The Five Solas: A Cry for Truth (Part 5 of 5)‏

Hello Friends!

Welcome back to part five of The Five Solas: A Cry for Truth.

This week we will investigate the final Sola known as SOLI DEO GLORIA…

The Five Solas: #5 – Sola Deo Gloria

Glory to God alone, also known as Soli Deo Gloria meaning all the glory is due to God alone not only in the atonement of Christ, but even granting the faith which unites us to Christ and brings us into the salvation provided by his atonement.

But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord - 2 Corinthians 3:18

It is affirmed that because salvation is of God and has been accomplished by God, it is for God's glory and that we must glorify Him always. We must live our entire lives before the face of God, under the authority of God and for His glory alone. It is denied that we can properly glorify God if our worship is confused with entertainment or man-centered techniques, if we neglect either Law or Gospel in our preaching, or if self-improvement, self-esteem or self-fulfillment are allowed to become alternatives to the gospel.

Following Christ isn't just a lifestyle choice; it's an ongoing process of transformation. Christ-followers, exposed to God's grace and glory each day, naturally begin to reflect that glory into the lives of those around them. Is your life experiencing this transformation?

A Call to Repentance!

The faithfulness of the evangelical church in the past contrasts sharply with its unfaithfulness in the present. Earlier in this century, evangelical churches sustained a remarkable missionary endeavor, and built many religious institutions to serve the cause of biblical truth and Christ's kingdom. That was a time when Christian behavior and expectations were markedly different from those in the culture. Today they often are not. The evangelical world today is losing its Biblical fidelity, moral compass and missionary zeal.

We repent of our worldliness. We have been influenced by the "gospels" of our secular culture, which are no gospels at all. We have weakened the church by our own lack of serious repentance, our blindness to the sins in ourselves which we see so clearly in others, and our inexcusable failure adequately to tell others about God's saving work in Jesus Christ.

We must earnestly call back erring professing evangelicals who have deviated from God's Word. This includes those who declare that there is hope of eternal life apart from explicit faith in Jesus Christ, who claim that those who reject Jesus Christ in this life will be annihilated rather than endure the just judgment of God through eternal suffering in hell, or who claim that evangelicals and Roman Catholics are one in Jesus Christ even where the biblical doctrine of justification is not believed. – In Jesus' name, Amen!

Thank you for reading! It is our hope that you now have a better understanding of these theological principles that are rooted in the Word of God.

Keep looking up and sharing the Gospel while there is still time… Hallelujah and Maranatha – come quickly Lord Jesus!

We are not guaranteed tomorrow – tomorrow may be too late! If you haven't yet made that most important decision of your life, won't you make Jesus Christ your personal Lord and Savior today - before it's too late? Today is the day of Salvation!

If you have been blessed by this message or have a specific question, prayer request or testimony, please send me a note to: encouragingconcepts@live.com

I love hearing from you. Keep reading Encouraging Concepts!

Blessings!
Shane K. Morin <><

Encouraging Concepts

Truth for Today

"Living Life From a Biblical Worldview"

Lighthouse Publications <><
"Dedicated to the Never Ending Search for the Creator's calling within You" (TM)

The Five Solas: A Cry for Truth (Part 4 of 5)‏

Hello Friends!

Welcome back to part four of The Five Solas: A Cry for Truth.

This week we will investigate the fourth Sola known as SOLA GRATIA…

The Five Solas: #4 – Sola Gratia

By grace alone is from the Latin Sola gratia. In salvation we are rescued from God's wrath by His grace alone. It is the supernatural work of the Holy Spirit that brings us to Jesus Christ by releasing us from our bondage to sin and raising us from spiritual death to spiritual life. It is denied that salvation is in any sense a human work. Human methods, techniques or strategies by themselves cannot accomplish this transformation. Faith is not produced by our unregenerate human nature.

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast – Ephesians 2:8-9

Our justification before God and our resulting eternal salvation are both solely by the sovereign distinguishing grace of God and are not dependant on any action or condition provided by man. By His grace, He has given man a free will to choose or reject Him.

Thank you for reading! Don’t miss next week’s edition as we investigate the final Sola #5 – SOLI DEO GLORIA…

Keep looking up and sharing the Gospel while there is still time… Hallelujah and Maranatha – come quickly Lord Jesus!

We are not guaranteed tomorrow – tomorrow may be too late! If you haven't yet made that most important decision of your life, won't you make Jesus Christ your personal Lord and Savior today - before it's too late? Today is the day of Salvation!

