The Five Solas are in the Bible

[Ivan Hlavanda]

Over the past few years, I heard several arguments about why the Five Solas are not Biblical. One of them was that Protestantism is only few hundreds years old, and the church fathers taught differently. Well, let's look at God's own Word and let's see if the Five Solas are Biblical or not.

Glory to God alone - Isaiah 42:8 I am the LORD; that is my name; my glory I give to no other.
God will not give His glory to another because all glory, honour, and praise belong to Him alone. If someone says that the 'glory to God alone' is false, that person calls God a liar. All the glory belongs to God alone, there is no argument to have here.

Christ alone - John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
If anyone tries to get to the Father any other way, they will fail.
Christ alone died on the cross, Christ alone atoned for the sins, Christ alone paid the penalty for sin, no one else had any part on this, no one.
1 Timothy 2 5 For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. We see there is only one mediator, and that is Christ alone.
John 17 “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him.' Christ alone has the authority all over the flesh to save anyone He pleases. Only He can save you, only He can forgive your sin. No one else can do that. Therefore, Christ alone, there is no argument here.

By grace alone - Ephesians 2 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
The grace of God is His undeserved favour bestowed on those He has called to salvation through His love.
We see from Ephesians 2 8 that by only grace alone are we saved, not deeds. We are all sinners, not one deserves the love of God that He shown through His Son on the cross. If someone thinks they can get saved by doing deeds, they reject God's grace. But no one can save them-selves. Therefore, God's grace alone can save you. There is no argument here.

By faith alone - the righteous shall live by his faith Habakuk 2:4
Genesis 15:6 ' Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.'
Romans 3 22 the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction:
John 5 24 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.
It's all about faith. We are all dead in our sins, unable to save ourselves.
It is not faith + deeds, if it was, what was the point of Jesus' sacrifice?
Romans 4 5 And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness,
The only thing needed for your salvation is to believe in the perfect work of Christ on the cross. Christ's death and His resurrection are the works that save us. We receive our Saviour by faith. Salvation comes by God’s grace through faith, and that faith is made manifest in good works. The works follow the faith and are a proof of it. Faith alone, there is no argument to have here that faith alone in Christ saves you.

Scripture alone - Bible is the Word of God. The Bible declares itself to be God-breathed, inerrant, and authoritative.
How can man-made traditions be superior to the Word of God as many believe? As Lord say in Mark 7 6 And he said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, “‘This people honours me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; 7 in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ 8 You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men.”
The Word of God is the ultimate and only infallible authority for the Christian faith. Traditions are valid only when they conform with Scripture. Traditions that contradict the Bible are not of God and are not a valid aspect of the Christian faith. Sola scriptura is the only way to avoid subjectivity and keep personal opinion from taking priority over the teachings of the Bible. The essence of sola scriptura is basing one’s spiritual life on the Bible alone and rejecting any tradition or teaching that is not in full agreement with the Bible. Therefore, there is no argument to have here.

 

[Joseph G]

Over the past few years, I heard several arguments about why the Five Solas are not Biblical. One of them was that Protestantism is only few hundreds years old, and the church fathers taught differently. Well, let's look at God's own Word and let's see if the Five Solas are Biblical or not.

Glory to God alone - Isaiah 42:8 I am the LORD; that is my name; my glory I give to no other.
God will not give His glory to another because all glory, honour, and praise belong to Him alone. If someone says that the 'glory to God alone' is false, that person calls God a liar. All the glory belongs to God alone, there is no argument to have here.

Christ alone - John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
If anyone tries to get to the Father any other way, they will fail.
Christ alone died on the cross, Christ alone atoned for the sins, Christ alone paid the penalty for sin, no one else had any part on this, no one.
1 Timothy 2 5 For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. We see there is only one mediator, and that is Christ alone.
John 17 “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him.' Christ alone has the authority all over the flesh to save anyone He pleases. Only He can save you, only He can forgive your sin. No one else can do that. Therefore, Christ alone, there is no argument here.

By grace alone - Ephesians 2 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
The grace of God is His undeserved favour bestowed on those He has called to salvation through His love.
We see from Ephesians 2 8 that by only grace alone are we saved, not deeds. We are all sinners, not one deserves the love of God that He shown through His Son on the cross. If someone thinks they can get saved by doing deeds, they reject God's grace. But no one can save them-selves. Therefore, God's grace alone can save you. There is no argument here.

