How Did the Protestant Reformation Phrase Sola Gratia Change Christianity?

Linda Lyle Contributing Writer
Updated Jul 19, 2024

What does a sixteenth-century phrase like sola gratia have to do with modern Christians? The answer is more than you think. The issues facing the church during the Protestant Reformation are still at play in the modern church, although maybe more subtly.

To understand the impact of sola gratia, we need to understand the context that gave birth to the phrase and how that phrase is still important in the modern church. So, let’s start by discussing what sola gratia means.

What Does Sola Gratia Mean in English?

Sola Gratia is translated as “grace alone.” It is part of a group of five sola phrases that make up the pillars of Christianity created during the Protestant Reformation:

Sola Gratia emphasizes grace alone as the means of salvation, which Paul lays out for us in Ephesians 2:8-10:

“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”

We are saved by grace and not by our works, but we are to do good works in response to the gift of salvation. In the article “What the Reformation Phrase Sola Gratia Tells Us About God,” Justin Holcomb gives some interesting definitions of grace. First, he says, “Grace is the opposite of karma.” Karma is basically the idea that you will reap what you sow. If you do bad things, bad things will eventually happen to you. If you do good things, good things will happen to you. Grace is getting what you do not deserve. It is “mercy, not merit.”

For more discussion on the meaning of grace, check out Justin Holcomb’s article “What is Grace.”

Who Invented the Term Sola Gratia?

The sola phrases are credited to Martin Luther, who was instrumental in the Protestant Reformation. Luther is best known for nailing his “95 Theses” to the door of the Catholic Church in Wittenberg. As a professor of moral theology at the University of Wittenberg, Germany, Luther wanted to open an academic debate on what he felt were issues that needed addressing. The original title was “Disputation on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences.” It included a list of 95 theses that he wanted to discuss.

Mary Oelerich-Meyer gives a deeper look at the origins of sola gratia in “Where Does the Reformation Phrase Sola Gratia Come From?” As she explains, Luther had many objections to church teachings at the time, but his biggest issue was church corruption, causing power abuses, particularly around ideas about working out salvation.

Why Was Sola Gratia a Controversial Phrase to the Catholic Church?

If sola gratia means unmerited favor from God, why did it upset people? The Protestant Reformers created the phrase sola gratia in response to the corruption in the church. At the time, the Catholic Church taught that people had to confess their sins to a priest and do penance as assigned by the priest to receive forgiveness. Some religious leaders used this practice to create statements called indulgences, so people had to purchase penance.

Most church members were illiterate and relied on priests and other religious leaders to understand scripture. Corrupt officials used this to line their pockets. These practices led to a transactional relationship with God instead of the personal relationship described in the scriptures. When the Reformers emphasized grace alone, the issue of indulgences became a source of contention within the church. It was one of multiple concerns that eventually led to the creation of the Protestant church.

What Does Sola Gratia Mean for Our Relationship with Jesus?

So, how does all of this relate to the modern Christian? It means we can have a relationship with God that does not rely on anything we do because it is a gift of God. The gift is more than just salvation. Holcomb’s article “What the Reformation Phrase Sola Gratia Tells Us About God” lists five things that we receive through grace:

Salvation
Forgiveness
Empowerment
God’s love and compassion
Means of access

First of all, without grace, we cannot have salvation. Ephesians 2:8-10 tells us that salvation is a gift of God, not of works. One of the Protestant Reformation's cornerstones was that you cannot buy salvation, and you cannot earn salvation. There is nothing that we can do to merit it. It is a free gift:

“And the gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned. For the judgment which came from one offense resulted in condemnation, but the free gift from many offenses resulted in justification.” (Romans 5:16)

Instead of being condemned, we are justified, which means we have access to God because we have been made right and acquitted of all charges of sin. We are only justified by the grace of God because of what Jesus Christ did on the cross.

Once we are justified, we become joint heirs with Jesus as adopted sons and daughters:

“. . . having been justified by His grace, we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.” (Titus 3:7)

Therefore, everything available to Jesus as the Son of God is also now available to us. We not only have a right relationship with God, but we also have an inheritance of eternal life with Him in Heaven.

Our inheritance is not just a future in Heaven; it is also grace for day-to-day:

“Who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began” (2 Timothy 1:9)

What Does Sola Gratia Mean for Us Today?

God has a purpose for us here on earth. We are called to do good works, but not as a means of gaining salvation, which comes by sola gratia or grace alone. Because of grace, we obey God’s commands out of love and gratitude. All Christians are called to some form of ministry, whether preaching or just giving a cup of water or food to those in need.

We are also empowered by grace to complete the work we are called to do. We don’t do things out of our own strength, but we are strengthened through grace by God to complete what is set before us. Sometimes, it is just grace to get out of bed when we endure trials and temptations. Other times, it is to accomplish God-sized projects for God’s glory.

Sola Gratia, grace alone, takes the weight off our shoulders and places them securely on Jesus Christ. We have nothing without Jesus. John 15:5 tells us that apart from Christ, we can do nothing. Jesus is the vine that connects us to God. However, Philippians 4:13 tells us that we can do all things through the strength of Jesus Christ working within us.

Sola Gratia means freedom. It is freedom from sin, freedom from condemnation, and freedom from the weight of responsibilities beyond our abilities. Grace means letting go of a need to control something that we cannot control in the first place. It means walking with Jesus in a right relationship with the Father and a peace that passes all understanding even when the world seems turned upside down. All He asks is our obedience, and He will do the rest.

Linda Lyle is a writer, teacher, knitter, and unintentional collector of cats. She has written articles for the Alabama Baptist, Open Windows, Refresh, as well as multiple novels and novellas. Her newest book, 5-Minute Prayer Plan for When Life Is Overwhelming, is set to release in October. She spins yarns on her blog The End of My Yarn at lindalyle.com.

This article is part of our larger resource library of Christian questions important to the Christian faith. From core beliefs to what the Bible says about angels, we want to provide easy to read and understand articles that answer your questions about Christian living.

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