Sola Fide - 507 Years of Reformation | Pastor Raph | Oct. 27, 2024

One Faith, one Family

“Sola Fide”- Faith Alone

God is calling us to walk in one faith and as one family. Today, I want to first emphasize our "one faith". What faith is that?

October 31 marks the anniversary of a pivotal moment in Christian history—507 years since Martin Luther nailed his Ninety-Five Theses to the doors of All Saints’ Church in Wittenberg, Germany, in 1517. This act is often seen as the spark that ignited the Protestant Reformation.

Luther’s theses, officially titled Disputation on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences, boldly challenged the Catholic Church’s practice of selling indulgences—payments made to reduce punishment for sins—which he viewed as a corruption of the gospel message.

Luther argued that forgiveness and salvation could not be bought or earned but were gifts of grace received through faith alone. (Sola Fide).

Luther’s actions quickly spread. By questioning the Pope's authority and emphasizing the centrality of Scripture over church tradition (Sola Scriptura), Luther set the stage for profound religious, social, and political change across the Western world.

The Reformation revealed that faith, rather than works or sacraments, was the true path to salvation.

The Five Solas

The Five Solas of the Reformation capture the core beliefs that make you a Protestant. At the heart of these principles is Sola Scriptura, or “Scripture Alone,” the belief that the Bible is the ultimate authority in matters of faith and practice, standing above church traditions or papal declarations. Building on this, Sola Fide, or “Faith Alone,” asserts that salvation is received through faith in Jesus Christ alone, not by works or human efforts. This connects closely with Sola Gratia, or “Grace Alone,” which emphasizes that salvation is a free gift from God’s grace, given purely out of His mercy and love. Solus Christus, or “Christ Alone,” teaches that Jesus is the sole mediator between God and humanity, meaning salvation is found only in Christ, not through the intercession of saints or priests. Finally, Soli Deo Gloria, or “To the Glory of God Alone,” proclaims that all glory belongs to God, as He is the source of salvation and every good thing. 

Luther’s story.

Luther saw it as God’s strict justice—a terrifying concept that seemed to demand an unreachable level of moral perfection.

The term iustificare [latin] (justification.) Luther examined this word deeply; he turned to the Greek word used in the New Testament, dikaiosyne, and discovered that it meant “to regard as righteous” or “declare as righteous.” 

These Five Solas became the foundation of a direct, grace-based relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ, as revealed in scripture. That is the gospel message. That is the power of God 

(Romans 1:16-17) “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, ‘The righteous shall live by faith.’” When Luther first encountered the phrase “the righteousness of God,” 

Hence, justification is not an internal change that comes from the effort of the pious, religious person, but it is an external declaration by God regarding those who believe in Him as righteous.

The Reformed theology sees justification not as a human achievement or a result of one’s works but as a gift of God’s grace, received through faith, confirming and making sense of all the New Testament writings. 

That righteousness is declared by God through faith—the cornerstone of the doctrine of justification by faith. In Luther's view, if “the righteousness of God” was a standard humans had to achieve, then salvation felt hopelessly out of reach.

Righteousness is a gift that God freely grants through faith. It is not something people earn; it is a gift God declares over believers.

Our entire Soteriology is anchored in this core belief: salvation through faith alone. “Sola Fide.”

Indulgences (1517)

Johann Tetzel, a Dominican monk known for his theatrical marketing tactics, traveled across Germany selling indulgences with dramatic flair. Tetzel held grand processions adorned with papal symbols, and his captivating sermons included the memorable sales pitch: 

“Every time a coin in the coffer rings, a soul from purgatory springs.” 

This phrase promised buyers that their payment would release a soul from purgatory, a concept Luther found deeply troubling.

In response, on October 31, 1517, Martin Luther drafted his Ninety-Five Theses, a document challenging the theological validity and ethical implications of indulgences. Luther’s Theses were intended as a scholarly protest, addressing what he saw as the abuse of indulgences and calling for reform within the Church.

On October 31, 1517, Martin Luther deliberately chose to post his Ninety-Five Theses on the eve of All Saints’ Day, November 1, a significant religious holiday that drew large crowds to church.

