The Five Solas - Basic Reformed Theology: Solus Christus

“In Christ alone my hope is found.” These are the famous words of the modern-day hymn penned by Keith and Kristyn Getty. The song is only a few years old and has made its way across the globe and is quickly becoming a staple of church music and worship. Those opening words reflect one of the vital points of the Protestant Reformation. Salvation is found only in Christ. That is what Solus Christus means—Christ alone.

The doctrine of Solus Christus stands in direction contradistinction from the Catholic doctrine that says that salvation cannot be found outside of the Catholic Church. The doctrine of Solus Christus firmly declares that there is one mediator between God and man. We are not the mediators between a holy God and us. Mary is not the mediator for mankind. Neither are angels, good works, self-improvement or anything else. Christ alone is our mediator and Christ alone is our only hope of salvation.

Our look at Solus Christus will take us to the book of Colossians. The Apostle Paul is attacking heresy head on with this letter to the church in Colossae. There were some in the church bringing in all sorts of teachings that corrupted the truth that we are saved by Christ alone. Before he addresses these issues and heresies he sets forth the supremacy of Christ. He exalts Him high above and shows Him to be the one and only Savior. Read through these verses and notice how Paul describes Christ: the image of God, the first born of creation (which is a term of rank and does not mean He was created), He’s the Creator, eternal, the head of the church, preeminent….it was through Him that God is reconciling sinners to Himself.

Colossians 1:15-23 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. 17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. 19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.

21 And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, 22 he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, 23 if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.

The rest of Paul’s letter to these Christians is a strong warning to them to not be disqualified by letting others insist that salvation is Christ PLUS other things. In other words, Paul is saying that salvation is found in Christ alone. To replace Christ with anything or to add anything to the finished work of Christ is to be disqualified from the race—this means that you are not saved. Solus Christus is not just a matter of preference. It’s a matter of life and death. Cling to Christ alone and you are saved. Cling to anything else and you are damned.

In Colossians 2 Paul warns the church not to fall prey to the philosophy and empty wisdom of the world. The world’s philosophies and wisdom they provide are empty. They appear to be full of wonderful promises and delights, but they empty. They are like storm clouds that look like they’re going to deliver rain, but then don’t! Paul plainly says that these things are not according to Christ. The wisdom of the world and their philosophies are not the way to combat sin. That is not how sin is dealt with. Sin is dealt with in Christ only. He cuts the sin out of our hearts…that is the point of spiritual circumcision. Christ, not the world, is doing the saving and redeeming and restoring.

In that same chapter we are told that the old man died with Christ…the new man was raised with Christ. His death and resurrection accomplished that for us. Our trespasses and sin were nailed to the cross that He hung on and because of that our sin debt was canceled. God disarmed the evil forces that dominated us and He did this through Christ.

Nowhere in Scripture are we told that anyone else or anything else does this for us. Scripture elevates Christ to such a high degree that you should be left with only one conclusion. Christ alone is our Savior and Mediator. He alone reconciles us to God and secures our salvation.

LEGALISM CAN’T SAVE YOU
In the latter part of Colossians 2, Paul tells the Colossian believers that no one is to pass judgment on them for not adhering to dietary laws and Old Testament holy days.

Colossians 2:16 Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. 17 These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ.

Apparently there were some false teachers in the church saying that “real Christians” need to keep the dietary laws, festivals, new moon celebrations and Sabbaths. In other words, to be saved, the Colossians were wrongly told they had to practice the Old Testament ceremonies and rituals. What was Paul’s response to these teachings? “Don’t let anyone pass judgment on you! You are not damned for not keeping these regulations.” Paul then explains the truth regarding the Old Testament feasts, holidays and ceremonies: they were shadows of Christ….pictures of the things to come. All those things were leading us up to Christ. You know how when you see a shadow and you follow it to see what it casting it…well, once your eyes find what is making the shadow, then you have found the substance. The shadow exists because there is something real creating it. So too, when you looked at the Old Testament holidays, feasts and Sabbaths, you could follow them with your eyes and see what is casting the shadow. You should find that the shadow leads you directly to Christ. He is the substance. He is the real deal. They were about Him. Those Old Testament rituals, ceremonies and feasts were very important--they were there to lead people to Christ. But once Christ had come those things, those pictures became obsolete…they were no longer to be regarded. Not only that, but participating in those things never saved anyone. They pointed to Christ, who alone saves!

So the false teachers were trying to convince these Christians that salvation was found in Christ PLUS these rituals. Paul’s opening chapter in the letter was to warn these believers against the danger of failing to see Christ as the All-sufficient Savior. If they listened to these false teachers they would not be saved. Christ alone was to be their salvation.

ASCETICISM CAN’T SAVE YOU
Paul then goes on in the next few verses and says:

Colossians 2:18 Let no one disqualify you, insisting on asceticism and worship of angels, going on in detail about visions, puffed up without reason by his sensuous mind, 19 and not holding fast to the Head, from whom the whole body, nourished and knit together through its joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God.

