Soli Deo Gloria (Glory to God Alone) To God be the glory! Creation declares his glory! Ps. 19:1: The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky

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1 1 Soli Deo Gloria (Glory to God Alone) To God be the glory! Creation declares his glory! Ps. 19:1: The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. Man declares his glory. Ps. 8:1: O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens. Speaking of God in battle, Israel says in Ps. 24:8: Who is this King of glory? The LORD, strong and mighty, the LORD, mighty in battle! At the birth of Jesus the angels shout of God s glory: And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, 14 "Glory to God in the highest (Luke 2:13-14). Salvation is attributed to the glory of God. In Rev. 19:1 John the Apostle says, After this I heard what seemed to be the loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, crying out, "Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God... On the last day, Every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Phil. 2:11). And we are told, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God (1 Cor. 10:31). Glory is a noun and I believe the meaning is clear when it comes to God. All the things He has done and will do SHOW who He is. Whether it is a grand mountain range or massive ocean or a beautiful flower or a magnificent sunset or the expanse of the universe, we cry out Glory to God! And when it comes to his special revelation in Christ, as he shows his love and grace and mercy in salvation, we cry out glory! David VanDrunen says, What simple slogan stirs the godly heart more warmly and encapsulates more biblical truth than Soli Deo Gloria, which means to God alone be all the glory! And this fifth and final sola is the glue that holds the other 4 solas together: In Christ alone, by faith alone, through grace alone, and by the authority of Scripture alone. And this is rightly so! For this truth captures the goal of God, for all things to bring Him, and Him alone, ALL glory. Today, I would like to conclude our teachings on the Reformation and briefly sum up the 4 solas showing he each one gives glory to God alone. Then, I will finish with some applications flowing from these truths. 1. Sola Scriptura: When the Word of God alone is our source of authority God gets the glory. I believe, for the most part, the authority of Scripture alone throughout the history of the church, was the norm. But sometime in the medieval period, authority changed. And att the Council of Trent in 1546 we read the official RC position: All saving truths and rules of conduct... are contained in the written books and in the unwritten traditions,... received by the Apostles from the mouth of Christ Himself, or from the Apostles themselves. It was not always clear whether this tradition lay with the councils of the church or with the pope, though over time the pope emerged as the key interpreter of truth. In 1992, with the approval of John Paul II the Catechism of the RC church says that divine revelation comes in two modes of transmission : Sacred Scriptures and Holy Tradition. In that same Catechism we read: As a result the Church, to whom the transmission and interpretation of Revelation is entrusted, does not derive her certainty about all revealed truths from the holy Scriptures alone. Both Scripture and Tradition must be accepted and honored with equal sentiments of devotion and reverence. It goes on to say, The task of interpreting the Word of God authentically has been entrusted solely to the Magisterium of the Church, that is, to the Pope and to the bishops in

2 2 communion with him. I also believe there are great truths found in the traditions of the Apostles as with many Christians who have come before us. I believe the Church Councils and the Christians leaders that met at various times and places to discuss and decide what is Orthodox and what is heresy are FILLED with truth. I believe God s people (as a whole) have every right to consider true and false doctrine and their findings are authoritative. However, when any findings go against the Scriptures (though this may not always be clear), the Word of God must have the final say. This means that all practices must concur with the teaching of the Bible. And when we give authority to the Word of God, not councils, not traditions, not the words of the pope, God gets all the glory! This is what happened with Martin Luther. He wasn t trying to change the world. All he wanted to do was get back to the Bible. Listen to how he described the Reformation: I opposed indulgences and all the papists, but never with force. I simply taught, preached, and wrote God s word; otherwise I did nothing. And while I slept, or drank Wittenberg beer with Philip and Amsdorf, the word so greatly weakened the papacy that no prince or emperor ever inflicted such losses upon it. I did nothing; the word did everything. Brothers and sisters, God says, So shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it (Is. 55:11). I implore you to read it, memorize it, trust it, meditate upon it. Other books are good, as long as they teach what this Word teaches. But when we place our authority to understand revelation in anything other than the Word, God does not get all the glory, something else does, someone else does. To God be the glory alone, for his Word! 2. Solus Christus: When salvation is found in Christ alone, God gets the glory. When other things contribute to a person s salvation, or we think that extra works aid us in our salvation, then salvation is not in Christ alone. In Martin Luther s time, there were all kinds of things a person could do to make himself look better in God s eyes, baptism, the sacraments, including prayers to the priest, indulgences, pilgrimages, prayers to the saints and Mary, the recitation of phrases and prayers, etc. And this continues in prayers for the dead in purgatory; thinking our prayers can aid their swift entrance to heaven. And as much as Luther tried to do all these things, and more, He only found himself to be more angry with God and his justice, his holiness, his anger and wrath against sin. Yes, he trusted Christ! But, all of these other things only increased his guilt. The law of God condemned him! (As it does all of us.) And this continued for Luther until he came to see the righteousness of Christ as a gift, as something entirely outside of himself. Instead of hospital where sick people come to be healed (only to leave again and get sick), he came to see the justice of God as a courtroom, the eternal courtroom, where a holy God, looks down upon sinners and declares them righteous, based upon the righteousness of another. And this is a passive righteousness. It is alien to us as sinners. And this righteousness is none other than the perfect, holy, righteousness of the Son of God, Jesus Christ in the place of unrighteous sinners. And it must be so if God will get all the glory. In Christ Alone! Just this week in my quiet times, I read Job, who felt this truth way before Martin Luther, and way before the coming of Christ. He says, Can mortal man be in the right before God. Even in his servant he puts

