There is a distinction between the righteous and the wicked and between the one who serves God and the one who does not serve Him. The one who has been saved by God through Jesus is a treasured possession while the one who rejects God is destined for utter destruction.
God does not sit by and not deal with sin. He is a just judge and will righteously punish evil. But in his grace, Jesus took the punishment for sin and through his righteousness, we are no longer condemned.
The story of Grace Life Church is the story of the greatest message known to man. God the Father has extended grace to every life and those who are saved live every day in that grace.
** This post is a part of our ongoing focus in the month of October as we look back to the Reformation of the 1500s and why it still matters today. This blog post was written by Josh Bird.
On October 31, kids will dress up as ghouls, monsters, superheroes, and all sorts of different creatures. They will roam from house to house threatening tricks to get treats. And when all is said and done and they get back to their own homes, their dads will take the customary candy tax from them. This is how we celebrate Halloween, but while October 31 is normally devoted to witches and goblins, it is also important historically for another reason. It was on this day in 1517 that Martin Luther posted his 95 theses to the church door in Wittenburg, Germany.
That day in 1517 is often credited with beginning the Protestant Reformation. It is important to realize that there were reformers before Luther, and there were reformers after Luther, but that Halloween day in 1517 was most assuredly a landmark day. Luther’s primary complaint at that time was that the Roman Catholic Church was abusing its members through the selling of indulgences. But while that was the complaint that sparked the Reformation, it was not the primary impediment or theology that drove the Reformation. The theology of the Reformation is often summarized in what is known as the five solas: Sola Scriptura, Sola Fide, Sola Gratia, Solus Christus, and Soli Deo Gloria. The word sola is Latin for “alone.” Ironically, as we will see, no sola truly stands alone, but they build off one another to give an understanding of God’s ultimate plan of redemption and how he conveys that message to us.
Sola Scriptura
The first primary argument of the reformers was that scripture is the highest infallible rule of faith for the Christian church. As 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 reformers were ardent on this subject. In his commentary on Galatians, Martin Luther said that “a simple layman armed with scripture is greater than the mightiest pope without it.”
Protestants and Roman Catholics believed and still believe that scripture is infallible, inerrant, and inspired by God. The difference between the two sides is that Protestants believe that scripture is the only infallible rule of faith. Roman Catholics believe that there is also an infallible oral tradition. They also believe that an authorized official is necessary to interpret both oral tradition and scripture to ensure their proper understanding and application. This is sometimes described as the three-legged stool. For the Roman Catholic oral tradition and scripture are intertwined.
The reformers were sensitive to the importance of church history and tradition. They often cited theologians and early church fathers to support what they were arguing. However, they continuously claimed that all traditions must be tested against the authority of scripture. Because at its heart, Sola Scriptura is a claim of authority. There is certainly authority outside of scripture. For example, at Grace Life Church, we are under the authority of the elders, Pastor Ben and Pastor Matt. But the only infallible rule of faith and authority for God’s church is sacred scripture.
Sola Gratia
Sola Gratia is the emphasis that we are saved by grace alone. It is a gift from God. As sinful humans, we can do nothing to earn or merit God’s grace. The Holy Spirit brings us to Christ by releasing us from our bondage to sin raising us from spiritual death to spiritual life. There is nothing that we do to warrant grace.
Scripture, which as we discussed above, is our sole infallible rule of faith, shows us how this works. Before God’s grace, we were lost in sin and slaves to our passions and pleasures. But once God shows his grace upon us, we are regenerated through the working of the Holy Spirit. Examine what Titus 3:3-7 says:
“For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become hairs according to the hope of eternal life.” (ESV)
Praise be to God that we are saved by his grace. No longer do we have to attempt to earn our salvation through the law. Which is a burden we could never bear. As Charles Spurgeon once said, “If I could lose my salvation, I would.”
Sola Fide
Where Sola Gratia highlights that it is by grace alone that we are saved, Sola Fide shows us that it is through faith alone that we can accept God’s grace. Where we are saved by God’s grace alone, and through no works of our own, faith is the mechanism by which we receive God’s grace. Roman Catholics believe that God’s grace and faith are essential elements to salvation. For a Roman Catholic, you cannot be saved without God’s grace and without faith. However, the key distinction the reformers highlighted, was based on the word “alone.”
