy, these are not enough to satisfy God. This is why Jesus Christ died on our behalf so that we will be saved by trusting in Him.
