Scriptural literacy was the foundation of the Protestant Reformation. As I’d mentioned before, the Five Solas are not a catechism or confession of faith. The Five Solas are instead a concise summary of the major doctrinal focal points of the Protestant Reformation. To understand the cohesion and the importance of the Five Solas, and why they’re still relevant as teaching tools today, it is important to take a look at the history behind the Reformation itself. More specifically, it’s important to understand why the Bible was so foundational to its cause.
The Roman Catholic Church Banned Possession of Bibles Throughout Medieval Europe
By the close of the Middle Ages, the Roman Catholic Church had intertwined itself with the European government to form what was effectively a mixed government driven by ecclesiastical fiefdom. This meant that the Roman Catholic church was the only sanctioned form of Christianity in Europe and they could levy the power and resources of the European government for their own interests. During this period, the Roman Catholic church had limited the Bible to a single translation, the Latin Vulgate, and they outlawed personal possession of the Bible throughout all of their allied European territories.
“Canon 14: We prohibit also that the laity (common people) should be permitted to have the books of the Old or New Testament; unless anyone from motive of devotion should wish to have the Psalter or the Breviary for divine offices or the hours of the blessed Virgin; but we most strictly forbid their having any translation of these books.” (COUNCIL OF TOULOUSE, 1229 AD).
Since Latin was a dead language to much of Europe, this also meant that majority of people could not read the Vulgate for themselves. The only way to access the Bible for much of the West, was to be part of the Roman Catholic clergy itself. By extension, the only way for the commoner to hear the Scriptures preached, was from the Roman Catholic clergy. For hundreds of years, the Roman Catholic church leveraged their suppression of the Scriptures to position themselves as the only valid form of Christianity in all of Europe. Since no one could question their interpretation of the Bible, they were able to aggregate an overwhelming amount of power for themselves:
If anyone rejects any written or unwritten tradition of the church, let him be anathema (Second Council of Nicaea).
“The holy Roman Church believes, professes, and preaches that no one remaining outside the Catholic Church, not just pagans, but also Jews or heretics or schismatics, can become partakers of eternal life; but they will go to the ‘everlasting fire which was prepared for the devil and his angels’ unless before the end of life they are joined to the Church. For the union with the body of the Church is of such importance that the sacraments of the Church are helpful to salvation only for those remaining in it; and fasts, almsgiving, other works of piety, and the exercise of Christian warfare bear eternal rewards for them alone. And no one can be saved, no matter how much alms he has given, even if he sheds his blood for the name of Christ, unless he remains in the bosom and unity of the Catholic Church. (Pope Eugene IV; Session 11 — Feb. 4, 1442)”
“We declare, say, define, and pronounce that it is absolutely necessary for the salvation of every human creature to be subject to the Roman Pontiff” (Unam Sanctam, 1302).
The Pope replaced Jesus as the Chief Shepherd, only their priests could offer valid sacraments, and only by submitting to the will of the Roman Catholic Theocracy could people be saved. This was a problem, since the Roman Catholic church was consistently abusing their power to murder and pillage on a massive scale in a series of proxy wars collectively knowns as the Inquisitions. This abuse had been going on for centuries, starting with the Medieval Inquisition near the turn of the 13th century and it continuing throughout 15th and 16th centuries as the Spanish Inquisition. With the English government in their pocket, Roman Catholic Inquisitors would label their theological or political opponents as heretics and then conveniently hand off to the government authorities for coercing punishment on their behalf. This began with torture and pillaging, and regularly progressed to execution.
Through the Scriptures, the Tyrannical Roman Catholic Church was Dismantled by Their Own Clergymen
By the late 14th century, the Roman Catholic church had fragmented from within. Small pockets of their clergy began to resent the persistent evil of their church and began criticizing their practices. Priests, such as John Wycliffe and Jan Hus, began using Scripture to critique the corrupted practices of Roman Catholicism. These priests also began translating the Bible into common languages, with the goal of dispersing them throughout the Europe.
At the turn of the 16th century, these efforts would greatly accelerate at the hands of another dissenting priest, William Tyndale. Tyndale had successively translated and distributed significant portions of the Bible in English. Not only that, he had translated his works from earlier and more accurate Greek and Hebrew manuscripts, correcting significant portions of the Vulgate. The Roman Catholic church had Tyndale burned at the stake for his work and his copies were ordered to be destroyed.
Fortunately, the advent of the printing press made the complete suppression of the Scriptures impossible, and his translation was finished and mass distributed throughout Europe. In a last-ditch effort, the Roman Catholic church leveraged the Inquisition against the Reformers, but the true Gospel had already permeated through much Europe.
The Roman Catholic church would never recover, as their already tenuous facade of divine authority and righteousness had been conclusively destroyed. With their hypocrisy exposed, their partnership with the European government began to fracture and they soon found themselves without the favor and resources they once had.
