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SOLA: How the Five Solas Are Still Reforming the Church
Jason K. Allen, General Editor; Jared Wilson, Jason Duesing, Matthew Barrett, Owen Strachan with Foreword by Tony Merida
Discover why the fundamentals of the Reformation still matter today
Why do people get so excited about a bunch of Latin phrases, that some guys in Europe came up with 500 years ago? Sure, those five Latin phrases have defined Protestantism for those 500 years, but why do they matter today? To my church? For my life? What's the big deal about all these solas anyway? These ones:
Sola scriptura-Scripture alone
Sola fide-Faith alone
Sola gratia-grace alone
Solus Christus-Christ alone
Soli Dei Gloria-To the glory of God alone?
Sola is a winsome, inspiring introduction to these five pillars of the Reformation, showing not just what they are but why they're important for the Christian life today. Edited and compiled by Jason Allen, Sola will illuminate these core truths that have been reforming the church all along. And it may just get you excited about nerdy Latin phrases too.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Foreword 9
Introduction: Why the Reformation Solas? 13
1. Scripture Alone 19
2. Grace Alone 35
3. Faith Alone 55
4. Christ Alone 75
5. Glory to God Alone 99
Conclusion 119
Acknowledgments 123
Notes 125
Contributors 133
Jason Allen begins the chapter on SOLA SCRIPTURA with these words
"Sola Scriptura. This truth, that Scripture alone is the sole authority for our beliefs and practices, abides at the center of Reformation theology. It should serve as the believer’s guardrails for life, doctrine, and ministry. Scripture alone is to determine what we confess, how we live, and how we order and minister within our churches. For the faithful evangelical, Scripture alone is the authority.
In fact, one can argue that sola Scriptura is the most foundational, and the most consequential, of all the solas. Sola fide is known as the “material principle.” This term means that justification by faith alone is the central truth of the Protestant Reformation. It is the central component of our biblical teaching, and the center of the gospel itself. Yet we call sola Scriptura the “formal principle” of the Reformation, because Scripture alone is the singular, authoritative source from which our theology—including sola fide—is developed. As the formal principle, sola Scriptura is the doctrinal foundation upon which we erect the entirety of Christian belief, including our understanding of the gospel itself.
For the Reformers specifically, Scripture alone meant the Bible held authority over all church tradition, popes, and councils. The point was not that tradition, popes, or councils could not instruct the church. Rather, it was that all these were subordinate to, and thus subject to, the Word of God. In other words, the Word of God regulates them; they don’t regulate the Word of God.
In our day, we as evangelicals also confirm that Scripture alone holds authority over popes, councils, and traditions. Yet, we should add to that list experience, preference, and pragmatic considerations. For Luther—and for us—Scripture is the 'norma normans', the determining norm by which everything else is measured. It is the standard, the benchmark, the plumb line for the church.
Sola Scriptura means that Scripture establishes the church; the church does not establish the Scriptures. Scripture judges the church; the church does not judge the Scriptures. The church did not create the Scriptures; the Scriptures created the church. As Luther argued, “Who begets his own parent? Who first brings forth his own maker?”
MPN23
SOLA: How the Five Solas Are Still Reforming the Church
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