SOLA GRATIA

Sola gratia is the Latin term meaning “grace alone.” While the doctrine comes from the Scriptures, the terminology of sola gratia (grace alone) comes from a movement known as the Protestant Reformation. This movement began on October 31st, 1517 when Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to the Castle Church door in Wittenberg Germany. The Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century Church movement that served in many ways as a revolt against the corruption and unbiblical practices of the Church in Rome (The Roman Catholic Church).

The doctrine of sola gratia is one of the five solas of the Protestant Reformation. These five solas served as five dividing points of doctrine between the true Church and the Roman Church. These five solas are: Sola Scriptura (Scripture Alone); Solus Christus (Christ Alone); Sola Fide (Faith Alone); and Soli Deo Gloria (to the Glory of God Alone). The focus of this article will be on Sola Gratia.

It is often believed that the Church in Rome denied that the individual is saved by grace. However, this is not so. The Church in Rome did and still does believe and teach that salvation is a result of God’s grace. However, where the Church in Rome has historically found itself in great error is not over the necessity of God’s grace, but the sufficiency of God’s grace in salvation. 

During the Protestant Reformation, the Church in Rome promoted (and still does) that salvation was and is a result of grace plus participating in sacraments such as baptism and penance. They believe that through the working out of these two sacraments an individual could attain for themselves righteousness and justification (salvation). Through the sacrament of baptism, Rome taught that one was cleansed from original sin. Through the sacrament of penance, doing meritorious works of the flesh, Rome taught that one could keep or regain their righteousness and justification (salvation). 

Therefore, the Church in Rome taught that God’s grace alone was not sufficient for one’s salvation. Rather, they taught and continue to teach that one must cooperate with the grace of God in order for that grace to become efficacious in their salvation. Rome, like other so-called “Christian” faiths today (Mormonism and the Jehovahs Witnesses), believe that one is saved not by grace alone, but by grace plus merit. They teach that while God’s grace is available, it is not actualized until one responds with meritorious works of the flesh.

The Reformers protested claiming that salvation could not be accomplished through the sacraments. They taught that salvation was a result of a merciful and loving God, who freely extends grace to His elect. The Reformers recognized that the biblical teaching was not salvation by grace plus merit, but by grace and grace alone. One of the most important passages for the Reformers in the 16th century was in Paul’s epistle to the the Ephesians. Paul wrote in 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.” 

As we will see in the article on Sola Fide (Faith Alone), Paul states that the individual is saved “through faith.” This means that the sinner is given a right standing with God when they believe. We see in Genesis 15:6, when it says, “And he (Abraham) believed the LORD, and he counted it to him as righteousness.” So then, like Abraham, an individual is saved through faith.”

The question is, where does this justifying faith come from? Is it the result of one’s own doing? Is it the result of one’s own autonomous free will? According to Paul, the source of the faith which justifies an individual is the result of God’s grace alone. This is why Paul says that saving faith is a gracious “gift” of God and not a result of men’s own doing. Many suggest that the grace extended to the individual, in Ephesians 2, is nothing other than the offer to come to Christ in faith. However, this could not be further from the truth. We see in Philippians 1:29, that justifying faith in Christ is not “chosen” by the individual, but “granted” as a result of God’s sovereign grace. As R. Scott Clark says, “Jesus didn’t come to make salvation possible to those who do their part, He came to accomplish it and to give it freely to all His people.” 

In the scriptures, we see that salvation is monergistic and not synergistic. Monergistic means, that those in Christ, have been saved not as a result of our their own doing or choosing. In fact, they contribute absolutely nothing to their salvation. They do not serve as “co-saviors” but as we see in passages such as Ephesians 2, we have been saved by God’s grace alone. This is a sovereign grace in which God has from eternity past decreed and declared, a redemptive plan of God’s own choosing. This is clearly demonstrated in the Scriptures which is why someone like Jonah can say,“salvation is of the Lord.” (Jonah 2:9)

It is only when we acknowledge these things to be true, that we can fully understand, appreciate, and bring God honor, glory, and praise for the doctrine of Sola Gratia. Sola Gratia is a doctrine the reformers fought for in the 16th-century. Sola Gratia is a doctrine we should fight for today as it is central to understanding and proclaiming the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ. 

“Amazing grace, How Sweet the sound

That saved a wretch like me

I once was lost but now am found

T'was blind but now I see”