The word asceticism carries some deep meaning. Some translations have rendered this phrase as, “taking delight in false humility”. In it’s fullest sense, the word asceticism is used to describe the pride that these false teachers had in humbling themselves. They were proud of the fact that they denied their body food, clothing or anything else pleasurable. That’s why some translations use the phrase “false humility”. The act of humbling their body was a source of pride for them. It’s like being proud that you’re humble. It’s fake. It’s not real. They assumed that salvation and union with God was found in disciplining the body and suppressing desires. Many of the world’s religions still do these types of things in hopes that they will be united to God.

Some religious renounce all sexual relations. Some do not use electricity or they do not wear shoes. Some will wear clothes that are uncomfortable because they are made from rough material. Some will stand while eating or even fast for up to a month. There are some who own almost no possessions and even refuse to live in one place for more than two months because they may become attached to one place. Others engage in the Hindu practices of Yoga. To them, this is good news. This is how they are set free from the flesh. This is how they are set free from sin.

And Paul says, “Let no one disqualify you by insisting on asceticism.” Asceticism is not what frees you from sin. It does not lead to salvation. It does not lead to sanctification or becoming more holy and looking like Christ. But if you look at these kinds of these from the outside, it looks like these people are becoming more holy. But here is what Paul says. He says, “these regulations of…”

Colossians 2:21-23 “Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch” [22] (referring to things that all perish as they are used)—according to human precepts and teachings? [23] These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh.

Paul is saying that these are human rules and teachings. Do not handle this. Do not taste this food. Don’t touch that. These are according to the wisdom of man, not God. Living by strict rules will not save you. Paul says, “But it has the appearance of wisdom.” It sure looks good. But it is self-made religion, this severity to the body stuff. Look at what he says in the last phrase. They are of NO value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh. They do not help whatsoever in controlling your sinful appetite. They cannot quench your desire for sin.

Do you want to see how this plays out in our world today? Because people practice this kind of stuff…perhaps not as extreme, but they think that somehow their lesser forms of asceticism make them better people…and it surely puts them in right standing with God. Some people think they are good people and going to be with God because they have never done drugs, have never hurt anybody, they never speed on the road, they don’t spend their money frivolously, they watch what they eat, they exercise and take care of their body. They don’t realize it but they are practicing some form of asceticism. They are trying to live a life that denies extremes. Whether it be overeating, overspending, overreacting, or whatever, they think that their life of moderation is what makes them a good person. They think that this is the kind of life that pleases God and earns them salvation with God. It has the appearance of wisdom. But it is nothing more than a man-made religion that will disqualify people from the prize that Paul talks about. It disqualifies them from true holiness and true salvation.

But sadly this is just about all that pop-psychology can offer man these days. If Christians struggle with the sin of overeating what do they do? They don’t run to Christ do they? No. They run to Jenny Craig and put them on some ascetic diet. When children are bad, what do a lot of parents do? They put their kids in time-out—and that’s all they do. No fun for you…no pleasure for you—that’s asceticism. This will not work in saving our children, nor will it work in making them more holy. As parents our privilege and duty is to show our children law and gospel, sin and salvation—we show them how their sin is against God and how Christ saves them. And when we fail to point their children to Christ when it comes to discipline, we fail miserably. If you want your child to be saved and grow in godliness, asceticism won’t cut it. Only Christ will. Do not be disqualified. Do not participate in the disqualification of others by pointing them to inferior methods of avoiding sin and attaining salvation.

ANGELS CAN’T SAVE YOU
The worship of angels? I had no idea that baseball was so old. Just a bit of comic relief. But seriously, this church was plagued with blatant heresy. There were some ideas floating around that said that if you wanted God to hear and answer your prayers, then you had to get to God through angels.

Colossians 2:18 Let no one disqualify you, insisting on asceticism and worship of angels,

In their false humility these false teachers said that God could not be approached directly. He was too great to have humans come to Him directly. So the way that people reached God was through the angels that He created. In other words, the angels were the mediators between God and man. In order to get to God you had to go through His angels. This is how they paid homage and worship to the angels…by praying to them. The Judaizers reasoned that because the law of God was given by angels, then it was OK to invoke them or pray to them. This heresy started in the Colossian church and history records that it continued for another three hundred years. In fact, in about the year 363 A.D. a council of 30 clerics or clergyman got together in Asia Minor to discuss some concerns. Of the 60 concerns raised, number 39 had to do with heresies—specifically the heresy of angelici—or the angel invokers. The heresy of worshipping and praying to angels that started in Paul’s day continued on and the council took a stand and said that this was wrong because scripture condemned it.

These so-called humble people took their humility to an extreme. We are so low and God is so high that we cannot approach Him. There must be a mediator that we can pray to. There must be someone who stands between God and us and communicates to Him for us. They chose the angels to do this and prayed to them. But Scripture never teaches us to pray to angels as mediators. Christ alone grants us access to the Father.

There is no mention in Scripture of invoking angels when we need the help of God in overcoming sin. Christ told us to speak directly to the Father and pray, “Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.” In Hebrews 4, the Bible tells us that we can come confidently to God’s throne in prayer to seek His help in overcoming sin. Unlike the humble Judaizers who were proud of their humility in not approaching God and prayed to angels for help, the writer of Hebrews tells us the opposite. Don’t be afraid to come to God for help in growing in holiness. Come boldly. Come confidently to God so that we can receive mercy and grace for the sins we commit.

