Reformation Month / Study / The Five Solas / Sola Fide
Fide
We are justified through faith in Christ, not by the deeds of the law.
We maintain therefore that a man is justified by faith apart from the works of the law.
¶ What does it mean?
Faith is the open hand. God declares the ungodly righteous because of Christ. Faith receives that verdict. It does not add a payment of its own.
¶ What does it deny?
It does not deny that real faith produces love and obedience. It denies that those works are the instrument of justification. We are not declared righteous because we finally stacked enough virtue.
¶ Where do we see it in Scripture?
- Galatians 2:16A person is not justified by the works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ.
- Romans 4:5To the one who doesn't work, but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness.
- Romans 5:1Being therefore justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
¶ Why does it matter?
When the conscience accuses, faith looks at Christ, not at a résumé. A church that mixes merit into the verdict no longer has news. It has a contract.