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Today is Part 3 about the 5 solas of the Protestant Reformation. Last month, I covered sola fide—a Latin phrase that means “by faith alone.” We are saved only by faith in Jesus and not by anything good we do. But where does this faith come from? Is faith the result of our own choices or effort? That is what sola gratia answers.
Sola gratia means “by grace alone.” This teaching says that even our faith in Jesus is by God’s grace. Faith is a gift from him and not something we can produce or choose by ourselves. Let’s read about this in Ephesians chapter 2, verses 1 to 10. First, let’s pray.
[Read Ephesians 2:1-10]
Different views on salvation
Previously I shared about a growing trend in the West where evangelical Christians are converting to be Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox.
One writer, who reported on this trend in a major Christian magazine called Christianity Today, said, “I fear many Protestants do not even know what they believe and why the Reformation was an essential corrective. . . . I firmly believe [that] the biblical doctrine of divine grace apart from human merit [is] one you may forfeit by leaving the Protestant tradition.” He means that if you give up Protestant teachings, you give up assurance of salvation.
All Christian traditions—whether Protestant, Catholic, or Orthodox—believe in the concept of God’s grace. But only Protestants affirm that we are saved by grace—that nothing additional is needed. From start to finish, salvation is 100% an act of God’s grace. In contrast, Catholic and Orthodox traditions believe that salvation is only partly by God’s grace, because it also requires our human cooperation.
How did Protestants come to have a different view of salvation and grace? To answer that, let us go back in time—not only to Martin Luther 500 years ago but also to St. Augustine 1,000 years ago.
St. Augustine’s view
St. Augustine of Hippo was a theologian in the 5th century AD. In his famous book Confessions, Augustine describes how much he wanted to change himself but couldn’t. He was enslaved to desires for pleasure, status, and other things. He saw this situation as the result of original sin.
Original sin is a concept that says when the first humans (Adam and Eve) sinned, their sin altered human nature itself. As a result, Adam’s descendants were born with hearts and wills turned away from our Creator God. We still have the ability to do good things, but we no longer have the natural ability to choose to love God.
There are many good people (いい人) in the world. Many don’t believe in a God or have a religion but are wonderful, kind, and ethical. However, from a Christian view, what matters most is not how “good” we are in this sense. What matters most is our relationship with the God who made us. Our relationship with God is the most fundamental thing in reality, yet it is a part of reality that we are born rejecting because of original sin. If you think about it, Adam and Eve’s very first sin was essentially a decision to not listen to God.
So, due to the power of sin, we often act in good ways but cannot choose to love God—unless He enables it. Therefore, Augustine prayed, “Give what you command.” In other words, “God, give me the grace to do what you command.” It’s not enough to know what is good; we also need the ability to do it. And as human beings, our ability falls short when it comes to recognizing and loving our Creator.
A British monk named Pelagius objected to Augustine’s teaching, saying it could make Christians passive. Pelagius argued: If we cannot obey God without God giving us the ability, then why even try? Unlike Augustine, Pelagius taught that Adam’s sin set a bad example but did not corrupt human nature. Rather, we still have the natural freedom to obey God. God’s grace is just extra help in our own effort to be good, Pelagius said.
The Church eventually rejected Pelagius’ teaching and affirmed that God’s grace is necessary, not just an extra help. But it took several centuries more for the Church to work through questions such as “What does God’s grace actually do? And what is the role of human choice in the salvation process?” This brings us to Martin Luther, the most well-known figure of the Protestant Reformation.
Martin Luther’s view
Luther was a 16th century monk who studied Augustine’s writings deeply. When he looked at the religious system of his time, he felt very troubled. The Catholic Church taught that salvation was by God’s grace. But Luther believed that this grace was buried under all the obligations the Church placed on people. The Church taught that you could not be saved unless you had confessed sins properly, performed penance sufficiently, received sacraments regularly, and so on. If you didn’t do enough, you could even lose your salvation.
Where could a troubled sinner find comfort and assurance? Luther rediscovered an answer in two places: in Augustine’s writings and in Scripture, especially Paul’s writings.
Luther learned from Augustine that our problem is not just failing to know what God wants. Rather, our problem is we know what God wants but fail to do it. We need God to change us. And Luther learned from Paul that only faith in Jesus can make us righteous in God’s eyes.
But another question followed: Where does that faith come from? Is it our own choice? Does God provide the salvation, while we provide the faith?
For Luther, the answer is no. In a book called The Bondage of the Will, he asserted that because of sin, the human will cannot turn toward God by itself. We cannot have faith in Jesus by our own will.
This is exactly what Paul says in Ephesians 2:1: “You were dead in your transgressions and sins.” And then comes those beautiful words in verse 4: “But because of his great love of us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ . . . it is by grace you have been saved.”
A sick person can help themselves somewhat; a dead person cannot. We were not just spiritually sick; we were spiritually dead. God’s grace didn’t just give us a little help. Grace had to resurrect us.
Paul reemphasizes this in verses 8–9: “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.”
That is the heart of sola gratia. The faith we have in Jesus comes from God as a gift. Salvation, from start to finish, is entirely what God does for us—not what we do for him.
Sola fide vs sola gratia
If you heard my previous message about sola fide you might think it sounds the same as sola gratia. Indeed, both solas say that our own efforts cannot achieve salvation. But here is the difference between the two solas.
