The Five Solas of the Reformation

Sola Fide: The Erosion of The Chief Article
Justification is by grace alone through faith alone because of Christ alone. This is the article by which the church stands or falls. Today this article is often ignored, distorted or sometimes even denied by leaders, scholars and pastors who claim to be evangelical. Although fallen human nature has always recoiled from recognizing its need for Christ's imputed righteousness, modernity greatly fuels the fires of this discontent with the biblical Gospel. We have allowed this discontent to dictate the nature of our ministry and what it is we are preaching.

Many in the church growth movement believe that sociological understanding of those in the pew is as important to the success of the gospel as is the biblical truth which is proclaimed. As a result, theological convictions are frequently divorced from the work of the ministry. The marketing orientation in many churches takes this even further, erasing the distinction between the biblical Word and the world, robbing Christ's cross of its offense, and reducing Christian faith to the principles and methods which bring success to secular corporations.

While the theology of the cross may be believed, these movements are actually emptying it of its meaning. There is no gospel except that of Christ's substitution in our place whereby God imputed to him our sin and imputed to us his righteousness. Because he bore our judgment, we now walk in his grace as those who are forever pardoned, accepted and adopted as God's children. There is no basis for our acceptance before God except in Christ's saving work, not in our patriotism, churchly devotion or moral decency. The gospel declares what God has done for us in Christ. It is not about what we can do to reach him.

Faith Alone: An Evangelical Departure? by Kim Riddlebarger
Sola Fide: The Reformed Doctrine of Justification by JI Packer
The Empty Hand of Faith by James White
Justification by Faith Alone by John Gerstner
The Doctrine of Justification by Faith by John Owen
Studies on Saving Faith by A.W. Pink
Simple Faith (A Misnomer) by W.E. Best
Justification by Faith Is the End of Boasting by John Piper
How Did We Come to Faith in Christ? by R. Scott Clark
Justification by Faith An Examination of the Biblical Doctrine of Salvation by Brian Schwertley
Justification: The "Principal Hinge of Religion" by Andrew Sandlin
Justification by Faith by Charles Spurgeon
Justification by Faith Alone (The Relation of Faith to Justification) By Dr. Joel R. Beeke
Saving Faith: How does Rome Define It? by William Webster
Sola Fide by Brett Baker
The Importance of Justification By R. C. Sproul
Sola Fide: Does It Really Matter?
by Dr. John H. Armstrong
Justification By Faith Alone:Vital Now and Always by Michael S. Horton

Of Justification by Faith by John Calvin (1509-1564)
Imputed Righteousness: The Evangelical Doctrine by R.C. Sproul
The Very Serious Matter of Imputed Righteousness by David H. Linden
Faith & Justification by Theodore Beza (1519-1605)
Sola Fide: The Foundation of Protestantism and an Exegetical Look at Romans 4:4-8