By faith alone - the righteous shall live by his faith Habakuk 2:4
Genesis 15:6 ' Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.'
Romans 3 22 the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction:
John 5 24 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.
It's all about faith. We are all dead in our sins, unable to save ourselves.
It is not faith + deeds, if it was, what was the point of Jesus' sacrifice?
Romans 4 5 And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness,
The only thing needed for your salvation is to believe in the perfect work of Christ on the cross. Christ's death and His resurrection are the works that save us. We receive our Saviour by faith. Salvation comes by God’s grace through faith, and that faith is made manifest in good works. The works follow the faith and are a proof of it. Faith alone, there is no argument to have here that faith alone in Christ saves you.

Scripture alone - Bible is the Word of God. The Bible declares itself to be God-breathed, inerrant, and authoritative.
How can man-made traditions be superior to the Word of God as many believe? As Lord say in Mark 7 6 And he said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, “‘This people honours me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; 7 in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ 8 You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men.”
The Word of God is the ultimate and only infallible authority for the Christian faith. Traditions are valid only when they conform with Scripture. Traditions that contradict the Bible are not of God and are not a valid aspect of the Christian faith. Sola scriptura is the only way to avoid subjectivity and keep personal opinion from taking priority over the teachings of the Bible. The essence of sola scriptura is basing one’s spiritual life on the Bible alone and rejecting any tradition or teaching that is not in full agreement with the Bible. Therefore, there is no argument to have here.

Amen! No argument here, either.

The problem that remains, imho, is with one identifying oneself as a Calvinist. Not an argument against the tenants themselves, but of the witness of the chief architect himself. Persecuting and approving the execution of the heretic Servetus? Really? Though to his credit it's said Calvin would have preferred beheading instead of burning at the stake - how merciful of him.

And overall, spreading his reforms by force and/or violent resistance? Really? Is that how the first churches were established by the Apostles? Did the Lord instruct the 7 churches in Revelation to rise up in violence, or to rather endure persecution patiently?

What good is a devotion to Sola Scriptura if one's actions are in utter defiance to the commandments contained therein? It seems to me that one can apparently embrace all 5 Solas and feel content while neglecting their walk with the Person of Jesus Christ - involving hearing and seeing:

Luke 6:46 NIV

"Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?"

Exactly why I don't walk under or venerate any mere man's creed in identifying myself. Nor do I hold to any ism or voluminous writings, like you say, to add to what His Holy Spirit and written Word are sufficient to guide me in doing His work. Along with the encouragement of fellow believers likewise sealed and filled with His Holy Spirit.

The only name worth waving our flag for is the Name above all Names - Jesus.

As for me... "Mere Christian" is a-ok with me, along with "fool for Christ", "follower of the Way", "Ambassador for Christ", "disciple" - anything other than an association with another mere man's name - much less a murderer. In fact, the greatest privilege we all have above all designations is "servant", and amazingly enough - from the lips of Him Who bought us - "friend". *shiver*

And for a cherry on top, for me personally, no denominational banner either. "Little toe in the Body of Christ" suits me just fine! I'll be happy to just sweep out the joint when we all gather there.

Great OP, Ivan! God bless us all!

biblegateway.com

 

[Ivan Hlavanda]

Amen! No argument here, either.

The problem that remains, imho, is with one identifying oneself as a Calvinist. Not an argument against the tenants themselves, but of the witness of the chief architect himself. Persecuting and approving the execution of the heretic Servetus? Really? Though to his credit it's said Calvin would have preferred beheading instead of burning at the stake - how merciful of him.

And overall, spreading his reforms by force and/or violent resistance? Really? Is that how the first churches were established by the Apostles? Did the Lord instruct the 7 churches in Revelation to rise up in violence, or to rather endure persecution patiently?

What good is a devotion to Sola Scriptura if one's actions are in utter defiance to the commandments contained therein? It seems to me that one can apparently embrace all 5 Solas and feel content while neglecting their walk with the Person of Jesus Christ - involving hearing and seeing:

Luke 6:46 NIV

"Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?"

Exactly why I don't walk under or venerate any mere man's creed in identifying myself. Nor do I hold to any ism or voluminous writings, like you say, to add to what His Holy Spirit and written Word are sufficient to guide me in doing His work. Along with the encouragement of fellow believers likewise sealed and filled with His Holy Spirit.

