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The Five Solas of the Reformation


Omegaman 3.0

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I think that most of us can agree that even if we do not know the 5 solas by name, we know them on principle and can agree with them. They are scripturally sound.

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Yes the truth aspect rings a cord within our new born realities within....

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I've always thought this analogy was apt for Sola Fide:

Faith -- The Seed (we're saved here)
Works -- The Tree (verifies the faith)
Salvation -- The Fruit  (our reward for true faith)

I really don't know how one can separate genuine faith from works, God most certainly does not want us to "believe" than get complacent. Faith and works are friends.  

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5 hours ago, secretopossumcabal said:

I've always thought this analogy was apt for Sola Fide:

Faith -- The Seed (we're saved here)
Works -- The Tree (verifies the faith)
Salvation -- The Fruit  (our reward for true faith)

I really don't know how one can separate genuine faith from works, God most certainly does not want us to "believe" than get complacent. Faith and works are friends.  

It is really simple really... God is not keeping anything that is here but when finished with it (completing His Word) He will burn it all up! And what will be~ will be so vastly different it hasn't even entered our minds what that could be... so then nothing of what is here that can be manipulated with our works can pass through this fire! Therefore reliance upon any of this stuff for eternal keeping is just foolishness. However yielding to God in faith by letting go of this present world and the stuff and yielding ourselves to His use and glory >through this faith alone< yields to the fit of ourselves into what is not yet but will be... Love, Steven

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5 hours ago, Omegaman 3.0 said:

Well, it is just about the 500th anniversary of the Reformation. For those not familiar with that, it is a time in church history, where people were waking up to how far the church had degraded since it's inception.

A reformation was needed, because church leadership, to a great degree, had become corrupted. Church positions were basically for sale to the highest bidder. The church was allowing people to buy indulgences, basically a license to sin, and shorten one's time in Purgatory.

These could be used for yourself, or to shorten the time of a deceased loved one. Purgatory was basically seen as a place where a person paid for their sins by suffering until their sins were paid for and they could attain to heaven. In other words, the substitutionary death of Christ on the cross was deemed inadequate - definitely not the gospel, nor in the Bible.

Church leadership (and by that I mean the Pope, Bishops, Cardinals, all the way down to priests) was falling prey to  pride, sexual sin, hunger for power, greed and the like.

The Bible was not yet in the hands of common people, nor was it necessarily in a language that ordinary people could understand, Christians were totally dependent, on what their leaders told them the Bible said, and what the Bible meant.

That was a very quick summary of the conditions that had developed in the first 1500 years of the church. It is not my purpose to lecture anyone on church history, nor am I qualified to do so. I just wanted to give a quick background of what lead to the Reformation.

Generally it is held, that the Reformation began when a German monk (Martin Luther) nailed his 95 theses on the door of Wittenberg Castle. That can be debated, but it was certainly a pivotal event.

Now, the main thing I came to do, was to open a discussion about the five "solas" of the reformation. These are 5 ideas, that sort of embody the spirit of the Reformation, the main things that were seen as needing to be addressed and focused upon in the church as it existed at the time. Luther's hope, was not to attack the church, or start a new denomination, nor anything of the sort. His hope was to start a bit of a dialogue or debate, an opportunity for the church to do a little self examination.

Sola, comes from a Latin word meaning alone or sole. The solas are these:
 

  • SOLA SCRIPTURA
  • SOLA FIDE
  • SOLA GRATIA
  • SOLO CHRISTO
  • SOLI DEO GLORIA

Sola scriptura, is the idea, that only the scripture, is ultimately a trustworthy source of information about spiritual matters. The traditions of the church, lack any real authority. Likewise, the leadership of the church, was also not authoritative, and must be subservient to the word of God.

Sola fide, is the idea that salvation comes by faith alone, not by works, God grants salvation, and believers do not earn it by doing good deeds.

Sola gratia, is closely related to sola fide. It is the idea, that mankind does not earn, cannot earn, and can never deserve salvation. Salvation is a free gift that God bestows to believers, totally apart from any merit of their own.

