The Five Solas of the Reformation: Introduction

The Reformation movement within the Church took place on October 31st, 1517 when Martin Luther, a German monk, nailed his Ninety-five Thesis to the door of the church in Whittenburg. This sounded very climactic and has been dramatized a lot, but more than likely this wasn’t the case. Historically, they would post upcoming events to the doors, almost like a bulletin board. What Luther was looking for was a discussion on some of the issues he had been observing in the Church at that time, namely: the authority of the pope to resolve people of sin, the sale of “indulgences” to buy yourself or loved ones out of purgatory, abuse of power within the church, etc. Once the discussion was posted and the arrangement was made to discuss the issues, nobody came to meet from the church. However, the event sparked a movement that would spread worldwide: the Protestant Reformation.

The purpose of these articles (this will be a 6-part series) is not to discuss the historical aspects of the Reformation, this has been greatly discussed and researched. The purpose of these articles is to show some of the themes that came out of the Reformation and how they’re actually extremely needed within our churches today.

The 5 Solas of the Reformation

After the Reformation started, five common themes arose to summarize what the Reformation stood for. The word “sola” in Latin means “alone.” The Five Solas of the Reformation are a summary of what the Reformation stood for:

1. Sola Scriptura: Scripture Alone
2. Sola Gratia: Grace Alone
3. Sola Fide: Faith Alone
4. Solus Christus: Christ Alone
5. Soli Deo Gloria: Glory of God Alone

I would also argue that these are commonly seen in Scripture. In a way, they’re like an undercurrent throughout Scripture.

Semper Reformanda: Always Reforming

It has been contested as to when the phrase Semper Reformanda came about but it’s an amazing concept. The Church should always be reforming. This does not mean forming into something new and unknown but rather reforming back to truths known previously found in Scripture. This also does not mean going back to what the first-century church was like as heresies were quite common in that day. As seen throughout Church history and biblical history, the Church can drift from the truth laid out in Scripture. The Church has the obligation to self-correct and reform itself back to the truths taught from a higher authority than from even itself: God and His Word. Heresies have been observed in Church history, and heresies exist today. The rate of apostasy from the faith is alarming. The Church always needs to be shaping and molding its mind back to what God teaches as the authority, not what culture or norms state as “truth.”

-Austin