If you have been blessed by this message or have a specific question, prayer request or testimony, please send me a note to: encouragingconcepts@live.com

I love hearing from you. Keep reading Encouraging Concepts!

Blessings!
Shane K. Morin <><

Encouraging Concepts

Truth for Today

"Living Life From a Biblical Worldview"

Lighthouse Publications <><
"Dedicated to the Never Ending Search for the Creator's calling within You" (TM)

The Five Solas: A Cry for Truth (Part 3 of 5)‏

Hello Friends!

Welcome back to part three of The Five Solas: A Cry for Truth.

This week we will investigate the third Sola known as SOLA CHRISTUS…

The Five Solas: #3 – Sola Christus

By Christ alone is from the Latin Sola Christus. Our salvation is accomplished by the mediatorial work of Jesus Christ alone. His sinless life and substitutionary atonement alone are sufficient for our justification and reconciliation to the Father. It is denied that the gospel is preached if Jesus Christ's substitutionary work is not declared and faith in Him and His work is not solicited.

Jesus Christ's life, death and resurrection is chronicled perfectly in the sixty-six books - the Holy Scriptures. Only from Scripture is it possible to derive any knowledge of His saving work. The knowledge of Jesus Christ's redeeming work is made accessible to man in spite of his hardened heart, which views the gospel as "foolishness"

But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned - 1 Corinthians 2:14

Grace produces faith, which brings actual eternal salvation upon the believing sinner. Jesus Christ is glorified whenever someone believes in His redeeming work. His resurrection is often referred to the glorification of His mission on earth.

Thank you for reading! Don’t miss next week’s edition as we investigate Sola #4 – SOLA GRATIA…

Keep looking up and sharing the Gospel while there is still time… Hallelujah and Maranatha – come quickly Lord Jesus!

We are not guaranteed tomorrow – tomorrow may be too late! If you haven't yet made that most important decision of your life, won't you make Jesus Christ your personal Lord and Savior today - before it's too late? Today is the day of Salvation!

If you have been blessed by this message or have a specific question, prayer request or testimony, please send me a note to: encouragingconcepts@live.com

I love hearing from you. Keep reading Encouraging Concepts!

Blessings!
Shane K. Morin <><

Encouraging Concepts

Truth for Today

"Living Life From a Biblical Worldview"

Lighthouse Publications <><
"Dedicated to the Never Ending Search for the Creator's calling within You" (TM)

The Five Solas: A Cry for Truth‏ (Part 2 of 5)‏

Hello Friends!

Welcome back to part two of The Five Solas: A Cry for Truth.

This week we will investigate the second Sola known as SOLA SCRIPTURA…

The Five Solas: #2 – Sola Scriptura

The inerrant Old and New Testament Scripture - the Holy Bible - is the sole source of written divine revelation, which alone can bind the conscience. The sixty-six books of the Bible alone teaches all that is necessary for our eternal salvation from sin and is the standard by which all Christian behavior must be measured. It is denied that any creed, council or individual may bind a Christian's conscience, that the Holy Spirit speaks independently of - or contrary to - what is set forth in the Bible. Also, personal, subjective spiritual experience can ever be a vehicle of revelation outside of the Holy Scripture.

Scripture alone (Sola Scriptura) is the teaching that Scripture is the Church's only infallible and sufficient rule for deciding issues of faith and practices which involve doctrines. While the Bible does not contain all "general" knowledge, it does contain and is the ONLY source of that which is necessary for eternal salvation of the soul. Indeed, if something is not found in Scripture, it is not binding upon the believer. This view does not deny that the Christian has the authority to teach God's Word. Furthermore, while tradition itself may indeed be valuable, it but must be tested and approved by the higher authority of the Scriptures.

Sola Scriptura:

"does not mean that the Reformers rejected everything that every Christian in earlier ages has said: indeed, they often cited the early Christians as supporters of their own positions. However, they recognized that those earlier believers were not inspired, were not inerrant, and, in fact, quite often made errors in their judgments and beliefs, just as people do today. The only infallible rule of faith, they argued, is found in the pages of Holy Writ." – The Shape of Sola Scriptura, by Keith A. Mathison

In all of this, the role of the third person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit, is critically vital. The Word of God can only be received and obeyed by the power Holy Spirit within the believer.

