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8/14/2019 The Solas of the Reformation
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The Solas of theReformation
The Core Doctrines of
Protestantism
By
Nathan Brummel
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Contents
Preface..5
Chapter 1
Sola Scriptura:The Formal Principle.7
Chapter 2
Sola Fide: The Material Principle.17
Chapter 3
Sola Gratia: Grace So Amazing...29
Chapter 4
Solus Christus: Jesus, a Complete Savior.43
Chapter 5
Soli Deo Gloria: Glorifying God Alone in All Things.51
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Preface
The Protestant Reformation was used by God to reform His
church. Protestants have affirmed that the doctrine and life of the
church has to be constantly reformed in light of the truth of Scripture.
The core doctrines of the Reformation are what all Protestants
confess.The core doctrines of Protestantism need to be defended
today as well as developed in relationship to contemporary challenges
to the faith.
The first core doctrine is the truth that Gods Word is the
final authority in doctrine and life. Many Protestants today claim that
the Bible is riddled with errors and is only infallible with respect to
some vague redemptive message. The second core doctrine of
Protestantism is the doctrine of justification by faith alone. Todayecumenical theologians are challenging the value of the
Reformations understanding of justification. The Reformation was arecovery of the truth that salvation is a free gift of God.
The spread of religious pluralism needs that we need to
affirm afresh that salvation is found only in Jesus Christ. This truth
was expressed at the time of the Reformation with the motto solus
Christus.
Scripture Alone (sola Scriptura) means that the inerrantScriptures are the sole source of truth that can bind the conscience.
Christ Alone (solus Christus) means that salvation is fully
accomplished by Jesus Christ and Him alone. Grace Alone (sola
Gratia) means that we are rescued from spiritual death by the grace of
God alone and not by any human merit. Faith Alone (sola Fide)
means that we are justified by faith alone, apart from works. To God
Alone be Glory (Soli Deo Gloria) was the final motto of the
Reformers: God is a sovereign Savior who alone deserves glory.
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Sola Scriptura:
The Formal Principle
But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hastbeen assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them; And that
from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able tomake thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for
doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness;
That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all
good works.
II Timothy 3:14-17
At the time of the Reformation, the authority of the Scriptures
became a real issue. Luther did not realize how dangerous it was to
question the authority of the pope. He, assuming that the Scriptures
were the final authority, had nailed his 95 theses against indulgences
on the church door. At the Leipzig debate in late 1519, Luther was
cornered into admitting that the key issue between him and those whosupported indulgences was one of authority. The question was Didthe pope have a right to issue indulgences? Luthers debating
opponent was John Eck, a professor at the University of Ingolstadt.
Luther admitted that the Bible was the only infallible source of truth
and that popes and councils could err. He stated what became the
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formal principle of the Reformationthat all doctrine and life must
be normed by the Scriptures. Sometimes Luther would wonder
whether he was right in taking a stand against the teachings of the
Catholic Church. Perhaps something you believe is widely
challenged. Here was Luthers comfortand here is your comfort. Ifwhat we believe is taught in the Scriptures, then we are safe. If we
confess what the Scriptures confess, we believe the truthand can
believe in what we do with a good conscience.
The Only Rule of Faith
The Holy Scriptures are the only rule of faith. For men to
know the gospel of Christ and the will of God, it is necessary for Godto reveal Himself. What we learn from the creation is something
about the power and wisdom of God. Unless God reveals Himself
authoritativelyby His Holy Spirit, we are left to our own resources
to ferret out what is truth. Then we would need to depend on the
reasoning of philosophers, or creators of false religionswho engage
in a dark exchange. Maybe we should be dependent on the scientists
who cannot explain ultimate meaning and purpose.
The Scriptures are our final authority in all matters of
doctrine and life. What great usefulness they have! Because they are
the Word of Godthey are profitable for developing doctrine and
teaching how to live. We may not adopt, at random, any belief or
practice brought before us. We must distinguish between the word of
men and the Word of God. The Apostle Paul writes that, from the
time he was a child, Timothy had followed this rule of faith. His
grandmother and mother had read and explained the Scriptures fromhis earliest years. The Apostle Paul states that all Scripture is
profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in
righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly
furnished unto all good works (II Timothy 3:16b, 17).
Paul sketches the tremendous usefulness of this only rule of
faith. This only rule is beneficial, productive, and sufficient. Here is
found all that man needs to be taught and to learn to make him wise
for salvation; here and nowhere else! It is the rule by which everyreligious lie, falsehood, or fiction is refuted. It has authority for
doctrine and practice. Scripture is the indispensable instrument for the
teacher. It is useful for teaching true doctrine and for reprooffor
warnings about errors in doctrine. It is useful for correction. Not only
must the sinner be warned to leave the wrong path, but also he can be
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directed to the right path through the Scriptures. Scripture straightens
us out. It is useful for instruction in righteousness. The Scriptures are
normative for training. They not only reveal the doctrine of
redemption in Christ, but also Gods holy willHis moral will for
His people.Since the Scriptures are the only rule of how to live, the man
of God, who hears and obeys Scripture, will be perfect. In this
context, perfect means blamelessone who has nothing defective.
A person, who is capable and proficient in whatever they are called to
be or do, is complete.Jesus taught that the traditions of the elders must be rejected
because they contradict or undercut the Word of God. The Apostle
Paul warns against the sources of authority among pagans. Bewarelest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the
tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after
Christ (Colossians 2:8). Such is the authority of the truth found in
the Scriptures, that Paul rejects even the testimony of an angel. Butthough we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto
you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed
(Galatians 1:8). If any man teaches other than what Paul teaches as
the rule of faith in his epistles, he is accursed. (Gal. 1:9) The gospel
taught by Paul does not have a human origin. But I certify you,brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man.
For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the
revelation of Jesus Christ (Gal. 1:11,12).The Apocrypha is not a rule of faith. The Belgic Confession
rightly states that the Apocrypha cannot confirm any point of faith
much less detract from the authority of the other sacred books. Thebeliever immediately perceives that the Scriptures are the Word of
God. The Bible is self-authenticated. The Holy Spirit works the
genuineness of Scripture. (Article 4 of Belgic Confession)
Luther said: The Bible is alive, it speaks to me it has feet, itruns after me; it has hands, it lays hold of me. The sixty-six books of
the Bible, by their teaching, immediately attest to the heart of all
Spirit-indwell people as being the living oracles of God. Therefore,
believers are filled with a deep reverence whenever they hear thevoice of Godaddressing them from Holy Writ.
Is the Bible enough for us to know what God wants us to
believe or do? The Scriptures are sufficient to make Timothy wise
unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus (II Timothy3:15). God could have revealed more but He revealed what was
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sufficient. We will learn much more in Paradise. The Scriptures are
sufficient in the sense that they are comprehensive. Scripture is
sufficient to meet all spiritual needs of Gods people. The Psalmist
testifies: The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the
testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple (Psalm119:7). Since it is sufficient it is evil to add to it. For I testify untoevery man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any
man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues
that are written in this book (Rev. 22:18). If people, who claim to be
prophets today, really received special revelations from God, they
would carry the same divine authority as the Bible. Such prophets
therefore, have a view that considers Scripture as either incomplete or
inadequate. The Belgic Confession states that the Bible reveals whatis necessary for us to know in this life, to His glory and our
salvation (Art. 2). The Belgic Confession adds: whatsoever man
ought to believe unto salvation is sufficiently taught therein (Article
7).
The Scriptures are perspicuous. The Bible is so clear that
little children can understand it. God meant for His children to be able
to read Genesis 1 and learn about how He created the world. He had
the apostles record the New Testament Scripture in Koine Greek, the
common Greek of ordinary people. Scripture is so clear that Tyndale
wanted to translate it into idiomatic English so that the plowboy could
read and understand it. The reason why the Bible should be translated
into the common language is because Scripture is the simple, clear
Word of God. In a mere eleven weeks, in Wartburg Castle, Luther
translated the New Testament into colloquial German! The Roman
Catholic leaders had not wanted the Bible in German. One bishop wasafraid that women might read it! Luther wanted the translation to be
simple that children and maids could understand it.