Sola fide is about the method of salvation; while sola gratia is about the source or cause of salvation. Sola fide says we are saved by faith in Jesus, because faith unites us with him and we receive his righteousness. Sola gratia says we are saved by God’s grace, God’s choice. While putting our faith in Jesus is a choice, we are incapable of making that choice without God’s grace enabling us. We can do nothing for our salvation without grace.
Imagine a child saying to her dad, “Daddy, carry me!” Sola fide says we can’t lift ourselves into God’s arms from the ground; God has to pick us up with his strength.
Now, imagine a child saying to her dad, “Who are you? I want mommy.” Sola gratia says we are like that: at first, we don’t want our heavenly Father. It is God who takes first initiative to embrace us. It is he who gives us a desire for our heavenly Father. The love we have for God is a gift from him. But we can, of course, do things that increase or decrease that love by our repeated choices.
License to sin?
Now that I’ve explained what sola fide and sola gratia teach, let me mention two concerns that Catholics have about these two Protestant ideas.
One concern that Catholics have is this: If our good actions contribute nothing to salvation, then what stops us from treating God’s grace like a license to sin?
This is a real concern. Because, for example, there are some Protestant churches that teach something called “hyper grace.” Hyper grace says that, because our sins are already forgiven, then repentance, confession and obedience are no longer important for Christians.
But this is not the grace that Scripture teaches. In Romans 6:1–2, Paul says, “Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means!” Grace does not simply forgive us and leave us unchanged. Grace not only justifies us also changes us gradually over time.
Paul also says in Philippians 2:12–13, “. . . continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfil his good purpose.” Notice that Paul says “work out your salvation,” not “work for your salvation.” We actively choose to obey God so that we can grow into Christlikeness; but even that growth is enabled by God’s grace.
Do we need baptism and communion?
Another concern Catholics may have is that Protestants do not value the sacraments, such as baptism and Holy Communion. If baptism and Holy Communion do not save us, then why bother receiving them?
This is a real concern, because some churches teach that the sacraments are merely symbols. In other words, we receive baptism and Communion simply because Jesus commanded us to, but they do not actually give us anything spiritually.
However, this is not the historical Protestant view. Reformers like Martin Luther did not think the sacraments were unimportant. The Reformers simply rejected the idea that we earn salvation by receiving sacraments.
Instead, the Reformers believed that sacraments are ordinary means of grace—ways through which God gives and strengthens his grace in us. This means that baptism and Holy Communion are not merely things we do for God. They are also things God does for us.
For example, Luther took Jesus’ words about baptism and Communion seriously. Baptism is not simply a symbol of something that has already happened. God uses baptism to give forgiveness and new life (Acts 2:38; 1 Peter 3:21). Likewise, Holy Communion is not merely a reminder of Jesus’ death. In receiving the bread and wine, we truly experience Christ’s presence with us, receive him, and he strengthens our faith.
The sacraments are God’s promises made visible and tangible through physical elements. This is especially important for Christians who struggle with doubt and anxiety. God does not only tell us in words, “I forgive you.” He gives us baptism as a visible sign and promise of that forgiveness. This is why Luther encouraged Christians who were troubled by their sins to remember their baptism. We can look back at our baptism and remember: “God promised me that my sins are forgiven.”
To wrap up this discussion: Sola gratia doesn’t mean that baptism and communion are unnecessary. Salvation is indeed by grace alone, but God has chosen particular means through which he gives that grace. Another means of grace is his Word. As Paul says in Romans 10:17, “Faith comes from hearing the message.” When God’s Word is preached, he uses it to create and strengthen faith in us.
As I come to the end of this message, let me summarize the difference between the Protestant and Catholic views. Catholics say that both God’s grace and human cooperation are necessary for salvation. Salvation is not guaranteed for Christians. On the other hand, Protestants say God’s grace alone is necessary and able to save us. Humans should cooperate with God to grow in obedience, but obedience is not a condition for salvation—rather, it is an evidence of salvation.
Implications for evangelism
I’ll end with one last question: If faith is entirely a gift from God, do we still need to share the good news about Jesus with non-Christians though we can’t change their hearts?
Yes, we should share the good news.
It’s true that God is the only one who can create faith in people. Jesus said in John 6:44, “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them.”
Yet Jesus also said in Matthew 28:19, “Go and make disciples of all nations.” God wants to partner with us in doing this. Remember that each of us came to know Jesus because someone told us about him. Even people who first encountered Jesus through dreams or visions still had to learn more about him through other Christians.
So we should consider Jesus’ words “Go and make disciples” as one of our missions in life. That means we need to build relationships with people, understand them more, listen to their concerns, and pray for appropriate ways to help them encounter Jesus.
At the same time, we can take comfort that only God can lead a person to faith—and that he is powerful to do this. We can rest in God for the results. So don’t give up, and don’t think that someone’s salvation depends on you. Just be a faithful witness and pray that God will do what only he can do.
Conclusion
Sola gratia says we are truly unable to know God, desire him, choose him, and be saved except by his grace alone. How much he must love us, such that he took the first step to embrace us! He chose us, and nothing we do will separate us from him.
Let’s pray: O God, because without you we are not able to please you, mercifully grant that your Holy Spirit may in all things direct and rule our hearts; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
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