Solo Christo, addresses the subject of and object of the faith of believers who will inherit salvation. Our faith is in Christ alone. There is nothing or no one in which we place our faith apart from Christ. No faith in works, nor the church, nor Mary the mother of Jesus, not the saints, not our prayers or rituals - our faith is in Jesus alone, regarding salvation.

Sola deo gloria, informs us that all glory, is due to God alone, no one else gets credit or glory for what God has done for us. Of course, this implies the Godhead, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, as the one true God.

They could be stated, that the scriptures alone, authoritatively teach us that we are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, to the glory of God alone.

That is what I have to say, to start this topic. If anyone chooses to, they may add to the discussion, elaborate, offer scripture, etc. I just thought it fitting, at this time of the impending 500 years anniversary of the Reformation, to offer some thought and reflection on what it was/is about.

Thank you for sharing this Omegaman. It is always good to learn :) Blessings 

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10 hours ago, secretopossumcabal said:

I've always thought this analogy was apt for Sola Fide:

Faith -- The Seed (we're saved here)
Works -- The Tree (verifies the faith)
Salvation -- The Fruit  (our reward for true faith)

I really don't know how one can separate genuine faith from works, God most certainly does not want us to "believe" than get complacent. Faith and works are friends.  

Hi Mr Possum, yes I like the way you sum it up, it is so true and so filled with wisdom, what is true foolishness is not understanding Gods Holy plea for us, to repent and ask to come back close to Him through His plan of Mercy and Grace.

Yes we are only saved by Gods plan of Mercy and
Grace.

We can only come back home to God this way.

John 14:6 Christ Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
 

James 2:14-26New King James Version (NKJV)

Faith Without Works Is Dead

14 What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? 17 Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

18 But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without your[a] works, and I will show you my faith by my[b] works. 19 You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble! 20 But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead?[c] 21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? 22 Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect? 23 And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.”[d] And he was called the friend of God. 24 You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only.

25 Likewise, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out another way?

26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.

 

James says, “For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also” (James 2:26). Faith without works is a dead faith because the lack of works reveals an unchanged life or a spiritually dead heart. There are many verses that say that true saving faith will result in a transformed life, that faith is demonstrated by the works we do. How we live reveals what we believe and whether the faith we profess to have is a living faith.

James 2:14–26 is sometimes taken out of context in an attempt to create a works-based system of righteousness, but that is contrary to many other passages of Scripture. James is not saying that our works make us righteous before God but that real saving faith is demonstrated by good works. Works are not the cause of salvation; works are the evidence of salvation. Faith in Christ always results in good works. The person who claims to be a Christian but lives in willful disobedience to Christ has a false or dead faith and is not saved. Paul basically says the same thing in 1 Corinthians 6:9–10. James contrasts two different types of faith—true faith that saves and false faith that is dead.

Many profess to be Christians, but their lives and priorities indicate otherwise. Jesus put it this way: “By their fruits you will know them. Do people pick grapes from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles? Just so, every good tree bears good fruit, and a rotten tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a rotten tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. So by their fruits you will know them. Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name? Did we not drive out demons in your name? Did we not do mighty deeds in your name?’ Then I will declare to them solemnly, ‘I never knew you. Depart from me, you evildoers’” (Matthew 7:16–23).

--------------

Their where two prisoners on each side of Christ Jesus, one was mocking Him unto his own death while the other also dying, acknowledged  his sin and ask asked Christ Jesus for His Mercy and Grace and to be with Him.

God gave truly  His Mercy and Grace to the repentant prisoners soul while the mocking prisoner grieved the Holy Spirit of God unto his own death and absence from God.

***Repentance is a true change of heart brought on by true honest faith.****

True repentance is acknowledging our sins and really wanting to turn away from our sins and  daily continually making the faithful resolution to have a daily relationship with God and through His only begotten Son Christ Jesus, to keep turning from sin and when wrong asking for forgiveness and working in good honest faith with and in and through God working in us, through us, to transform us more and more in Christs new creation sinning less and less as we keep walking daily in our faith in Christ Jesus.

