Christian Basics: What Are the Five “Alones” and Why Do You Need to Know Them?
BY PSYCHE JOY LEE | Tomorrow, October 31st, is Reformation Day! What are the five “alones” (five “solas” in Latin) of Protestant Christianity, how did they originate, and what do they mean?
You may have seen the phrases on t-shirts and tattoos, heard pastors mention them when preaching, or come across them in your readings: the five “alones” (or most commonly “the five solas” in Latin) of Protestant Christianity: “Scripture alone” (Latin: Sola Scriptura), “grace alone” (Sola Gratia), “Christ alone” (Solus Christus), “faith alone” (Sola Fide), and “to the glory of God alone” (Soli Deo Gloria).
If you haven’t heard of them yet, this introduction to the five “alones” will give you the opportunity to discover truths that will make your heart sing with joy, because they are some of the most important foundational beliefs in all of Christianity. These five phrases are distinguishing marks of the Protestant Reformation, setting all Protestants apart from the Roman Catholic Church. How did these five basic Christian beliefs originate, and what do they mean?
Background of the Five “Alones”
By the 1500s, the church in Rome had reached a tremendous level of corruption, having departed in many ways from both the Bible and teachings of earlier Christians. Rome elevated the Pope, bishops, and a long line of “saints” and created a system without any true hope for sinners. People were wrongly led to depend upon…