The Reformation for Your Heart
This is a teaching from Wednesday Nights at Immanuel on October 29, 2025.
Introduction
We’re just days away from the 508th anniversary of Reformation Day, October 31, 1517, when Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the Castle Church door in Wittenberg, Germany, and ignited the Protestant Reformation. So it’s a fitting time to reflect on Reformation theology.
What was the Reformation? It was a rediscovery of the biblical gospel. It was a return to the Bible’s message of salvation freely given in Christ.
Tonight, I want to consider the Five Solas—five Latin phrases that summarize Reformation theology: Scripture alone, grace alone, faith alone, Christ alone, to the glory of God alone.
As you can see, the keyword is sola, alone. They express the amazingly wonderful truth that salvation belongs to the Lord alone. I want to show you they still matter and how they are good news.
So, let’s dive in.
Picture this: It’s the middle of the night, and you can’t sleep. You're miserable, worn out, and burdened. The blackness outside is like a screen showing all your sins and failures. You’ve tried to fight temptation, but you keep giving in. It’s eroding your assurance of salvation. You want to pray, but it feels useless. You know God is holy, and you feel anything but. Your head drops into your hands, and you feel a deep lostness, a despair that overwhelms, shame and guilt that feel like a dark night of the soul that no light could break into.
Now, imagine Jesus stepping into the room. You look up at him. What kind of look is on his face?
That question haunted a German monk named Martin Luther.
Martin Luther
Luther was a spiritually anxious man. The words “righteousness of God” struck him like lightning. He said, “When I heard them, I was exceedingly terrified. If God is righteous, I thought, he must punish me.”[1] He entered the monastery driven by fear, hoping that devotion could please God and ease his conscience. But he found the opposite. “Though I lived as a monk without reproach,” he said, “I felt that I was a sinner before God with an extremely disturbed conscience. I could not believe that anything that I thought or did or prayed satisfied God.”[2]
His struggles resonate with us because they are our struggles, too. We long for a release of guilt, a free grace to cover our sins, and a righteousness we can’t lose.
Luther tried fasting, prayer, pilgrimages—everything he could to root out sin and earn righteousness. But all he could imagine was condemnation on Christ’s face. Then, as he taught through Romans, he had a breakthrough. It was Romans 1:17 that made the difference. “For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, ‘The righteous shall live by faith.” He saw that justification was not earned but given, not by works but by grace, not through penance but repentance. He later wrote, “Here I felt as if I were entirely born again and had entered paradise itself through the gates that had been flung open.”
What he saw can be summarized in the Five Solas. Each Sola answers a question of the heart.
Question: Where can I find truth I can trust?
Answer: In Scripture alone
Question: How could God love someone like me?
Answer: By grace alone
Question: How can I ever be right with God?
Answer: Through faith alone
Question: Where can I find salvation?
Answer: In Christ alone
Question: Does my life even matter?
Answer: Yes, to the glory of God alone
The deepest questions of your heart not only matter to God but are answered by God in the Bible, so let’s start there—where can you find truth you can trust? In Sola Scriptura, Scripture alone.
Sola Scriptura
Is there any place of everlasting, infallible, totally reliable truth? Where can you go when you need answers about your standing with God?
Sola Scriptura asserts that Scripture alone is the place.
Gavin Ortlund explains it this way.
“The core idea is that Scripture is the church’s only infallible rule. A rule is a standard that governs the church’s faith and practice. Infallible means being incapable of error. So sola Scriptura is essentially the claim that Scripture is the only authority standing over the church that is incapable of error…
“In other words, the fault line of difference between sola Scriptura and alternative positions is this: Does the church possess any rule other than Scripture that is infallible?”[3]
The Reformers answered, “No.”
The Roman Catholic Church says that Scripture and apostolic tradition, mediated through the church’s authority, together form the rule of faith. The Reformers valued tradition but refused to place it alongside Scripture, because only the Bible carries the authority of God himself. 2 Timothy 3:16 says, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.” The Scriptures alone are God’s very breath. Tradition and church councils may be helpful, but they are human and can be fallible. God did not breathe them.
