The
Five Solas of the Reformation
Part
6 of 6
Soli Deo Gloria: Our Only Motive
1 Chronicles 16:23-36; Rev. 5:12
Sing unto the LORD, all the earth; shew forth from day to day his salvation.
Declare his glory among the heathen; his marvellous works among all nations.
For great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised: he also is to be feared above all gods.
For all the gods of the people are idols: but the LORD made the heavens.
Glory and honour are in his presence; strength and gladness are in his place.
Give unto the LORD, ye kindreds of the people, give unto the LORD glory and strength.
Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name: bring an offering, and come before him: worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness.
Fear before him, all the earth: the world also shall be stable, that it be not moved.
Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice: and let men say among the nations, The LORD reigneth.
Let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof: let the fields rejoice, and all that is therein.
Then shall the trees of the wood sing out at the presence of the LORD, because he cometh to judge the earth.
O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever.
And say ye, Save us, O God of our salvation, and gather us together, and deliver us from the heathen, that we may give thanks to thy holy name, and glory in thy praise.
Blessed be the LORD God of Israel for ever and ever. And all the people said, Amen, and praised the LORD.
Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing.
Here in the final “sola” of the Reformation, we see that our only motive in all that we have seen is to bring God, and God alone, glory. All our theology, all our preaching, all our teaching, all that we do and say, is bring glory to God alone.
We turn first to a little history once more. In the days prior to the Reformation, it was only popes, priests, cardinals, monks, and nuns, who were considered to be those who honored God. The Reformation shattered that illusion and called such spiritual elitism the lie that it is. The reformers, for example, cherished marriage and child rearing, which flew in the face of the supposed superiority of celibacy. The people were taught, in fact, that everything they did could glorify God, just as Paul wrote to the Corinthians, “Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God” (I Cor. 10:31) and the to Colossians, “whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him” (Col. 3:17).
What was the result of such revolutionary teaching? The effects on society were astounding. Art, for example, was transformed from merely pictures of saints to ones that celebrated creation and ordinary life using people, landscapes, flowers, birds, and people at work and play.
Music was also transformed. For 1,000 years, Latin hymnody
was devoid of truth, filled with Mariolatry
as well as many praises written to the martyrs. The Council of Laodicea
(343-381) decreed that only specially appointed singers, usually choirs of monks,
could present music sung in Latin. Think of it! For over a thousand years,
the Church did not sing. It was held that “average people” could not
understand or appreciate such holy music and, therefore, could not participate.
What an appalling tragedy! They could not even understand what was sung because
the common people could not understand Latin. That was a wholesale departure
from the obvious fact of congregational singing in the early church. Not only
was there the elevation of Mary, but also the apostate lowing of
the nature of God. While God was pictured as an angry, intolerant, and
unlovable kind of deity, the Virgin Mary was portrayed as the embodiment of the
kindness, humanity, and sympathy, and all that came out in the hymnody of the
day.
The
Reformation, however, replaced the worship of Mary with the Christian message
of the person and work of Christ alone. It improved some of the Latin hymns and
produced many new ones. The Reformation brought back congregational singing and
replaced the cold, hollow chanting of priests. Because of the
Reformation, for example, we have the music of Bach and Mendelssohn. The words Soli
Deo Gloria, in fact, were carved into the organ at Bach’s church in
Leipzig, and Mendelssohn penned his Reformation Symphony (Symphony No. 5
in D Major) in 1832 in honor of the 300th anniversary of Luther’s
Augsburg Confession.
The study of science was also a product of the Reformation. Because Roman Catholicism was based more on Aristotle’s view of the universe instead of Scripture, it stifled scientific discovery. The reformers, however, taught that God has written two books, the book of Nature and the book of the Word and that these two complement the other and are never contradictory. Just one example is, “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament showeth his handiwork,” the psalmist writes (Ps. 19:1). Here the physical universe (Nature) declares and praises the very God of the Word who made it all.
Our day, however, has brought a new attack. Once again Robert Schuller is at the forefront of this apostasy by writing, “Classical [i.e., Reformation] theology has erred in its insistence that theology be ‘God-centered,’ not ‘man-centered.’”[1] In other words, in his unimaginable arrogance, Schuller clearly states that all those godly reformers were wrong in starting with God while he is right in starting with man and building a “theology” with man’s self-esteem at the core. Of course, to say that Theology is man-centered is not only blasphemous but is an oxymoron, the height of contradiction. How in the world can Theology (theos, God) have anything to do with man? But once again, that is the norm of our day, a fact that was spawned by the Humanism of the Renaissance.
