Five solae

The five solae (from Latin, sola, lit. "alone"; occasionally Anglicized to five solas) of the
Protestant Reformation are a foundational set of principles held by theologians and clergy to
be central to the doctrine of salvation as taught by the Reformed branches of
Protestantism.[1][2][3] Each sola represents a key belief in the Lutheran and Reformed
traditions in contradistinction to the teaching of the Roman Catholic Church. These Reformers
claimed that the Catholic Church, especially its head, the Pope, had usurped divine attributes
or qualities for the Church and its hierarchy.

Contents
History
The three solae
Sola scriptura ("by Scripture alone")
Sola fide ("by faith alone")
Sola gratia ("by grace alone")
The Five Solas
Solus Christus or Solo Christo ("Christ alone" or "through Christ alone")
Soli Deo gloria ("glory to God alone")
Additional Solas
See also
References
External links

History
The solae were not systematically articulated together until the 20th century; however, sola
gratia and sola fide were used in conjunction by the Reformers themselves. For example, in
1554 Melanchthon wrote, "sola gratia justificamus et sola fide justificamur"[4] ("only by grace
do we justify and only by faith are we justified"). All of the solae show up in various writings
by the Protestant Reformers, but they are not catalogued together by any.[5]

In 1916, Lutheran scholar Theodore Engelder published an article titled "The Three Principles
of the Reformation: Sola Scriptura, Sola Gratia, Sola Fides" ("only scripture, only grace, only
faith").[2] In 1934, theologian Emil Brunner substituted Soli Deo gloriam for Sola Scriptura.[6] In
1958, historian Geoffrey Elton, summarizing the work of John Calvin, wrote that Calvin had
"joined together" the "great watchwords". Elton listed sola fide with sola gratia as one term,
followed by sola scriptura and soli Deo gloria.[7] Later, in commenting on Karl Barth's
theological system, Brunner added Christus solus to the litany of solas[8] while leaving out sola
scriptura. The first time the additional two solae are mentioned is in Johann Baptiste Metz's
1965, The Church and the World.[9]

The three solae

In most of the earliest articulations of the solae, three were typically specified: scripture over
tradition, faith over works, and grace over merit. Each was intended to represent an
important distinction compared with teachings claimed in Catholic doctrine.[2]

Sola scriptura ("by Scripture alone")

Sola Scriptura (Latin ablative, sōlā scrīptūrā, meaning "by Scripture alone") is upheld by
Lutheran and Reformed theologies and asserts that scripture must govern over church
traditions and interpretations which are themselves held to be subject to scripture. All church
traditions, creeds, and teachings must be in unity with the teachings of scripture as the
divinely inspired Word of God.

Sola Scriptura asserts that the Bible can and is to be interpreted through itself, with one area
of Scripture being useful for interpreting others. This principle is largely based on 2 Timothy
3:16, which says, "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for
reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness." That scripture can interpret itself is a
means by which to show the unity of Scripture as a whole. As all doctrines are formed via
scriptural understandings, all doctrines must be found to align with Scripture and as such are
then subject to scripture before the believer can begin to apply them.

This particular sola is sometimes called the formal principle of the Reformation, since it is the
source and norm of the material cause or principle, the gospel of Jesus Christ that is received
sola fide (Latin ablative, sōlā fidē, meaning "by faith alone"), sola gratia (Latin ablative, sōlā
grātiā, meaning "by grace alone" or by God's favor). The adjective (sola) and the noun
(scriptura) are in the ablative case rather than in the nominative case to indicate that the Bible
does not stand alone apart from God, but rather that it is the instrument of God by which he
reveals himself for salvation through faith in Christ (solus Christus or solo Christo).