Here's why that mattered in the 16th century. To fund St. Peter’s Basilica, the pope issued indulgences—reductions of time in purgatory based on the borrowed merit of saints. Johann Tetzel popularized it with, “As soon as the coin in the coffer rings, the soul from purgatory springs.” Luther saw this as a distortion of the gospel that led to shallow repentance and false assurance.
That may sound distant from us, but the same question still matters today: Where will we look for assurance? In the words of men or in the Word of God?
That question bothered Luther. He started to wonder: If the pope can release souls, why not empty purgatory? That raised further questions. How are sins paid for? How is one set right with God? Where could he find truth he could trust?
He went back to the Bible and found passages like these:
Romans 3:23–24 - For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.
Colossians 1:13–14 - He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
Hebrews 10:10–14 - We have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all…For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.
Romans 8:1 - There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
Luther found in the Bible no mention of indulgences, no treasury of merit, no pope with power over souls. Instead, he discovered that salvation is God’s work alone, by grace, through faith, in Christ. He wrote about it, which got him into trouble with the church. He was summoned to recant before the authorities at the Diet of Worms. He replied, “I am bound by the Scriptures…and my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and will not recant anything.”
When everything was on the line for Luther, he trusted Scripture alone. And that was enough. When everything is on the line for you—when you’re in that room of despair facing an uncertain future, what the Bible says about that future is your ultimate authority. You can listen to it alone. It’s God’s very breath for you.
So let’s go deeper into what it says. Next stop, Sola Gratia—grace alone.
Sola Gratia
Before the Reformation, Luther believed grace was God’s gift, but also an enabling power given to cooperate in justification through merit. He never had assurance—too much depended on him. He wrestled constantly: How could God love someone like me? He knew he didn’t deserve salvation. He echoed Paul in Romans 7, “Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?” He feared dying without the necessary righteousness to enter heaven, so he worked hard. He said, “If ever a monk got to heaven by his monkery, it was I.”
But that’s not the way to God’s love. The path is easier, clearer, freer. It’s by grace alone—Sola Gratia.
So what is this grace that could set a man like Luther—and us—free?
The Dutch theologian Louis Berkhof defined grace as “the free bestowal of kindness on one who has no claim to it.”[4] God’s grace is not for perfect disciples but imperfect disciples, for people who can’t get their act together, for people who can’t even find the act. It’s like getting an A when you never showed up or passed a test. It’s wholly undeserved.
John Calvin said, “Grace does not merely assist; it does everything.”[5] Salvation is not something we earn or contribute to. It’s all of grace. God owes us nothing but punishment. Our sin is too sinful. God’s judgment is too just. Our inability is too great. If we are saved, God’s grace alone must be the reason.[6] His grace must be greater than our sin. And that’s what the Bible says.
Consider these passages.
Ephesians 2:4-10: 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
Romans 3:24: We are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.
Paul says in 1 Timothy 1:15, “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.” Charles Spurgeon points out that there’s no adjective before the noun—no qualification at all, except that they are sinners.[7] We don’t need to qualify it. God saves sinners, not the good or the improved sinners—just sinners.
Justification is not a process of grace-produced merit but a declaration of imputed righteousness through Christ’s cross. The merit we need belongs to Jesus, who gives it freely. Luther called it an “alien righteousness”—a righteousness outside us in Christ, that becomes ours by his grace. No wonder Paul ends Romans 7 with doxology: “Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!”
The Bible isn’t calling us to get better and get Christ; it’s calling us to receive grace and get Christ. When Jesus steps into that room of guilt or exhaustion with you, he doesn’t bring a to-do list. He doesn’t bring a challenge. He brings grace alone—grace upon grace (John 1:16). He brings assurance that, because of his grace, your sin doesn’t have to define you anymore.
How can we grab hold of that grace? Through Sola Fide, faith alone.
Sola Fide
Luther called justification by faith alone ‘the doctrine by which the church stands or falls.’ It’s the hinge of the gospel, the answer to the heart’s question: How can I be right with God?
Is justification something we earn or something we receive? Here’s Paul’s answer:
Romans 3:28 — “For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law.”
Galatians 2:16 — “A person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ.”
This is amazing news. If our works justify us, we’re doomed. Paul said in Romans 3:10. “None is righteous, no, not one.” If it’s up to us, there is no hope. Even if we could obey from this point on, what about all our past failures? How could we ever make up for those? We would still lack the righteousness God requires.
