What are the Five Solas Anyway?

On October 26, 2025, Reformation Sunday, Spirit of Life celebrated in worship by diving into the Five Solas of the Reformation. Through words, songs, scripture and listening, we learned a little more about these statements that helped to shape our Christian Lutheran faith. 

I did a little survey after worship and found that no one had heard of the Five Solas before. So, first, I am glad we focused on these statements to bring more light to them. And second, I think a little more information would be even better. In good Lutheran fashion, I’m going to offer this in a question and answer format (raise your hand if that made you think of the Small Catechism).

Why were the Five Solas created?
More than 500 years ago, Martin Luther and other church reformers were deeply concerned about the Roman Catholic Church. The reformers wanted to end church practices that were abusive and harmful and to make faith accessible to everyday people. Luther and the reformers called for church leaders, who had gotten caught up in questionable decisions that consolidated power and control and who had lost sight of the good news of Jesus Christ, to return to the heart of the gospel. Throughout their writings, the reformers articulated this focus. While reformers like Luther and John Calvin did not coalesce their thoughts into these five succinct phrases called the Five Solas, later writers and theologians created the list based on their writings. The Solas call for the church to return to its care for people and to the original sources and tenets of the faith. 
The Five Solas (sola means “alone” in Latin)  are succinct and simple.

What are the five statements?
Sola Scriptura – Scripture alone: God’s Word is the foundation of faith.
Sola Fide – Faith alone: Trust in God’s promise makes us whole.
Sola Gratia – Grace alone: Salvation is God’s gift, not our achievement.
Solus Christus – Christ alone: Jesus is the center of faith and life.
Soli Deo Gloria – To God’s glory alone: All that we do is for God’s praise and the good of the world.

What do they mean?
Sola Scriptura, or “God’s Word alone,” maintains that the Bible is the highest source of authority in a Christian’s life, the final court of appeal (though not the only authority: the Bible itself mentions governmental and other authorities).

Sola fide, or “faith alone,” affirms that justification—being made right with God—comes only through faith in Jesus.

Sola gratia, or “grace alone,” says sinners are saved as an unearned gift of God’s grace, “not as a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Eph 2:8–9)

Sola Christo (“solus Christus”), or “Christ alone,” emphasizes the exclusivity of Jesus’ role in salvation: “No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6)

And soli Deo gloria, or “to the glory of God alone,” says that the purpose of creation, salvation, and everything—including our goal as Christians—is the glory of God, “that God may be all in all” (1 Cor 15:28) (source: https://www.logos.com/grow/5-solas-reformation/)

Why do the Solas matter today?
I recently had heard someone remark that life today feels like walking on a water bed. Squishy. Unstable. Unpredictable. Untethered. Distractions are the norm, the constant in our lives. It’s hard to know where to turn, who to believe, who to trust. 

That’s pretty much the experience Luther was having at the start of the Protestant Reformation. A devout Christian preacher and teacher, Luther found that the church had lost its way. So Luther and other reformers returned to the earliest teachings, writings, beliefs of the Christian church. When things felt unsteady, they urged people to:
open the scriptures, trust in God, remember that salvation is God’s gift through Jesus, not our achievement; keep Jesus at the center of life; and do everything for the glory of God and the good of the neighbor. 

Those are good words for today, too. When things feel shaky, open the scriptures. Psalm 46 can be deeply comforting in the most difficult of days. When people feel untrustworthy, remember that God is constant. God is trustworthy. And Jesus, our best revelation of who God is, brings us back to relationship with God. When we feel far away, untethered, Jesus is the connection to our Creator, the one who restores us to wholeness in and through the power of the Holy Spirit. And because of this, we can seek relationship with God and seek to serve other people. 
 
Today we live in a world noisy with distractions and questionable claims about Christianity. Our perspectives can be too easily shaped by our social media feeds manipulated by an algorithm that feeds  despair and cynicism. Fear creeps into our hearts. 
Let the Five Solas step into these spaces of despair and fear. Let the Five Solas remind you who you and whose you are. 
When something comes to your attention that doesn’t sit quite right - when it feels like you’re walking on a water bed - open your Bible, turn to your trust in God, remember grace, focus on Jesus and in all that you do, do it for God’s praise and the good of the world. Because the reformation goes on in each and every one of you and in faith communities across God’s world.

- Pastor Marietta