Methodist theology, on the other hand, enshrines prima scriptura in its theological concept of
the Wesleyan Quadrilateral, which holds that Sacred Tradition, Reason, and Experience are
sources of Christian theology, but are subordinate to Sacred Scripture, which is the primary
authority.[10]

Sola fide ("by faith alone")

Sola fide, or "by faith alone", asserts that good works are not a means or requisite for
salvation. Sola fide is the teaching that justification (interpreted in the Lutheran and Reformed
theologies as "being declared just by God") is received by faith alone, without any need for
good works on the part of the individual. In classical Lutheran and Reformed theologies, good
works are seen to be evidence of saving faith, but the good works themselves do not determine
salvation. Some Protestants see this doctrine as being summarized with the formula "Faith
yields justification and good works" and as contrasted with a putative Roman Catholic formula
"Faith and good works yield justification." The Catholic side of the argument is based on James
2:14–17. "What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have
works? Can faith save him? If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one
of you says to them, 'Depart in peace, be warmed and filled', but you do not give them the
things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? Thus also faith by itself, if it does
not have works, is dead." (James 2:14–17, NKJV)[11] It is even more clear in James 2:24; the only
place in scripture where the phrase is used. "See how a person is justified by works and not by
faith alone." Likewise, the Methodist Churches also emphasize that ordinarily, both faith and
good works play a role in salvation; in particular, the works of piety and the works of mercy,
in Wesleyan-Arminian theology, are "indispensable for our sanctification."[12] Bishop Scott J.
Jones in United Methodist Doctrine writes that in Methodist theology:
 Faith is necessary to salvation unconditionally. Good works are necessary only
conditionally, that is if there is time and opportunity. The thief on the cross in Luke
23:39-43 is Wesley's example of this. He believed in Christ and was told, "Truly I tell
you, today you will be with me in Paradise." This would be impossible if the good
works that are the fruit of genuine repentance and faith were unconditionally
necessary for salvation. The man was dying and lacked time; his movements were
confined and he lacked opportunity. In his case, faith alone was necessary.
However, for the vast majority of human beings good works are necessary for
continuance in faith because those persons have both the time and opportunity for
them.[13]

In understanding Sola fide, it is important to understand the nuances of difference between

Catholic and Lutheran/Reformed notions of the term "justification". Both groups agree that the
term invokes a communication of Christ's merits to sinners, not a declaration of sinlessness;
Luther used the expression simul justus et peccator ("at the same time justified and a sinner").
However, Roman Catholicism sees justification as a communication of God's life to a human
being, cleansing him of sin and transforming him truly into a son of God, so that it is not
merely a declaration, but rather the soul is made actually objectively righteous. The Lutheran
and Reformed views of justification, by contrast, are that it is the work of God through the
means of grace. Faith is the righteousness of God that is accomplished in us through word and
sacraments. Law and gospel work to kill the sinful self and to accomplish the new creation
within us. This new creation within us is the faith of Christ. If we do not have this faith, then
we are ungodly. Indulgences or human prayers add nothing—they are nothing. Everyone has
some kind of faith—usually a faith in themselves. But we need God to continually destroy self-
righteous faith and to replace it with the life of Christ. We need the faith that comes from God
through law and gospel, word, works and sacraments. In the founding document of the
Reformation, the 95 Theses, Luther said that (1) "When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said,
'Repent' (Matthew 4:17) He willed the entire life of believers to be one of repentance" and (95)
"And thus be confident of entering into heaven through many tribulations rather than through
the false security of peace (Acts 14:22)".

The true distinction, therefore, between the Lutheran/Reformed and the Catholic view of
Justification is not an issue of being "declared righteous" versus being "made righteous", but
rather it is the means by which one is justified. In Catholic theology, after the initial
conversion which relies solely on the merits of Christ (CCC 2010 (https://www.vatican.va/archi
ve/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p3s1c3a2.htm)), righteous works are considered meritorious
toward salvation in addition to faith, whereas in the Lutheran and Reformed theologies,
righteous works are seen as the result and evidence of a truly justified and regenerate believer
who has received these by faith alone.

