We continue with sola fide in this post. I would like to continue looking at the link between grace alone (sola gratia) and faith alone, but also the other “alones”. The first four sola’s are tightly linked and cannot be separated in time or eternity. It is utterly impossible to have one without the other three. While the last sola (sola scriptura) of the five (in the order that I am treating them) is tightly linked, it is not linked in the same way. If grace is not received by faith alone, it is not grace alone but is grace plus some form of work. If we do not receive grace alone, then all of salvation and sanctification are not by Christ alone either. If salvation and sanctification are not by Christ alone, then they are not to the glory of God alone. In other words, the doctrine of faith alone is vital to all of Christianity. We cannot toss out faith alone without tossing out the core of Christianity.
Previously I mentioned that both the Arminian and the Reformed views of justification use the same words of “justification by faith alone.” Both use the same term, but historically the positions have meant something different by those same words. This is not a diatribe on Arminians, but on the Arminian position. This is also not a diatribe on Reformed people, but is against what seems to be a prevalent position among the Reformed today. If we do not stand firm on justification by grace alone through faith alone, we may appear gracious but we will have thrown out the Gospel and will be preaching another Gospel. It is true that there are many people in our day who use the words “justification by faith alone,” but that is a far different thing than truly believing in the justification by grace alone that comes through faith alone. Paul warned us sternly that there is no other Gospel (Galatians 1:6-9) and no one has the right to change the Gospel. We can strive for unity within a denomination and across doctrinal lines on some things, but we cannot have unity at the cost of the Gospel no matter what the reason is.
Martin Luther stood before the most powerful men in the professing Church and the political realm of his day and did not recant the Gospel of grace alone through faith alone. What we must understand is that he realized he was also standing before the living God, and he feared God more than men. It did not matter to him (ultimately) the men or the positions of men that he stood before. He could not give up the Gospel of grace. What we must understand is that we are also standing before the living God and we must learn to fear God more than men. It should not matter to us the position of men in a denomination or of the worldly courts, we must stand firm for the Gospel because the Gospel of grace alone through faith alone is the Gospel of the God we stand in the presence of each moment. If any man, woman, or child sells out justification by grace alone through faith alone that person is under the wrath of God. It matters not whether the person is a pastor or denominational leader, if that person does not believe (true faith) in justification by grace alone through faith alone that person denies the Gospel and we have no right to unite with that person. If a person agrees with us in words and yet not in the concept, we still have no right to unite with that person or persons. Even if people adhere to the phrase “faith alone” that does not mean that they adhere to grace alone in truth. Even if they adhere to the phrase “grace alone” that does not mean that they adhere to the biblical truth that is supposed to be expressed by that phrase.
It is also true that a person may not agree to a certain formulation of words but can still believe and trust in grace alone. Nevertheless, words are important and they have meanings. We have to explain and explain what faith really is and its link with grace alone, Christ alone, and the glory of God alone. The Gospel is so precious and so glorious that we can never for a moment relax our position on these things. One can say that we have so much in common with others that we should unite with them and work together, but let us not forget that the Pharisees had much in common with Jesus. Having a lot in common did not mean that they were truly united and it does not mean that we should be united with those who assert the Gospel of faith alone in words though they deny it in reality. If we would not work with people in the Gospel who assert that there is salvation in ways other than Christ, then we cannot work with them if they deny justification through faith alone. A denial of justification through faith alone (properly understood) is a denial that salvation is by Christ alone. It is also a denial that justification is by grace alone. Sola fide was utterly vital to understanding the thought and the Gospel that the Reformers taught. The question we have to ask in our time is whether they were biblical. If their teaching lines up with Scripture, then they taught the Gospel of God. If it does not, then let us repudiate the Gospel they taught. In our day we want to be both politically/denominationally correct and hold to the Reformers. We cannot have both if the Reformers taught the eternal Gospel of Jesus Christ which is always by grace alone to the glory of God alone. That grace can only come through faith in order to be a grace that is truly grace and to the glory of God alone.
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