Some things in Scripture are difficult to understand, but even
uneducated believers and children readily understand all that is
necessary for salvation and a godly life. Our problem, as Christians, is
not that we don't understand most of what we read, but we don't
celebrate as we ought or obey like we should.
Under Luthers leadership, Sola Scriptura became arallying cry of the Reformation. Let us illustrate Luthers
commitment to the Scriptures as the sole rule of faith by looking at
his writing on the issue of monastic vows. The Roman Catholic
Church placed Christian tradition, papal rulings, and decisions of
Councils on par with the Bible as a source of doctrine. At the Diet of
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Worms, Luther made his famous statement: Here I stand, I can do noother, so help me God. The reason why he would no t recant the
teaching in his books, as the Emperor demanded, was because his
conscience was captive to the authority of the Bible. Luther said: A
simple layman armed with Scripture is to be believed above a pope orcardinal without it. The books of the theologians are fallible. Beforehis death, Dr. Luther wrote more than 60,000 pages, yet he hoped that
all my books would disappear and the Holy Scriptures alone be
read.
At the Diet of Worms, Luther was by imperial edict named aconvicted heretic and the citizens of the Empire were commanded
not to harbor him. But Elector Frederick, Luthers prince, kidnapped
Luther and hid him at Wartburg castle. Luther let his hair and beardgrow and dressed like a knight. He was called Knight George.
In Wartburg Castle, Luther was forced to face the issue of the
vows of the monks and priests. Back in Wittenberg, monks were
leaving the monasteries and wedding bells were starting to ring.
Should Luther keep the vows that he had made when he became a
monk to be celibate? What advice should he give to monks and
priests who were wondering if they needed to keep the vows they
made? Luther wrote an important work entitled: The Judgment of
Martin Luther on Monastic Vows. Roman Catholic Church teachingssaid that a man who wanted to be a monk or priest must take a vow of
celibacy, poverty, and obedience. Let us see how the issue of
authority affected how Martin Luther dealt with the matter of vows.
Inventions of Men versus the Teaching of Scripture
Luther responded that such vows run counter to the Word of
God! The first thing that Luther says when he gets to his subject is
this: There is no doubt that the monastic vow is in itself a most
dangerous thing because it is without the authority and example of
Scripture. It is purely a most pernicious invention of men no
different from all the other inventions of men. Luther uses the clarity
of Scripture as an argument against monastic vows: The Scriptures
clearly compel us to condemn whatever is only a matter of rules,statutes, orders, schools of thought, and, in addition, whatever falls
short of, or is contrary to, or goes beyond Christ, even if these things
had been handed over by angels from heaven or confirmed by mighty
miracles. Since the Bible teaches office-bearers could marry and thatmarrying is a matter of free choice, then a church that forbids it
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disobeys the gospel. We read of the Apostle Paul asserting his right to
marry and we read that Peter had a wife. When the Bible gives the
qualifications for office-bearers, it never requires a vow of celibacy or
poverty. It was the Gnostics who created this belief in an exclusive
group of Christians. Luther believed that these vows, with nofoundation in the Word, were to be rejected.
Jerome, an early church father, agreed with the Roman
Catholic Church, in this matter of monastic vows. He implied that a
person who does not marry his virgin has extra merits in the sight of
God. Luther accused Jerome of making divisions among the peopleof God by implying one who remains single is holier than one who
marries. Luther argued that Christians were not bound by sinful vows
that stood in the way of godly living.Second, Luther taught that such required vows were contrary
to the commandments of God. Vows of obedience to an abbot were
evil because they denied the authority of parents over their children.
In taking ones vows, a monk was called to transfer his obediencefrom parents to a superior. Such a vow allows one to reject the
authority of the father in the sphere of the family.
The Scriptures also teach that human traditions may not stand
in the way of a son providing for his needy parentslike claiming
Corbinthat he had given gifts to the temple instead. The result oftaking monastic vows means that a son no longer needs to take care of
a father who comes to poverty. Luther also neglected his parents in
his early years of being a monk, but later he saw his error and
apologized to his father.
Third, Luther argued that required monastic vows were
against evangelical freedom. Evangelical freedom is a freedom ofconscience which liberates the conscience from works. The Pope
destroyed the freedom of Christians and did not teach about freedom.
Luther quoted Jesus: But in vain they do worship me, teaching for
doctrines the commandments of men (Matthew 15:9). He defendsthe freedom of the conscience of the Christian: The conscience
belongs to Christ and Christ to the conscience, and no one intrudes
into the secret bedchamber of this spouse and his brideand so, if
you vow to take up the religious life, and if you live with men of likemind, with a clear conscience that in monasticism you seek nothing to
your advantage in your relationship with God [but because it is the
best life for you], then in that case you are neither wrong to take
vows, nor wrong to live in this way. Yet, the Roman CatholicChurch demanded a vow of monks and office-bearers not to marry.
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wind blows and bears a sailboat on his course, so the Bible writers
were borne along by the Holy Spirit.
John Calvin wrote: The Law and the Prophets are not a
doctrine delivered according to the will and pleasure of men, but
dictated by the Holy Spirit. Peter also wrote: Knowing this first,that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation (II
Peter 1:20). The word translated interpretation refers to something
that is released, sent out, or sent forth. In this verse, the Greek noun is
a genitive of source, indicating origin. In other words, no message of
Scripture was originated and sent forth by mens own will.The Holy Spirit did not suppress the personality of the human
writers; but equipped and prepared each writer. The idea is not that
men were inspired in the sense that we talk about a person withmusical genius like Mozart. Rather, God so directed the Apostle
Pauland exercised His providence in his life and so filled him with
the Holy Spirit that certain letters he wrote were inspired Scripture.
The Holy Spirit, the Primary Author, suggested to the mind of the
human writer the very language and words that would be the most
appropriate vehicle for revealing Gods truth. God made the mind and
heart of man, and His Spirit knows how to guide them. He filled the
minds of the prophets and apostles with light and guided them in
word and thought.
All Scripture is inspired, not just part of it. Some, wrongly,try to translate this: Every God- breathed Scripture is also useful.
This leaves open the possibility that there is other Scripture that is not
inspired and therefore not useful. This idea opens up the possibility
that some Scripture is not inspired by God. The problem with this
rendering is that the Bible would then be worthless as a reliable guideto divine truth. We could not figure out what was inspired and what
was not. John Calvin rightly said: We must not pick and cull the
Scriptures to please our own fancy, but must receive the whole
without exception.
The Bible is verbally inspired. The very words in the Greek
and Hebrew were inspired. The thought cannot be separated from the
words, which are its vehicles. Luther believed that the Scriptures were
verbally inspired. For this reason Luther, as a biblical expositor, caredabout the minutiae details of grammar in the Scriptures. In fact his
Reformation discovery of justification by faith alone grew out of his
careful analysis of the grammar and meaning of a Greek word for
righteousness in Romans 1:17. His statements show his belief inverbal inspiration and inerrancy:
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"We must regard every tittle and letter of the Bible as more
important than the whole world and tremble before it as
before God himself."
"The Holy Scripture is Gods Word, written, and so to say,
in-lettered."
"The Bible is Gods Word written, presented in letters, as
Christ is the eternal Word presented in human nature."
Since the Scriptures are inspired, they are inerrant. The
doctrine of verbal inspiration leads directly into the doctrine ofinerrancy. If the Scriptures are all verbally inspiredthey will be true
and right on whatever issue they address. Luther wrote: The
Scriptures have never erred. Only the Scriptures are the infallible
rule of faith. The Scriptures alone are inerrant.
Jesus taught inerrancy when He said the Scriptures could not
be broken. During a debate on blasphemy with the Jews, Jesus quoted
from the Old Testament and gave them a reason to wrestle with
words. In John 10:34-35, he said: Is it not written in your law, I said,
Ye are gods? If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God
came, and the scripture cannot be broken. He was referring to Psalm
82:6 and pointing out that the Scriptures do not err. The idea of the
Psalmist was that the judges were like gods because they exercised
the authority of God in the civil realm. But the key issue is that Jesus
believed that the Old Testament Scriptures could not be broken.
Nothing could be alleged against them. They were the Word of God.The Belgic Confession, in line with Jesus, states that nothing can be
alleged against the Scriptures and that Christians must believe
without any doubt, all things contained in them (Article 4).
