Making Sense of the Solas

In the first place, we must ask ourselves, what was the purpose why the pre-reformers and reformers protested and also settled with the five solas? They were fighting a war that they thought would glorify God. The chief end of man is to glorify God. This has been their slogan right from the onset. God’s glory was at stake in their time. If the biblical text is not the only authoritative book in matters relating to doctrine and Christian living, then it means God did not communicate with mankind completely. That is, mankind needed something extra even after God had communicated with them through His Word. How can the Omnipotent forget to share with mankind what He intended to do which has necessitated additional authority outside the Scripture? This is what the Protestants quizzed. To this end, they saw that God’s glory was at stake here. They settled that God has communicated with mankind clearly, completely, and thoughtfully. To this end, it is Scripture alone (Sola Scriptura) that should be the basis of our lives and doctrine. To this end, they acknowledge that the Scripture is inspired, inerrant, and impeccable because it was given by God.

The other remaining solas build on Sola Scriptura. This is because, it is in the Scripture that God’s plan, method, and way of salvation are clearly set forth. The Scripture testifies that Abraham was declared righteous based on his faith in God. The Scripture shows why mankind needed saving after falling from grace to grass. It is the Scripture that testified to the coming Savior of the world even before His arrival. It is the same Scripture that revealed that the Savior must suffer for the unjust to redeem them from the grip of sin. To neglect Scripture is to insult the Omnipotent for it is in that He reveals Himself and His plan. All the solas are important, but the foundational, fundamental, and basic of them all is Sola Scriptura.

Creation does not reveal the glory of God as the Scripture does. As the reformers argue that the chief end of man is to glorify God, they so defended the authority of Scripture. It is the Scripture that Luther read and concluded that justification is by faith alone. Before Luther, Augustine of Hippo was enlightened to this truth. There is nothing to be added to it nor should one subtract anything from it. Justification is by faith in the Old Testament and the New Testament. Abraham testified to it, and David confirmed it in Psalm 32. For God’s glory, He predestined and elected, the Scripture says so.

The five solas, therefore, reveal to mankind how God chose to reveal Himself in a way that will glorify Him. Each of the solas has a point to defend, but they all meet at a single place and point. They all meet at God’s glorification. Scripture alone glorifies God; faith alone glorifies God; Christ alone glorifies God; grace alone glorifies God, and all to the glory of God shows and indicates the heart of the solas. Soli Deo Gloria 

Michael Yaw Tano

tanomichael65@gmail.com

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