Hebrews 4:14-16 [14] Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. [15] For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. [16] Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

How awesome are these verses? We are weak and we will sin. How do we deal with this? Asceticism? Calling on angels? No. Going to God in prayer and holding fast to our confession. Our confession is that Christ is the Savior who died and rose again that we could be declared innocent of our sin and righteous before God. When we sin, we can confidently draw near to God, to the throne of grace and receive the mercy and grace that we need. When we are tempted to sin we can draw near to God and ask for help in overcoming it. Christ is able to sympathize with us. He knows what it is like to be tempted yet not cave in to sin. He knows we are weak and that we need His strength. So we ask the Lord for help. We do not need a mediator between God and us. Christ has provided that link for us.

1 Timothy 2:5-6 For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time.

We insult God when we pray to beings that are not capable of answering prayer. We become disqualified from growing in holiness when we pray to another being. And ultimately, whom you pray to is the one who you believe can help. In essence that person or thing you pray to is your god. This would disqualify you from ever having a part in eternal life unless you repent of it and put your trust in Christ alone.

Sadly, this kind of thing takes place takes place when others insist that to get to God you must pray to the Virgin Mary or you must pray to dead saints. The problem of worshipping angels or needing dead saints in order to get you to God is that they lead you away from Christ. And any practice that leads you away from Christ, His salvation, His sanctification is a terrible thing and should be guarded against.

MYSTICISM CAN’T SAVE YOU

Colossians 2:18 going on in detail about visions, puffed up without reason by his sensuous mind,

You may recognize the root of the word mysticism. It looks like the word mystery. It has to do with things that are hidden. It has to do with hidden knowledge that needs to be found out. This was something that the early church continually fought against. The Gnostics came along and said that salvation and holiness were found in discovering secret knowledge of God. This secret knowledge was found in dreams and altered states of consciousness. Much like the Hindus practice with their yoga and chanting. It’s designed to put them in an altered state of consciousness whereby they can attain union and peace with God. These types of things are forbidden in Scripture. Union with God and secret knowledge of God are nowhere to be found in dreams. Union with God is found only in Christ. A saving knowledge of God is only found in Scripture as the Holy Spirit enables you to grab a hold of these truths spiritually.

These false teachers in the church of Colossae were so proud of their dreams and visions. They went on in detail describing every aspect of their dreams and what they had supposedly learned about God. They became puffed up or proud. This is what their sensuous or sinful mind led them to be. So get this. They were supposedly so humble because of their asceticism and worship of angels and dreams that it led them to be proud—it was a false humility they had. And it was without reason. Meaning that because this stuff was bogus there was no real reason for them to be proud. It only condemned them and led them to hell. There is no reason to be proud in that. Not only were they falsely humble, but they were also foolishly humble. They were fooled into thing that their dreams led to salvation and union with God.

These bogus Christians were bragging about their supposed new knowledge and revelation from their dreams. These false Christians told other believers that they were proud and arrogant for praying directly to God instead of praying through angels. These hypocrites insisted on asceticism as a way to holiness. All of these things they practiced showed that they did not understand the gospel. They did not understand Christ. They did not understand the reason for which He came. They did not know His power. Thus, they were disqualified. They were not at peace with God. They were never going to grow in true holiness. They were out!

You see, true Christianity is about the Supremacy of Christ in all things. He alone will be praised for all eternity for the salvation He gave us. How sly and wise the devil is in trying to get us to fall away from our Savior. These Satanic teachings have the appearance of godliness and truth, but they are damnable. They seem to be good news but when exposed they are bad news. They seem to be gospel but they are a false gospel. The heresies in Colossae all put the emphasis on what you do and they take your focus away from Christ and what He has done. True salvation is found in Christ alone.

Christ alone. Anything else disqualifies you from eternal life. And that is why we say with Scripture and with the Reformers, “Solus Christus!”

Divine Sovereignty & Human Responsibility in Prayer & Temptation



Pray that God would not lead you into temptation (Matthew 6:13). When that prayer goes unanswered, rejoice (James 1:2-4) at what God is doing!

When you fall into temptation, resist the evil one (James 4:7). Then give thanks to God (Psalm 19:13) for answering your prayer according to Matthew 6:13.

Idle Sticks




















"God, I pray, light these idle sticks of my life and may I burn up for thee. Consume my life, my God, for it is thine. I seek not a long life but a full one like yours, Lord Jesus." - Jim Elliot

God is Rhetorical, and I am Dumb

My dumb thoughts must begin on the foundational principle of a little splotch of ink.

The Question Mark: "?"

Yes it looks kind of weird, but it's quite powerful. The question itself is really a tremendous tool. Often we think of questions as the show of our weakness, because we often ask things pertaining to what we don't know. "What time is it?" for example. But they can also be used to engage: "What do you think?". There can be deep meaning before that funny, little punctuation.

