The Five Solas of the Protestant Reformation

Many churches which trace their theological ancestry back to the Protestant Reformation, commemorate Reformation Day. October 31, 1517, is the traditional date when Martin Luther, a young biblical scholar and troubled son of the Roman church, nailed his 95 Theses to the door of the Castle Church in the city of Wittenberg. Professor Luther sought to challenge the Roman church’s understanding of the sacrament of penance. The act of posting written theses (objections) was simply the way in which professors of that day called for academic debate.

Luther was as surprised as anyone when his 95 Theses gave voice those to countless German peasants who felt that the Roman church had grown increasing greedy, corrupt, and indifferent to their needs. When the Dominican friar Johann Tetzel came through Germany selling indulgences–which supposedly shortened the time that a sinner spent in purgatory–ordinary Germans were outraged. How dare Rome send an emissary into Germany to sell indulgences at a time of great economic hardship, especially when the proceeds from the sale went to pay for the construction of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome–a grand church which no German peasant would ever see.

While German peasants hated the Roman church because of the church’s arrogance and indifference, for Luther, the issues were theological. When Luther’s theses were published and quickly disseminated across much of Germany, it soon became clear that this was not just a debate about a fine point of doctrine (penance), but a fundamental challenge to the nature of religious authority as understood by the Roman Catholic Church. This was, in fact, a direct challenge to Rome’s teaching on good works, merit, faith, and the nature of the gospel. It was not long before Protestantism was a wide-spread movement and a burgeoning theological threat to the Roman church–especially in northern Europe. Although Protestantism soon separated into Lutheran and Reformed branches, the Protestant objections to Rome quickly crystalized around the so-called “five Solas” of the Reformation. These five “onlys” include: Scripture alone, grace alone, Christ alone, faith alone, and glory to God alone.

The Roman church believed Scripture was God’s word. But Rome didn’t see Scripture as the primary ground of religious authority–there was also church tradition as an equal authority. The Roman church believed in grace, but defined grace as a substance dispensed through the sacramental system of the church, and that such grace must be energized by the human will in order to be effective in matters of salvation. Rome militantly defended the deity of Christ and his sacrificial death for sins. But Rome taught that the merit of human good works must be added to the merits of Christ in order for sinners to be made right with God (justification). Rome also taught that faith was an essential Christian virtue, but understood that simple faith must be formed into an active faith which then produced those Christian virtues and good works which merited (earned) favor from God. While in theory the Roman church gave all glory to God, in practice, Rome’s theology spread glory around to Mary, the papacy, the church, the saints, and even to human good works.

What has separated Protestantism from Rome since 1517, is not Scripture, grace, faith, Christ, or glory to God. What caused the great divide between Protestants and Catholics was the Protestant insistence upon that little adjective “sola” or “only.” Scripture alone. Grace alone. Christ alone. Faith alone. Glory to God alone.

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