The reformers taught that we are saved by grace alone through faith alone. Roman Catholicism teaches that humans must cooperate with God’s grace. Meaning that there are works that man must do in order to remain in God’s favor. Protestants teach that we are justified by faith alone. Then, following that justification and regeneration, the Holy Spirit will produce good fruit within us. This is called sanctification. Our sanctification takes place after our justification. For the Roman Catholic, the sanctification takes place in conjunction with justification. So, from the Roman Catholic perspective, we are not saved or justified by faith alone, but by faith and works.
In response, we should look to Ephesians 2:8-10:
“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. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” (ESV)
We see from these verses what we have been building as we work through the solas. We are looking to Scripture as the basis for God’s truth. We are saved by grace. That salvation comes through faith. This is a work of God so we have no room to boast. And then we are God’s workmanship able to perform good works after we are saved.
Solus Christus
We have looked at why we must look to scripture first for our beliefs. Then we saw that we are saved by God’s grace alone. That grace is accepted by faith alone. But faith in what? That brings us to the next sola. Our salvation is accomplished by Christ alone.
It is only through Christ, in his mediatorial role that we can be made right and have reconciliation with the Father. It is through Christ’s perfect and sinless life, that he was able to offer a sufficient sacrifice to cover our sins. In 2 Corinthians 5:21 we see that “For our sake he made him to be sin, who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (ESV). Paul is telling us about the great exchange. Christ became sin on our behalf, so that through him we may be made righteous before God. We are saved by what the reformers called an “alien righteousness,” which is Christ’s. Christ mediates on our behalf. Paul tells Timothy in 1 Timothy 2:5 “for there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” (ESV)
In Acts 4, Peter and John were preaching to the people when they were arrested and taken before a council. When questioned, Peter is filled with the Holy Spirit (v. 8) and tells them that Jesus, the stone rejected by the Jews, has become the cornerstone and there is salvation in no one else (v. 11-12). We can seek our salvation in no one else but Christ.
Soli Deo Gloria
Scripture is our highest authority. We are saved by Grace alone which is accepted through faith alone. That salvation is accomplished through Christ alone. But for what purpose? To the glory of God alone. This sola reminds us that all of God’s plan of redemption is for his own glory. Consider what Paul says in Ephesians 1:7-14
“In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory”
Paul is making clear that we are saved through Christ according to God’s grace. And in v. 12 he tells us why, so that “we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory.”
Conclusion
In conclusion, the five solas of the Reformation remain foundational principles that continue to shape the theological landscape. As theological disagreements persist, and the theological chasm between Protestants and Roman Catholics endures, it becomes all the more crucial to cling to the unshakable pillars of our faith. Scripture alone is our infallible source of authority, grace alone our saving grace, faith alone the means by which we receive that grace, and Christ alone our Savior. In it all, to the glory of God alone.
I’ve (Pastor Matt) been struck recently by one of the incredible truths we’ve learned from Romans 8: we belong to God. The gospel brings us salvation from sin and God’s wrath and it brings us into God’s family. The Holy Spirit testifies that we belong to God. We are His sons and daughters! Which also means, for those who are in Christ, we belong to a family filled with brothers and sisters.
The New Testament writers frequently referred to their readers as “brothers and sisters” (example seen Galatians 1:11). It’s a phrase that portrays intimacy, closeness, and unity. We are brothers and sisters not by human blood, but by the blood of which purchased our freedom redeemed us from all sin.
This is what makes a local church so remarkably incredible. People from all different walks of life, of different ages and ethnicities, different career paths and family dynamics, different personalities and passions, brought near to one another by Jesus Christ. Because of who we are together in Christ Jesus, we should see the local church, Grace Life Church, as a people to belong to, a people to live with, not people we occasionally see.
Church Membership is the invitation to officially belong to a local body of believers. Church membership is putting the needs of the church ahead of our own personal preferences and desires. It’s being faithful to the Lord by being faithful to one another while staying vigilant against division and fighting for unity. We’ve written more about the importance of church membership here.