The Scriptures Revealed the Righteousness of God and the Evil of the Roman Catholic Church
Imagine how liberating it must have felt for the European Peasantry to finally have access to the Scriptures, which contain the very words of God Himself. Then, imagine how painful and vindicating it must of been for them to see that the Scriptures detailed Christianity very differently than Roman Tradition did. Not only did the Bible not support Roman Catholicism’s coercive doctrines, but they condemned their corrupt theocracy. Contrary to Roman Catholicism, the Bible preached that:
The triune God was the rock of our salvation, not the Papacy:
Isaiah 44:8: Do not tremble or fear. Have I not told you and declared it long ago? You are My witnesses! Is there any God but Me? There is no other Rock; I know not one.”
1 Corinthians 10:4: And all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ.
That Jesus was our High Priest and Chief Shepherd, not the Pope:
Hebrews 44:14: Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess.
Hebrews 13:20-21: Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.
That Jesus was our only mediator between us and God:
1 Timothy 2:5: For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus.
Galatians 3:18-20: For if the inheritance comes by the law, it no longer comes by promise; but God gave it to Abraham by a promise. Why then the law? It was added because of transgressions, until the offspring should come to whom the promise had been made, and it was put in place through angels by an intermediary. Now an intermediary implies more than one, but God is one.
That Mary and Pope did not have to be venerated or invoked to be saved:
Acts 4:12: And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
That the true church was the body of true Christian believers, not the church of Rome:
1 Corinthians 12:12-14: For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and mall were made to drink of one Spirit.
There was no papal office to be found in the Bible:
1 Corinthians 12:28: And God has placed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, gifts of healing, helps, gifts of leadership, different kinds of tongues. Not all are apostles, are they? Not all are prophets, are they? Not all are teachers, are they? Not all perform miracles, do they? Not all have gifts of healing, do they? Not all speak in tongues, do they? Not all interpret, do they?
1 Timothy 2:8-11: Deacons likewise must be dignified, not double-tongued, not addicted to much wine, not greedy for dishonest gain. They must hold the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience. And let them also be tested first; then let them serve as deacons if they prove themselves blameless. Their wives likewise must be dignified, not slanderers, but sober-minded, faithful in all things.
There was no mention of purgatory and there was no mandate to pay Roman Church money to speed up one’s admittance to Heaven. Instead, Jesus paid for our sins, and those sins are remembered no more, and He has already sanctified us Himself:
Hebrews 10:12-18: But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified. And the Holy Spirit also bears witness to us; for after saying, “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, declares the Lord, I will put my laws on their hearts, and write them on their minds,” then he adds, “I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.” Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin.
That salvation was a gift dependent on the Gospel, not on Roman Catholic sacraments:
Ephesians 2:8-9: For it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not from yourselves; it is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast.
Titus 3:5: He saved us, not by the righteous deeds we had done, but according to His mercy, through the washing of new birth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.
That good works, the ones necessary for Salvation, were produced as a product of Faith, not something that had to purchased through money, rituals, or theocratic submission:
Ephesians 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
Romans 11:5-6: In the same way, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace. And if it is by grace, then it is no longer by works. Otherwise, grace would no longer be grace.
That the true Christian church was persecuted by the government. It was never detailed as persecuting with the government:
Acts 8:1: On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria.”
Luke 21:12-13: “But before all this, they will seize you and persecute you. They will hand you over to synagogues and put you in prison, and you will be brought before kings and governors, and all on account of my name. And so you will bear testimony to me.”
Christians were never called to inflict violence and murder against other people, like the Roman Catholics did:
Leviticus 19:18: Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against any of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD.
1 Peter 3:9: Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.
Most condemningly of all, the Bible preached that a great evil was always expected to arise from within the Christian church, that the propagators of this evil would pretend to be Christian, and that their evil could be confirmed by the consistent sinfulness of their actions.
Acts 20:28-30: Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood. I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them.
John 2: 18-20: Children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come. Therefore, we know that it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us. But you have been anointed by the Holy One, and you all have knowledge.
Matthew 7:15-20: “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.
The 5 Solas
With the lies and hypocrisy of the Roman Catholic church exposed, a new era of Christendom grew in Europe. People left the Roman Catholic church in droves, using the Bible itself to rebuke them. The epiphanies these common Christians had, the same ones that drove the Priests of the Reformation, are summarized today as the Five Solas:
Solus Christus (Christ Alone):
Jesus Christ is the cornerstone of our salvation. Since Jesus is the prophesied messiah, high priest, chief shepherd, final judge, and our eternal Lord, He stands above any church office as the singular arbiter of our salvation. Since Jesus purposefully takes up all of these roles, there is no room for any men to mediate or intercede on our behalf. No one is needed to mediate between us and God, and no one is needed to mediate between us and Jesus. As long as we submit to Jesus’ Lordship, we are saved.
Sola Fide (Faith Alone):
Christians are justified and sanctified through their faith in Jesus and the Gospel. Jesus’ blood forever pays for mankind’s sin, and the Holy Spirit progressive makes their hearts righteous. Consequently, good works are the product of a saved soul, they are not the means by which souls are saved. Even works mandated by the Law itself were not enough to merit a salvation that was not already given by God through Jesus’ sacrifice.