Another
example is that instead of self-esteem, other leaders, such as Rick Warren and
Bill Hybels, have decided that “personal fulfillment” is the greatest need and
have built their churches on that sandy foundation. As a result, gone today are
the truths of sin, wrath, and repentance, and in their place are “felt-needs,”
love, acceptance, and personal fulfillment. Addressing these issues is also
radically different. Doctrine, absolute truth, and expository preaching are
out, while entertainment, pop-psychology, motivational “sermons,” and other
man-centered methods are in.
To
summarize the matter,
Truth has simply vanished. As a magician performs slight of hand by
keeping your attention on one hand while his other does something else, that is
what has happened today. While one hand has been mesmerizing the crowds with
all kinds of eye-pleasing, flesh-satisfying feats, Truth has been discarded.
And why has the truth vanished? Because, and please get this, the
Reformation has been abandoned. When that happened, as mentioned in our
last study, we gave up the ship. As we will see, these doctrines are the only
ones that truly give God glory.
What, then, was the reformers’ point in soli deo Gloria? Was it man’s “felt-needs”? Was it entertainment? Was it man’s self-esteem? No! Their driving motive was God’s glory. Their point was two-fold.
First Chronicles 16:7-36 is a psalm of thanksgiving and celebration and is actually a compilation of three passages in the Book of Psalms: verses 8-22 are from Psalm 105:1-15, verses 23-33 are from Psalm 96:1-13, and verses 34-36 are from Psalm 106:1, 47-48. This repetition suggests the importance of the truths that are presented here, namely, giving glory to God for what He alone has accomplished, that is: “his deeds” (v. 8), “his wondrous works” (v. 9), “his judgments” (v. 14), and His “word” (v. 15). The whole passage is filled with praising God alone: Declare his glory (v. 23), greatly to be praised (v. 24), Glory and honour are in his presence (27), glory due unto his name (v. 29), worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness (v. 29), Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice (v. 31), Let the sea roar (v. 32), let the fields rejoice (v. 32), the trees . . . sing out at the presence of the LORD (v. 33), give thanks unto the LORD (v. 34), give thanks to [His] holy name (v. 35), [give] glory in [His] praise (v. 35). Verse 36, therefore, concludes: Blessed be the LORD God of Israel for ever and ever. And all the people said, Amen, and praised the LORD.
That is not only what drove the reformers but also the early church. Throughout Acts and the Epistles, it is God’s glory that is preeminent. We defy any modern teacher who can cite a single example of the modern concepts of ministry that we have referred to several times. Why are their no such precedents? Because they are man-elevating, not God-glorifying. Scripture is not anthropocentric (man-centered), rather Theocentric (God-centered), even Christocentric (Christ cantered).
As our second text (Rev. 5:12) then declares, only the Lamb is worthy . . . to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing. One does not have to read the reformers very long to notice how they were virtually obsessed with giving God alone glory, that this was their driving motive. While glory today goes to the newest method of ministry, the biggest church, the most book sales, and even the most baptized converts, the reformers recognized that God alone—not the Church, popes, images, saints, Mary—was to receive glory. Even worse in our day is that instead of God being glorified, it is people who are entertained. We have become, just as Robert Schuller insists that we should, man-centered instead of God-centered. That truly sums up a large portion of the church today. We do whatever appeals to people’s flesh, appealing to what they want instead of what they need and what God demands.
The only way God alone can be glorified, the reformers insisted, is through the other solas. To fail in any one of these, in fact, is to rob God of glory. God receives glory only when Scripture alone is our authority; popes, councils, and priests, are robbers. God receives glory only when grace alone is acknowledged; so-called free will and those who espouse such humanistic rubbish are robbers. God receives glory only when faith alone is established; works and human effort are robbers. God receives glory only when Christ alone is recognized; sacraments are robbers.
With that firmly entrenched in our minds, let us briefly summarize the glory of the Doctrines of Grace, the only doctrines of salvation that give God all the glory for salvation. Arminianism is a robber.
Arminianism, which we have seen is thoroughly Roman Catholic and has been rejected repeatedly through the ages as heresy, teaches that although human nature was seriously affected by the fall, man has not been left in a state of total spiritual helplessness. Man’s will has not been enslaved in his sinful nature, rather he has a free will, which is free to choose good over evil in spiritual matters. While the sinner does need the Spirit’s help to be saved, he doesn’t need the Spirit’s help for believing, for faith is man’s act only and is man’s contribution to salvation. Is God glorified by such teaching? Certainly not.