This timing ensured his message would reach many people attending mass the following day, maximizing its visibility. Luther’s act wasn’t rebellious or disrespectful. Posting notices on the church door in Wittenberg was common practice; the door functioned as a community bulletin board where scholars, clergy, and townsfolk could share news or announce debates.

Luther’s primary intention was to spark an academic discussion on the sale of indulgences and the nature of true repentance within the church rather than to provoke a public outcry.

He wrote them in Latin, aiming to initiate a debate among scholars. However, thanks to the printing press, the 95 Theses spread quickly, reaching a much wider audience and inadvertently fueling a wave of reform that would transform the church and European society.

The printing press, invented around 1440 by Johannes Gutenberg, a German blacksmith and goldsmith, revolutionized communication by introducing movable metal type. This innovation allowed for the mass production of books and written materials, vastly increasing public access to literature and knowledge and laying the groundwork for widespread literacy.

The printing press, invented around 1440 by Johannes Gutenberg, a German blacksmith and goldsmith, revolutionized communication by introducing movable metal type. It laid the groundwork for widespread literacy. One of Gutenberg’s most famous works was the Gutenberg Bible, printed in 1455 (in 1987, the original copy was sold for $5 million which nowadays will be equivalent to $13 million).

Gutenberg printing technology allowed in only 2 weeks the 95 Theses to be spread in every single Geman village.

Background on Luther’s Early Life and Struggles

Early Crises: Luther experienced significant life crises that shaped his path, notably his entry into the monastery (1505) and disillusionment with Rome (1510). Called to Wittenberg by Frederick the Wise, Elector of Saxony, Luther became a Bible professor and began his work that catalyzed the Reformation. Wittenberg as an Intellectual Hub: Frederick , The Wise, aimed to rival German intellectual centers and collected relics, intending to establish Wittenberg as a prominent pilgrimage site.

Luther’s Tower Experience and Revelation, Inspired by Augustine, Luther viewed righteousness as “alien,” belonging to Christ and imputed to believers, not earned by personal merit.

Luther’s “Tower Experience” (around 1519), he prepared a lecture in Romans 1:17

Romans 1:17 (ESV) For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”

“At last, by the mercy of God, meditating day and night, I gave heed to the context of the words, namely, ‘In it the righteousness of God is revealed, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”’ There I began to understand that the righteousness of God is that by which the righteous lives by a gift of God, namely by faith… Here I felt that I was altogether born again and had entered paradise itself through open gates.”

This revelation righteousness is a gift from God, received through faith, rather than something earned by works. This is the foundation on justification by faith alone, a cornerstone of the Protestant Reformation.

John 3:5-7 (ESV) 5 Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’

John 3:10 (ESV) 10 Jesus answered him, “Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things?

John 3:16-18 (ESV) 16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.

Despite his growing criticisms of certain church practices, Luther initially sought to remain within the Catholic Church. His goal wasn’t to create a schism but to address what he viewed as abuses, particularly regarding indulgences. Luther’s intent was reform rather than rebellion. Luther’s criticisms targeted Tetzel’s methods rather than the papacy directly. Hoping to gain support for reform, he even sent a copy of his Ninety-Five Theses to Prince Albert of Brandenburg, the archbishop who authorized Tetzel’s indulgence campaign in Germany.

However, instead of taking up Luther’s concerns, Prince Albert sided with Tetzel and escalated the matter by forwarding complaints to Pope Leo X. This move drew Rome’s attention to Luther’s teachings, marking the beginning of a deeper, more intense conflict with the Church’s hierarchy.

Interestingly, while the Ninety-Five Theses questioned indulgence practices and emphasized genuine repentance, they did not directly lay out the full doctrine of justification by faith alone.

At the time, Luther’s main focus was exposing the corruption in indulgence sales and encouraging a return to true contrition and repentance rather than addressing all the theological principles that would later define the Reformation. 

The "sola fide, or justification by faith alone, developed as Luther continued his theological exploration and debate, eventually becoming a core doctrine of the Protestant movement.

