Duos Sola

Chase Hannegan

Dr. Conti

CPRL 110

15 December 2010

Duos Sola

Once the rallying cry of Martin Luther and his Reformation, the terms sola fide, “by faith alone”, and sola scriptura, “by scripture alone”, stand at the center of Protestant theology and continues to drive a wedge between Catholic and Protestant churches. While believers on both sides of the argument point to various scriptures from the Bible to back their positions, their interpretations of the word varies from person to person, denomination to denomination, church to church. The questions of whether man is saved through faith alone and where and who is the source of Christian doctrine are two of the most important questions in Christendom, and they are questions that every follower of Christ must answer. For this paper, I will be arguing for both sola fide and sola scriptura while simultaneously exploring the justifications both sides give for their arguments.

Sola fide is one of the give solas that was put forth by the Protestant Reformation, each sola representing a key doctrine essential to the movement and Christian life in relation to the gospel. The five solas were: sola scriptura, sola gratia (grace alone), sola Christus (Christ alone), sola Deo gloria (for the glory of God alone), and sola fide. The doctrine of sola fide finds its roots in the Protestant Reformation and is most often associated with the German priest Martin Luther who taught that salvation is a gift from God, that no man can earn it through good deeds or works, and that a sinner was only justified before God by his faith alone in Jesus Christ. Luther arrived at this idea after reading various scriptures from the Bible, particularly verses from Hebrews, Romans, and Galatians, and coming to the understanding that salvation was entirely the work of God. Luther expanded on this idea of justification through faith, writing that, “This one and firm rock, which we call the doctrine of...