What Scripture teaches is man’s total depravity and inability to turn to God, which demands God’s intervention. The reason is because he is spiritually dead, as Ephesians 2:1-3 clearly states. A dead man cannot do anything, including believe. While many teachers insist on running to the term “free will,” it is a fact this term appears in the New Testament only in the context of stewardship (e.g., II Cor. 8:1-4); it never appears in the context of coming to Christ in faith. The Scripture’s entire emphasis regarding the will is its bondage, not its freedom. Romans 3:11-18 clearly shows that man runs from God, in no way ever seeks God, and does nothing to please God.
What must happen, therefore, for man to receive the Gospel? The answer is simple: salvation is all of grace. When His disciples asked Him who can be saved, Jesus answered: “With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible” (Mk. 10:27). If that does not emphasize man’s total inability, nothing does. Man contributes absolutely nothing to his salvation. As Luke tells us: “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Lk. 19:10). Can a lost item find itself? No, it takes an outside power to find it.
The Apostle John also makes it clear that salvation comes totally from outside man:
No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day. . . . And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father (Jn. 6:44, 65).
Additionally, after writing of man’s spiritual death and inability in Ephesians 2:1-3, Paul then writes in verses 4-6 about God’s intervention:
But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us [i.e., made us alive, and here is the doctrine of regeneration] together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: That in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus (emphasis added).
It is in this view alone that God is glorified.
Arminianism teaches that God chose certain individuals for salvation before the foundation of the world based on His foreknowledge that they would believe. He chose for salvation those whom He knew would, of their own free choice, choose to believe in Christ. This view says, therefore, that election is not based on God choosing us but us choosing God. In the final analysis, then, salvation is not based solely on God’s grace but on our faith. But is God glorified in such an idea? Certainly not.
What Scripture teaches, as we just read in Ephesians 2:4-6, is salvation is the work of God alone. Man is nowhere to be found in that passage, nor is man anywhere to be found in Romans 8:29-30, which speaks only of what God has done: “foreknow,” “predestinate,” “called,” “justified,” and “glorified.” Only God is doing something here, and it is for this reason that we say that the Doctrines of Grace are the real heart of Christianity, Christianity in its purest form but have repeatedly been attacked because men simply do not like them. Throughout the history of the church these doctrines have been the real power of Christianity. Why? Compare the Doctrines of Grace to any religion. Not one of them speaks this way because they are all of man. Only the Doctrines of Grace emphasize that salvation is all of God.
The word “chosen” in Ephesians 1:4 is pivotal. It is the Greek eklegō, which carries the basic meaning “to pick out, choose, select for one’s self.” Most importantly, however, is the fact that this is in a construction in the Greek (middle voice) that indicates that God did the choosing independently in the past and did so primarily for His own interest, that is, His glory. While modern Arminian evangelism is based on what “God will do for you,” the biblical truth is our salvation is primarily for God’s glory, not ours. Why don’t we preach that today? The answer is obviously: because it doesn’t serve man, address his felt needs, or make him feel good about himself. Verses 6, 12, and 14, however, bear this out with full force, for they all emphasize the words “His glory” (emphasis added). Foreseen faith is not the basis for election (“foreknowledge,” prognōsis, in I Pet. 1:2, simply does not mean merely precognition, regardless of who insists it does). Election speaks only of an action done by God in the past, not on man’s faith in the future.
Woven into the very fabric of Scripture, in fact, is this principle of God’s election for His glory. To list only a few: Deuteronomy 10:14-15; Psalm 33:12; 65:4; Matthew 11:27-28; 22:14; Luke 4:25-27; John 15:16; 17:6; Colossians 3:12; and we could go on. It is in this view alone that God is glorified.
Arminianism teaches that the atonement of Christ provided potential salvation that becomes effective only to those who believe. Christ died for all men without exception, but only those who believe are saved. Jesus’ death, then, didn’t really accomplish salvation, rather it’s power is only potential. But is God glorified in such an idea? Certainly not.
What was the result of the cross? What did it actually accomplish? Did it actually do anything? The cross accomplished our redemption. While it is obvious that Christ died in the past, what is the depth of that truth? Did His death simply make redemption possible, that is, possible if we believe? If that is true, then the cross itself did not actually save us, rather it was our believing that saved us. This, of course, cannot be. The truth is that Christ’s death did not provide potential redemption, rather actual redemption. It was the cross that saved us.