In fact, questions are really an interesting inter-social dynamic... aren't they? They demand a contemplative interaction between people. When one is thrown at you, you need to consider yourself engaged. You are now personally involved, whether you choose to acknowledge the question or not, answer it or not, or even think through your answer or not. You have a responsibility to the one who has demanded your contemplative response.

Imagine the greater responsibility when you are asked by one with authority... an authority who is well knowledgeable... an authority who is above reproach... respected... perfect. God is quite the One to be asked a question by and to feel such a weight at your need to answer Him.

Imagine needing to answer God if He asked you these:
- What have you been doing?
- What are you thinking?
- What are you loving?

Try to shake off (if you're like me) the deep fear at your answers to those for a moment and rethink how personal and engaging those are. They invoke a great inter-personal connection; they are relational. Not only that, but the answer is wanted, and the questioner is awaiting it's arrival. But what happens when the question is asked with no expectation of an answer to be given? In this event, we find ourselves face to face with the awkward rhetorical question.

A question can actually be intensified in it's demand for contemplation when the answer is never intended to be spoken. Why? Often because the answer is apparent through a great weight and amount of proofs that lie behind the answer itself. The Bible is riddled with rhetorical questions that deem no communicated response because the answer has such weight behind it, making it adequately apparent:

- "Who can count the dust of Jacob...?" (Num 23:10)
- "O Lord GOD... what god is there in heaven or on earth who can do such works and mighty acts as Yours?" (Duet 3:24)
- "...if a man sins against the LORD, who can intercede for him?" (1 Sam 2:25)
- "...[God] is unique and who can turn Him?" (Job 23:13)
- "Who can say, 'I have cleansed my heart, I am pure from my sin'?" (Prov 20:9)
- "For who can eat and who can have enjoyment without [God]?" (Eccl 2:25)
- "The day of the LORD is indeed great and very awesome, And who can endure it?" (Joel 2:11)

God spoke these questions through writers inspired by His Spirit. They all invoke a sizeable amount of contemplation when asked. Sometimes, though, God himself asks questions. But why?

I ask questions often because I don't know the answer. I'm not very smart to throw out rhetorical questions and get my audience thinking along with me, so I stick with the usual stuff, like: "Where are my sunglasses?". But why does God ask questions? I think it's because I'm dumb.

God knows everything, so we know that He does not ask questions for the sake of Himself, but for us. Take God's first question for example:

"But the LORD God called to the man [Adam], "Where are you?'" (Gen 3:9)

God didn't lose His creation. He knew where Adam was and why, yet He still asked. And His question prompted an amazingly odd answer.

"He answered, "I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid." (Gen 3:10)

Our first thought should be: "Too much information, Adam!" Maybe our second should be: "You didn't answer God's question." Adam didn't say where he was (just that he 'hid'); instead he said why he was hidden. God's question drew out a deep, complex contemplation from Adam; one that made Adam fearful, and quick to explain the situation to his Father because he saw his error and sin. God needed Adam to think, because Adam had been... well.... dumb.

That's just one example of many. Now let's look at my friend.

Jesus asked lots of questions. But again: why? He knew the answers. Again, I think it's because I'm dumb.

Anytime Jesus would ask a question, it was for our benefit... mainly because we need to think about something important (often things relating between us and Him: ie - His gospel that we need). We can learn from what He asks, and we can learn from what is answered. You could, in a way, see each question that He asks as a rhetorical question because the answers that He seeks aren't needed for Himself but for those who would hear (or even think) of the answers.

- "Jesus asked them a question: 'What do you think about the Christ, whose son is He?'" (Matt 22:41-42)
- "He questioned them, saying, "Who do the people say that I am?'" (Luke 9:18)
- "And again He said, 'To what shall I compare the kingdom of God?'" (Luke 13:20)
- "So when He had washed their feet, ...He said to them, 'Do you know what I have done to you?'" (John 13:12)

Jesus asked what a demon's name was (Luke 8:30). He asked who the arresting mob was searching for (John 18:6). He asked why an officer hit Him (John 18:23). What do these mean?

Jesus wants us to know something and to think about it. Not because we are good thinkers, but because we're aren't. Not because we have the answers, but because we don't. Not because we are knowledgeable, but because we're foolish, weak, base, etc (1 Cor. 1:26-29). Ultimately, He questions so that we would believe in Jesus as the Christ, Son of God.

"So they removed the stone [from Lazarus' tomb]. Then Jesus raised His eyes, and said, 'Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. I knew that You always hear Me; but because of the people standing around I said it, so that they may believe that You sent Me.'" (John 11:41-42)

God asks us questions because we need to contemplate Him. We need to contemplate Him because He is holy and we aren't. We need to see Him as holy because we are vile and sinful. We must see ourselves as sinful because we need His righteousness. And we must think about this needed righteousness because salvation from sin is serious, specific, personal, eternal, and demanding. There is a cost to be counted to follow Jesus. Every question He asks should root us in some way back to His gospel for a response and contemplation. That contemplation before our salvation should be to repent; afterward it should be to worship.