The Scriptures are therefore, absolutely incomparable. No
other book, library, or anything else in the world, is able to make a
lost sinner wise for salvation. This awesome view of the Scriptures
places Holy Scripture on an entirely different plain than any human
writings or ecclesiastical decisions.
Read the Scriptures
Children of the Reformation must submit to the teachings of
Scripture. Before we submit to it we need to read it and hear it
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preached. If you believe that the Bible is Gods very Wordstudy it,
meditate upon it, and obey it. What does it gain you if you believe
that the Bible is Gods Word and yet do not listen to God speak in His
Word? In the West where there is a multiplicity of Biblesthere is a
growing ignorance of the doctrines and stories in Scripture. We mustread the Bible with reverence. Calvin said: We owe to the Scripturethe same reverence which we owe to God; because it has proceeded
from him alone, and has nothing belonging to man mixed with it.
The Scriptures must be studied in our homes and taught to
our children.
Church members, filled with the Spirit, must meditate upon
the Scriptures in Bible studies.
The Bible is a trustworthy source of encouragement. It isGods authoritative means of encouraging and sustaining us. When
Luther learned that his father had died, he took the Psalms with him
into a room where he cried so hard he was not himself the next day.
The Scriptures were his strength and nourishment.
Search the Scripturesfor this rule of faith will teach you
that Christ alone is Savior. Paul wrote that the Scriptures are able to
make you wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus(vs. 15b). The faith of Christ is the sum of the Scriptures. Paul points
out how the Old Testament Scriptures predicted the coming of
Christeverything in the Scriptures culminated in Christ. The New
Testament is the revelation of the incarnation, ministry, death,
resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ. The Scriptures teach that
the sinner is justified by grace alone through faith alone in Christ.
Cherish the Christ Crucified revealed in the Scriptures and do not add
human commandments as requirements that must be satisfied to besaved.
Whenever human commandments are brought forward, you
must ward them off with this shield; Scripture is profitable. If we
believe that the Scriptures are the only rule of faith, we must develop
our doctrines from the Scriptures. When we have a disagreement with
another Christian we must go back to the Bible. We need to hold to
principles that are firmly grounded in the Rule of Faith. Every
doctrine that we hold must come straight out of the Bible or belogically deduced from other teachings. This is the way for the church
to live in the peace, joy, and what Luther called evangelicalfreedom.
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2Sola Fide:
The Material PrincipleKnowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by
the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that
we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of
the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.
Galatians 2:16
Justification by Faith Alone
One of the battle cries of the Reformation was Sola Fide.This has been called the material principle of the Reformation.
It was Martin Luthers rediscovery of the Scriptural doctrine
of justification by faith that opened the eyes of the Reformers to the
heart of the gospel of grace.
God uses His Word to protect and reform the church. One
Scripture that God used powerfully to reform a church fallen into
great heresy was Romans 1:17, which reads: For therein is therighteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The
just shall live by faith. The Medieval Church taught that faith plusworks justified the sinner; and that this justification is an ongoing
matter. God used Romans 1:17 to shake the very foundations of an
apostate church; and to shake the whole continent of Europe
religiously, socially, and politically. God brought about a great
Reformation in the 16th
century when He opened the eyes of Martin
Luther to understand the meaning of this text. God used Luthersteaching, of the truths in Romans 1:17, to bring about reform in the
churcha return to the teaching of the apostles.
This verse is a revelation of the heart of the gospel. Merle
DAubigne wrote: This powerful text had a mysterious influence onthe life of Luther. It was a creative sentence both for the reformer and
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for the Reformation. It was in these words God then said, Let therebe light! And there was light. Romans 1:17 deals with the nature of
the gospel. It deals with the revelation of the righteousness of God.
Things do not get any bigger or more important than this. If you think
that you have more important or bigger issues in your life, you aredeluded.
Since we are speaking about high and holy matters, exactness
in language and terminology is necessary.
Righteousness Credited
The gospel reveals that God has credited His righteousness to
usbelievers. Luther, at first, hated this verse because he thought that
the revelation of Gods righteousness was more bad news. He thoughtthat this referred to Gods condemning righteousness. The
righteousness of God does not mean righteousness as an attribute of
Gods being. It is true that God is righteous. Everything that God does
is righteous. He always acts in line with perfect justice. Righteousness
means conformity to Gods law and Gods demands. If Christ was
merely a revelation of the holiness and justice of God and no more,He would be the most terrifying and alarming news that we could
ever discover.
It is no wonder that Martin Luther, as a Roman Catholic
monk and lecturer in theology, hated this verse when he
misinterpreted the righteousness of God to be His holiness and
justice. God demands righteousness from us. But we do not have it to
give. So we are guilty, condemned and perishing. Seeing the
righteousness of God as Gods standard of judgment drove Luther todespair.
At least Luther was honest with himself about his sinfulness.
Many men die thinking that they can bring their own righteousness to
God. Most people do not even think they need to strive, like Luther,
to accomplish various spiritual feats in order to be righteous before
God. They suppose that the way they are living right now is simply
enough to get them into Heaven. Luther felt the need to perform more
and more good works to become justified. He slept in the cold and atelittle until his body looked like a skeleton. He made pilgrimages and
felt the need to make penance for his sins.
The doctrine of justification in the Roman Catholic Church
gave Luther torment and fear. He was convinced that he had failed to
meet Gods holy standard. By bitter experience, he knew that he
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could not be justified by works because he knew the sinfulness of his
heart; and the purity of God.
When Luther was giving lectures on the Epistle to the
Romans, he came to Romans 1:17 and spent much time meditating on
the meaning of these words. He was on a quest for inner peaceforpeace with God! He writes: I laboured diligently and anxiously as to
how to understand Pauls word in Romans 1:17, where he says: 'the
righteousness of God is revealed' in the gospel. I sought long and
knocked anxiously, for the expression: 'the righteousness of God'
blocked the way." He thought this was a description of the character
of God, and added: I saw it and I wished always that God had not
made the gospel known, because this fuller revelation of the
righteousness of God seemed to make me utterly hopeless andhelpless, and I did not know what to do with myself; the
'righteousness of God' blocked the way."
The first positive thing we can say is that the gospel of Jesus
is as much concerned about righteousness as the law was. The gospel
of Jesus Christ is as insistent upon mans righteousness, in the
presence of God, as the law ever was. The gospel does not do away
with the law. It is not because Gods righteousness was easily
satisfiedno, it took the death of Christ. God required an infinitely
hurtful consequence for His SonChrist had to pay for all of oursins. He suffered Hell-like punishments in our place before Godsjustice was, strictly speaking, satisfied.
Our ultimate problem, as sinners, is the righteous wrath of
God. Gods wrath separates the sinner from Him and casts him into
Hell. The gospel is mainly the good news that God Himself has
rescued us from the wrath of God.It is true that God demands a righteousness that we do not
have. But that is not the gospel. The gospel is that God gives to elect
sinners the righteousness that He demands. The gospel is that God has
intervened and supplied us with a righteousness that is not our own.
As Luther wrestled with Romans 1:17, he came to understand
that Paul was writing about a righteousness that God gives to
believers. Thus I raged with a fierce and troubled conscience.
Nevertheless, I beat importunately upon Paul at [Romans 1:17], mostardently desiring to know what St. Paul wanted. At last, by the mercy
of God, meditating day and night, I gave heed to the context of the
words, namely, In it the righteousness of God is revealed, as it is
written: He who through faith is righteous shall live. There I began to
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understand [that] the righteousness of God isrighteousness withwhich [the] merciful God justifies us by faith.
God credits His righteousness to man. The quote from the
Old Testament shows that Paul does not have in mind mainly that
God is Himself righteous, but that He imputes or credits Hisrighteousness to man so that man can be just.
What we cannot provide on our own, God imputes to us so
that we are forgiven and acquitted before Him. We get a right
standing with God even though we have no righteousness of our own.
We get acquitting in Gods courtroom even though we are, inourselves, guilty. God has pronounced us righteous with His own
righteousness. The gospel reveals that Jesus purchased a declaration
of our right standing before God. It is now possible for sinful sons ofAdam to stand sinless before God!