2 Corinthians 5:20

19 that God was reconciling the world to Himself in Christ, not counting men’s trespasses against them. And He has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20Therefore we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making His appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ: Be reconciled to God. 21God made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.…

 

***A truly saved person becomes and ambassador=representative for Christ Jesus. A true representatives behavior is aligned to the ONE it is representing.***

2 Corinthians 5:17

17Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away. Behold, the new has come! 18All this is from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation:…

The true one floolishly fooling themselves is the one who continues to sin, knows it, but justifies arrogantly why they do it or try by ego pride to place a blind eye to what they are actually doing. The are the ones who are harming themselves by living  a life of lies and sin thinking that its alright and that God will save them in the end because they believed in Christ Jesus. Yes we may still have sin in our lives, but if we truly are looking to get rig of our sins, God sees our willingness to want to turn away from them and in his Mercy forgives them, but we must not be confused by this and sinning willfully without feeling bad about it or desperately wanting to change our sin ways and be free from them once and for all. God came to free us and heal us from sin, that was His purpose. that we are sinners is why God came to buy us back from sin and heal us and cleanse us away from it.

why? because sin corrupts and corrodes away good Godly consciousness

sin slowly sears away at Gods given conscientiousness

-All of us- have been given a good seed of faith, what we do with it , determines our fate.

Romans 12:3 states ... "according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith"...

To really believe in Christ Jesus is to know why Christ Jesus truly came for all of humanity. He came to buy us (all humanity who comes to Him in repentance) back from the power of sin over us and our lives and that includes our consciousness.

The True WORK  is done by the Holy Spirit of God working in our hearts our conscience, convicting our hearts, our conscience and healing and bringing back into us, through the circumcision of our hearts brought on by salvation, Gods good consciousnesses, Gods laws of truth working in our hearts and consciousness.  God working in us, cleans back our consciousness into a clear,good and godly and innocent conscience.

Matthew 18:3

And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.
 

Only the power of Gods Mercy and Grace can change a consciousness that is broken from sin back into a wholesome consciousness that begins again to be able to recognize right from wrong AND have once again the capacity to FORGIVE.

Matthew 6

14 “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

what sin does is that the more one sins, the more one slowly sears the consciousness, slowly eroding Gods good consciousness that we where born with as innocent babies into corrupted consciousness by every sin we choose to take over repenting and going back to what is correct behavior.

also look to

(very important)

 

 

 

----------------------------------------------

Gods GOOD consciousness, corrects behavior and comes from God. As none of us is good only God is good and goodness comes from Him living and working in us.

sins purpose is to corrupt the soul, by slowly corrupting Gods consciousness with every sin we take and live with without repenting from it.

Transforming step by step in the the child of Christ we were always intended to be, depends greatly on our active relationship with God.

By actively engaging with God through a daily prayer/talk relationship, we enable Him to be able to work in our hearts, convict and heal our consciousness and move more and more into the ways of His light and further away from the ways of satan.

The best way that shows what a truly saved person is like  is in the parable of the sower  found in Mathew ch13

 

The Parable of the Sower

13 On the same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the sea. And great multitudes were gathered together to Him, so that He got into a boat and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore.

Then He spoke many things to them in parables, saying: “Behold, a sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them. Some fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth; and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth. But when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered away. And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them. But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”

The Purpose of Parables

10 And the disciples came and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?”

11 He answered and said to them, “Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. 12 For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. 13 Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. 14 And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says:

‘Hearing you will hear and shall not understand,
And seeing you will see and not perceive;
15 For the hearts of this people have grown dull.
Their ears are hard of hearing,
And their eyes they have closed,
Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears,
Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn,
So that I should[a]heal them.’[b]

16 But blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear; 17 for assuredly, I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.

The Parable of the Sower Explained

18 “Therefore hear the parable of the sower: 19 When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is he who received seed by the wayside. 20 But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; 21 yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles. 22 Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful. 23 But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.”

The Parable of the Wheat and the Tares

24 Another parable He put forth to them, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; 25 but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way. 26 But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared. 27 So the servants of the owner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’ 28 He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The servants said to him, ‘Do you want us then to go and gather them up?’ 29 But he said, ‘No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.”’”

The Parable of the Mustard Seed

31 Another parable He put forth to them, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field, 32 which indeed is the least of all the seeds; but when it is grown it is greater than the herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches.”