Contemplate with me, a deep question from an attention-demanding Questioner:

"[Jesus] said to him the third time, "Simon, son of John, do you love Me?" Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, "Do you love Me?" And he said to Him, "Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You" Jesus said to him, "Tend My sheep."

death, where is thy victory?


I was talking with two dear friends back in december, and the subject came around to death.

one of the girls lost her grandma this past year, and the other lost her mom a few years ago. having never experienced the death of someone close to me, I listened intently as they explained the heart ache and pain that they still feel over their losses.

and yet.

They both agreed that though their losses were painful beyond words, they are grateful for what they've learned, and for the eternal perspective they now have on life. they said they wouldn't trade that perspective for anything.

and all of a sudden it struck me. what a testimony of the power of Jesus Christ that He has taken the actual punishment that God bound us to because of our sin (i.e. death), and has conquered it in such a way that He uses death itself for our good! Although death is wrong and unnatural and awful and painful, Jesus' redeeming power is not limited by it. His power to redeem His creation far surpasses the power of death.

and one day He will fulfill His promise and death will be no more.

All because of Jesus!

Prayer



Taken from C.S. Lewis' book 'The Screwtape Letters' ...


"The best thing, where it is possible, is to keep the patient from the serious intention of praying altogether. When the patient is an adult recently reconverted to the Enemy's party, like your man, this is best done by encouraging him to remember, or to think he remembers, the parrot-like nature of his prayers in childhood. In reaction against that, he may be persuaded to aim at something entirely spontaneous, inward, informal, and unregularised...he will try to produce in himself a vaguely devotinal 'mood' in which real concentration of will and intelligence have no part...


It is funny how mortals always picture us as putting things into their minds: in reality our best work is done by keeping things out... Whenever they are attending to the Enemy Himself we are defeated, but there are ways of preventing them from doing so. The simplest is to turn their gaze away from Him toward themselves. Keep them watching their own minds and trying to produce 'feelings' there by the action of their own wills...


Mortals will make God into an image all their own. But whatever the nature of the composite object, you must keep him praying to it -- to the thing that he has made, not to the Person who has made him. If he ever comes to make the distinction, if ever he consciously directs his prayers 'Not to what I think thou art but to what thou knowest thyself to be,' our situation is desperate. In avoiding this situation - this real nakedness of the soul in prayer - you will be helped by the fact that the humans themselves do not desire it as much as they suppose. There's such a thing as getting more than they bargained for!"

Justification By Works?

"These good works are evidence of the true nature of these people. Notice the response of the righteous (Matthew 25:31-40). These believers are clearly not sitting around waiting to be justified by their works. When Jesus commends them for what they have done, they humbly respond by saying, "When did we do this?" That does not sound like folk who are waiting to be justified by works, waiting to be saved by works. Instead they are completely stunned that Jesus would even mention their works." -- J. Ligon Duncan, Fear Not: Death and the Afterlife from a Christian Perspective, page 79

Strange Fruit


Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance James 1:2-3



Some of the worlds best tasting fruits do not come from the grocery store or the farmers market. In fact, some of the best fruits in the world are produced in harsh tropical conditions where few people have dared to travel.

Take for example the Durian fruit. It survives tropical heat and humidity and often endures tropical storms. Despite it’s rugged spiked exterior and funny smell it gives off a taste of the sweetest carmelized custard that cannot be compared to any other. It is no wonder the natives of South East Asians where this fruit can be found have labeled it “the king of all fruit”.

The Christian life can often be like this. While God has graciously blessed others in abundance, He has decided to keep some of us in the heat, humidity and enduring many storms for the sole purpose of His glory. These conditions will leave us emotionally, physically, and spiritually drained. But the end result is a tried and tested character that can only be produced in the harshest conditions that gives of the sweetest flavor.

The Five Solas - Basic Reformed Theology: Sola Gratia

Sola Gratia! The English translation of this Latin phrase is “grace alone.” It means that all of salvation is by God’s grace alone. In other words, every aspect of salvation is because of the kindness, generosity, benevolence, mercy, favor and love of God. In no way whatsoever is salvation because of anything we do. It’s all a gracious gift of God.

The idea that we are saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone for God’s glory alone is in complete contradistinction to the Catholic teaching of salvation. Catholic doctrine basically asserts that salvation is a reliance on Christ’s righteousness, but that we are not finally made acceptable to God and saved until we take the righteousness of God and convert it into a daily and experiential righteousness. In other words, we are saved by Christ and the accomplishment of our works.

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.

We are saved by grace. Now the whole process and package of salvation has many aspects and “parts” to it. Each of these, according to Scripture is also by the grace of God.

FAITH
Faith or belief in Christ as the Savior is more than just a mental belief of some facts. It is a reliance upon Christ to do for you what you cannot do. Let me say something that may shock you: there is no inherent power in faith. Faith is merely a receiving of what Christ has done for you. Again, it is a reliance upon Him. You may lean up against a building to hold you up and rely upon its immovability to keep you aright. But the power is not in your leaning upon the building; the power is in the reliability of the building.