The actual effectual means by which a person receives justification is also a fundamental
division between Catholic and Lutheran/Reformed belief. In Catholic theology, conversion
effects justification (CCC 1989 (https://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p3s1c
3a2.htm)) and God gives the baptized the grace of justification (CCC 1266 (https://www.vatican.
va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p2s2c1a1.htm)): however, the faith required for baptism
is not a perfect and mature faith (CCC 1253 (https://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/cat
echism/p2s2c1a1.htm)). In baptism, even of infants, the grace of justification and sanctification
is "infused" into the soul, making the recipient justified (indeed in the case of an infant who is
baptized, before he even has the ability to consciously understand the Gospel and respond
with faith). For the Catholic, baptism functions "ex opere operato" or "by the working of the
act", and thus is the efficient and sufficient act to bring about justification, in the case of a
child from original sin only, in the case of a believing repentant adult from all sins. For the
Lutheran, baptism is a work of God by which the forgiveness of sins and salvation earned by
Christ's death, and confirmed by Christ's resurrection, are given to the baptized person who
[14]
believes God's Word that says He is doing exactly that in baptism.[14] Infant baptism is not
only appropriate, but urged: "We bring the child in the conviction and hope that it believes,
and we pray that God may grant it faith; but we do not baptize it upon that, but solely upon
the command of God."[15] In the Reformed theologies, especially that of Baptists, however, the
faith of the individual is absolutely necessary and is itself the efficient and sufficient response
of the individual that effects justification. Therefore, for the Reformed, child baptism is
performed on the basis of the promise of faith to come, but Baptists go even further and assert
that infant or child baptism is not appropriate nor legitimate. Apart from baptism by water,
Catholics also recognize baptism of desire and baptism by blood.[16]

The Sola fide doctrine is sometimes called the material cause or principle of the Reformation
because it was the central doctrinal issue for Martin Luther and the other reformers. Luther
called it the "doctrine by which the church stands or falls" (Latin, articulus stantis et cadentis
ecclesiae).

Sola gratia ("by grace alone")

Sola gratia, or "only grace", specifically excludes the merit done by a person as part of
achieving salvation. Sola gratia is the teaching that salvation comes by divine grace or
"unmerited favor" only, not as something merited by the sinner. This means that salvation is
an unearned gift from God for Jesus's sake. While some maintain that this doctrine is the
opposite of "works' righteousness" and conflicts with some of the aspects of the Roman
Catholic doctrine of merit, it might be asserted that this article, taken at face value, conflicts in
no way with Roman Catholic teaching. Both Protestants and Roman Catholics hold the
doctrine that grace is truly and always a gift of God. Both agree that God is the sole actor in
grace – that grace is always efficacious without any cooperation by man. They differ on
whether human action under the influence of grace can cooperate with grace to "merit"
greater graces. Protestants follow the doctrine known as monergism, which asserts that God
acts alone to save the sinner; the responsibility for salvation does not rest on the sinner to any
degree. By contrast, the Roman Catholic view asserts that salvation does involve some form of
cooperation between divine grace and human agency. This view is known as synergism.

Protestant Arminians, such as Methodists, are synergists but may also claim the doctrine of
sola gratia, though they understand it quite differently than Lutherans and Calvinists do.[17]
Arminians believe that God saves only by grace and not at all by merit, but man, enabled by
what is referred to as "prevenient grace", is enabled by the Holy Spirit to understand the
Gospel and respond in faith. Arminians believe that this is compatible with salvation by grace
alone, since all the actual saving is done by grace. Arminians believe that humans are only
capable of receiving salvation when first enabled to do so by prevenient grace, which they
believe is distributed to everyone. Arminians therefore do not reject the conception of sola
gratia expounded by Lutheran and Reformed theologians, although their interpretation of it is
quite different.[18]

John Owen, in A Display of Arminianism, rejects the implied belief that the understanding of
the Reformed theology has any alliance between the two doctrines and Arminianism is but
another form of pelagianism, known as semipelagianism.

The Five Solas

While the Reformers of the 16th century wrote of all five solas in various period writings, they
are not all mentioned together in one place and were not systematically brought together
until the 20th century.
Solus Christus or Solo Christo ("Christ alone" or "through Christ alone")

