the 5 solas

brian and I were talking about the catholic church, and the reasons why they do the things the way they do. the catholic church didn't start by breaking away from the true church; the catholic church was a result of the true church gradually compromising key biblical beliefs. some of these beliefs were: the authority and infallibility of scripture, the atonement of Christ's death, justification by faith, idolatry, prayer, and grace.

as a result of the gradual corruption of truth, the reformation resulted.

John Wyclif and John Huss were the pre-reformers (or grandfathers of the reformation)

Martin Luther and John Calvin were the fathers of the reformation.

These guys rebelled against the norm of the church, and fought for the truth.

The result was "the five solas"
(which basically defined their disagreements against the church):

1. Sola Scriptura (Scripture alone)
2. Solus Christus (Christ alone)
3. Sola Gratia (Grace alone)
4. Sola Fide (Faith alone)
5. Soli Deo Gloria (Glory to God alone)

which mean:

-The Bible alone is the authoritive and infalible rule for the church.
-Our salvation has been earned soley and completely by Jesus Christ.
-Which is given to us soley by God's grace
-That is attained only by faith
-Because of who God is and what He has done, all glory is soley His.

This sets us apart not only from every religion, but also from catholics, eastern orthodox, mormons, jehova's witnesses, 7th day adventists, los angeles church of christ, and other heretical denominations.

The solas were never meant to be a badge of honor or knowledge... but were intended and are still intended to impact our lives in a deep, personal, and spiritual way on a daily basis.