What Makes Sola Fide So Important to Christians?
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Are you up on your Latin? Most Christians don’t weave Latin phrases into everyday conversations, although maybe we should. One particular phrase, sola fide, distinguishes the true gospel of Jesus Christ. When Martin Luther and other leaders of the Protestant Reformation embraced this phrase (and the four other “sola” phrases), it changed the world. Two little words meaning “faith alone” profoundly impacted church history and countless lives. Even if you don’t know the phrase, sola fide has likely transformed your life, too. Why is sola fide so significant?
When Did the Concept of Sola Fide Develop?
Until the Reformation that began in the 1500s, the Catholic and Orthodox churches ruled most of Christendom. They largely governed the people through a formal priesthood authority structure, the priests’ interpretation of Scripture, and tradition. Unfortunately, along with the truth of Scripture, many extra-biblical church traditions developed. In some circumstances, the traditions became corrupt and contradictory to Scripture. And yet, the ruling church upheld papal rulings and tradition as equal to Scripture. There were godly leaders, but some were more interested in worldly power.
The common believer did not have the education or access to Scripture to either read or understand it for him or herself, so they relied on priests and leaders to convey God’s truth. This led to a dangerous situation where, rather than finding freedom in Christ, many felt burdened, fearful, and victimized by the church. During this time, several men studied the Scriptures and were determined to confront the church on paths that led away from what the Bible teaches. They became known as reformers.
These men, among whom were Martin Luther, William Tyndale, John Calvin, and John Knox, developed theologies that came to be foundational to Protestantism and caused them to break from the Catholic church. They built on the works of earlier men like John Wycliffe and John Hus. Their study of God’s Word led the reformers to develop convictions they held so firmly that they suffered to defend them when arrested or tried for heresy. The five solas, not truly articulated as such for years later, were points of conflict the reformers clarified and defended through Scripture.
Who Said the Phrase Sola Fide?
Sola fide, faith alone, was especially inflammatory. While the Medieval church worked to keep people “in line” by encouraging a fear of damnation if a person defied not only Scripture but the rules of church tradition or the judgments of the popes, the reformers pointed to sola fide, faith alone, as the means of salvation through Christ. The phrase is most often associated with Martin Luther, but as the reformers studied God’s Word, many came to the conviction that we are saved by faith alone.
C.S. Lewis Institute contributor David B. Calhoun shares this quote by Wycliffe, which he observes anticipates what Reformers like Luther, Calvin, and Knox taught: “Wycliffe’s instruction to people seeking salvation anticipated the words of Luther, Calvin, and Knox: ‘Trust wholly in Christ; rely altogether on His sufferings; beware of seeking to be justified in any other way than by His righteousness. Faith in our Lord Jesus Christ is sufficient for salvation.’”
That is the primary message of sola fide—we are saved through faith alone in Jesus Christ. At the time, the ruling church leaders taught that while people must come to believe in Jesus, they were largely saved by their good works. This led to a system of relying on priests for intercession, paying earthly penance for sins (even encouraging Christians to purchase “indulgences” to pay for deceased people’s sins to release them from purgatory).
Martin Luther and his 95 theses, which were his understanding of God’s Word and his stand against the errant church, created a flashpoint from which the Reformation took hold. He was tried for heresy at the Diet of Worms and asked to recant his teachings. After a night of prayer, Luther said: “Unless I’m convinced by sacred Scripture or by evident reason, I cannot recant, for my conscience is held captive by the Word of God, and to act against conscience is neither right nor safe. Here I stand. I can do no other. God help me.”
Luther was found guilty of heresy, and some reformers, seeing that they would not change the prevailing church system, founded Protestantism based on the theology capsulized in the five solas. Sola fide, faith alone, characterized their understanding that no human could condemn a person to eternal damnation. Christians do not save themselves through their good works but solely by faith in Jesus.
What Are the Other Solas of the Reformation?
The five solas are phrases that capsulize a Scriptural truth distinguishing the reformers’ beliefs from the ruling church of their times.
1. Sola Gratia, or grace alone, represents the Scriptural belief that salvation is a gift of God accomplished through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. One key Scripture for this is Ephesians 2:8-9, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast” (ESV). This sola contradicted the ruling church, which emphasized salvation through human efforts.
2. Sola fide, or faith alone, is a companion to sola gratia in its emphasis that salvation is not work-based but faith-based. This is derived from passages such as Galatians 3:11, “Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for ‘The righteous shall live by faith’” (ESV). The Bible teaches that Jesus fulfilled the Law and that Christ’s followers, saved by the grace the Father freely offers, live by faith alone. The ruling church at the time taught that wasn’t enough.
3. Solus Christus, or Christ alone, has to do with a biblical understanding of authority. The reformers believed the Bible teaches the only mediator we need is Jesus. In other words, we don’t need to go to a priest or any other intermediary to receive forgiveness. They supported this understanding with Scriptures such as 1 Timothy 2:5: “For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” (ESV).
4. Sola Scriptura, or Scripture alone, is the belief that the Bible is the highest authority, not any human leader or church tradition. The Reformers pushed back against the ruling church, demonstrating situations where leaders contradicted biblical teaching. They chose to stand on the Word of God above all else. “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped& for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17 ESV).
5. Soli Deo Gloria, or the glory of God alone, means that we are meant to live solely for God’s glory. 1 Peter 4:11 reads, “Whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen” (ESV). This sola is reflected in the Westminster Shorter Catechism: “What is the chief end of man? Man's chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever.”
Does Sola Fide Mean We Don’t Have to Do Good Works?
The Bible teaches that salvation is God’s free gift given solely through Jesus Christ. We come to salvation through faith alone and then live for His glory. Works do not earn us salvation. We cannot ignore Jesus and, through our actions, purchase our way into eternal life with God. The love and forgiveness of God are not for sale.
However, when we receive the gift of God’s grace by faith in Christ alone, we understand through Scripture that we are now changed. We are freed from the weight of sin and freed for good works God has created us to do. Ephesians 2:10 says, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (ESV).
Good works are the evidence of our transformation in Christ, not the means of it. They testify to God’s work in our lives. The good we do now, we don’t do out of compulsion, fear of hell, or a weighty sense of duty. Rather, we are now eager to do good as an expression of love for Jesus and a desire to be like Him.
Latin may seem like a dead language, but the truth behind sola fide is alive today as we read and put into practice God’s Word, seeking to live by faith alone.
For More on the Protestant Reformation, Check Out These Articles:
What Was the Protestant Reformation?
John Wycliffe: His Life and Work
What Are the Five Solas and Where Do They Come From?
How Did the Geneva Bible Change Christianity?
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