The righteousness of God is revealed in the gospel. It is a
righteousness that is imputed to believers. The gospel reveals that
God justifies us so that we are able to stand in His presence. The
righteousness of God is what enables you to stand before God, now
and in the Day of Judgment. The central purpose of the incarnation
was that God might enable us to stand with righteousness in the
presence of God. This is the righteousness of God.
The righteousness of Christ is called the righteousness of God
to emphasize the quality of this righteousness. It is a perfect, divine
righteousness. It is a God-righteousness. So, this righteousness
stands in contrast to any man-righteousness on the part of a sinner. It
is a righteousness that the Son of God earned and merited for us. The
Lord Jesus satisfied the law of God on our behalf, perfectly and in
every sense. The gospel announces that God sent Jesus to be sin forus. It is a righteousness from outside ofourselves. Luther said: For
God does not want to save us by our own but by an extraneous
righteousness, one that does not originate in ourselves but comes to us
from beyond ourselves, which does not arise on earth but comes from
heaven. God puts to our account the righteousness of Christ. God
cancels all our debts because Christ paid them. Positively, He puts all
the perfection and righteousness of Christ to my account.
As we grasp these doctrines, we come to see what good newsthe gospel is. As the hymn says: Jesus, thy blood and righteousness
My beauty are, my glorious dress.Luther came to understand that the righteousness of God is
not Gods retributive justice but the righteousness freely imputed to
the sinner by Gods sovereign grace, on the basis of Christs
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substitutionary atonement. The Bible became a book of light and joy
to him. Luther, at once, ran through the Scriptures with ecstasy,
seeing everywhere how this righteousness opened salvation to him.
Revealed through Faith Alone
God gives the righteousness of Christ to us freely, for
nothing, without money and without price. He justifies us in spite of
the fact that we have done no works to earn it.
The Apostle Paul tells us that this righteousness becomes ours
from faith to faith. The contrast is between faitha gift of God,
and works by which a man merits. Faith stands in contradiction to
everything that is meritorious in man. When you trust in Christ you
receive an undeserved justification. The best news in the world to
people who know they are sinners and God is holy is that Christ was
sacrificed for His people and that sinners are reckoned righteous
through faith. You can notice the importance of faith in verses 16 and
17 where, within the space of two verses, the Apostle mentions the
idea of faith four times. Obviously, this is a vitally important concept.
Faith involves spiritual sight. Faith is true belief about whoChrist is. Faith is trust in Jesus Christ for forgiveness. Paul does not
mean that faith is some kind of a lighter demand that God now
makes of uslighter than the law, that is. Faith is simply theinstrument by which we receive the righteousness of God.
Our faith does not constitute our righteousness. Our faith
does not justify us. It is the righteousness of Christ that is the grounds
of our justificationand the source is the Sovereign mercy of God in
giving us the free gift of grace. It is nothing but the blood and merit ofChrist that justifies us. It is through faith in Christ that the
righteousness of Christ comes to us. Paul speaks of the
instrumentality of faith. The righteousness of God is revealedefficiently made known unto justificationonly through faith.
Trusting, believing faith in Christ is the channel by which
justification becomes ours.
It is possible for sinful sons of Adam to be free from the
frustration of trying to earn righteousness and Heaven.Why does Paul speak of faith to faith? (OUT OF FAITH
AND INTO FAITH) He means that it is faith from beginning to end.
The combination is rhetorical. It is intended to emphasize that faith
and nothing but faith can put us into right relationship with God.
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From start to finish, this righteousness is by faith alone. That faith is
Gods gift. It is all a matter of sovereign grace, not of works.
Martin Luther tells us that it was the quotation from
Habakkuk that gave him liberty: As it is written, The just shall live
by faith. That was the actual phrase that opened his eyes. Luther hadbeen trying to work a righteousness according to the law. But now, he
grasped that Christians were righteous by faith. The point in
Habakkuk is that faith is the key to ones relationship to God. Thosewho are righteous by faith shall livethey shall go on living through
all eternity.
So Luther saw the righteousness of God is not referring to the
attribute of Godit is the righteousness that God credits to believers.
What a transformation occurred! From a miserable, legalistic, bead-counting monk who fasted to merit salvation, he became a herald of
the gospel of free grace. We are justified by faith through the mercy
of God alone.
Being justified by faith, we want to live grateful lives. Luther
said that the Christian was, at the same time, just and sinner. This
simultaneous condition refers to how the sinner is counted just
because of the imputation of the righteousness of Christ, while he
remains, in himself, a sinner. His legal state is innocent. His actual
condition is sinner and saint. Before his discovery, Luther thought
that he had to be perfectly holy before he could be righteous. Luther
did not mean that the sinner, who is still a sinner, is an unchanged
person. The Holy Spirit, who gives the gift of faith, also sanctifies the
believer. Christians inevitably strive for and achieve a level of
practical righteousness.
When the Bible demands you to do something, do not think:I must do this to take away my guilt and to get forgiveness and right
standing with God. Rather think: I will obey God because He has
removed my guilt and given me the gift of the righteousness of God.
Forensic Justification
Paul makes it ever so clear, in Galatians 2:16, that the
believer is justified by faith alone: Knowing that a man is notjustified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even
we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the
faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of
the law shall no flesh be justified. In fact, he teaches thatjustification has to do with one's legal status. Justification is a forensic
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actthe legal act by which the Judge declares the inmate innocent.
Protestants say that the Bible teaches that justification is a forensic or
legal actin distinction from sanctification. Sanctification is the truth
that the Spirit makes justified believers actually holy. Justification is
given as a legal pronouncement, and not as a reference to peopleactually becoming more holy.
The word forensic is not as well known in Christian circles,
as it should be. It is not a term that is foreign to ordinary language,
but is often used in the newspaper or on T.V. in reference to criminal
investigations and trials. Forensic evidence is evidence that will be
presented at a trial. When the term forensic is used with respect to
the doctrine of justification, it has to do with a legal or judicial matter
involving some type of declaration. The doctrine of justificationinvolves a legal matter of the highest magnitude. It involves a matter
of judgment before the supreme tribunal of God. The most basic issue
we face is how we hope to survive a judgment before the court of an
absolutely holy and absolutely just God. God is a just Judge.
Perhaps the most important fact revealed in Holy Scripture is
the one which men most presumptuously ignore, the fact that God is
just; justice and truth are the habitation of His throne. It is notpossible for us to understand the grace of God or the cross apart from
the justice of God. Because the Lord our God is just, He must deal
with men upon the grounds of strict justice. The justice of God is the
rectitude and righteousness of His character that compels Him to deal
with all of His creatures in strict accordance with their desserts.
Because God is just, the only way He can save a guilty sinner is if He
can make the sinner guiltless and sinless in the eyes of His own law
and justice. This act of Gods matchless grace, by which He declaresmen to be guiltless, is what the Apostle Paul calls justification.
Every believer, in Jesus Christ, is truly justified and perfectly
righteous in the sight of God.
Simultaneously Just and a Sinner
Now we have laid the groundwork for appreciating an
important Latin phrase, coined by Martin Luther: Simul Justus EtPeccator. This Latin phrase means: At the same time just and
sinner. Luthers famous statement gets to the heart of the issueregarding forensic justification. This simultaneous condition refers to
how the sinner is counted just forensically, by virtue of the imputation
of the righteousness of Christ, while he remains in himself a sinner.
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Before his Reformational discovery, Luther thought he had to be
actually holy before he could be righteous. We too, can think that
God considers us guilty because we still are such sinners. Luther did
not mean that the sinner, who is still a sinner, is an unchanged person.
He does believe that such a justified man is being sanctified. Butwhile man continues to sinhe is reckoned perfectly righteous by
God. This is Scriptural: But to him that worketh not, but believeth on
him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness
(Romans 4:5).
In this context, Luther made a statement that Scott Hahn, a
Roman Catholic defender, has jumped all over. Luther had a very
graphic way of expressing truths. He said that he could commit
adultery several times a day and still be justified by faith alone. ButLuther has a powerful way of expressing his convictions, which,
when taken literally, are not only horribly anti-Christian, but also
anti-Martin Luther. He wrote two dissertations against
Antinomianism. This statement, cited by Hahn, was just an
inexcusable but unforgettable way of Luthers trying to say that his
works, or his morality, were not the foundation of justification by
faith alone. Another Catholic writer says correctly: Luther nevermeant that a habitual adulterer, murderer, liar, could be justified by
faith alone. Otherwise, he would not have opposed Karlstadt,
Agricola, and other easy- believers of his time. Even Thomas
Aquinas teaches the justificatio impii, that is, the justification of the
impious!