Solus Christus, or "only Christ", excludes the priestly class as necessary for sacraments. Solus
Christus is the teaching that Christ is the only mediator between God and man, and that there
is salvation through no other (hence, the phrase is sometimes rendered in the ablative case,
solo Christo, meaning that salvation is "by Christ alone"). While rejecting all other mediators
between God and man, classical Lutheranism continues to honor the memory of the Virgin
Mary and other exemplary saints. This principle rejects sacerdotalism, the belief that there
are no sacraments in the church without the services of priests ordained by apostolic
succession. The Catholic Church teaches that lay people, and even unbaptized people, can
validly baptize, and may do so in an emergency, and that the ministers of the sacrament of
matrimony are the people getting married, not the priest, who is only a witness to the
marriage, although a witness is legally required in the modern Western Catholic church.
Other sacraments, according to Catholic doctrine, essentially require a bishop or at least a
priest in order to be valid. Martin Luther taught the "general priesthood of the baptized",
which was modified in later Lutheranism and classical Protestant theology into "the
priesthood of all believers" denying the exclusive use of the title "priest" (Latin sacerdos) to
the clergy. This principle does not deny the office of the holy ministry to which is committed
the public proclamation of the Gospel and the administration of the sacraments. In this way,
Luther in his Small Catechism could speak of the role of "a confessor" to confer sacramental
absolution on a penitent. The section in this catechism known as "The Office of the Keys" (not
written by Luther but added with his approval) identifies the "called ministers of Christ" as
being the ones who exercise the binding and loosing of absolution and excommunication
through Law and Gospel ministry. This is laid out in the Lutheran formula of holy absolution:
the "called and ordained servant of the Word" forgives penitents' sins (speaks Christ's words
of forgiveness: "I forgive you all your sins") without any addition of penances or satisfactions
and not as an interceding or mediating "priest", but "by virtue of [his] office as a called and
ordained servant of the Word" and "in the stead and by the command of [his] Lord Jesus
Christ".[19] In this tradition absolution reconciles the penitent with God directly through faith
in Christ's forgiveness rather than with the priest and the church as mediating entities
between the penitent and God.

Soli Deo gloria ("glory to God alone")

Soli Deo gloria, or "glory to God alone", stands in opposition to the veneration perceived by
many to be present in the Roman Catholic Church of Mary the mother of Jesus, the saints, or
angels. Soli Deo gloria is the teaching that all glory is to be due to God alone, since salvation is
accomplished solely through his will and action – not only the gift of the all-sufficient
atonement of Jesus on the cross but also the gift of faith in that atonement, created in the
heart of the believer by the Holy Spirit. The reformers believed that human beings – even
saints canonized by the Roman Catholic Church, the popes, and the ecclesiastical hierarchy –
are not worthy of the glory that was accorded them; that is, one should not exalt such humans
for their good works, but rather praise and give glory to God who is the author and sanctifier
of these people and their good works. The Roman Catholic's official position, for example as
described in the documents of the Council of Trent, recently after the Protestant Reformation
and the most recent Second Vatican Council, make it clear that God alone is deserving of glory.
Catholic explanations for the veneration of saints are rooted in their interpretations of the
role of the Holy Spirit in the Church and the faithful, stating that through the Holy Spirit, God,
in Jesus Christ the one mediator, receives the glory given to the saints when they are asked to
pray for a petition, because they are His Saints, part of His Body through Baptism. [20]

Additional Solas
More recently, certain scholars have suggested that there should be additional solas on the
list: Sola ecclesia ("the Church alone"), Sola caritas ("Charitable-love alone") and Sola Spiritus
(In the "Spirit alone").[21]

