By Grace Alone

Ephesians 2:1-7

The 5 Solas of the Reformation.

Sola Gratia (salvation is the gift of God, not our doing), Sola Fide (salvation is received through faith alone, and not works), Solus Christus (salvation is accomplished in Christ alone, there is no other to God), Sola Scriptura (the Bible is the only infallible source of truth, over and above church tradition or human interpretation), Soli Deo Gloria (all glory belongs to God alone).

These are Biblical Principles. While you won’t find “5 Solas” in the Bible, they articulate the bible’s teaching on salvation.

They sum up the guiding principles of the Reformation in the 16th century, distinguishing the reforming churches from RC.

Why study 5 solas?

1 Tim 4:16 Keep watch over yourself and the teaching…

Preaching on the Solas equips you with a theological framework, strengthens your faith, and glorifies God by keeping your focus on His grace and truth. They are as relevant today as they were in 1517, when Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the Wittenberg door, sparking the Reformation.

Immanently practical - theology is not theoretical. Solas are key to our discipleship (being trained up in the faith, and corrected in our understanding), fellowship (being renewed in our union with Christ and other believers), and mission (knowing the gospel and how to share it better).

Sola Gratia

Beginning with Grace - the foundation from which everything else flows.

Sola Gratia was not uniquely 16th century, the reformers were renewing the teaching of Augustine from the 3rd century.

Augustine “we should think of God’s grace as working from the beginning of a person’s changing towards goodness, even to the end of its completion, so that he who glories may glory in the Lord. For just as no-one can bring goodness to perfection without the Lord, so no one can begin it without the Lord.”

A distinguishing doctrine.

Roman Catholic teaching:

Grace Infused - grace gets you in the door, Good works (sacraments, penance) keep you in a state of grace.

Reformed Teaching:

Grace Imputed - The perfect, sufficient grace of God in Jesus Christ is credited to the believer, and fully and completely saves those who are in Christ.

Overview of the message, how Sola Gratia is the very heart of the gospel. 3 points (because we’re in a Trinitarian universe):

You were dead in your sins, and this is actually good news,

Our gracious God has brought you to life in Christ,

There is a practical purpose to saving grace.

Here’s the Good News: You were dead in your trespasses…

The Devastating Effect of Sin: The wages of sin is death (Rom 6:23)

Spiritual death and its consequences.

In sin, we are dead to God, incapable of turning toward God. The Westminster Confession of Faith describes it, “we are utterly indisposed, disabled, and made opposite to all good, and wholly inclined to all evil” (WCF, VI.4)

Paul’s descriptions in Ephesians 2:

“Dead in trespasses” Not sick, not dying, not drowning - all common pictures.

Like Lazarus in the tomb 4 days. What can dead men do? All we can offer to God is the stink.

“Sons of Disobedience” heirs, our heritage, our nature.

1 John 3:8 Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning.

“Children of wrath” - deserving of God’s judgment

We are sons of Adam and daughters of Eve: Our birth certificate is our notice of judgment. 1 Cor 15:21 - “In Adam all die…”

The Universal Reach of Sin.

When Paul says “You” he is referring to the Gentiles. In vs 3, when Paul says “We” he is referring to the Jews.

There is no difference in the fare - Rom 3:23 “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

How on earth is this good news?

This picture of our pre-Christian state is destroys any suggestion that we have the ability to save ourselves. Were I still alive, there would be something rightfully expected of me. As I am dead, I am absolutely dependent upon another.

But God has made you alive together with Christ

Our union with Christ is essential

He came to be like us to the uttermost, so that he could save us to the uttermost. Since we were dead, Christ went to the very depths of Hell to redeem us, giving his life as the perfect, complete, and sufficient redemption for those who are in Him

Hebrews 2:14, He partook of the same things (flesh and blood) that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slaver… he had to be made like his brothers, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God.”

You have been made alive together with Him

Col 2:12 As he was raised from the dead on the third day, all who are in Him now are a new creation, he is the first fruit of the resurrection.

He died for you so that you may be raised with him.

By grace you are saved

What motivated God to save us? Was is something we did or would do? We were dead, it must be something else, outside us.

God, who is rich in mercy.

What is meant by mercy? Compassion for those God loves.

Joel 2:13 “he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love”

Because of the great love with which he loved us

1 John 4:8 - God is love - he first loved us

Deuteronomy 7:6-9 - he does not save because you were bigger and better than others, but because he loves you and is faithful to keep covenant and steadfast love.

Summed up as: By Grace you have been saved.

Defining Grace - An unexpected, unlooked for kindness toward the undeserving - loving the unlovable, favoring the unfavorable. OT - Finding favor in the eyes of God (Ex. 33).

Grace is not a commodity to be bartered -

Grace is not something that God has saved up, and distributes miserly. You get a certain amount of grace, but you might use it all up, then you’re out of luck.

No, Mercy, Love, and Grace are the very nature of God. Because God is gracious, he has saved us.

Thus, salvation is by grace alone (sola gratia), because God has provided everything. Not only has God put forward the Son for our redemption, but God has also enabled us to believe in the Son, united us to him by His Spirit, and secured us in Him to the very end.

The Purpose of God’s Saving Grace

Discipleship

Knowing God better, knowing our Savior, and knowing our salvation

Correcting our error when we think we earn our way, or keep our way in Christ. We still fall into the trap of thinking that salvation is the result of human performance.

God’s grace gets me in the door, but I have to put in the work in order to maintain my salvation (Catholics and Protestants act like this today). Sola Gratia shifts the focus from our effort to God’s grace. Our salvation is in the hands that were pierced for us.

Overcoming our insecurities, and inadequacies.

2 Cor 9:8 - He is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having sufficiency in all things, you may abound in every good work.

When God called you to serve him, he already accounted for your shortcomings.

Providing Assurance of Salvation

It is God’s grace, God’s work - not yours, and not dependent upon you. Since you didn’t supply anything to salvation, you cannot mess up salvation

Fellowship

Salvation by Grace is humbling

We are all sinners, all dead: none better than the other - sola Gratia is the great leveler of the church. None have entered by another gate. We all come from the valley of dry bones.

God’s grace crushes our pride. It humbles us.

We want to be the subjects, not the objects, of salvation. We want to be active, not passive, in the process. When God teaches sinners that their very core is depraved, sovereign grace becomes the most encouraging doctrine possible.

None is more important, none has lesser value, all have been redeemed by the precious blood of the Lamb.

Mission

Grace does not promote passivity, but draws us into more robust worship, service, and love.

Because He has set me free, I am free to live for him. By the mercies I have known in Him, I will become a living sacrifice to him.

We were saved by grace that He might proclaim the riches of his grace in us in the coming generations.