That’s why justification by faith alone isn’t just good theology—it’s good news for weary sinners. The righteousness we need is not achieved but received. Faith connects us to Christ, whose perfect righteousness is freely given by grace.
So how do we get faith? The Bible says—this is amazing—that faith itself is a gift. Look at Ephesians 2:8 again. “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.” There is some debate on the referent to “this” and “it”. Is Paul referring to grace or faith? Without getting into the weeds, the answer is both—faith, like grace, is part of the gift of salvation. Other passages say so. Here are a few.
Philippians 1:29-30 – “For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake.” “Granted” means to give freely and graciously.
Acts 16:14, speaking of Lydia’s conversion, says, “The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul.”
2 Peter 1:1 – “To those who have obtained a faith of equal standing with ours by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ.” “Obtained” means to receive by lot. It’s a gift God distributes.
Here’s how it works. God’s gift of faith connects us to the righteousness we need. The authors of the Westminster Confession said it is “the alone instrument of justification.” By instrument, they mean faith is the thing that attaches us to Christ. It’s the way we lay hold of Christ and receive all his righteousness. Charles Spurgeon said, “Faith justifies, but not in and by itself, but because it grasps the obedience of Christ.”[8] Faith is the way we grasp Christ. Theologian R.C. Sproul called faith, “nothing more than the empty hand that receives the righteousness of Christ. It adds nothing to that righteousness, and it accomplishes nothing apart from it.”[9] We’re justified by faith alone. It’s enough because it connects us to Christ, whose righteousness is ours by grace, and his righteousness is all the righteousness we need
So when Jesus walks into the room with you, he’s not looking for something in your hands to offer him. He’s not waiting for your gift—he is the gift. All he looks for is an empty hand to fill with his righteousness. And even if that hand trembles, that’s okay. It’s not your strength but his that makes the difference.
That’s where we’ll turn next—Solus Christus.
Solus Christus
Scripture says we are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone—Solus Christus.
Christ holds the key to it all. To the heart’s question, Where can I find salvation? Jesus answers joyfully, “In me!”
Romans 4:5 says, “To the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness.” Justification by faith alone means justification by the righteousness of Christ alone.[10] Faith itself has no power to save unless it’s connected to a strong object. Faith justifies because Christ has all the necessary merit we need.
Jesus alone deserves heaven. He alone lived a perfectly righteous life, fulfilling every demand of the law. And what did he do with that perfection? He gave it away on the cross. Isaiah 53:5 says, “He was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.” Paul said in 2 Corinthians 5:21, “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” The ultimate innocent one became the ultimate guilty one.
Why did he do this? Not to make our salvation possible, or even eventual, but to make it effectual—to make it certain. Not to give us a starting point, but to be the finishing point.
Calvin put it this way: “When God justifies us through Christ, he does not acquit us on a proof of our own innocence, but by an imputation of righteousness, so that though not righteous in ourselves, we are deemed righteous in Christ.”[11] The church father Irenaeus said, “For the sake of his infinite love [Jesus] has become what we are in order that he may make us entirely what he is.”
On the cross, our sin was transferred to Christ’s account, and his righteousness was transferred to ours. This is what the Reformers called the double imputation. Our sin became Christ’s sin; our unrighteousness became Christ’s unrighteousness. And Christ’s work became our work; his merit became our merit. All the righteousness needed to stand before God is ours in Christ—free by grace through faith.
Luther called this a “wonderful exchange.” The Swiss theologian Emil Bruner called it “the most incomprehensible thing that exists.”[12] It’s mind-blowing. The all-holy God we offended, whose wrath we rightly deserve, in his great love for sinners, provided the one way his wrath could be satisfied—through Christ, and Christ alone.
Christ is our substitute who sacrificed himself to satisfy everything needed for our justification.[13] In him and him alone, we are set right with God. When Jesus cried out from the cross, ‘It is finished,’ he meant it. Praise God!
That’s why, in Acts 4:12, the early church preached, “There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” It is not Christ plus anything. It is Christ alone.
When you’re in that room in the darkness by yourself, if salvation is not by Christ alone, then you are really alone. It’s up to you to finish the job. Who else can if Christ can’t?