To emphasize that this righteousness was not an actual
righteousness that we possess, but the imputed righteousness of
Christ, Luther called it an alien righteousness. It is iustitia extranosa righteousness from outside of ourselves.
Roman Catholics claim that justification by faith alone is a
legal fiction. In doing this, Rome declares the Biblical Gospel a
legal fiction. We contend that there is nothing fictional about
imputation! God imputed our sins to Christ. Christs righteousness is
imputed to us. We need a righteousness that is greater than whatever
righteousness inheres in us. For this reason, Luther insisted that the
righteousness, by which we are justified, is a righteousness that is"extra nos"outside of or apart from us that is imputed to us. It
is ajustitia alienum, an alien righteousness, a righteousness given by
another in our behalf. Our righteousness remains as filthy rags. We
must be adorned and cloaked by Christs righteousnessthat alonecan cover the nakedness of our sin.
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Faith the Sole Instrument
The motto of the Reformationsola fidemeans that the
elect sinneris justified by faith alone. Faith is the sole instrument ofjustification.
In Galatians 2, the Apostle Paul takes issue with Peter and
Barnabas who gave in to Judaizing radicals. Under peer pressure from
Pharisaical Christians who came from James, Peter and Barnabas
started observing Jewish dietary laws again. They would not eat with
Gentiles. Paul discusses how Judaizers wanted Titus to be
circumcised. Paul makes very clear, in verse 16, that a man is not
justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ.Lets look at each part in this phrase sola fide by faith
alone. First, lets look at the little word by. By means that faith
is the means or instrument by which we are justified. We are not
justified on account of our faith. The Bible never says that. What it
says is that we are justified by faith. Faith is the instrument or means
of justification. The word instrument unfortunately sounds very
mechanical. However, this means is itself the saving work of the Holy
Spirit through the Word by which a sinner is brought into a living,
personal relationship with God. Dr. Joel Beeke rightly points out that
a condition generally denotes a meritorious quality for the sake ofwhich a benefit is conferred. He says: Though faith is the means
through which God works salvation, faith is not and cannot be a
human condition. If faith were the conditional (i.e. meritorious)
ground of justification, salvation by human merit would be
introduced. It would subvert the gospel by reducing it to simply onemore version of justification by works (Gal. 4:21-5:12).
The great question of the ages is: how is this justification
accomplished? How can a man be justified with God? Or how can
he be clean that is born of a woman? Job 25:4. Find the answer tothat question and you will have learned the gospel. If you have not
found the answer to that question, you do not yet know the gospel.
The answer is that we are justified by faith alone.
What is faith? What is the meaning of this word faith in the phrase by faith alone? Faith is, first of all, trust in Christ. The
Heidelberg Catechism teaches that faith is knowledge and an assured
confidence. John Gerstner has made an acrostic out of the word:
FAITH stands for Forsaking all I Trust Him. He has another
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acrostic for the Greek word for faith: PISTISPolluted I surrender
to Jesus Savior.
What does it mean that we are justified by faith alone? What
does the word alone in the phrase by faith alone teach? The word
alone means that we are justified only by faithand not by anyother means. Paul writes: Therefore we conclude that a man is
justified by faith without the deeds of the law(Romans 3:28). The
Reformed Faith can be illustrated by Faith (LEADS TO)
justification + works. The Catholic error is: Faith + Works
Justification. A caricature of Protestants is the following:
FaithJustificationWorks. But we are not justified by a faith that
is alone. Most Roman Catholic theologians incorrectly identify
Reformation doctrine with Antinomianism. Antinomianism is theheresy that justified Christians do not need to obey the Ten
Commandments.
If we Protestants taught that a sinner could be saved without
becoming godly, we would be teaching an absolute, damning lie.
Jesus saves His people not only from the guilt of sin, but also from
the dominating power of sin. Our Savior is called Jesus for He
saves His people from their sins, not in them. We can never say too
often: Justification is by faith alone, but NOT by the faith that is
alone. Justification is by a working faith. Justification with God isapart from the meritof works. That does not mean that justification is
apart from the existence of works. Christianity teaches justification
apart from the merit of works.
Easy-believism teaches justification apart from the existence
of works. Easy-believism is a view where a person claims to
acknowledge Jesus as Savior but will not acknowledge Him as Lord.It is the position that Dietrich Bonhoeffer critiqued as propounding
cheap grace.
We are justified on the basis of Christs works alone. We
believe in justification by worksin one sense. Justification is
ultimately by worksthe works of Jesus Christ. His active and
passive righteousness is the basis for our justification. Justification is
by worksthe works of Jesus Christ!
How important is this doctrine ofsola fide? Why make a bigdeal about it? Martin Luther called it the article that determines
whether the church is standing or falling. What did Luther mean by
that? He meant that the true church would confess justification by
faith alone. The church that denies or compromises this truthis thefalse church. This issue is very serious. The Roman Catholic position
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is wicked. It is the doctrine of the Pharisees. The Apostle Paul calls
the heresy of the Judaizers, in supposing that justification is by faith
and works, another gospel. If any man preach any other gospel
unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed (Galatians
1:9). Paul here curses those who teach justification by faith andworks. He says that Christians who buy into these doctrines are
bewitched. Paul teaches that if you try to be justified by being
circumcisedChrist shall profit you nothing! Ye are fallen from
grace!
Believing sola fide is so important because it involves
believing the gospel. This issue deals with the heart of the gospel. The
gospel is that we are saved by gracethat we are justified by faith
alone. To deny this is to blaspheme the cross of Jesus. Paul concludesby saying: But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of
our Lord Jesus Christ. John Richard Neuhausa leading Roman
Catholic and the editor of First Things magazine claims that
confessional Protestants are nit-picking over the compromising
documentEvangelicals and Catholics Together. We agree with R.C.
Sproul when he responded that the truth of forensic justification is not
a nit. It is the heart of the gospel.
A Pathway into Paradise
When Luther discovered the meaning of Romans 1:17, it was
the hap piest day of his life. He testified: Here I felt that I was
altogether born again and had entered paradise itself through open
gates. What a happy day it was when Luther discovered that God's
righteousness refers to Gods verdict that the believer is righteousbecause of the cross of Jesus. Luthers joy is yours, as you trust in thesame Christ. By a judicial verdict, God has found believers innocent.
Have you learned the sum of Gods Gospel from this text?We Christians have a righteousness not our ownand one impossible
for us to have ever attained. All of our own righteousnesses are not
righteousnesses at all, but only filthy rags.
The peace that transcends all understanding now filled
Luthers mind and heart. His quest for inner peace was ended. He didnot have to do anything to be justified. He felt like a prisoner who is
declared innocent and righteous by the Judge of heaven and earth.
Does the fact that you have known for many years that God
has acquitted you, leave you without a response of joy? Consider your
dying momentsand how suddenly the doctrine of your justification,
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by grace alone, through faith alone, will rise up like a mighty
mountain of comfort!
I pray that you would find, in this verse, a pathway into
paradise.
Another time Luther said: As I had formerly hated theexpression the righteousness of God I now began to regard it as my
dearest and most comforting word; so that this expression of Pauls
became to me in very truth a Gate to Paradise. Is there anything
more important than being reconciled to our God?
Every day we need to feed on the wonderful gospel truth that
God gives us the righteousness we need. You live by an alien
righteousness. You are righteous not because of your performance,
but because of Christs. You need to trust in Christ as Savior and asthe One whose righteousness alone with avail you before God.
Since we are reconciled to God, we can dwell in loving
relationship with God. John Calvin wrote: In order to be loved by
God, we must first become righteous, since he regards
unrighteousness with hatred. By faith, we know that Gods
countenance smiles towards us. The more we understand the gospel,
the more we behold Gods favor more clearly.
