On October 31st, 1517 Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses on the door of the Wittenberg cathedral in Germany starting what became known as the Reformation.
A primary concern of the Reformation was the belief that the Bible says man cannot work his way to heaven, but that grace from God is given as a gift. This was in contrast to the teachings of the Catholic church – of whom Luther was a member – that allowed for good works to be done – or paid for – which might be applied toward one’s salvation. Luther wanted to “reform” the church’s views in this area to get them back in line with the truth of Scripture.
It is along this line that we utilize the title of “Reformed” in our tagline. This primarily refers to our understanding of justification, which is a big word to describe the application of God’s grace towards the sinner. We agree with Luther, and all the other Reformers, that God declares sinners righteous, not based upon anything that the person has done, but on His grace alone to save His people from their sins.
The cry of the Reformation was condensed into what are known as the “Five Solas”. Sola means “alone”, so that each Sola speaks to what are the biblical foundations of the faith.
Here are the five Solas and what they mean:
- Sola gratia – By Grace alone
- Solo Christo – By Christ’s (work) alone
- Sola fide – By Faith alone
- Sola Scriptura – By Scripture alone
- Soli Deo Gloria – To the glory of God alone
We echo these Sola as we work to apply the Scriptures to all aspects of our life, starting with how we view our Faith.
Next article: Find out why we are “family-integrated”.