Grace Alone

The Protestant Reformation remains a pivotal moment in church history, shaping our own Protestant identity here at CBC. When Martin Luther nailed the 95 Theses on the door at the church in Wittenberg, Germany, in 1517, a new work of God began in the world. Historians summarize Reformation teaching with five specific phrases: grace alone, faith alone, Scripture alone, Christ alone, and God’s glory alone. Over the next weeks, we will explore each of these statements. This week we begin with grace alone.

The Reformers—Luther, John Calvin, Ulrich Zwingli, and others—sought to correct the mistakes evident in European Christianity. The religious authorities of the day taught that salvation did not come solely by God’s grace but also required human merit. Think of “merit” as credit before God—credit earned through the merits of Mary and the saints, other saints, or by accomplishing certain indulgences, charitable acts, or religious sacrifices. In other words, the pope, bishops, and priests wrongly taught that God’s grace was not enough for the salvation of man’s soul. The Reformers rightly saw this belief as disastrous, and their response is captured by the phrase grace alone.

Grace alone is simply a simplified expression of Eph 2:8–9: “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” Grace alone doesn’t promote laziness in godliness or a lack of effort. Rather, it proclaims that God’s grace is powerful, all-sufficient, effective, and free—a gift from our Triune Lord. We owe the Reformers tremendous respect for what they did in reorienting Western Christianity back to the Bible. Because of their faithful struggle, we now inherit the pure & clear teaching of the Word.

Pastor Chance