The only name worth waving our flag for is the Name above all Names - Jesus.

As for me... "Mere Christian" is a-ok with me, along with "fool for Christ", "follower of the Way", "Ambassador for Christ", "disciple" - anything other than an association with another mere man's name - much less a murderer. In fact, the greatest privilege we all have above all designations is "servant", and amazingly enough - from the lips of Him Who bought us - "friend". *shiver*

And for a cherry on top, for me personally, no denominational banner either. "Little toe in the Body of Christ" suits me just fine! I'll be happy to just sweep out the joint when we all gather there.

Great OP, Ivan! God bless us all!

biblegateway.com

This is why I don't believe in denominations. You are either saved or not. You either follow Christ or you do not. Christ died for me one the cross, not Calvin, not Luther, not Pope, nor anyone else. I follow Christ alone.

Every Christian has a bad theology. Every Christian has something he would disagree with other, that does not mean we should create a new denomination every time we disagree with one other. Christ's people ought to be unified, and not divided. Yes, unified even in our disagreements, as long as we do not believe the false gospel and heresies of course.

I attend a Presbyterian church, but I attend it because Christ is present, and the teachings are Biblical, and Christians love one another, I couldn't care less if that church was evangelical, baptist, lutheran etc. What makes one a Christian is obedience to God, not a denomination.

 

[Joseph G]

And again, I'll say Amen!

 

[Ain't Zwinglian]

The five solas used as a summarizing statement of the theology of the Reformation is a recent phenomenon. The earliest usage as a summarizing statement only has three solas was written in 1917 Lutheran scholar Theodore Engelder published an article titled "The Three Principles of the Reformation: Sola Scriptura, Sola Gratia, Sola Fides." See link below.

To be sure, the solas were used by the magisterial reformers but not catalogued to together. For example, in 1554 Melanchthon wrote, "sola gratia justificamus et sola fide justificamur" ("only by grace do you justify and only by faith are we justified"). Luther used “sola fides” in numerous places and was harshly criticized by Rome for using it in Romans 3:28. For own Luther’s defense see link below in his Open Letter on Translating.

Since 1917, others have added and subtracted elements of Engelder’s list. Quoting Wikipedia,

“In 1934, theologian Emil Brunner substituted Soli Deo gloriam for Sola Scriptura.[9] 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.[10] Later, in commenting on Karl Barth's theological system, Brunner added Christus solus to the litany of solas[11] 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.”

It wasn't until the 1960's the Reformed added Soli Deo Gloria and Solus Christ to Engelder's list... and the five solas are what we have today.

​

https://archive.org/details/fourhundredyear00daugoog/page/n114/mode/2up?view=theater

Martin Luther: Open Letter on Translating - Christian Classics Ethereal Library

ccel.org

 

[Ivan Hlavanda]

It wasn't until the 1960's the Reformed added Soli Deo Gloria and Solus Christ to Engelder's list... and the five solas are what we have today.

Soli Deo Gloria is in the Bible, Isaiah 42:8 I am the Lord; that is my name; my glory I give to no other. The reformers did not add anything.

“In 1934, theologian Emil Brunner substituted Soli Deo gloriam for Sola Scriptura.[9] 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.[10] Later, in commenting on Karl Barth's theological system, Brunner added Christus solus to the litany of solas[11] 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.”

I don't care what Luther and Calvin said, all I care about is what God said. John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
There is no other way to God, thus Christ alone.
Because He alone redeems, He alone atones for sins, He alone died on the cross, He alone is the Mediator etc.

 

[concretecamper]

Glory to God alone

Absolutely

Christ alone

Absolutely

By grace alone

You are adding to Scripture. "Alone" is not in the text nor is it the context of the text.

By faith alone

You are adding to Scripture. "Alone" is not in the text nor is it the context of the text.

Scripture alone

You are adding to the text. The Bible never says that The Bible alone is sufficient.

Try again

 

[Mark Quayle]

Absolutely

Absolutely

You are adding to Scripture. "Alone" is not in the text nor is it the context of the text.

You are adding to Scripture. "Alone" is not in the text nor is it the context of the text.

You are adding to the text. The Bible never says that The Bible alone is sufficient.

