One of the great catchphrases in history lingers among us in the old Latin language: sola fide (faith alone), sola scriptura (scripture alone), sola gratia (grace alone). Taken together these discreet elements are the motto of Christianity. Each is preeminent in our belief system, and yet they depend on each other. “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith” (Ephesians 2:8). How do I know? The Bible tells me so.
I like them all, but grace is my favorite sola because of what you can’t do with it. You can’t legalize it. You can’t weaponize it. You can’t beat people down with it. There’s no confusion over it. By contrast, faith can be found on a continuum of weak to great. People can be made to feel theirs isn’t developed enough. That causes doubt within us. The interpretation of the Bible gets debated and can cause controversy, which leads to divisions among us. But grace can never be misused. It is always the unencumbered expression of God’s love for us. It is his essence. He demonstrated it in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Not some of us. Not just the strong ones. Not only the confirmed in the faith. He died for all of us, and none of us deserved for that to happen. Grace is never ambiguous.
So I plead with you to anchor your faith in Jesus and on grace alone.
