The Five Solas: God's Glory Alone

SOLI DEO GLORIA

Sola scriptura, Sola Fide, Sola Gratia, Solus Christus. Each of these on their own is a strong rallying cry and doctrine worth defending. Yet, each becomes stronger when joined with the final sola, soli deo gloria. Glory to God alone. This is the glue that holds all the other solas together.

Compared to the other four, the need to defend God’s glory seems unnecessary. Who in their right mind would not give God glory for all he has done? For the Reformers, all five pillars stood on one key word: alone. Scripture alone is our final authority. Salvation is in Christ alone, by grace alone, through faith alone. The Reformers protested that the Roman Catholic Church was altering and adding to the gospel. It was the Bible and tradition and the Pope; it was us working with Christ; faith and good works; and so on.

With these additions to the gospel, it was no longer God alone who could glory in our salvation. In other words, if we have a hand in even the slightest part of our salvation we have reason to boast & glory in ourselves. Yet, the Reformation sought to rightly teach the gospel as a work solely in the hands of God from beginning to end. It is glory to God alone for our salvation. No one else can share in his credit.

WHY YOU SHOULD CARE

With so many subtleties and nuances, why do these solas even matter? Why should we care about making sure God alone gets all glory? It matters because it puts us in our proper place. We like to tell self-centered people that the world does not revolve around them. But, we do the same thing when we skew these doctrines from how they ought to be understood. We put ourselves at the center of the gospel story. It’s all about us. Yet, the Bible paints a different picture: it’s all about God. He does it out of his own good pleasure and he is the center of the story.

Isaiah 42:8 tells us that God will not share his glory with another. In Revelation we see the saints placing their crowns at Jesus’ feet and praising God. Even the wicked will bow and recognize his glory. All glory is God’s alone, especially when it comes to our salvation. He did all the work, so let’s make sure we give him all the credit he’s due.