Sola Gratia (Grace Alone):
Salvation is the wholly unmerited gift from God to man. For millennia mankind failed to make themselves righteous enough for Heaven. By the time of Isaiah, Israel itself had become so wicked that not even the Law and Sacraments were pleasing to God anymore. Consequently, God redeemed mankind by Himself, by making mankind righteous and forgiving them of their sin as a produce of grace.
Sola Scriptura (Scripture Alone):
Only God is wholly righteous and only God is wholly trustworthy. Since the church was shown to corruptible both within the Scriptures and throughout history itself, then the church was never meant to supplant God’s authority. Consequently, the Scriptures, detailing the words and will of God Himself, must be observed as the highest authority on Christion doctrine and practice.
Soli Deo Gloria (Glory to God Alone):
All of these Solas, and all of the Scriptures, point toward God’s righteousness and Sovereignty. God does everything, He writes the Law, He forgives our sin, He makes us righteous by the Holy Spirit, He orchestrates the Scriptures, and He is the ruler over all Creation. God’s authority was never meant to be restricted, supplanted, or contingent upon mankind, not even the church itself. Consequently, God alone is to be worshipped, venerated, and revered.
The Failure of the Reformation Led to the Rise of Modern Christendom
Now, the Reformation failed spectacularly in its original goal to restore the Roman Catholic church. Many of the Reformers intended not to secede from the Roman Catholic church, but to correct it. Even the most infamous Reformed bishop, Martin Luther, only left the Roman Catholic church under threat of execution.
This is important for us modern day Christians, especially Protestants, to acknowledge. A unifying belief of the Apostles, the Roman Catholics, and the Reformers, was the importance of unity in the true church. In fact, the Early Church referred to itself as Catholic (“universal” or “according to the whole”) long before it was corrupted by the paganism and politics of Rome. Even though the Roman Catholic theocracy had become the seat of unrepentant evil for centuries, it was still considered best to the Reformers that the Roman Catholic leaders repent and return to their Christian roots.
Instead, what we saw was further division of church, an necessary pain that has plagued Judeo Christianity for millennia. Just like the split between Korah and Moses, Solomon and Adonijah, Judah from Israel, the Judaizers from the Apostolic church, the Marcionites from the Early Church, the fracturing of the Orthodoxies in the 11th century, and the fracturing of the Papacy in the 13th century.
Now, the Roman Catholic church clearly was not representative of God and they had to struck down. However, dozens of new denominations sprung from its defeat, marking a significantly larger fracturing of the “visible church” than there had ever been in prior history. Some denominations were theologically driven, some were politically driven, and others were simply territorially driven, much like the churches in the Apostles time. This rapidly accelerating fragmentation of church bodies reinforced the importance of the pursuit and understanding of the “True Church.”
The True Church is the spiritual congregation of all true Christians. These Christians could be found in any country, be of any race, and could be found within a variety of denominations, plausibly even the modern day Roman Catholic church itself. The true head of the church is Jesus Christ, and His Gospel is brought to us as a function of knowledge. If we want to know that we are indeed receiving the grace and sanctification the Gospel brings, then we must ensure that we are truly worshipping the correct interpretation of Jesus and the correct interpretation of the Gospel. If the Lord one worships and the Gospel they preach are perverted too far, those people will face condemnation and hellfire.
This points us squarely to the Scriptures, the only reliable source of the will, testimony, and commandments of the Triune God. So, it is upon us, every Christian, from every denomination, to deeply study and contemplate the Bible. It is only by the Scriptures that we can honestly be sure that we are approaching the objective and correct understanding of our Lord. It is only by the Scriptures that we can even begin to experience the true majesty, righteousness, and benevolence of God.
So, the true victory of the Reformation was not mending or defeating Roman Catholicism. The true victory of the Reformation was making the Bible readily accessible to everyone in the West. Of even greater importance, was that the Reformers also re-established Jesus as the head of the church to Europe.
Jesus was not a passive figurehead that the Papacy invoked to remain above reproach as they abused their power. Jesus was the true and full head of the Church as Lord, Messiah, and High Priest. Many good Christians were murdered for this cause, but they were willingly martyred because they knew how vital God’s Sovereignty is to our faith and how strongly the Scriptures testified to it.
The Reformation is Still Relevant Today
If we are honest with ourselves, we know that the Roman Catholic Church was not the beginning, or the end, of corruption in Christianity. Wherever large groups of people are allow to aggregate influence and diminish accountability, corruption reigns. This can still be seen in the modern Roman Catholic Church today, but there are also Protestant denominations that have departed from Christianity as well. Furthermore, entirely alien sects of grotesque religions have anchored onto Jesus’ name and attempt to fly the Christian banner, too.
All of these corrupt sects have belittled the Scriptures and elevated their own theocracies (or political ideologies) as the indisputable authority of God’s word. Fortunately, the 5 Solas remind us that God alone is the head of the church and that the Scriptures are His chosen medium for preserving His will for the True Church.