Being a church member comes with important responsibility, one of which is attending Member meetings when they are scheduled. The next member meeting is this coming Sunday evening. The term “meeting” implies that business will be conducted, which is true. We will consider and vote upon our upcoming 2023 budget as well as vote in new members to our church. While participating in the business of the church is important, we will intentionally take time Sunday evening to worship, pray, celebrate, and look forward to the upcoming year and what we will do as a church to proclaim the name of Jesus to the nations.
Church membership is important and if you are a member of Grace Life, we expect you to be there Sunday evening, Lord willing. If you haven’t made the steps to becoming a member of our church, then do so today. We’d love for you to come and be a part of our family. Start that process by attending our upcoming Intro to Grace Life on November 13th.
The Lord has been so faithful to us. Let’s gather together, as members of the church, and celebrate His faithfulness.
By His Grace,
Pastor Matt and Pastor Ben
Next week, we will begin a new LifeGroup study through the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Galatians. To help us prepare for the study, our Elders, Pastor Matt and Pastor Ben, sat down together and talked a little about our upcoming study in Galatians.
Listen to their conversation on our main podcast channel or you can listen to it here.
To prepare for our study, go to thegracelifechurch.org/galatians or find our study on Galatians on the Grace Life App.
Blessings!
We’ve all been there. We walk into a room to grab an item only to have that needed item escape your memory. “Why did I walk in here?” we say to ourselves as we bumble around aimlessly, trying to remember what we knew just moments prior. It’s a reminder of another reality we often forget about: we are finite creatures with an inherited tendency to forget the infinite God who redeemed us.
The Bible teaches us that each and everyone of us have inherited sin from Adam (Romans 5:12). We are sinners, plain and simple. There is no one righteous; not a single one (Romans 3:9-12). The sin that dwells within us is, as Theologian R.C. Sproul states, is “Cosmic treason against God”. The sinfulness of man is the single greatest problem in the entire world.
Because of sin, we deserve death (Romans 6:23). We deserve hell. Yet, as we read in last week’s post, God is marvelously gracious. He shows us this marvelous grace, this eternal love through His Son Jesus. While we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8). Jesus was condemned to die in our place in order that we would not face condemnation. His death canceled ours. His resurrection sealed our eternal victory. Christ, and Christ alone is our hope.
This is the message of the gospel. The Gospel is the good news that a holy God sent us His sinless Son Jesus Christ who, through His death and resurrection, has graciously saved us from our sin, delivered us from eternal hell, and has called us to live holy.
It is the gospel of Jesus that has saved us from our sin! But it is also the gospel of Jesus that sustains us in the here and now. This is why, beginning July 20th, we will be hosting a four week study called, “The Gospel for Everyday Life”.
The Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:1 reminds us of the gospel that saved us, the gospel we’re standing on, and the gospel that sustains us. Why do we need a gospel reminder? Because as stated earlier, we are finite creatures with an inherited tendency to forget the infinite God who has redeemed us. Paul says it this way in his letter to the Galatians:
“I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ”. (Galatians 1:6–7)
We need to be reminded of the Gospel everyday. We need to be reminded of the hope of our salvation that is only found in Jesus. We need to be reminded of His redeeming love. We need the reminder because we are prone to wander, prone to leave the God we love.
Our goal in “The Gospel for Everyday Life” is to help you know the gospel deeper and how this good news sustains us every day. We’ll focus on four aspects of the gospel:
My prayer for you is that your affections for the Lord will grow as you grow in the grace of the Gospel. Each and every one of us needs a gospel reminder. As author and pastor Tim Keller said, “The Gospel is this: We are more sinful and flawed in ourselves than we ever dared believe, yet at the very same time we are more loved and accepted in Jesus Christ than we ever dared hope.”
So come and join us as we remember how the power of the Gospel is for everyday life. Register Here.
By His Grace,
Pastor Matt
On our way out of town for vacation, Julie and I took the kids on a slight detour past our first apartment in Knoxville, TN. It was the first time we had been there since we left in a Penske truck back in 2008. It looked just like we remember it.
We then drove the winding road back towards the highway, a road I traveled quite a bit for classes, work, and church. We drove up the hill where I spun out the winter of my freshman year. I hadn’t learned how to drive in the snow yet. We drove past neighborhoods where our friends used to live, places we used to eat, and stores we used to shop at. Finally, we drove past the college and church I attended for close to four years.