Pope Leo X’s eventual intervention led to the formal condemnation of Luther’s views, setting off a chain of events that would ultimately lead Luther further away from the Church he had hoped to reform. This marked the early stages of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that transformed Western Christianity.

Here is Luther’s response in the Diet of Worms in 1521:

“Since your most serene majesty and your highnesses require of me a simple, clear, and direct answer, I will give one, and it is this:

Unless I am convinced by the testimony of the Scriptures or by clear reason (for I do not trust either in the Pope or in councils alone, since it is well known that they have often erred and contradicted themselves), I am bound by the Scriptures I have quoted, and my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot, and I will not retract anything since it is neither safe nor right to go against my conscience.

Here I stand, I can do no other. God help me. Amen.”

“What exactly are we celebrating each year on Reformation Day? “Is it the profound recovery of the truth of justification by faith alone in Christ alone? Is it the liberation of the Bible into the language of the people? Is it the end of indulgences?” Is it the rejection of papal authority? Is it the dismantling of the priest class as mediators between God and man? It is all of these things combined.

Ultimate Celebration: The glory of Jesus Christ is the foremost reason to celebrate.

It is not faith in faith but in the truth of complete forgiveness.

The reformation faith is anchored on the finished work of Christ. Our healing, our blessings, the newness of life, transformation, and everything good that comes with the Salvific faith is not a different faith as it is grounded and some other foundation.

1 Corinthians 3:11: “For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.”

That is why we should never lose sight of Christ. There are so many distractions in other influences within evangelicalism that insist that the church needs a more pragmatic and applicable message. These influences include psychology, sociology, political Science and the Social Sciences.

Hebrews 12:2: “Looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.”

There is a place for all of this in the church, but it should never become its foundation or identity. What makes us the household of God is one faith generated and developed in Christ.

The truth of Jesus’ sacrificial death as the fully sufficient atonement is our faith ground.

Hebrews 7:27: “He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for his own sins and then for those of the people, since he did this once for all when he offered up himself.”

Hebrews 9:12: “He entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption.”

Hebrews 9:26: “For then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.”

Hebrews 10:10: “And by that will, we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.”

The Reformers saw this as a theological basis for rejecting the reenactment of Christ’s sacrifice, holding that His work on the cross was complete and needed no repetition.

Access to the Scripture.

Our VSM students are studying the wisdom books and Psalms. This week, Pastor John Warton asked me about my favorite Psalm. Psalm 90, Psalm 23, 139. But we take it for granted so much what cust the life of many believers.

Access to scripture is essential for a true and joyful relationship with God. Before the Reformation, the Bible was out of reach for most people because it was only available in Latin and closely controlled by the official church, so laypeople couldn’t read it in their language. This barrier forced them to rely on priests to interpret God’s word for them, making a direct connection with scripture impossible.

Psalms 34:8-10 (ESV) Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him! 9 Oh, fear the LORD, you his saints, for those who fear him have no lack! 10 The young lions suffer want and hunger; but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.

The Reformation changed all of this, opening the door to the scripture. 

Anyone can read and understand God’s Word for themselves; anyone can have a direct relationship with Him and experience a new sense of peace and connection.

What the Apostles and Reformers actually fought for.

Ephesians 3:14-19 (ESV) 14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, 16 that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

Paul prays that Christ may dwell in the hearts of believers through faith. A prayer for Christians—not for initial conversion, but for a deeper, conscious experience of Christ’s presence within them.

It is a call to an intimate relationship with Christ, where He is not only present but “at home” in believers’ hearts, alive and actively cherished.

This “dwelling” of Christ is a living, present reality rather than an abstract belief. Only made possible through faith alone—faith is the “sufficient instrument” by which believers enjoy personal fellowship with Christ. 

Romans 5:1-2 “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.”

Accessible directly through personal faith without needing external rituals or mediators. This understanding is a central theme of the Reformation, celebrating the accessibility of a close relationship with God through scripture and faith.

Do you want that Reformation in your faith today?

Psalm 145:18 “The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.”

Romans 10:8-13 (ESV) The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); 9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. 11 For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. 13 For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”