Ephesians 1 bears this out with tremendous force. As we can see, all three members of the Godhead are present. The Father chose us before the foundation of the world (vs. 3-4), a choice that was not potential but actual. Second, the Son’s death redeemed us from our sins (v. 7), again a redemption that was not potential but actual. Third, the Holy Spirit applies the death of Christ (vs. 13-14), once again an application that is not potential but actual. Therefore, at all three points the work of the Godhead is effectual, that is, each actually does something. The work of each is not something that is virtual, but something that is real.
Now ponder the outworking of this. First, was the sinner saved when the Father chose him? Yes, though not yet in the sinner’s personal experience. Second, was the elect sinner saved when Christ died? Yes, though not yet in the sinner’s personal experience. Third, is the elect sinner saved when the Holy Spirit applies the merits of Christ’s death? Yes, and this time it did happen in the sinner’s personal experience. It is in this view alone that God is glorified.
Arminianism teaches that man’s will is free, he is the deciding factor in salvation. The matter is totally up to him. Faith is man’s contribution to salvation and is what makes salvation possible. The Holy Spirit can draw to Christ only those who allow Him to do so. But is God glorified in such an idea? Certainly not.
What Scripture teaches is that there are two calls of God to men. The first call is the general call (or external call). It is to this our Lord refers in Matthew 22:14: “For many are called, but few are chosen.” While there is a call to all men to believe, however, it is equally clear that the majority of people reject this call. In fact, as we preach and witness, the Gospel often hardens a person even more.
The second call of God, however, which we find primarily in the Epistles, is the effectual call (or inward call). This call is the inward call of the Holy Spirit that draws the elect one to God. Our Lord alludes to this in John 6:44: “No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him.”
Why is this effectual call necessary? Because of man’s depravity, this drawing follows of necessity. As we have seen, man is in darkness and even in death, so God had to call us in a very special way. After all, how can a dead man hear a call at all? God had to create the ability for us to respond. What is this effectual call? It is this: the Word of God comes with such power of the Holy Spirit that God’s chosen ones are drawn to God, and brought to life. God effectually draws to Himself those who belonged to Him from before the foundation of the world. It is in this view alone that God is glorified.
Arminianism teaches that those who believe and are truly saved can lose their salvation when they sin. But we ask one more time, is God glorified in such an idea? Certainly not.
What Scripture teaches is that man is secure in God’s grace. There is probably no other picture concerning the Holy Spirit’s work in salvation that is more graphic than that of sealing. Turning to Ephesians 1 once again (which is only one reason Ephesians is my passion), we read, “In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory” (vs. 13-14).
The concept of sealing is quite ancient. In fact, we can trace this concept back a millennium or more before Christ. Herodotus (c.484-525 B.C.), the first of the great Greek historians, wrote in his History that ancient man possessed not only his staff but his seal. The Greek verb used here is spragizō, “to set a seal; mark with a seal,” and comes from the noun spragis, which refers to a signet ring that had a distinctive mark. There are many illustrations of sealing. We can see many of these by looking at four pictures that this term provides. While space doesn’t permit looking at Acquisition, Absolute Ownership, and Authenticity, let’s look briefly at Assurance.
The spiritual parallel is staggering. The Holy Spirit’s sealing seals us eternally in Christ. The verb tense is past in all three New Testament references that refer to sealing. Ephesians 4:30 declares, that we are “sealed [in the past] for the day of redemption” (see also II Cor. 1:21-22). Does this say, “God sealed us temporarily until we sin our way out?” No, it says, “God sealed us in the past until the day we are redeemed into glory.” It is in this view alone that God is glorified.
We close with this statement on soli deo gloria, as stated in The Cambridge Declaration of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals on April 20, 1996:
We reaffirm that because salvation is of God and has been accomplished by God, it is for God’s glory and that we must glorify him always. We must live our entire lives before the face of God, under the authority of God and for his glory alone.
We deny that we can properly glorify God if our worship is confused with entertainment, if we neglect either Law or Gospel in our preaching, or if self-improvement, self-esteem or self-fulfillment are allowed to become alternatives to the gospel.
Oh, that the five solas of the Reformation would be burned
into the hearts and minds of God’s people today! These are not just the tenets of
the Reformation; they are the very pillars of Christianity itself. Without
them, we are doomed; not only is salvation impossible, but the church has no
foundation. Let us embrace them, defend them, and proclaim them.