Week #1: The Five “Solas” Recap

Blog Series Intention Recap

This series looks at each of the five solas (“onlys” or “alones”) drawn from theology revived in the era of the Reformation: sola Scriptura, sola gratia, sola fide, solus Christus, and soli Deo gloria. The series will define them and show how they work themselves out in our doctrine and lives. By thinking about the Bible, grace, faith, Christ, and God’s glory, we are better able to understand God’s gift to the world and how to live as we follow him.

This post is part of the series “The Five Solas.” Click here to see the rest of the posts.

Let’s jump into Week #1:

The Five Solas crystalized during a turbulent time in Christanity and became the timeless truths that changed Church Life forever.

Why it matters:

• The Five Solas are the core biblical truths guiding the Christian life.

• Rooted in history, formalized during the Reformation.

• The church's early drift from these truths led to the need for reform.

• Luther's stand against indulgences brought Sola Scriptura into focus.

• Key reformers: Luther, Melanchthon, Hus, Tyndale, Calvin.

• The Five Solas: Scripture Alone, Grace Alone, Faith Alone, Christ Alone, Glory to God Alone.

• Each Sola reinforces salvation’s reliance on God, not human works.

Go Deeper

Welcome to the first of six individual discussions about the “Solas” or the “Alones” of the church.  Theologians and philosophers spent centuries pondering the ideas of Scripture and the basics of how we would interpret them.   They landed on certain vital beliefs that depended on God alone.  These five “Solas” bring to life the truth of what God has done for us.   

First, the five “Solas” existed throughout history, even when we didn’t have the New Testament. As we review Scripture, we uncover the truths the “Solas” share with us. The “Solas” guide Christians as they experience life transformation and spiritual growth.  

When the early church began to codify thought processes and decide what was orthodox, they developed a list of letters and writings to be the rule or Canon.  The church met in councils where they debated the canon of scripture. We will discuss this next week.   

BTW Orthodox is just a big word for right thinking.   

To sum up, let’s address history in a very simplistic way.  By about 397 AD, the early church leaders settled what books the Bible should contain.  Around the same time, church leaders and government leaders would get entangled.  Beginning with Constantine, the church found favor in the government's eyes.   The church allowed these fundamental truths to erode.  Church tradition or political power replaced the “Solas.”     

Reformation

In the early 1500s, groups of people all over the European continent began to experience a stirring.    

On October 31, 1517, a man walked through town and tacked up a list of issues he saw with the church.  It wasn’t abnormal for Professors and pastors to have an idea and place it on the church door (bulletin board) to be argued and discussed.  The selling of indulgences led Martin Luther to Scripture to figure out what was right and what wasn’t.  

Luther believed Paul, in Romans 1, said: “the “just” would live by faith.  He also started to process thoughts from other passages - Faith comes by hearing God’s word. The mass was only in Latin. How could faith come if people couldn’t hear God’s word in their language, not Latin?   

The first use of the Latin “Sola Scriptura” was Luther's defense against the accusation Pope Leo X made against him in 1520.  

Another reformer, Philip Melanchthon, in 1554 wrote this phrase, “sola gratis jutificamus et sola fine justificamur.”  It means that only through grace do you justify, and only by faith are we justified.  

These inconsistencies with Scripture led many leaders to begin thinking about the truths found in Scripture.  John Hus… William Tyndale… John Calvin… These men who set out to reform the church but became known as Protestors or Protestants would cling to the “Alones” they believed the Bible delivered.   

According to Scripture alone… Sola Scriptura. 

2 Peter 1:20–21 (ESV): 

20 knowing that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. 21 For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

2 Timothy 3:16–17 (ESV): 

16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

God’s grace alone saves humanity…. Sola Gratia 

Ephesians 2:8 (ESV):

8 “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

Through faith alone, not any works… Sola Fide

Romans 1:17 (ESV):

17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”

The early reformers considered these truths self-evident from Scripture, and when the Catholic Church wouldn’t recognize them and stop selling indulgences, they protested.   They moved into new forms of churches.  Some individuals moved very near to the Catholic liturgy, and others so very far away.   But they both valued Scripture. They loved Jesus for what the Scripture said and not for tradition. Grace and faith alone together.    

Later others would recognize two more Solas.   These two additions clarify the Solas and add more instructions for us.   They remind the believer of two other truths in Scripture.  

Salvation can only come through Christ alone… solus Christus  

John 14:6 (ESV):

6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 

Hebrews 4:15 (ESV): 

15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.

God alone deserves the glory for saving humanity… Soli Deo Gloria 

 1 Corinthians 10:31 (ESV):

 31 “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”

Names like Emil Bruner, Karl Barth, and Lutheran theologian Theodore Engelder would formalize what we know as the five “Solas.”  

When linked together, we say them like this.

According to Scripture alone, we are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, by Christ’s sacrifice alone to God’s glory alone.  

How does this help me understand, “The Five Solas?”

The Five Solas—Scripture Alone, Grace Alone, Faith Alone, Christ Alone, and Glory to God Alone—are foundational truths that emerged from the Reformation, shaping Christian doctrine and practice. Rooted in biblical teachings, these principles reaffirm that salvation is entirely dependent on God’s work, not human effort. Reformers like Martin Luther and John Calvin brought these truths to light, challenging the traditions and authority of the Catholic Church. As we explore each Sola in the coming weeks, we will examine their historical significance, why they matter, and how they continue to impact Christian life today.