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: 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.