Sola Gratia

Sola Gratia

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Sola gratia is one of the five solas propounded to summarise the Reformers’ basic beliefs during the Protestant Reformation; it is a Latin term meaning grace alone. The emphasis was in contradistinction to the teaching of the Roman Catholic Church of the day. Catholic doctrine, as defined by the Council of Trent, holds that salvation is made possible only by grace; the faith and works of men are secondary means that have their origins in and are sustained by grace.

During the Reformation, Protestant leaders and theologians generally believed the Roman Catholic view of the means of salvation to be a mixture of reliance upon the grace of God, and confidence in the merits of one’s own works performed in love, pejoratively called Legalism. The Reformers posited that salvation is entirely comprehended in God’s gifts (that is, God’s act of free grace), dispensed by the Holy Spirit according to the redemptive work of Jesus Christ alone.

Consequently, they argued that a sinner is not accepted by God on account of the change wrought in the believer by God’s grace, and indeed, that the believer is accepted without any regard for the merit of his works- for no one deserves salvation, a concept that some take to the extreme of Antinomianism.

Sola gratia is one of the Protestant Reformation’s Five Solas and is also linked to the five points of Calvinism.
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Lutheranism

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* Apostles’ Creed
* Nicene Creed
* Athanasian Creed
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* Treatise on the Power and Primacy of the Pope
* Formula of Concord

Theology

* Justification
* Law and Gospel
* Sola gratia
* Sola scriptura
* Christology
* Sanctification
* Two Kingdoms
* Priesthood of all believers
* Divine Providence
* Theology of the Cross
* Sacramental Union

Sacraments & Rites

* The Sacrament of Holy Baptism
* The Sacrament of the Eucharist
* Confession and Absolution
* Confirmation
* Holy Matrimony
* Holy Orders
* Anointing of the Sick

Hymnody & Music

* A Mighty Fortress Is Our God
* Christ Jesus Lay in Death’s Strong Bands
* God’s Word Is Our Great Heritage
* How Great Thou Art
* How Lovely Shines the Morning Star
* Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming
* In Thee alone, O Christ, my Lord
* O Lord, Look Down from Heaven
* Now Thank We All Our God
* O Sacred Head, Now Wounded
* Passion Hymns
* Passion music
* Wake, Awake, for Night is Flying
* Johann Sebastian Bach
* Dieterich Buxtehude
* Johann Crger
* Paul Gerhardt
* Johann Heermann
* Felix Mendelssohn
* Johann Pachelbel
* Hallgr?­mur P?©tursson
* Michael Praetorius
* Johann von Rist
* Johann Walter
* Catherine Winkworth
* Cantata
* Chorale
* Chorale prelude

Globally

* Confessional Evangelical Lutheran Conference
* International Lutheran Council
* Lutheran World Federation
* List of Lutheran church-bodies

History

* Protestant Reformation
* The start of the Reformation
* Reformation in Denmark
* Reformation in Finland
* Reformation in Germany
* Reformation in Iceland
* Reformation in Norway
* Reformation in Sweden
* Lutheran Orthodoxy
* Gnesio-Lutherans
* Pietism
* Laestadianism
* Old Lutherans
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* High Church Lutheranism
* Confessional Lutherans

Missionaries

* John Campanius
* Bartholomus Ziegenbalg
* Hans Egede
* Paul Henkel
* John Christian Frederick Heyer
* Wilhelm Sihler
* F. C. D. Wyneken
* Hans Paludan Smith Schreuder
* Lars Olsen Skrefsrud
* Ludwig Ingwer Nommensen
* Onesimos Nesib
* Paul Olaf Bodding
* Johann Flierl
* Walter A. Maier
* Christian Keyser

Theologians

* Martin Luther
o Wife: Katharina Luther
* Philipp Melanchthon
* Johannes Bugenhagen
* Johannes Brenz
* Justus Jonas
* Lucas Cranach the Elder
* Hans Tausen
* Laurentius Petri
* Olaus Petri
* Matthias Flacius
* Johann Gerhard
* Abraham Calovius
* Johannes Andreas Quenstedt
* Johann Wilhelm Baier
* David Hollaz
* Henry Muhlenberg
* Lars Levi L?¦stadius
* Charles Porterfield Krauth
* C. F. W. Walther

* 1 Recent activity
* 2 See also
* 3 References
* 4 External links

Recent activity

In November 1999, the Lutheran World Federation and the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity issued the “Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification” that said, “By grace alone, in faith in Christ’s saving work and not because of any merit on our part, we are accepted by God and receive the Holy Spirit, who renews our hearts while equipping us and calling us to good works.”[1]

On July 18, 2006, delegates to the World Methodist Conference voted unanimously to adopt the declaration. The Methodists’ resolution said the 1999 agreement “expresses a far-reaching consensus in regard to the theological controversy which was a major cause of the split in Western churches in the 16th century” over salvation by grace alone or by grace and good works. Many conservative Protestant and Catholic groups still believe the differences between their views remain substantial, however.[2]
See also

* Christian view of the Old Testament Law
* Law and Gospel
* Expounding of the Law
* Protestant work ethic

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