Sola Fide – Faith Alone

“Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.”  Hebrews 11v1

Continuing our look at the five Solas; Luther concluded that “God justifies sinners by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.”  This perfectly expresses God’s righteousness and mercy.  Yet if Luther had not been able to read God’s Word for himself, he would not have understood this promise personally.

Sola Gratia (Grace alone) explains God’s motive in saving humanity; Sola Fide (Faith alone) explains how that salvation is received.

Although Scripture clearly taught these truths, most people at the time of the Reformation could not read the Bible because it was in Latin.  As a result, they depended on others to tell them what it said about salvation, which allowed the Medieval church to add extra requirements.  This became known as ‘implicit faith’: if people trusted and followed the church’s instructions, that was treated as saving faith.  They were also taught that they could not be sure of their salvation and might lose it.

“God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of His blood —to be received by faith.  He did this to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance He had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished — He did it to demonstrate His righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.”  Romans 3v25-26

The Essential Bible Dictionary defines ‘faith’ as follows: “Belief, trust, loyalty.  Faith is not merely intellectual agreement with doctrines or acceptance of divine commands, but complete confidence in God’s faithfulness, personal commitment to Him, and loving obedience to His will.  Faith in Christ is foundational to the Gospel, because God’s righteousness comes only to those who believe (Jn. 1:12–13; 3:15–18; Rom. 1:16–17; 3:25–31; 5:1; Eph. 2:10).”

We need to recognise that justification comes through faith alone and cannot be earned or lost by anything we do.  It may help to think of faith in the following way:

Knowledge (Head)
How can we know we are saved if we do not know by whom or why?  To paraphrase Calvin, simply accepting whatever the Church teaches because we have handed over responsibility to it does not save us.  We must come to know for ourselves that God is our merciful Father and that, through Christ’s reconciliation, He gives us faith and the assurance of salvation.

Assent (Heart)
Head knowledge alone is not enough.  In our hearts, not only in our minds, must we understand this truth and fully embrace it.

Trust (Hands)
The final aspect is trust.  These stages are connected: first we understand what we have learned, then our hearts accept and love it, and finally we live in light of it.  As S.D. Ellison writes in The Solas of the Reformation, “The threefold movement involves gaining knowledge of the content, assenting to the content and finally trusting the content.”  That content is that God justifies sinners by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.  By faith we receive salvation through Christ, and that salvation shapes every part of the Christian life.

“He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of His own purpose and grace.  This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Saviour, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.  2 Timothy 1v9-10

“The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.  I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!”  Galatians 2v20-21

First published 2024, revised.