Grace Alone-Faith Alone-Christ Alone-Scripture Alone

Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus. Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith. Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law. Romans 3:19-28
Grace Alone—Until the day we die, we will struggle to believe the simple words of Holy Scripture, “Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight.” We think that surely my good deeds, my obedience to the Law of God, my acts of mercy and generosity must count for something when it comes to my salvation. The truth of the matter is that they reveal something entirely different about us than our worthiness in God’s sight—they reveal that we are sinners who stand guilty before God. Our good deeds are often motivated by false, selfish motives. Our obedience to the law is woefully incomplete. Our acts of mercy and sacrifice are few and far between. No, if we are to be saved, it must be by God’s grace alone.
Faith Alone—While the bible clearly teaches again and again that Christ has atoned for the sins of the world—for all the sins of all the people in every time and place--this Good News must be believed personally and individually if we are to receive the benefits of forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation that come from his bloody propitiation for us all on Calvary’ cross. Universalism, the belief that all will be saved, even without faith in Christ, is a lie. God is the “justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.”
Christ Alone—Faith saves, not because it is the act of believing--in and of itself--and not because of its depth and sincerity. Many, many people around the world have a deep and abiding faith—in lies—they are sincerely wrong. Their faith will not save them. Faith saves only because of its content. The faith that saves, of which the Bible speaks, is faith in the person and work of Christ—that his blood has atoned for the sins of the world, including my own. Faith is the gift of the Holy Sprit that simply receives the finished work of Jesus Christ in his holy life, bloody death, and glorious resurrection as my own salvation from beginning to end.
Scripture Alone—That we can believe this Good News and be saved is only because God, in his mercy, has revealed it to us in the pages of Holy Scripture. “But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets.” The Good News contained in the three Reformation “sola”s: Grace Alone, Faith Alone, Christ Alone, was not Luther’s invention. It was not even original to Paul. It was and is and always will be the single theme of all of Holy Scripture from beginning to end, that: “God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:16