All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work – 2 Timothy 3:16-17

The Catholic position on Sola Scriptura differs from Protestantism. Roman Catholicism teaches that the Bible is inspired and the infallible original manuscripts. Catholics also do not believe in Sola Scriptura due to the fact that there is no guide to decipher important theological issues without their Church. The Catholic Church also teaches that it collected and organized the Holy Scriptures via Tradition and has the Papal Office guiding and helping decipher important scripture verses.

Thank you for reading! Don’t miss next week’s edition as we investigate Sola #3 – SOLA CHRISTUS…

Keep looking up and sharing the Gospel while there is still time… Hallelujah and Maranatha – come quickly Lord Jesus!

We are not guaranteed tomorrow – tomorrow may be too late! If you haven't yet made that most important decision of your life, won't you make Jesus Christ your personal Lord and Savior today - before it's too late? Today is the day of Salvation!

If you have been blessed by this message or have a specific question, prayer request or testimony, please send me a note to: encouragingconcepts@live.com

I love hearing from you. Keep reading Encouraging Concepts!

Blessings!
Shane K. Morin <><

Encouraging Concepts

Truth for Today

"Living Life From a Biblical Worldview"

Lighthouse Publications <><
"Dedicated to the Never Ending Search for the Creator's calling within You" (TM)

The Five Solas: A Cry for Truth (Part 1 of 5)‏

Hello Friends!

Welcome to a new 5-part EC series titled The Five Solas: A Cry for Truth. This series will investigate these often misunderstood beliefs and convictions based on the Bible – The Word of God. Please join us over the next five weeks as we learn more about the specifics of these cries for truth. 

 

The Five Solas are five Latin phrases (or slogans) that emerged from the Protestant Reformation intended to summarize the Reformers' basic theological principles in contrast to certain teachings of the Roman Catholic Church of the day. "Sola" is Latin meaning "alone" or "only" and the corresponding phrases are:

• Sola Fide - by Faith alone
• Sola Scriptura - by Scripture alone
• Solus Christus - through Christ alone
• Sola Gratia - by Grace alone
• Soli Deo Gloria - glory to God alone

These phrases may be found individually expressed in the various writings of the 16th century Reformers, either explicitly or implicitly, but they are not found presented as a list per se. It is most likely the list of Solas came about later.

Let’s begin our study with the Sola known as SOLA FIDE…

The Five Solas: #1 - Sola Fide

Justification is by grace alone through faith alone because of Christ alone. In justification Christ's righteousness is imputed to us as the only possible satisfaction of God's perfect justice. Our justification does not rest on any merit to be found in us, nor upon the grounds of an infusion of Christ's righteousness in us, nor that an institution claiming to be a church that denies or condemns sola fide can be recognized as a legitimate church.

By faith alone, from the Latin Sola Fide, is one of the five Solas of the 16th century Protestant Reformation. This was Martin Luther’s cry in reference to our "right-standing" before God. Justification, he declared, is by faith alone, not faith plus anything else. Luther believed this was a critical doctrine and regarded it as the truth by which the church would either stand or fall.

"The doctrine of free justification by faith alone, which became the storm center of so much controversy during the Reformation period, is so often regarded as the heart of the Reformers theology but this is not accurate. The truth is that their thinking was really centered upon the contention of Paul, echoed by Augustine and others, that the sinner’s entire salvation is by free and sovereign grace only, and that the doctrine of justification by faith was important to them because it safeguarded the principle of sovereign grace. The sovereignty of grace found expression in their thinking at a more profound level still in the doctrine of monergistic regeneration." – J.I. Packer 

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast – Ephesians 2:8-9

Thank you for reading! Don’t miss next week’s edition as we investigate Sola #2 – SOLA SCRITURA…

Keep looking up and sharing the Gospel while there is still time… Hallelujah and Maranatha – come quickly Lord Jesus!

We are not guaranteed tomorrow – tomorrow may be too late! If you haven't yet made that most important decision of your life, won't you make Jesus Christ your personal Lord and Savior today - before it's too late? Today is the day of Salvation!

If you have been blessed by this message or have a specific question, prayer request or testimony, please send me a note to: encouragingconcepts@live.com

I love hearing from you. Keep reading Encouraging Concepts!

Blessings!
Shane K. Morin <><

Encouraging Concepts

Truth for Today

"Living Life From a Biblical Worldview"

Lighthouse Publications <><
"Dedicated to the Never Ending Search for the Creator's calling within You" (TM)