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones wrote: And we cannot deal with
this without reminding ourselves that it was when he came to
understand this that Martin Luther truly became a Christian. It was
the understanding of this phrase that really produced the Protestant
Reformation. So there is a sense in which we can say that if we as
Protestants do not truly understand the 17th
verse of the 1st
chapter of
this Epistle, we are unworthy of the name of Protestantindeed, it is
even doubtful whether we are Christian at all. There is no more vitalverse in the whole of Scripture than this 17thverse.
Have you appropriated this great text? Do you trust in Christ
alone for righteousness? Are you assured that you can survive a
judgment in the court of an absolutely holy and just God? Then
celebrate the revelation of the righteousness of God from faith to
faith.
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3
Sola Gratia:Grace So
AmazingIsaiah 35:4-6
"Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold,
your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompence; he
will come and save you. Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,
and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then shall the lame manleap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness
shall waters break out, and streams in the desert."
A Favorite Hymn
The song Amazing Grace! is one of the best-loved andmost widely known hymns sung by Christians world-wide. Probably,
more Christians have memorized the stanzas of this hymn than any
other. The music and the words combine to express the wonder of
amazing grace. How precious and profound and exuberant are the
famous lines of the opening stanza:
Amazing grace! how sweet the soundThat saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found,
Was blind, but now I see.
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What power stanza six has to revive the Christians hope andput the brevity of life in perspective and the awesome glory of an
eternity spent in praise:
When weve been there ten thousand years,Bright shining as the sun,
Weve no less days to sing Gods praise
Than when weve first begun.
This hymn is indeed a precious song, attractive and
meaningful because of the truths it confesses.
The third sola of the Reformation was sola gratia, which
means by grace alone. This motto reflected the fact that theReformers had a deep understanding that salvation was not because of
human merit but because of divine grace. The salvation of elect
sinners is undeserved. Grace is amazing because it is unexpected that
God would sacrifice His only begotten Son to save enemies! Grace is
unexpected because it is undeserved.
There is rich theology in the six stanzas of Amazing Grace.
We want to draw the nectar out of this delectable flower. The
Psalmist said that Gods word was sweeter to him than honey from
the honeycomb. Certainly the truths in this hymn are sweeter than
honey to the believer. This is a song that leads us to savor God in all
His grace.
What is striking about this hymn is its brutal honesty about
our fallenness and natural depravity. Other hymns might emphasize
just the positive, but this is precisely the diamond of Divine grace.
This grace, in contrast to the blackness of our former blindness andlostness, gives impact to this song.
What exactly are we singing when we take this famous hymn
upon our lips? Unfortunately, even unconverted men and women
singers add this hymn to their repertoire. This is hypocrisy. If you
have not experienced the grim reality of spiritual blindness and
lostness and have not experienced the wonder of Divine grace, this is
not a song that should come from your lips.
We live in a day when evangelicals are singing many songsthat do not contain either good or rich theology. What is the biblical
truth that John Newton expressed through his own experience in this
hymn?
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The Author
The author of this hymn, the former slave ship captain, John
Newton understood by long experience the depravity of fallen man
because he had tasted his own depravity and sinfulness for many longyears. A rebel against God, he left England for Africa where he was
involved in the brutal slave trade.
John Newton was born in London on July 24, 1725. He was
the son of a commander of a merchant ship that sailed the
Mediterranean. He learned about the Bible from his mother but she
died when he was still a child. Later, he turned his back on the faith of
his mother. In 1744, Newton was pressed into service on a British
man-of-war ship. Finding the conditions on board intolerable, he fledthe ship, but he was recaptured, brutally flogged and demoted from
midshipman to common seaman.
He asked to be exchanged into service on an African slave
ship. This took him to Africa where he became the servant of a slave
trader, who, with his wife, brutally abused him. In 1748, he escaped
and became a captain of his own slave-ship.
Before his conversion in 1748, John Newton lived an
adventure-filled life along the African coast. He wrote about his
experiences in his autobiography entitled An Authentic Narrative.
During a violent storm, he wrote in his journal that all seemed lost
and that the ship would certainly sink. As he wrote, he cried out:
Lord, have mercy upon us! Alone in his cabin, he reflected on whathe had prayed and began to believe that God had used the storm to
turn his attention to Him. Later he referred to this as the moment of
his Great Deliverance.Slowly, God began to work in Newtons life. He learned
Latin while still plying the slave trade; but being transformed by the
gospel, he became one of the early influential evangelicals in England
who opposed slavery. He worked with men like William Wilberforce
to outlaw slavery in the British domains.
When sickness made sailing impossible, he began to study
Hebrew and Greek and became friends with George Whitefield, a
famous Calvinist preacher. In middle age, Newton was ordained aminister in the Church of England and accepted the curacy of Olney
in Buckinghamshire.
Gods sovereign grace took hold of John Newton and this
wicked sailor was transformed into a preacher of the Holy Gospel of
Jesus Christ.
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As a minister in the Church of England in the 1700s, John
Newton, penned this song in 1779. He was devoted to the doctrines of
grace believed, confessed, and taught by John Calvin, the great
Protestant reformer in Geneva, Switzerland.
Newton and Calvin stood in a long line of preachers who,going back to the great bishop of Hippo, St. Augustine, believed in
the sovereignty of God in salvation.
At the turn of the 5th
century, Augustine of Hippo took issue
with a British monk named Pelagius, who denied the reality of
original sin. He did not think that man was born sinful and argued the
reason why children sin is that they learn from the example of their
parents. Augustine responded by pointing the church to Scripture,
which teaches that babies are born in sin. King David wrote in Psalm51:5: Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother
conceive me. Augustine developed the idea of original sin and
pollution. In this fallen world, men are born in sin. That is why we
need to become new creatures through the new birth.
The great Reformation of the 16th
century began in 1517
when Martin Luther, an Augustinian monk in Wittenberg, Germany
nailed 95 thesis on the door of the Castle Church. His 95 theses were
directed against the evil of indulgences. Roman Catholic leaders were
claiming that if you paid money for a piece of paper that granted you
forgiveness for all of your sins, when you died you would not need to
burn for millions of years in Purgatory, but could go straight to
Heaven.
Martin Luther saw that the idea that one could buy salvation
for money was entirely contrary to the message of grace in the Bible.
In his book entitled The Bondage of the Will, he developed whatScripture says about our lostness. Since our wills are in bondage to
the Devil, we cannot by ourselves choose for the good. By ourselves,
we would never believe in Jesus Christ. Martin Luther read
Augustines ancient writings and came to see that Augustine thoughtquite differently about how one was saved than his contemporary
Roman Catholics.
John Calvin picked up where Martin Luther left off and
clearly developed in his famous Institutes of the Christian Religionwhat Scripture teaches about salvation.
Christians, in the Dutch Reformed churches long ago,
expressed the doctrines of grace in the acronym: TULIP.
TTotal DepravityUUnconditional Election
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LLimited Atonement
IIrresistible Grace
PPerseverance of the Saints
Through his own profound experience, John Newtondiscovered what holy ministers and theologians like Augustine,
Luther, and Calvin had taught, was the teaching of Scripture. In line
with his own experience, John Newton preached TULIP and these
truths are fleshed out in Christian experience in Amazing Grace!
Since the early 17th
century, there have been confessing
Christians who denied the doctrines of Calvinism. They are called
Arminians, after the Dutch theologian Jacobus Arminius. Arminius
denied Total Depravity, affirming that fallen man still retained a freewill and could do the good work of choosing Christ. He claimed that
election to salvation was conditional on God foreseeing faith in a
man. He claimed that Jesus died for the sins of every man who ever
lived. He believed that, while the Spirit was trying to work in the
hearts of all men who heard the gospel, His grace was resistible.
Arminianism leaves open the door that a true Christian might, by his
free will, choose to fall away from Christ and perish.
I Once Was Blind
John Newton admitted: I Once was Blind. Are you aware
of the fact that you once were blind? The natural state of every fallen
man is that he is blind as a bat!