The Parable of the Leaven

33 Another parable He spoke to them: “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures[c] of meal till it was all leavened.”

Prophecy and the Parables

34 All these things Jesus spoke to the multitude in parables; and without a parable He did not speak to them, 35 that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying:

“I will open My mouth in parables;
I will utter things kept secret from the foundation of the world.”[d]

The Parable of the Tares Explained

36 Then Jesus sent the multitude away and went into the house. And His disciples came to Him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field.”

37 He answered and said to them: “He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. 38 The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one. 39 The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels. 40 Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age. 41 The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, 42 and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!

The Parable of the Hidden Treasure

44 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.

The Parable of the Pearl of Great Price

45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, 46 who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it.

The Parable of the Dragnet

47 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet that was cast into the sea and gathered some of every kind, 48 which, when it was full, they drew to shore; and they sat down and gathered the good into vessels, but threw the bad away. 49 So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come forth, separate the wicked from among the just, 50 and cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.”

51 Jesus said to them,[e]“Have you understood all these things?”

They said to Him, “Yes, Lord.”[f]

52 Then He said to them, “Therefore every scribe instructed concerning[g] the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasure things new and old.”

Jesus Rejected at Nazareth

53 Now it came to pass, when Jesus had finished these parables, that He departed from there. 54 When He had come to His own country, He taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished and said, “Where did this Man get this wisdom and these mighty works? 55 Is this not the carpenter’s son? Is not His mother called Mary? And His brothers James, Joses,[h] Simon, and Judas? 56 And His sisters, are they not all with us? Where then did this Man get all these things?” 57 So they were offended at Him.

But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own country and in his own house.” 58 Now He did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief.

 

-------------------------------

 

Proverbs 3:5-6King James Version (KJV)

Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited by 1to3
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1 hour ago, Davida said:

I Like it! but I'd put it slightly different-

Faith--->  =Seed
Salvation->=Tree / Vine ( we are connected by the Blood of the Lord Jesus Christ
Works---> =Fruit (verifies the indwelling Holy Spirit)
 

 

Yes that one is a good analogy.

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THE original I was taught was by grace, through faith, on the basis of the Scripture alone.   3 Solas.  While the rest are true they seem to be added later.  But these 3 were the contention with Rome.   

Luther beat himself up for failing to do the good things he wanted to do and practicing the evil he despised, much the same as Romans 7.  He then found that Scripture that says the just shall live by his faith.  He realized that it wasn't by his self effort or sacrifice that he was justified;  it is entirely by God's grace through faith that we are saved and able to live the Christian life.  Having translated this from the Greek he became furious by the lies being promote by the Roman church in the sale of indulgences.  As time went on he saw more contradiction between their teaching and the Word of God, and sought reformation in the Roman Church.  Instead he was excommunicated as a heretic which brought the death penalty.  He was protected by allies, but it was a grievous wound.  

Luther translated Erasmus' Greek text into German, which was printed on the first printing presses.  Then Tyndale did the same into English but was martyred by Rome before he could finish it.  

How I treasure my Bible but I usually don't remember how much it cost those who have gone before us.  Rome was actually afraid that the truth of Scriptures might be known.  Our life giving words of the Bible, of Jesus, that wash us and transform us into His likeness, were a treasure that was kept from the people.  That was the greatest crime of all.  It was also the greatest triumph of the Reformation--giving us God's word that sets us free from the lies of satan.  

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10 hours ago, 1to3 said:

 

 

Good passages! The parable of the sower is what reminded me of that analogy. The Parable of the sower always frightens me a bit because when I'm feeling low I end up thinking that my seed landed in the "thorny places" or was "eaten up by animals". Or when I fail at a project I end up thinking 'rotten fruit'. it's a scary feeling.  

 

9 hours ago, Davida said:

I Like it! but I'd put it slightly different-

Faith--->  =Seed
Salvation->=Tree / Vine ( we are connected by the Blood of the Lord Jesus Christ
Works---> =Fruit (verifies the indwelling Holy Spirit)
 

 


Good stuff, I had difficulty fitting the 'fruit' with a description but yours is better. I will use it from now on. 

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