“The entrance of Your Word gives light, it gives understanding to the simple.”
—Psalm 119:130
BY NATURE, ALL people walk in darkness (Eph. 2), and “dwell in the land of the shadow of death” (Psalm 23:4). Wherever the Word of God enters, there is light and life and peace and joy. Where the Word of God does not come, there is darkness, despair, death, and damnation. At the time of the Reformation, it had become very dark. The Word of God was neglected. Commandments of men were substituted for the Word of God, and all kinds of errors, abuses, and corruption prevailed in the Church. But in His mercy, God raised up men (Luther, Zwingli, Calvin, and others) who called the people back to the Word of God, and who preached the doctrines of salvation with boldness, faith, and courage.
ON OCTOBER 31, 1517, Martin Luther nailed his Ninety-Five Theses (pronouncements against errors and abuses) on the door of the Castle Church at Wittenberg, Germany. Luther’s students then took the Ninety-Five theses, made copies and distributed them throughout Germany. This was the catalyst that sparked the Protestant Reformation. The main emphasis of the Reformation was to bring the deformed church back to the teaching of Scripture, especially regarding the doctrine of justification. We are justified by grace through faith, as Scripture declares, “A man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law” (Rom. 3:28). “Therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Rom. 5:1). The Reformers understood the Bible to be the very Word of God and therefore the Bible alone can instruct us concerning every issue of faith and life. They proclaimed the sovereignty of God, preached the doctrine of justification by grace through a God-wrought faith, and maintained the priesthood of all believers. Believers have no need of a priest, a Bishop, or a Pope, nor of Mary, the mother of Jesus. “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” And we are perfect in Him. It was from this understanding of Scripture that the Reformers set out to reform the church, and from this presupposition the five Latin “Solas” of the Reformation were developed.
SOLA SCRIPTURA: The Bible is the only authority in faith and life. This opposed the Roman Catholic doctrine of church tradition and the authority of the Pope (Matt. 4:4; John 12:48).
SOLA FIDE: We are justified through faith alone, not faith plus works (Eph. 2:8-10).
SOLA GRATIA: We are saved by God’s grace alone, not because of anything we have done. Salvation is simply according to God’s good pleasure. (Eph. 1:5, 2:8-9).
SOLA CHRISTO: We are saved by the person and work of Jesus Christ alone; not Christ plus the sacraments or Christ plus good works, but by Jesus Christ alone (John 14:6; Acts 4:12; 1 Tim. 2:5).
SOLI DEO GLORIA: All things are to be done unto God’s glory alone (1 Cor. 10:31).
AS PROTESTANT CHRISTIANS, it’s important to realize that each of these “Solas” is under attack today, and not just in liberal churches, or in the secular world, but these five “Solas” are being undermined even in the “evangelical church.” And if we lose the “Solas” we lose biblical Christianity, because without the “Solas” we lose the pure Gospel of Jesus Christ. “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:21).
ONE SLOGAN DURING the Protestant Reformation period was “Post Tenebras Lux.” This Latin phrase means “After Darkness Light”, and it’s inscribed on the 300 ft. long wall behind the monument pictured above. The phrase was taken up by the followers of Luther and Calvin to describe their heartfelt gratitude toward God for the recovery of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Praise God for raising up faithful men who fearlessly proclaimed the glorious Gospel of Jesus Christ despite all the opposition of Satan and wicked men. “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “THE JUST SHALL LIVE BY FAITH” (Romans 1:16-17).
The Protestant Reformation – Thursday, October 31, 2024
In Christ,
Pastor S. Henry