But if, on the cross, Jesus gave his perfection to the imperfect you, then God’s not asking for anything else from you. It is finished. You can rest in that. You can receive that.
Soli Deo Gloria
Finally, Scripture tells us we are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone—for the glory of God alone. Soli Deo Gloria.
One of our key values at Immanuel is calling. We all want our lives to matter. Soli Deo Gloria tells us our lives matter because our lives are a testament to God’s glory, and nothing matters more than his glory.
Romans 11:36, “For from him and through him and to him are all things.”
Psalm 115:1, “Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory.”
Habakkuk 2:14 promises, “The earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.”
The first question of the Westminster Shorter Catechism is this: What is the chief end of man? Answer: To glorify God and enjoy him forever.
This is the end to which everything is designed, and out salvation contributes to that. Salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, so that God’s glory might be seen, adored, enjoyed, worshiped. As Paul says in Romans 3:26, God might be both just and the justifier, upholding his righteousness even as he gives righteousness to sinners through Christ. Amazing!
Everything exists for the glory of God—that’s why you’re here. That’s why stars shine, winds blow, and hearts beat. It’s all for him.
It’s easy for our Christianity to drift from God-centered to man-centered, as if salvation were something we help bring about. But God is the one who planned it and brought it to pass. That’s why Paul says in Ephesians 1:6, 12, and 14 some variation of “to the praise of His glory.”
The Solas show the beautiful chain of how we are saved: by grace alone (not by law), through faith alone (not through works), in Christ alone (not in anything else). If that is true—and it is—then who can get the glory but God?
Conclusion
Now, one final time, come back with me into that room. You have nothing to offer Jesus but need. You know you can’t be your own savior. You’ve tried and failed. But that’s okay with Jesus. He’s not afraid of your need. He’s not looking for help from you. He’s there to show you that your sin is forgiven in him, that you are justified in him, that your future is not dark like that nighttime sky but is brighter than the morning sun.
So when you look up at Jesus, what is the look on his face? That look makes all the difference—and you can’t control it. That’s what the Reformers rediscovered in Scripture. Salvation is not in our hands but his. It doesn’t come by our law-keeping but by his grace, not through our works but through faith in his finished work. It comes through him alone. It’s not because we’re great, but because he is.
What is the look on his face? It isn’t disgust or disappointment. It’s not a frown. It’s a smile. A welcome. All the sympathy of a gracious and merciful Christ who came not to damn but to save, not to condemn but to redeem, not to destroy but to restore. That’s the gospel.
So when you’re alone in the dark, head in your hands and despair in your heart, and the Righteousness of God comes into the room, it’s not a sword coming to slay but a Savior coming to save. Yes, you’ve failed. Yes, you’ve sinned. But the way forward is simply to receive, with the empty hands of faith, the grace and peace that just entered the room in Christ. All you need for your justification is already done.
How can you know that’s true? Because the darkness outside your window is only a shadow of the real darkness that Jesus entered for you. He paid the penalty and won the victory. The motto of the reformation was post tenebras lux—after darkness light. That’s who Jesus is for you. He’s a complete savior. To God alone be the glory!
Endnotes:
[1] Luther, Martin, Luther’s Works, Vol. 54, page 193.
[2] Luther, Martin, Luther’s Works, Vol. 34, page 336.
[3] Gavin Ortlund, What it Means to Be Protestant, page 72.
[4] Berkhof, Louis, Systematic Theology, page 71
[5] John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, 2.3.6
[6] J.I. Packer listed these truths in Knowing God, pages 117-119.
[7] https://www.spurgeon.org/resource-library/sermons/the-whole-gospel-in-a-single-verse/#flipbook/
[8] C. H. Spurgeon, Sermon No. 1812, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Vol. 31, p. 403.
[9] R.C. Sproul, Faith Alone: The Evangelical Doctrine of Justification.
[10] R.C. Sproul, What is Reformed Theology?, page 67.
[11] John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, 2 vols., trans, Henry Beveridge (1845; reprint, Grand Rapids, Mich.: Erdmans, 1964), 3:27 (3.11.1)
[12] Emil Bruner, The Mediator, page 524.
[13] The concept of Jesus as our satisfaction, sacrifice, and substitute comes from James Montgomery Boice, “Christ Alone,” Whatever Happened to the Gospel of Grace?