Grace Alone

Sola Gratia

The doctrine that salvation is based only on the grace of God and not human merit.

Sounds familiar:

Salvation is by grace alone through faith alone as communicated with perfect authority in the Scriptures.

The Doctrine of the Five Solas, the Five Statements, state that we are saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone, and this doctrine comes from Scripture Alone; and it is all for the glory of God alone.

Why is this important?

Can we save ourself?

good works

philantrophy

Isaiah 64:6 CSB

All of us have become like something unclean, and all our righteous acts are like a polluted garment; all of us wither like a leaf, and our iniquities carry us away like the wind.

obeying the law

no one can! Paul makes this clear when writing to the Jews in Jerusalem regarding how the Gentiles should live. He says that we should not put something upon the Gentiles that they have not even been able to uphold.

Hebrews 10:1–4 CSB

Since the law has only a shadow of the good things to come, and not the reality itself of those things, it can never perfect the worshipers by the same sacrifices they continually offer year after year. Otherwise, wouldn’t they have stopped being offered, since the worshipers, purified once and for all, would no longer have any consciousness of sins? But in the sacrifices there is a reminder of sins year after year. For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.

What does the Word say

Acts 4:12 CSB

There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to people by which we must be saved.”

“Given to people”

The word “given” underscores the grace and mercy of God. Salvation is a gift not something you earn.

John G. Butler, Sermon Starters, vol. 3 (Clinton, IA: LBC Publications, 2014), 123.

Romans 6:23 CSB

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Salvation is “the gift of God”.

Ephesians 2:8 CSB

For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift—

We do not have anything worthy to contribute to warn our salvation. “All our righteous acts are like filthy rags”.

If Scripture said that that all our SIN was filthy, then we could easily accept that; but the Word of God says our RIGHTEOUS ACTS, our absolute best, is filthy rags.

The best that we can do will never be enough to save our soul. Only the mercy and grace of our Lord make is possible for us to be saved.

Romans 5:6–11 CSB

For while we were still helpless, at the right time, Christ died for the ungodly. For rarely will someone die for a just person—though for a good person perhaps someone might even dare to die. But God proves his own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. How much more then, since we have now been justified by his blood, will we be saved through him from wrath. For if, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, then how much more, having been reconciled, will we be saved by his life. And not only that, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received this reconciliation.