This week marks the 509th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation. On October 31, 1517, Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the door of the castle in Wittenberg, Germany. The rest, as they say, is history. But we should not observe history with apathy. It’s been said that if we fail to learn from history, we are doomed to repeat it.
Rather than treating it as just something that happened, we should often ask why it happened. What caused this event in history, whether the Reformation or the American Revolution or any other event? The Protestant Reformation was sparked by many issues, but the real meat of it was doctrine. And one of the most important doctrines: how are we saved? How are we made right with God?
We can speak of two causes of the Reformation: the material cause (the primary substance of the dispute) and the formal cause (the framework that determines the outcome). The material cause was expressed in the Latin phrase Sola Fide—we are saved by faith alone. You may have heard of the Five Solas of the Reformation; this is one of them, along with Sola Gratia—we are saved by grace alone. Now the Reformers didn’t just make this up! They weren’t sitting in a meditative trance when this came to them. They derived it from the Scriptures. Ephesians 2:8-10: “For by grace [Sola Gratia] you have been saved through faith [Sola Fide], and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus [Solus Christus] for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”
That’s the first three Solas, all centered on salvation (Sola Gratia, Sola Fide, Solus Christus). Those represent the material cause. Now the formal cause of the Reformation was this. Who decides the truth of these matters? And how do we decide? What is the final authority? The Reformers did what I just did. They quoted Scripture. Thus, the fourth Sola is Sola Scriptura — Scripture alone is the final authority in matters of faith and practice. Not the only authority! The final authority. When churches, councils, and elders dispute a matter, we should return to Scripture.
Finally, the fifth Sola wraps up the entire meaning of the Solas. Why do we care about these? Why does it matter? Because we are zealous (or should be) that everything redound to the glory of God alone—Soli Deo Gloria. God gets all the glory!
This too is derived from Scripture. Why does Paul say that we are saved by grace through faith, and that not of yourselves? Why does he say it is the gift of God and not of works? Lest anyone should boast! We love to boast, don’t we? Pride is a pernicious sin, and it has burdened mankind since the fall. We are like little glory-hoarders, trying to save as much as we can for ourselves. Look at me, how good I am! I chose to follow Christ. I was good enough to repent of my sins and ask for forgiveness.
To quote John Owen, “The only thing you contributed to your salvation is the sin that made it necessary for Christ to die on the cross.” (paraphrased)
Now it’s not wrong for men to seek glory. It’s a matter of how they seek it. When men humble themselves and seek to give all the glory to God, we receive a small measure back, just as you receive the sun’s light reflected on your face.
Remember: We are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, as revealed in Scripture alone, to the glory of God alone.
Soli Deo Gloria