3 3 no trust, and his angels he charges with error; how much more those who dwell in houses of clay, whose foundation is in the dust, who are crushed like the moth (4:17-19). In another place, he says, How can a man be in the right before God? (9:2) and Though I am in the right, I cannot answer him; I must appeal for mercy to my accuser (9:15). Job knew he was a sinner. And he says, If it is a contest of strength, behold, he is mighty! If it is a matter of justice, who can summon him? (9:10). Let me ask, Have you ever felt this way? You must... if you will ever see the mercy of God in Christ. Today, Jesus Christ is the righteousness of God. No, Job could not and could never stand! And No, we could not and can never stand on our own righteousness! And if we try, God will not get all the glory. In Christ Alone: To God be all the glory! 3. Soli Fide: When we are saved by faith alone, God gets the glory. Luther came to see faith as God s gift. Eph. 2:8-9: For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. When someone gives you a gift you do not try and give them something in return in order to repay them. If you repay someone it is no longer a gift. Because of works, we so have a hard time with this truth. But when we add to our faith with anything, it ceases to be a gift. In the RC church of Luther s day (and today), faith was seen as faithfulness or loyalty in God and his provisions. But Luther came to see faith simply as taking hold of Christ. It is receiving what Christ has done. And when he realized this truth, faith was no longer a work. As we saw, a trumpet is not the beautiful music that comes forth. It is simply the instrument of the music. God created faith to be given to sinners as a gift, the most beautiful gift whereby we receive what Christ has done for us. I believe! It is that simple. And you might say, It is my faith I have exercised. And from one perspective you are absolutely right. It is something we do. But, if we are made alive by the grace of God through the Holy Spirit, and then by faith we receive Christ, then who gets all the glory! Yes, it is our faith. But, it comes through the most precious, eternal, gift of grace. And what about works you might ask? Works never produce faith. On the contrary, faith produces works. Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. To God alone be the glory for the gift of faith alone! 4. Sola Gracia: When salvation is by grace alone, God gets the glory. Grace is the goodness of God based in eternity where He brings forth salvation to underserved sinners. And this grace is not based upon works, or any good in them, and every ounce of this grace comes down to us through the person and work of Jesus Christ. And since it is this way, God gets all the glory! The RC church of Luther s day and today, teach that grace is a force or a thing ; it is God s fuel to help us on our way to heaven. And this grace is given to sinners through the mass, baptism and the sacraments, etc. In their view God has given grace to all who come and receive it, and this through the church. This is why RC puts so much emphasis on these works. If you remember, during Luther s time, very few people had a Bible, and even if they did, it wasn t in the language they spoke (eg. German). Therefore, if they were to receive grace, they had to go to the mass where they believe, in the Lord s Supper, Christ is crucified afresh over

4 4 and over and over and over, week after week. And this mass became more important than the preaching of the Word, for grace came through the mass. And even today the emphasis is the same. And if you can t go to the mass, then do the sacraments, confess to the priest, pray to Mary, Hail Mary full of grace... All of these things impart grace and give help along the way to heaven. And if the people didn t do these things, and do these things today, there is no grace. But Luther came to see grace not as works performed, but instead as a gift, rooted in eternity, and coming to sinners in Christ. This means that Jesus Christ himself is the grace of God. And when grace is understood this way, God gets the glory, all the glory! I would like to finish with some applications on what we can learn from these solas. These truths change how we view the priest. Justification by faith alone means we no longer need a priest as an intermediary between us and God. All Christians have direct access to God through Christ, who is our priest. And those who are in Christ are also priests with access to God. Martin Luther argued this point very strongly. He said, We are priests as He is Priest, sons as He is the Son, kings as He is the King. (Works, vol. 40). The RC church divided itself into two classes: clergy and laity. Luther abolished this distinction. Of course we have elders/pastors/shepherds/bishops, and deacons. But, we are the same in Christ and have equal status. I am your pastor because you ve recognized certain qualities and you ve called me (and the others, with our deacons). But, I am the same as you. These truths change how we view sacrifice. For the RC church, the sacrifice of Christ happens over and over again in the mass. But Luther insisted that the Scriptures teach that the sacrifice of Christ was a one-time event for all time. 1 Pet. 3:18 says, For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God (also Heb. 9). With this in mind, let me ask, What is sacrifice for the Christian? Rom. 12:1-2: I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. This also means that the place of sacrifice is no longer the altar of a church in the mass. It is everywhere! Jesus said, As you go, make disciples... (Matt. 28:18-20). These truths change how we view works. Every day life becomes the context where we glorify God. In Luther s time, there was great emphasis on the mass, baptism, the sacraments, etc., for through these things, God gives grace. If you didn t do these things, you didn t get grace. But Luther opposed this idea by saying that grace is found in Christ alone through the means of faith. If righteousness is not ours, but Christ s, and faith is a gift whereby we are united to Christ, and if Christ himself is the grace of God, then those who have received Christ have EVERYTHING they need for this life and the one to come. This means we are free to give a cup of water in the name of Christ or fix someone a meal, or go to the ends of the earth as a missionary, whatever! Be a coach, a teacher, a builder, a football player, an accountant, and as you go, offer YOURSELF a sacrifice. Our works don t pay for our salvation, or add to Go s approval of us in any way. Work, knowing Christ has done all the essential work. 1 Cor. 10:31 says, So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

5 These truths capture the gospel of Christ. Preaching these truths helps us establish the gospel! And this is really what happened in the Reformation. And I believe today, much of the cultural church in America has lost these truths. Our number one responsibility doctrinally as a church is to hold on to the Gospel. The Apostle Paul said, But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed (Gal. 1:8). These truths recapture this gospel, in Christ alone, by faith alone, by grace alone, according to the Scriptures alone, and all to the glory of God alone. To God be the glory! 5