Theological Term of the Week: Sola Fide

sola fide
Literally, “faith alone.” The reformation slogan meaning that faith—that is, complete trust in Christ and his saving work—“is the alone instrument [or means] of justification.”¹  

• From scripture:

[Y]et we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified. (Galatians 2:16 ESV)

• From the Heidelberg Catechism:

Question 60. How are thou righteous before God?

Answer: Only by a true faith in Jesus Christ; so that, though my conscience accuse me, that I have grossly transgressed all the commandments of God, and kept none of them, and am still inclined to all evil;  notwithstanding, God, without any merit of mine, but only of mere grace, grants and imputes to me, the perfect satisfaction, righteousness and holiness of Christ; even so, as if I never had had, nor committed any sin: yea, as if I had fully accomplished all that obedience which Christ has accomplished for me; inasmuch as I embrace such benefit with a believing heart.

Question 61. Why sayest thou, that thou art righteous by faith only?

Answer: Not that I am acceptable to God, on account of the worthiness of my faith; but because only the satisfaction, righteousness, and holiness of Christ, is my righteousness before God; and that I cannot receive and apply the same to myself any other way than by faith only.

• From Daily Doctrine by Kevin DeYoung, page 256:

[T]he Bible stresses that we are justified by faith apart from works of the law (Rom. 3:28). “For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight” (Rom. 3:28). “We know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ” (Gal. 2:16). “It is evident that no one is justifies before God by the law, for ‘The righteous shall live by faith’” (Gal. 3:11). In short, the righteousness by which we are acquitted comes through faith in Christ, not through the law on account of our own righteousness (Phil. 3:9).

It is important to note that faith is not itself virtuous. Faith is not the basis or ground by which we are justified, as if the righteous act of believing out weights all our unrighteous deeds. Faith has value because of the object to which is connects us. Think of skating on a frozen pond. Faith is the means by which we get out on the ice, but it is not the reason we do not sink. We are kept out of the dangerous water below by the object of our faith. It is the thickness of the ice that saves us.

… Faith is the outstretched empty hand ready to receive Christ and all his benefits. The act of believing, in itself, does not save. Faith “is only the instrument by which we embrace Christ our righteousness” (BC Art. 22)

Learn more:

1. Compelling Truth: What is the significance of “sola fide”?
2. Got Questions: Why is sola fide important?
3. Daniel R. Hyde: What Does “Sola Fide” Mean?
4. Tom Schreiner: The Five Solas: Faith Alone
5. R. C. Sproul: Sola Fide (video)
6. J. I. Packer: Sola Fide: The Reformed Doctrine of Jomtification
7. Ligon Duncan: Faith Alone
8. Joel Beeke: Justification by Faith Alone: The Relation of Faith to Justification

Related terms:

• five solas
• justification
• saving faith
• sola gratia
• sola scriptura
• solus Christus
• soli Deo gloria

1From the Westminster Confession of Faith, Chapter 11, Section 2 

Filed under Reformed Theology

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Sunday Hymn: All Glory, Laud, and Honour

Refrain

All glo­ry, laud and hon­or,
To Thee, Re­deem­er, King,
To whom the lips of child­ren
Made sweet ho­san­nas ring.

Thou art the King of Is­ra­el,
Thou Da­vid’s roy­al Son,
Who in the Lord’s name com­est,
The King and Bless­èd One.

The com­pa­ny of an­gels
Are prais­ing Thee on high,
And mor­tal men and all things
Created make re­ply.

The peo­ple of the He­brews
With palms be­fore Thee went;
Our pray­er and praise and an­thems
Before Thee we pre­sent.

To Thee, be­fore Thy pas­sion,
They sang their hymns of praise;
To Thee, now high ex­alt­ed,
Our me­lo­dy we raise.

Thou didst ac­cept their prais­es;
Accept the pray­ers we bring,
Who in all good de­light­est,
Thou good and gra­cious King.

Thy sor­row and Thy tri­umph
Grant us, O Christ, to share,
That to the ho­ly ci­ty
Together we may fare.

For hom­age may we bring Thee
Our vic­to­ry o’er the foe,
That in the Con­quer­or’s tri­umph
This strain may ev­er flow.

— Theo­dulph of Or­le­ans, cir­ca 820

Sunday Hymn: O Sacred Head, Now Wounded

O sac­red head, now wound­ed,
With grief and shame weighed down,
Now scorn­ful­ly sur­round­ed
With thorns, Thine on­ly crown;
O sac­red head, what glo­ry!
What bliss, till now was Thine!
Yet, though des­pised and go­ry,
I joy to call Thee mine.

O nob­lest brow, and dear­est!
In oth­er days the world
All feared, when Thou ap­peared’st,
What shame on Thee is hurled!
How art Thou pale with ang­uish,
With sore ab­use and scorn;
How does that vi­sage lang­uish,
When once was bright as morn.

The blush­es late re­sid­ing
Upon that ho­ly cheek,
The ros­es once ab­id­ing
Upon those lips so meek,
Alas! they have de­part­ed;
Wan Death has ri­fled all!
For weak and brok­en heart­ed,
I see Thy bo­dy fall.

What Thou, my Lord, hast suf­fered,
Was all for sin­ners’ gain;
Mine, mine was the trans­gress­ion,
But Thine the dead­ly pain.
Lo, here I fall, my Sav­ior!
’Tis I de­serve Thy place;
Look on me with Thy fa­vor,
Vouchsafe to me Thy grace.

Receive me, my Re­deem­er,
My Shep­herd, make me Thine;
Of eve­ry good the fount­ain,
Thou art the spring of mine.
Thy lips with love dis­till­ing,
And milk of truth sin­cere,
With Heav­en’s bliss are fill­ing
The soul that trem­bles here.

Beside Thee, Lord, I’ve tak­en
My place—for­bid me not!
Hence will I ne’er be shak­en,
Though Thou to death be brought,
If pain’s last pale­ness hold Thee,
In ago­ny op­pressed,
Then, then will I en­fold Thee
Within this arm and breast!

The joy can ne’er be spok­en,
Above all joys be­side;
When in Thy body brok­en
I thus with safe­ty hide.
My Lord of life, de­sir­ing
Thy glo­ry now to see,
Beside the cross ex­pir­ing,
I’d breathe my soul to Thee.

What lang­uage shall I bor­row,
To thank Thee, dear­est Friend,
For this, Thy dy­ing sor­row,
Thy pi­ty with­out end?
Oh! make me Thine for­ev­er,
And should I fain­ting be,
Lord, let me nev­er, nev­er
Outlive my love to Thee.

And when I am de­part­ing,
Oh! part not Thou from me;
When mor­tal pangs are dart­ing,
Come, Lord, and set me free;
And when my heart must lang­uish
Amidst the fi­nal throe,
Release me from mine an­guish,
By Thine own pain and woe!

Be near me when I am dy­ing,
Oh! show Thy cross to me;
And for my suc­cor fly­ing,
Come, Lord, and set me free!
These eyes new faith re­ceiv­ing,
From Je­sus shall not move,
For he who dies be­liev­ing,
Dies safe­ly through Thy love.

— Attributed to Ber­nard of Clair­vaux, 1153