Basic Beliefs of Christianity: Soli Deo Gloria

Well we are on to our last Sola, Soli Deo Gloria which means "glory to God alone". This is often what people mean when they talk about "Worship". The word worship is often used to describe a church service or singing. But is this what the Bible means by worship? The word worship comes from worthiness, worship originally meant to "give worth to something". The question we need to ask is, what do we worship? Do we give God glory or do we seek to glorify ourselves?

Basic Beliefs of Christianity: Sola Scriptura

What rules your life? What do you turn to when you can't make decisions? Where do you go when you need answers? Who would you listen to over and above everyone else?

You know it's coming. I bet you are reading this and because of the picture you know that the right answer is the Bible. But is it really the authority in your life? It is an important question to ask. The answer you get will determine whether you listen to God or whether you just plain ignore him.

Basic Beliefs of Christianity: Sola Fide

Martin Luther said that on this doctrine "the church stands or falls". Clearly he thought it was important. But are Christians really saved by faith alone? The words faith alone only appear once and they might surprise you:

"You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone." (James 2:24)


So how could the reformers say that Christians are saved by faith alone?

Basic Beliefs of Christianity: Sola Gratia

One of my old ministers used to describe grace to me as Gods riches at Christ's expense (G.R.A.C.E.) and whilst this is a handy way to remember how Christ's death gives us a heavenly inheritance there is more we should say about grace.

Sola Gratia is latin for "Grace Alone", the idea being that Christians are saved by grace alone. But what does this mean and why was it such a big deal?

Basic Beliefs of Christianity: Solus Christus

Today we start with our first of the Sola's (which in this case is actually a Solus). We are looking at Solus Christus which means "Christ Alone". So what do we mean by saying salvation is won by Christ Alone? This (and all of the Sola's) were written by the Reformers against the Roman Catholic Church.

What was the argument about? The Roman Catholic Church believed that Christians were not only saved by the merit (perfect life) of Jesus but also by the good works of Mary and the Saints (people the Roman Catholic Church set apart as extraordinary Christians). Christians therefore should pray to God through Mary and the Saints.

This may seem like a little thing but here is the important take home idea for today which shows why this is an important belief to get right. Any time you add to the Gospel you subtract from the Gospel.

Basic Beliefs of Christianity: The Five Sola’s

For the next few week on the blog we are going to look at something called the Five Sola’s. The word Sola is latin for alone. These 5 beliefs are essential parts of Christianity that talk about God’s plan of salvation. These 5 beliefs were best articulated (put together) at the Reformation (1500’s-1600‘s AD). These 5 beliefs are fundamental to the faith and understanding of Christians, they are very important things to get right.