Try again

Be honest.

Are you proposing that all you believe and are confident of is in the text and context? Or do you interpret, consolidate and condense what you do read, in terms you use to describe principles?

 

[concretecamper]

Be honest.

Are you proposing that all you believe and are confident of is in the text and context? Or do you interpret, consolidate and condense what you do read, in terms you use to describe principles?

I certainly don't add to the text.

 

[Mark Quayle]

I certainly don't add to the text.

I hope you understand if I remain skeptical —no, doubtful —no, disagreeing with that!

We all add to the text, and can't help it, by what we take it to say.

 

[Ain't Zwinglian]

I certainly don't add to the text.

Probably never preached a sermon.

 

[concretecamper]

I hope you understand if I remain skeptical —no, doubtful —no, disagreeing with that!

We all add to the text, and can't help it, by what we take it to say.

Speak for yourself. It's easy to say we all do it, sorts of give you cover, I understand

 

[concretecamper]

Probably never preached a sermon.

Not a sermon, but plenty of talks(small, nothing big) But that's not what we are talking about, is it.

 

[Xeno.of.athens]

Over the past few years, I heard several arguments about why the Five Solas are not Biblical.

Some of the five solas are found in the Bible, while others are not. For instance, Sola Fide and Sola Scriptura are not explicitly stated in the Scriptures.

 

[Ain't Zwinglian]

For instance, Sola Fide and Sola Scriptura are not explicitly stated in the Scriptures.

Although I have tremendous respect for your comments here @ CF, I am always weary when individuals use the term "explicit". Examples like....where does the Bible EXPLICITLY restrict abortion, or where does the Bible EXPLICITLY say children can not be pastors, etc. The usage of "explicit" sometimes reveals an internal bias of an individual who demands a bar so high of interpretation, no contrary explanation is possible.

 

[Xeno.of.athens]

Although I have tremendous respect for your comments here @ CF, I am always weary when individuals use the term "explicit". Examples like....where does the Bible EXPLICITLY restrict abortion, or where does the Bible EXPLICITLY say children can not be pastors, etc. The usage of "explicit" sometimes reveals an internal bias of an individual who demands a bar so high of interpretation, no contrary explanation is possible.

I agree, I ought to have stated "clearly" or maybe just "they are not in scripture".

 

[RileyG]

2 Thessalonians 2:15

James 2:24

Blessings

 

[RileyG]

Absolutely

Absolutely

You are adding to Scripture. "Alone" is not in the text nor is it the context of the text.

You are adding to Scripture. "Alone" is not in the text nor is it the context of the text.

You are adding to the text. The Bible never says that The Bible alone is sufficient.

Try again

Not to mention, there was no canon of scripture for the first 400 years of Christianity. It was all passed down via oral tradition and the CHURCH decided which books were canonical and inspired, and which were not.

 

[Ivan Hlavanda]

You are adding to Scripture. "Alone" is not in the text nor is it the context of the text.

Ephesians 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast

By grace we are saved, not by deeds. The totality of our salvation is a gift of grace from God. Romans 6:23 'but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.'

Or are you going to tell me you did something to deserve God sending His Son to die and suffer for you on the cross? No. No one did. That's why it's called grace. You add deeds to it and it's no longer grace, no longer a free gift.

All of our deeds are as filthy rags. Isaiah 64:6 'We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment.' We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.

As Paul says in Romams 3:23 'for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God'.

No one is justified by their deeds. Romans 3:20 'For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.'

Thia is a wonderful text which shows we are saved by grace alone. Romans 4:2 For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. 3 For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.” 4 Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due.

It is by grace. I know it says faith too, but saving faith is a gift from God also, because we are spiritually dead and don't have saving faith
Ephesians 2:2 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins.
Colossian 2:13 And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses,

Now shows us why it isn't grace alone. If you want add deeds to the grace, it is no longer grace, no longer a free gift of God

You are adding to Scripture. "Alone" is not in the text nor is it the context of the text.

I already shown enough verses that say that by faith alone is one justified. The Scripture clearly teaches that by deeds no one is justified.

 

[Xeno.of.athens]

By grace we are saved, not by deeds. The totality of our salvation is a gift of grace from God. Romans 6:23 'but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.'

It is true that Catholics are saved by grace. But grace is not the same thing as faith alone.