When we believe in Christ, we are trusting in Christ. And some of us may be tempted to think, “Oh, but that faith…that trusting was something that I did. It was ME trusting.” And that is true. But you need to see how faith is described in Scripture and who is given credit as to the source of faith.

Acts 18:27 And when he wished to cross to Achaia, the brothers encouraged him and wrote to the disciples to welcome him. When he arrived, he greatly helped those who through grace had believed.

This Scripture and others teach us that our reliance upon Christ is also by the grace of God. He grants us faith. It is not inherent in us. It is a gift. So even our reliance upon Christ, our belief in Him as Savior is by grace. Without God’s grace and kindness towards us and the granting of belief we would never be saved. Sola Gratia!

JUSTIFICATION
Justification is the act of God declaring us righteous even though we are sinners. I’ve shared with you before that the Bible says that we are justified by faith alone in Christ alone. When we place faith in Christ a great transfer takes place. My sin is credited (or imputed) to the account of Christ so that He was treated as a sinner and transgressor of God’s Law—even though He was not a sinner. At the same time, when we place faith in Christ another great transfer takes place. Christ’s righteousness is credited (or imputed) to my account so that I can be treated as a perfectly righteous person—even though I am a sinner. Christ suffered for my sin; I am pardoned and declared righteous—by faith.

Knowing that faith is a gift of God and that we are justified by faith alone in Christ alone, it would make sense to say then that justification is by the grace of God. Indeed Scripture says this.

Romans 3:23-24 For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.

Our being declared righteous is by God’s grace, not by our works of the Law. We failed at keeping the Law. Christ succeeded. He is our justification. It’s by grace we are saved. Sola Gratia!

PEACE WITH GOD
When Christ was born the angels announced “Peace on earth.” There appears to be a whole lot of fighting going on in this planet. So where is the peace. As one songwriter penned, “Did the angels waste their words?” The rhetorical question is answered with a resounding, “No!” The angels, of course, did not waste their words. The peace they proclaimed was the peace that would exist between God and sinners.

God’s wrath abides on those who sin. We are haters of God prior to salvation. If you don’t believe me, just look at how good we kept God’s commands. We didn’t. We rebelled against His authority and demonstrated the spiritual war that exists between God and mankind. There is no peace. There is a detest for our Creator and consequently His just wrath is upon us is something isn’t done about it. But we aren’t going to do anything about it. So God acts. He sends Christ to make peace between sinners and the Creator.

How is it that God can have peace with us when we are sinners? The grace of justification! God declares us righteous by the faith that He gives us. Now instead of looking at us as one who should be punished eternally, God declares us forgiven, righteous, holy and blameless in Christ. If this is how God now sees us, then the “war” has been ended. Peace is made. What did you and I do to deserve this? Nothing! What did we do to make God act this way towards us? Nothing! Why moved God to do this for us? Pure grace. Sola Gratia!

Romans 5:1-2 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

ETERNAL LIFE
Those who sin are damned before God and deserve eternal death in the lake of fire. Only those who are perfectly righteous are worthy of eternal life with God. Again, we are in a bad position unless the grace, kindness and mercy of God comes to us. Having just looked at a few of the saving gifts and gracious acts of God, we can see how it is that we can be granted eternal life.

If only those that are righteous are worthy of eternal life, then how do we become righteous? Through good works? Through self-effort? No. Through the righteousness of Christ. How do we that? By the grace of justification…which comes by the grace of faith. So we see that eternal life is also by the grace of God. Sola Gratia!

Romans 5:21 so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

ELECTION
Election is the doctrine that says that God chooses who to save. You are chosen by God to salvation. I admit that at first glance this is hard to understand and it can sure make God look like a meanie. In fact it is one of the most hated doctrines in Scripture. I once despised this teaching; hated it! But the problem of man’s sin must first be addressed in order to appreciate and affirm this Biblical doctrine.

Scripture tells us that man is so caught up in sin that he is actually dead in sin and is incapable of understanding spiritual truth. If man is spiritually dead in sin and cannot understand spiritual truth, then at what point does he bring himself to spiritual life so that he can spiritually believe in Christ and be saved? He can’t. There is no point at which he does this. Left to himself, man will never come to God—indeed, he cannot. It’s a matter of ability—he is radically unable to do what God requires of him. If man is to be saved, then God must decide to come and save man. That is what we mean of election. And the Bible tells us that election took place before the earth was made so that we would be compelled to say that salvation is by God’s grace alone. He chose you before you could do anything that might make you erroneously believe that you are worthy of His choosing.

When you understand that we all deserve the wrath of God…and that none of us deserve to be saved and shown God’s goodness…and that we’ll never call out to God to save us on our own…then it becomes apparent that God must come to us. It’s like the dead man that had drowned and has been at the bottom of the ocean for several hours. What is he going to do to be rescued? There’s nothing he can do. He’s dead. He needs a resurrection. So it is with us. We are dead and cannot call to God for help in this dead state; we never will. So God must come to us and resurrect us so that we can believe. This is partially what we mean when we say that God chooses to save us. He sovereignly decides who He will give life to so that they can receive faith and be justified and thus be saved. He elects them to salvation.