See also
Ecclesia semper reformanda est

References
1. Barber, John (2008). The Road from Eden: Studies in Christianity and Culture. Academica Press.
p. 233. ISBN 9781933146348. "The message of the Lutheran and Reformed theologians has been
codified into a simple set of five Latin phrases: Sola Scriptura (Scripture alone), Solus Christus
(Christ alone), Sola Fide (faith alone), Sola Gratia (by grace alone) and Soli Deo Gloria (glory to God
alone)."
2. "Four Hundred Years: Commemorative Essays on the Reformation of Dr. Martin Luther and Its
Blessed" (https://archive.org/stream/fourhundredyear00daugoog). Retrieved 2015-08-13.
3. "The "Solas" of the Reformation" (http://www.lmsusa.org/sola.pdf) (PDF). Lmsusa.org. Retrieved
2015-08-13.
4. Melanchthon, Philipp (1841). "Philippi Melanthonis Opera quae supersunt omnia - Philipp
Melanchthon" (https://books.google.com/books?id=WNYGAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA258). Retrieved
2015-08-13.
5. [1] (http://logia.org/blogia/?p=464) Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20130531081519/htt
p://logia.org/blogia/?p=464) May 31, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
. Brunner, Emil (1934). The Mediator: A Study of the Central Doctrine of the Christian Faith - Emil
Brunner, Olive Wyon (https://books.google.com/books?id=-_w_YYplL7YC&pg=PA295). p. 295.
ISBN 9780718890490. Retrieved 2015-08-13.
7. "the New Cambridge Modern History" (https://books.google.com/books?id=0BBQDbXQsacC).
1958. Retrieved 2015-08-13.
. Brunner, Emil (2002). Dogmatics: Volume III - The Christian Doctrine of the Church, Faith & the
Consummation - Emil Brunner, David Cairns, T. H. L. Parker (https://books.google.com/books?id=rX
5jqOjxGRsC&pg=PA221). p. 221. ISBN 9780227172193. Retrieved 2015-08-13.
9. Metz, Johan Baptiste "The Church and the World", 143
10. Vardy, Peter; Vardy, Charlotte (31 January 2016). Bible Matters. SCM Press. p. 210.
ISBN 9780334043935.
11. "Bible Gateway passage: James 2:14-17 - New International Version" (https://www.biblegateway.c
om/passage/?search=James+2:14-17&version=NIV). Bible Gateway. Retrieved 2018-03-30.
12. Knight III, Henry H. (9 July 2013). "Wesley on Faith and Good Works" (http://www.catalystresource
s.org/wesley-on-faith-and-good-works/). Catalyst Resources. Retrieved 16 September 2017.
13. Jones, Scott J. (2002). United Methodist Doctrine. Abingdon Press. p. 190. ISBN 9780687034857.
14. Martin Luther’s Small Catechism, “The Sacrament of Holy Baptism” From Luther’s Small
Catechism © 1986 Concordia Publishing House, cph.org [2] (http://catechism.cph.org/en/sacram
ent-of-holy-baptism.html)
15. Martin Luther’s Large Catechism Section IV, Paragraph 57 (http://bookofconcord.org/lc-6-baptis
m.php#para57)
1 . Pope Pius IX "Because God knows, searches clearly understands the minds, hearts, thoughts, and
nature of all, his supreme kindness and clemency do not permit anyone at all who is not guilty of
deliberate sin to suffer eternal punishments." [3] (http://www.papalencyclicals.net/pius09/p9quan
to.htm)
17. Olson, Roger E. (20 September 2009). Arminian Theology: Myths and Realities. InterVarsity Press.
p. 95. ISBN 9780830874439. "Arminians do not think so; they hold a form of evangelical
synergism that sees grace as the efficient cause of salvation and calls faith the sole instrumental
cause of salvation to the exclusion of human merits."
1 . See "Myth 7: Arminianism Is Not a Theology of Grace" in Roger E Olsen, Arminian Theology: Myths
and Realities, 2006.
19. The Lutheran Hymnal, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1941, p. 16
20. https://www.catholic.com/magazine/print-edition/the-bible-supports-praying-to-the-saints
21. "The Seven Solas: Toward Reconciling Evangelical and Anglo-Catholic Perspectives | Virtueonline
– The Voice for Global Orthodox Anglicanism" (http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/new
s/article.php?storyid=11854). Virtueonline.org. 2009-12-31. Retrieved 2015-08-13.

External links
From a conservative Calvinistic perspective (http://www.monergism.com/search?keywords=solas
&format=All)
FiveSolas.com (http://www.fivesolas.com/) – a Reformed page devoted to the Solas
"What do Lutherans believe?" (http://www.lcms.org/page.aspx?pid=388) – a Lutheran Church –
Missouri Synod exposition of three of the solas
Hahn, Scott; Knudson, Robert, The Justification Debate (https://web.archive.org/web/2011010403
0633/http://www.mindspring.com/~jdarcy/files/justify.htm), archived from the original (http://ww
w.mindspring.com/~jdarcy/files/justify.htm) on 2011-01-04, retrieved 4 November 2012
Reformed Theology, by R. Michael Allen, Continuum International Publishing Group, 2010, p. 77 (ht
tps://books.google.com/books?id=bNRhR3FLbQ8C&q=77#v=onepage&q&f=false)

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