Matthew 20:30 tells us that there were two blind beggars:
And, behold, two blind men sitting by the way side. Together, theblind leading the blind, these two men wandered the Jericho road. The
name of the second man is unknown. Apparently, Bartimaeus was the
more prominent of the two. In the first century, blind Bartimaeus, the
son of Timaeus, had no hope to live a productive life. No one would
give him a job. There was no Braille system, so he couldn't get an
education. As a result, this poor man was reduced to beggary. He was
dependent upon the mercy of travelers for food and clothing. He was
absolutely helpless. His condition was wretched.The Good Shepherd, Jesus was also walking along the Jericho road,
teaching and looking for two of His lost sheep. One of them was
Bartimaeus. Blind Bartimaeus had a tremendous desire to be healed
by Jesus. As soon as he discovers who is passing by, he cries out to
Jesus for mercy. He confesses that Jesus is the son of David. He
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believes that Jesus can heal his blindness and by this fact, he reveals
his faith in Jesus. He believes that this Jewish Man in His early 30s is
none other than the long-awaited Messiah. He must have known the
ancient Messianic prophecy, in Isaiah 35:4-6:
"Say to them that are of fearful heart, Be strong, fear not:
behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a
recompence; he will come and save you. Then the eyes of the
blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be
unstopped. Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the
tongue of the dumb sing; for in the wilderness shall waters
break out, and streams in the desert."
Bartimaeus cries out repeatedly, Jesus, thou son of David,
have mercy on me. This blind mans desire for sight is such (and his
faith in Jesus is such) that he cries to Jesus for mercy. His desire to
experience the mercy of Jesus is so great that he is willing to be a fool
for Christ. He starts yelling and crying out at the top of his voice.
Since he cannot identify Jesus by sight he needs to rely on Jesus
hearing him.
He is willing to go against public opinion and risk the wrath
of the multitude to be heard by Jesus. Mark 10:48 tells us: And manyrebuked him, that he should hold his peace: but he cried out the more
a great deal. He makes a scene. The people in the crowd try to quiet
him because he is embarrassing to respectable company. They believe
that this great prophet Jesus has more important things to do than be
bothered by dirty, unclean, smelly blind beggars. Jesus interest must
lie with the respectable crowd of synagogue goers.It is the glory of Jesus Christ that He is not a respecter of
persons. Jesus stops and asks for Bartimaeus to be brought to Him.
The bystanders cheer up Bartimaeus when they can tell him that Jesus
has asked for him. Mark 10:49 reads: Be of good comfort, rise; hecalleth thee.
Since Jesus is not a respecter of persons, He saves the lowly
as well as the mighty. In fact, the Apostle Paul wrote that most of the
time Jesus saves the poor and humble. Since Jesus is not a respecterof persons, in His eyes the attitudes of men do not count. Society
looked down on blind Bartimaeus, but Jesus loved him. Society looks
down on inmates in the jails and penitentiaries, but Jesus loves His
elect inmates.
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Jesus asks Bartimaeus: What wilt thou that I should do untothee? (Mark 10:51) His response is: Lord, that I might receive my
sight. (Mark 10:51) To the crowd this is an amazingly impossible
request. Since ancient times, what prophet had ever given a blind man
sight? Not one.Jesus response was compassionate: And Jesus being moved
with compassion (Matthew 20:34). What a blessed Savior, who is so
compassionate towards His own in their blindness and misery!
Jesus says to him: Go thy way; thy faith hath made thee
whole(Mark 10:52). Notice the importance of faith. Faith is seeing.This man might be blind, but already he sees in the way that is most
important of all. His eyes have been opened. The Father has drawn
him to Christ. It is far better to be physically blind and be able to seewho Jesus is, than to have 20/20 vision and have the honor of being a
fighter pilot and crash and burn with spiritual blindness.
Jesus reaches over and touches Bartimaeus eyes. His
powerful Divine touch, mixed with His omnipotent words, opens
Bartimaeus eyes. Glorious moment!
These could have been his words:
Amazing grace how sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found!
The truths of TULIP are all revealed in this wonderful Bible
story.
These hymn words can be ours too!
There is evidence in my life that I once was blind. I still donot have 20/20 vision of spiritual things. This is because I still have
an old man, who is unable to discern any spiritual things. He is legally
blind and can see no traces of light. Because of my old man, my
vision is limited, even though I am a Christian.
My old man functions like blinders on a horse. Blinders were
placed on horses so that they would not shy on bridges or from other
carriages. I have blind spots in theology. I have blind spots about my
weaknesses. I have blind spots about the pervading influence of sin inmy life. I have secret faults about which I am clueless. I am blind to
how often I dishonor God by simply ignoring Him. I am blind to the
spiritual needs of others. I am blind about how badly others need to
be loved by me. I do not see clearly enough for it to impact me, as
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strongly as it should, that unbelievers around me are on the broad path
that leads to Hell!
I have limited vision of who God is. I know that God is love,
but I hardly comprehend the love of Christ shown to me on the cross.
I have hardly a notion about the love that is going to overflow andswamp and delight me in Heaven, a Paradise of love. I know that God
is a consuming fire, but from how easily I sin, it is evident that I do
not have the fear of God that I should. I cry out Abba, Father at
times, yet I hardly see and experience the reality that the Mighty
Creator is my Abba.
Even with the spectacles of the Holy Spirit, by whom I can
understand and interpret and apply Scripture, my understanding of
Scripture is so limited. I do see, but only through a glass darkly! I livein hope of the day of my complete healing when I will see as I am
seen. I will see Jesus Christ face to face in all the clarity of His power,
glory and love. But until that day I still grope.
Our Natural BlindnessTotal Depravity
My present limited blindness is evidence of a natural
blindness that was more serious than words can express. I was
conceived and born blindin sin.John Newton degraded his body by sins of the flesh. He
committed fornication. He degraded other men who also had the
image of God, by treating African slaves like beasts. He was a racist.
He jammed brutalized captives into the hulls of slave ships. He was
foul-mouthed and vocal in his antagonism to the Christian faith.
Jesus means for us to understand that the blindness ofBartimaeus is a picture of our natural blindness. Jesus miracles
taught truths about the kingdom of heaven.
John Newton uses a parallel phrase to teach the same reality:
I once was lost. This is a terrible lostness. I was totally unable tofind my way back to my Creator against whom I rebelled. I was as
lost and helpless as the sheep in the Parable of the Lost Sheep. The
only way that the sheep can be recovered is by the Shepherd. The
Shepherd goes out to seek and to find the lost sheep. That is whatJesus Christ needed to do with me. I was helplessly and hopelessly
lost. I was exposed to the great enemy of sheep, the lion. The Devil,
like a roaring lion, was seeking to devour me, and apart from my
mighty Shepherd, the greater David, I would have perished.
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Calvinists call this reality of our blindness and lostness TotalDepravity. The idea is not that humans are totally depraved in the
sense that they degenerate into irrational, crazy demonsalthough
there are some men like Hitler and Stalin who stun the mind by their
irrational, demonic wickedness. But the idea is that we are dead insin. We are always and only able to sin. The Bible says that whatever
is not done out of faith is sin. We are unable to raise ourselves from
our spiritual grave. Like Lazarus in his tomb, we wait for the call of
the Son of God to raise us from the dead.
The Apostle Paul writes in Ephesians 2:1: "And you hath he
quickened; who were dead in trespasses and sins." That is the
dreadful reality of our natural condition. We were spiritually dead.
Arminians teach that fallen man has a free will in the sensethat he still has the power to choose to believe in Christ and become a
Christian. According to the Arminians, fallen man is not totally dead,
he is just sick. Jesus teaches differently in John 6:44: "No man can
come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I
will raise him up at the last day."
Being drawn to Jesus is believing in Him. Jesus makes clear
that no fallen man can come to Jesus in faith, unless the Father drags
him. The word draw is the same one that is used in the Gospel
accounts for fishermen dragging in their nets. It is only Sovereigngrace that makes it possible for any naturally dead sinner to believe in
Jesus.
Imagine, for a moment, that you jumped off the roof of my
house. You would fall some twenty feet and its possible that you
could twist your ankle or break a leg; but you probably would not die.
Now, imagine that you jumped off of the top of the Sears Toweryou would be graveyard dead! Would it not be folly for me to come
up to you and tell you that you had the power to do something? It is
the same folly to believe that dead sinners can, by themselves, choose
Christ. No, we are dead in trespasses and sin. The reason why anyone
believes in Jesus is because of the mighty grace of God. Faith is a
gift.
