Faith Alone
Introducing our new sermon series on Galatians, Pastor Eugene hopes we will be encouraged to know, guard, and treasure the gospel.
In July, I had the opportunity to catch up with an old friend who pastors a church in Germany. He is a dear brother who has been faithfully serving the Lord in the Bavarian city of Munich. We discussed the health of churches in his country, which was home of Protestant Reformer Martin Luther. Sadly, many churches have departed from biblical orthodoxy. The great truths of the Reformation, which faithful men and women had lived for, fought for, and died for, have either been forgotten or rejected. It is a sobering reminder of how God’s people should never take the gospel for granted.
The five solas
The Reformation in the 16th Century saw the recovery of the biblical gospel, summarised in five solas (Latin for “alone”): sola scriptura (Scripture alone), solus Christus (Christ alone), sola fide (faith alone), sola gratia (grace alone), and soli Deo gloria (glory to God alone). These were a clarion call to Christians to recover the true gospel and return to gospel faithfulness.
What do these five solas mean? Briefly, Scripture alone refers to how the Bible, which is the very word of God, is the only infallible authority, not man’s traditions. Christ alone speaks of Jesus as the only Lord and Saviour. Therefore, we must boldly proclaim his death and resurrection to save sinners.
How we are saved
Grace alone means salvation is only by God’s gracious initiative and work on our behalf; it does not depend on our works. There is nothing we can do to earn or even assist in our salvation. It is God alone who saves us by the cross of Christ and the regenerating power of the Holy Spirit. All this is for God’s glory alone. If salvation is entirely his gracious work, then he deserves all the praise.
How, then, can we be made right with God? It is only by faith in Jesus Christ, not works. Hence, faith alone. We cannot claim any merit, neither from morality nor religiosity. We simply trust in Jesus to save us by his work on the cross and his resurrection from the dead. When we believe in Jesus, he credits his righteousness freely to our account. Therefore, God can be just to forgive our sins and declare us right with him. We are justified (declared right with God) by faith alone—that is, by wholly depending on the all-sufficient, finished work of Christ. “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Cor. 5:21).
Were the Reformers just quibbling about words? Was their unwavering insistence on the word “alone” simply an overreaction? Not at all. Their opponents did not outright deny the importance of Scripture, Jesus Christ, faith, grace, and God’s glory. But they made the fundamental mistake of adding to God’s truth, which turned out to be fatal to the biblical gospel. In other words, it was Scripture plus tradition; Jesus plus what man does, faith plus works; grace plus human achievement; God’s glory plus human boasting.
History teaches us that the gospel can be obscured, neglected, and even forsaken. It has been said that one generation may preach the gospel, but the next assumes it, and the following generation then loses it. May it not be so with us.
Our response to the gospel
As God’s people, every one of us has the responsibility to know the gospel well, that we may discern true from false. We must have a clear, faithful understanding of what Scripture reveals about God, man, Jesus Christ, and how we are to respond to him.
We are to guard the gospel too. This is not just the work of church leaders, but every member of the body of Christ. Together, we strive side-by-side for the faith and purity of the biblical gospel.
We should also treasure the gospel. It is good news for guilty, helpless, and lost sinners like us. We were once far from God and under his wrath. But the amazing news is that God has sent his Son to rescue the guilty and undeserving. All because the Father chose to love the loveless and unlovely. May we continue to trust and hold fast to such a great salvation!
For this reason, we will be embarking on a new sermon series in Paul’s letter to the Galatians. From now until November, we will be working our way through this epistle, which has been called the Magna Carta of Christian liberty. The Galatian churches were in danger of losing the gospel. False teachers had come in among them, teaching that one needed to keep the old covenant law to be saved. The false teach teachers insisted that Gentiles had to be circumcised in addition to believing in Jesus.
To protect the Galatians from forsaking the faith, Paul strongly opposes this false “gospel”. He states in no uncertain terms: “A person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.” (Gal. 2:16) This precious truth of justification by faith alone in Christ alone is a treasure worth cherishing with our lives. It is the anchor of our salvation and assurance.
False “gospels” abound, threatening to draw us away from faithfulness to Christ. We may be tempted to either add to or subtract from the biblical gospel. The subtle pull of our pride and self-righteousness may lead us to depend on our own efforts and performance, instead of trusting in Christ alone. We may even become judgmental and critical of others who fall short of our standards. May Galatians encourage us to protect our freedom in Christ, for he alone has made us right with God. May God help us to know, guard, and treasure the gospel. “For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.” (Gal. 5:1)
The sermon schedule for this series can be found here.