THE SOLAS OF THE REFORMATION
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This term refers to the Reformers' conviction that Scripture and Scripture alone is the ultimate and final authority in matters of faith and practice. Much of the debate between the Reformers and the Roman Catholic Church can be reduced to a question of authority. Were Christians to listen to the Scriptures and the Church, accepting each one as equally authoritative, or were they to hear the Scriptures only as God's infallible Word to mankind?
The Roman Catholic Church believed that the Church was the only authoritative interpreter of the Scriptures; in the minds of the Reformers, the Church was standing between God and the sinner. The Reformers maintained that every man should have access to the Scriptures and should seek to understand them. While the Reformers certainly believed in an institutional Church, they did not support idea of the Church (i.e. the clergy) serving as a mediator between the sinner and God.
These terms all deal with the issue of justification. Before we define these three terms, therefore, we must explain the Reformed doctrine of justification. When we speak of justification, we mean that pronouncement of righteousness made by God when a sinner has his sin pardoned and has Christ's righteousness imputed to him; to be justified is to stand before God free of condemnation. In the Reformed view, the justified sinner is acceptable before God because of the alien righteousness of Christ that has been credited or imputed to him by God. This is known as forensic (legal) justification; it is a determination or declaration.
In the matter of justification, the Reformers taught that God has regard for the righteousness of Christ which is ascribed to the sinner, not for any righteousness in the sinner himself. This doctrine is opposed to the Roman Catholic Church doctrine that the sinner is justified on the basis of his own inherent righteousness, which is infused into his heart in regeneration. This view, of course, makes the good works that follow regeneration the ground, or part of the ground, of justification.
Sola Gratia refers to the conviction that justification is, from beginning to end, a matter of God's grace; that is, no part of justification is attributable to sinful man, but is wholly the result of God's unmerited favor to the sinner in Christ. According to the Reformers, the sinner does nothing and can do nothing to bring about or contribute to his justification.
Sola Fide refers to the conviction that justification, as described above, justification in which Christ's righteousness is imputed to the undeserving sinner, is through faith alone; that is, the sinner is justified when he believes the promise of God in the gospel and receives and rests upon Christ and Christ's righteousness alone.
Faith, then, is the instrument by which the sinner receives and applies Christ and His righteousness and this faith is itself a gift from God.
Within this context, Solo Christo refers to the conviction that justification, as defined above, rests solely upon the finished work of Jesus Christ. The justification of the sinner is grounded only in that finished work and has no connection whatsoever to the sinner's inherent righteousness or his good works. Justification, we say again, is a legal declaration made by God that the sinner is counted righteous because Christ's righteousness is credited to him; the sinner doesn't deserve that righteousness, he has nothing to do with that righteousness, but it is imputed to him according to God's grace.
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AUG 31, 2008
(Tomorrow)
 FELLOWSHIP LUNCHEON
Sandwiches and salads. Followed by hymn sing.
SEP 2, 2008
(3 Days)
CONTENDERS/KEEPERS MEETING
Fall kick-off @ VanGelders Home
SEP 4, 2008
(5 Days)
BRIDAL SHOWER FOR JESSICA SEIFERT
Jessica Seifert's bridal shower will be held at Sabina Buhrmaster's home.
Contact Chelsea Berkompas for details.
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