It is the grim reality of my natural depravity that makes my
heart want to sing about the wonder of grace! Grace is the glitteringdiamond against the black velvet backdrop of my natural blindness.
Apart from grace I would be trapped in my sin and guilt. Because of
my sinfulness I certainly do not deserve to be saved. I deserve
everlasting separation from God in the Lake of Fire.
I once was blind, but now I see!
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How precious did that grace appear
The hour I first believed!
Do you see? I see Jesus Christ as my one and only and
greatest hope. I see him hanging, suffering, and dying on the crossfor my blindness and blind sins. I see the empty grave on Easter
morning. I see the gaping mouths and popped out eyes of the disciples
on Easter night as the Crucified One suddenly appears in their midst. I
see Jesus with hands uplifted ascending into the clouds. I see that the
great load of my sins has been atoned for because of the cross.
Limited Atonement
The reason why I see is not found in myself. The basis for my
seeing is found in the atonement of Jesus. Jesus was my substitute.
He paid the penalty for my sins. I believe because I am one of the
sheep for whom Jesus died. In John 10:11, Jesus teaches that He came
to die for His sheep: "I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd
giveth his life for the sheep."
Jesus goes on to clarify who these sheep are. Jesus did not die
for all men head for head. He tells the Pharisees why they do not
believe in Him in John 10:26-27: "But ye believe not, because ye are
not of my sheep, as I said unto you. My sheep hear my voice, and I
know them, and they follow me."
On His cross, Jesus died for the sins of His sheep. That is
why we call the atonement a Definite or Limited Atonement. Christ
paid for the sins of a definite number of people. He died for His elect
sheep. This was prophesied in Matthew 1:21: Thou shalt call hisname Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins. Jesus came
to save His elect people from their sins. To claim, like the Arminians,
that Jesus died on the cross for all men, is to undermine the very
reality of the atonement. If Jesus paid for the sins of all men, there
can be no possible reason why any man would ever go to Hell. But
the reason why there is a Hell, and the reason why many will enter
Hell by the broad road, is because Christ did not die for them. They
were not His sheep.
Unconditional Election
Why are some Gods sheep and not others? The answer isfound in sovereign election. God chose me in Jesus Christ from
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before the foundation of the world. That is the doctrine of
unconditional election. God did not choose me because of anything
good in myself. That is why election is unconditional. God did not
choose some people conditional on seeing good deeds or actions on
their part. My election was unconditional. When I was yet a sinner,Christ died for me. God did not choose me because I was holy. He
chose me in order to make me holy.
The Apostle Paul tells the Ephesian Christians that the
reason they are Christians is because God eternally chose them to be
His children: "According as he hath chosen us in him before the
foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame
before him. In love having predestinated us unto the adoption of
children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure ofhis will" (Ephesians 1:4,5).
You might think that it would be unjust for God to elect some
and reprobate others. Arminians claim that the reason why someone is
a Christian is because they choose to believe in Jesus by their own
free will. They claim that it would be unfair for God to elect Jacob
and reprobate his twin brother Esau.
Yet, the Apostle Paul writes that God loved Jacob and hated
Esau (Romans 9:13). Mere men have no right to set themselves up in
judgment against the Sovereign God. We may not question why God
has chosen some and not others. If you are a Christian, be humbled by
the doctrine of election. You did not deserve to be saved any more
than the multitude of men who are already perishing in Hell. The
doctrine of election is a humbling doctrine. It is a doctrine that gives
God all of the glory in salvation.The Apostle Paul takes issue with anyone who takes issue
with God: Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God?
(Romans 9:20) Responding to the perennial objection that it would be
unjust for God to elect some and reprobate others, the Apostle Paul
writes to the Romans, in chapter 9:14-16: "What shall we say then? Is
there unrighteousness with God? God forbid. For he saith to Moses, I
will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have
compassion on whom I will have compassion. So then it is not of himthat willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy."
The Apostle Paul explicitly says that becoming saved is not
the result of any exertion or willing by man. It is the result of God
exercising His right to show mercy to whom He will show mercy.
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God is the Potter, says the Apostle Paul, and we are the clay.
He is Sovereign and in His awesome sovereignty has elected some
people to be vessels unto honor, and others to be vessels of wrath
prepared for destruction. (Romans 9:20-23)
Irresistible Grace
My spiritual sight is a miracle of grace! The grace of the Holy
Spirit is irresistible. Could Bartimaeus have resisted the power of the
Holy Spirit when He gave him physical sight? When the Holy Spirit
blows like a mighty wind in the heart of a man to give him the new
birth, can any man resist Him? In John 3:8, Jesus spoke of the
Sovereignty of the Holy Spirit in the new birth: "The wind blowethwhere it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell
whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of
the Spirit."
Jesus is explaining how anyone is born again. It is not
because a person, by a supposed free will, chooses to believe in
Christ. It is because the Mighty and Invisible Holy Spirit blows into
their lives and recreates them. He then convicts the elect sinner of his
sins and gives him spiritual sight so he can look to the cross of
Calvary for forgiveness.
John Newton places an accent on the powerful grace of the
Holy Spirit in stanza 2:
Twas grace that taught my heart to fear,
And grace my fears relieved;
How precious did that grace appearThe hour I first believed!
Newton pictures grace as a power. Grace is a power that
enabled his heart to fear a holy God. Grace was a power that took
away his fears. By placing the accent on grace as the means by which
he came to fear God and the way by which he experienced the
assurance of salvation, He is honoring God the Holy Spirit. In other
words, God the Holy Spirit did these things by His Almighty power.The Bible teaches that the reason why someone becomes a
Christian is because the Holy Spirit opens his or her heart. About
Lydia of Thyatira, we are told in Acts 16:14: Whose heart the Lord
opened, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul.
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The Perseverance of the Saints
I do not know what the future holds. But I do know this:
Thro many dangers, toils, and snares,I have already come;
Tis grace has brought me safe thus far,
And grace will lead me home.
John Newton places an emphasis on grace. Grace is like a
power that has enabled me to come safely this far, and not backslide
from the faith. Grace is the power to bring me to my Heavenly home.
This is the sovereign grace of God.Because of Christs undying, unshakable love for His sheep,
nothing will ever separate us from Him. Jesus says in John 10:28-29:
"And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither
shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave
them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of
my Fathers hand."
This is the doctrine of the Perseverance of the Saints. God
will preserve His saints. Nothing can separate them from His love.
Christ has purchased His elect sheep by His blood, and no devilish
lion can rip them out of his hands.
What a comforting doctrine it is to know that Grace will lead
me home.How precious it is to know that God will always care for me.
Listen to these triumphant words of Newton:
The Lord has promised good to me,
His Word my hope secures;
He will my shield and portion be,
As long as life endures.
I can face the future. If God is my shield, how can assaults of
the devil, the sinful world, or my old flesh succeed? I am safe in the
arms of the everlasting God!The doctrines of Total Depravity, Unconditional Election,
Limited Atonement, Irresistible Grace, and the Perseverance of the
Saints, were the truths John Newton believed. In Amazing Grace!
he celebrates the wonder of the grace of God. Have you also been
wonderstruck by grace so amazing?
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attacks of September 11, 2001. Inclusivism is the idea that the various
world religions are all ways back to God. But the very name of the
Savior, Jesus, points to Jesus of Nazareth as the only and the
complete and the exclusive Savior of sinners. Jesus alone is Savior.
This is the rich implication of the motto Solus Christus for our day.No salvation exists in the false prophets of pagan religions. Salvation
is found only in the name of Jesus Christ.
Since the error of inclusivism poses a danger to missionary
motivation, we will examine what the Bible teaches about the
exclusivity of salvation in Jesus Christ.
The majority of mankind considers Christ lightly. He is
treated merely as a Jewish Rabbi who was a great prophet. The
Hindus happily add Jesus to their pantheon. Little do they considerhow blasphemous it is to compare the Son of God incarnate with
idols.
Christ may not be dealt with so lightly. The Bible teaches that
the Son of God, the Second Person of the Holy Trinity is the Creator,
the Sustainer, and the goal of the creation. Paul writes about Jesus, in
Colossians 1:16-17: "For by him were all things created, tha