Over the past few months, I’ve been sharing about some theological doctrines called the five Solas: Sola Scriptura, Sola Fide, Sola Gratia, Solo Christo, and Soli Deo Gloria (By Scripture Alone, By Faith Alone, By Grace Alone, By Christ Alone, and to God Alone Be the Glory.) As a review, the five Solas are five Latin phrases that refer to the doctrinal beliefs that came about during the protestant Reformation (1500-1600 A.D.) Some of the fathers of the Reformation were Martin Luther, John Calvin, John Knox, and Ulrich Zwingli to name a few. If you have a chance, there are great biographies out there on these men and others that I would highly recommend reading!
The third Sola is Sola Gratia, which means “by grace alone.” The definition of “grace” according to Noah Webster’s 1828 dictionary is “the free unmerited love and favor of God, the spring and source of all the benefits men receive from him. Favorable influence of God; divine influence or the influence of the spirit, in renewing the heart and restraining from sin. The application of Christ's righteousness to the sinner.” To put it simply grace is goodness from God that we have done nothing to deserve.
The principle of Sola Gratia is that we as fallen human beings are totally depraved, which means that we are completely incapable of earning salvation by works (Sola Fide) and completely incapable of turning towards God and accepting His salvation. It is only by God’s grace—which we don’t deserve—that we can accept God’s gift of salvation. Without Him opening our eyes and drawing us to Him, we could never come to know Him as our Savior.
The New Testament speaks often of grace. Acts 15:11 says, “No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are.” Romans 3:22-24 says, “This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” One of my favorite verses on grace is Ephesians 2:4-9, “But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.”
The apostle Paul gives us several warnings in his writings, not to abuse the gift of grace that God has given us. Romans 6:1-2 says, “What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?” Jude 1:4 echoes another warning, “For certain men whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are godless men, who change the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord.”
So what do we do with this incredible gift of grace we have been given? Second Corinthians 12:9 says, “But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.” And 2 Timothy 1:8-10, “So do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord, or ashamed of me his prisoner. But join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God, who 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 Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.”
God has given us grace through His son Jesus. It is only by this divine grace that we can be saved. In return, we are called to live humble, holy, obedient lives joyfully serving Him. There is no greater calling we can have. What an honor that He has chosen to bestow his grace on us, though we didn’t do anything to deserve it!
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