Some will ask: why does God do this for some and not others? How unfair! To that I say, “Why does God do this for anybody when He is not obligated to? He doesn’t have to! It’s pure grace that He does this for anyone. Soli Gratia!

Romans 11:5-6 So too at the present time there is a remnant, chosen by grace. 6 But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace.

We have to take this doctrine and say, “Why me, God? I did nothing to deserve this great salvation. Why me?” And the answer from Scripture takes us away from trying to find reason in ourselves to be saved by God…and it directs us to God’s grace.

SPIRITUAL GIFTS
One of the benefits of salvation is that we are place within the church body—the body of Christ. We are a corporate unity that is to function together as the human body does. To be a Christian without church is a contradiction and a serious sin. How can you say that you love Christ when you don’t love His body? How can you say to a person, “I love your head…but not the rest of you.”

When we were saved we were placed in the church body. And one of the things that God has done for each of us is that He’s given us spiritual gifts. These gifts are from the Holy Spirit and they are meant to serve the body of Christ in order that the body may be healthy and properly display Christ’s glory to the world. The body (the church) is connected to the head (Jesus Christ) and we are to look like Him and shine like Him. Your spiritual gifts are meant to serve that purpose. Consequently, the spiritual gifts given to others are meant for your benefit and spiritual good for Christ’s glory. These spiritual gifts that comes with salvation are also by grace. Sola Gratia!

Romans 12:6 Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith;

RIGHTEOUS BEHAVIOR
Prior to salvation our attempts at righteous deeds were seen by God as nothing for that filthy rags. This is what Scripture says. And that term “filthy rags” is a reference to menstrual cloths. This is the way our good deeds are seen by God before salvation. Any attempt at being good is soiled by the fact that it is not done for God’s glory. Good deeds may be done for one’s own glory, or for money, or for promotion, or even to spite someone. But they are not done to show the greatness of God. And if they are not done in faith, then they are of sin. So man’s best attempt to do good is still sin. That is, until we are converted and saved by grace.

The Apostle Paul explains to the Corinthian church that his own good deeds and love for them did not arise from the wisdom and counsel of this world, but from God’s grace.

2 Corinthians 1:12 For our boast is this, the testimony of our conscience, that we behaved in the world with simplicity and godly sincerity, not by earthly wisdom but by the grace of God, and supremely so toward you.

Elsewhere in Scripture we are told that we were created for good works and that these good works have been prepared beforehand by God. So even our righteous and holy behavior is attributed to the grace of God. Without His enabling grace, we would do things only for our glory and thus would be sin. Holy behavior arises from the fact that we are saved by grace and that this salvation comes packages with holy living. Sola Gratia!

THE INCARNATION
Christmas is always a wonderful time of the year. Not so much because of the secular festivities, which are fine and dandy, but because we are reminded afresh of “our dear Savior’s birth.” Without the Son of God taking on flesh, we would have no real sacrifice for our sins. The early church fought against a heresy known as Docetism. These false believers tried to say that Christ did not actually take on flesh, but only appeared to do so. He was, to them, like a hologram—only appearing to be real flesh and blood. If that were the case, then His blood was not shed for us and His body not broken. If this were the case, then we would have no hope of salvation or a resurrection because Christ actually did nothing for us.

The fact that Christ was born like us is part of saving grace. God clothed in skin is remarkable to ponder. 2 Corinthians makes reference to the fact that Christ left His heavenly home and riches and became poor so that we could become spiritually rich. This is indeed a reference to His lowly birth.

2 Corinthians 8:9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.

Next time you reflect on Christ’s birth, remember that this is part of the grace we need to be saved. Sola Gratia!

PREDESTINATION
Right up there with election is another doctrine that many despise. This word “predestination” has been the subject of much controversy and feuding. In simplest of terms, it means that God predetermined our destination. He determined ahead of time to save us and to bring that salvation to completion when Christ comes again. He determined ahead of time to take us from point A to point B—and He mapped out the way to get there and that plan cannot and will not fail.

When you think about the attributes of God, it has to be this way. Here’s why. God’s wisdom, His decrees, His decisions and His determinations are not made in time. They are eternal—meaning that they’ve always existed and will stand forever. Being that they are eternal, they are also inalterable—they cannot change. Election (point A) is part of God’s eternal wisdom and so is our final victory when Christ comes again (point B). It’s all part of His eternal predetermined plan. This doesn’t mean that we are fatalists or robots of any sort and that nothing we do matters. Scripture never speaks like this. Rather, it just points us to the fact that our salvation is secure because God has determined to start and finalize it. He who began a good work (point A) will be faithful to complete it (point B). He is the Author and Finisher of our faith.

Ephesians 1:5-6 In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.

Next time you take your children on a fun vacation I’m sure that you will map-out and predetermine your destination and stops along the way. Your children will be grateful that they safely arrived at the destination you determined for them. You will not look at them as robots with no will. And neither will they look at you some control freak. Rather they should praise you for the wonderful thing you have accomplished for them. So it is with God’s predestining of us to a complete salvation. It is so that we’ll praise His grace. Sola Gratia!

REDEMPTION AND FORGIVENESS
Do you remember the last time you saw some aluminum cans redeemed? You had them captive in your syrupy clutches. Then a man with an apron came out and paid you some money to release those cans and hand them over to him. His paying of money to you was the redemption value of those cans, bottles or whatever.

So Christ has redeemed us. Sin, death and Satan had us captive. A price needed to be paid so that we could be released from the power and consequences of evil over us and evil in us. That price was the very life of Christ. He paid the ransom, the redemption cost to secure us. That is by His grace, not our doing. Sola Gratia!

Ephesians 1:7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace,

Forgiveness is also part of the salvation package and that, too, is attributed to His grace. We owe a debt to God and it must be paid. That debt has been wiped away or forgiven. We been released from the penalty that our sin deserves. That penalty was paid when Christ was beaten and then crucified on the cross. He bore my sin. He bore my penalty. He bore my wrath. And I am now forgiven. I did nothing to earn it, merit it or deserve it. Sola Gratia!

THE CRUCIFIXION
Christ was our substitute on the cross. He died for what we did. He did this voluntarily at the will and request of the Father. He tasted death for His chosen people and this is by the grace of God. It’s not like we asked Him to do this for us because we would have done so. In man’s natural state he does not seek the mercy and forgiveness of God—man is too proud. Rather he attempts to please God and bribe God with his own good deeds and self-righteousness. So God planned it in eternity past—it has always been His plan. It has always been His plan to be gracious to us despite of our wretchedness. Sola Gratia!

Hebrews 2:9 But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.

GLORIFICATION
This is the final stage, if you will, of our salvation. When Christ comes to get His elect, the church, His chosen ones, He has promised that at that moment we will become like Him for we will see Him as He is. The perfect Son of God will clothe us with glory. We will be transformed to look like the perfect incarnate Son of God. We will restored to the perfect image of God…that image that was wrecked when Adam sinned in the garden and disobeyed God. That is the whole point of God’s creating mankind. “Let us make man in our image.” Sin ruined it. God determined that mankind will reflect His image and glory. So His salvation plan ultimately leads us right back to the pre-fall state. Christ achieves this for us because we cannot.

When Christ comes again, our bodies will be changed into bodies that aren’t able to decay. Our wills will be changed as well because we will never sin again. Faith will become sight—everything we’ve been waiting, hoping and trusting will happen will be finally tangible! This is our eternal hope. God gave this hope to us. That makes it grace. Sola Gratia!

2 Thessalonians 2:16 Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace, 17 comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word.

I had actually intended this article to be the shortest of the bunch. But as I began to look at how gracious God has been to us I just had to share all these wonderful truths—and there are many more. This is just the tip of the iceberg.

I think I understand a little better (and I hope you do too) what the Apostle John means in John 1:16.

John 1:16 And from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.

God has taken one act of grace and stacked another on top of it, then another, then another, then another, then another…so that we’ve received “grace upon grace.” In light of this, I don’t know how we cannot love our God more and more. I don’t know how we can see our salvation as a small thing. It’s just not possible unless we are indifferent to the Word of God—and that speaks of a real spiritual problem. Those that slumber in the church and have no vibrancy in their worship have failed to comprehend in larger measure the grace of God. So my prayer for all us is the prayer of Peter in his second letter.

2 Peter 1:2 May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.

Sola Gratia!

You Brought Nothing.



In 1 Corinthians 4:7 Paul says,

"And what do you have that you did not receive? But if you did receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?"


"O believer, learn to reject pride, seeing that you have no ground for it. Whatever you are, you have nothing to make you proud. The more you have, the more you are in debt to God; and you should not be proud of that which renders you a debtor. Consider your origin; look back to what you were. Consider what you will have been except for divine grace.

Great believer, you would have been a great sinner if God had not made you to differ. O you who are valiant for truth, you would have been as valiant for error if grace had not laid upon you.

Therefore, don't be proud, though you have a large estate - a wide domain of grace, once you did not have a single thing to call your own except sin and misery.

O strange infatuation, that you, who have borrowed everything, should think of exalting yourself." - Charles Spurgeon

photo credit: matt wahl

Unbelievable.

"He has saved us from the power of darkness and carried us into the kingdom of the Son of His love...And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight"

So incredibly amazing we need the Holy Spirit to believe it.

Colossians 1:13, 21-22

Behold! All Things Have Become New.



John 8:12

"Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."

2 Corinthians 5:17

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new."

Colossians 1:13-14

" For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins."

Today is my birthday. I was born 31 years ago. However, there is a day that far surpasses the importance of this day. It is my spiritual birthday - April 7, 2007. The day that Jesus plucked me out of the kingdom of darkness and placed me into the kingdom of light.

Since then, everything has changed. A sudden distaste for sin. An unnatural longing for Him and His word. While before, I was attempting to tie on plastic fruit to my barren branches. Now - out came natural, plump, juice-filled fruits of the spirit. It was a whole new world.

I now know what "To live is Christ" means.
I now know what "Your lovingkindness is better than life" means.
I now know what "In your presence is fullness of joy" means.