With memories flooding back of the different places and people from those years in Tennessee, there is one word that explains how thankful I am for this short time in my life: grace.
Those four years were quite difficult to say the least. Everyday I fought the legalistic posture of my heart. I was working so hard to please God. I tried doing everything right and still didn’t feel like it was enough. I couldn’t keep the rules of the school the way they were intended to be kept. I was often scrutinized, questioned, and ridiculed. After an accidental rule breaking, I was asked a question that I didn’t have an answer to at the time: “What would Jesus think of you right now?”
“He’d think I was a failure”, is how I wanted to answer. But I didn’t. I didn’t know at the time how much Jesus truly loved me. It was around this time I realized I was never going to be able to do enough to be good. I was never going to be good enough. I was never going to be righteous.
Legalism is a deadly weight. It devalues the finished work of Jesus and elevates our filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6). It is an unbearable task to earn any favor with God. There is nothing we can do to earn the righteousness of Jesus. No matter how often we keep the rules, no matter how “good” we are, no matter how churchy we appear, legalism is a lie from the pit of hell. Legalism continues to yell, “Do more! Do more! Do more!” while Jesus lovingly declares, “It is finished!”
It had been close to 10 years since I had placed my faith in Jesus Christ for the salvation of my sins, but in the Rocky Mountains of Tennessee, I learned and came to appreciate the grace of Jesus. While I was never going to be able to do enough to be good enough, Jesus did. While I was never going to be righteous, Jesus was and now through His grace, His righteousness covers me (2 Corinthians 5:21). We are so underserving of the grace of Jesus. His grace is truly marvelous.
The good news of Jesus reminds us that we are saved through faith in Jesus Christ. It is faith that pleases the Father (Hebrews 11:6), faith in His Son, Jesus. While our natural tendency given to us from Adam (Genesis 3) is to cover ourselves, there is freedom in knowing that we can’t. Our sin covering, our standing before God, only comes from the finished work of Jesus on the cross. Our joy comes from the victory we have through His resurrection. And none of this was deserving. When we fell short of God’s standard of righteousness, Jesus measured up (Romans 3:23). It is all because of grace.
As the old hymn says,
“Marvelous grace of our loving Lord, grace that exceeds our sin and our guilt! Yonder on calvary’s mount out-poured, there where the blood of the Lamb was spilt. Grace, grace, God’s grace, grace that will pardon and cleanse within; grace, grace, God’s grace, grace that is greater than all our sin!”
If I were to be asked the question again, “What would Jesus think of you right now?” I’d respond with great joy, “He loves me as His own, not for what I have done, but for all that He has graciously done for me”. And it is this grace of Jesus that frees us to live in obedience to all his commands.
What is church membership, and why does it matter? For the people of Grace Life, our partnership covenant is birthed out of our love for the church body and her individual members whom we hope will experience the fullness of joy which is found in the presence of the Lord. This helps us with three things:
Each of these functions is in accordance with our overall vision to provide an accessible explanation of the Scriptures in hopes that Grace Life Church would grow in the grace and truth of Jesus Christ.
But first, we must answer a few questions. What is the church?
The church is an embassy that represents the kingdom of God on this earth.
An embassy is an institution that represents one nation inside another nation. It declares its home nation’s interests to the host nation. And it protects the citizens of the home nation living in the host nation. The embassy does not make us a citizen, but it officially affirms it. In this case, the church represents the heavenly kingdom of God while we are here on earth. Like an embassy, the church must approve those who are a part of the Kingdom.
The church exists to display the glory of God because all things exist for His glory. Those of us who trust in and follow Jesus are caught up in something much bigger than ourselves. We have graciously been invited into God’s redemptive purposes in the world.
Since the beginning, God has been creating and calling forth His people for the display of His glory in a grand narrative of redemption and reconciliation. Though creation now suffers the curse of Genesis 3, the gospel is the means by which the world is being made right. The gospel also carries with it the promise of ultimate renewal, a restoration even more glorious than Eden, and thus believers eagerly anticipate the return of Christ. The Church universal (i.e., all believers, everywhere) is the means by which God is fulfilling His purposes in the world (2 Cor. 5:17-20). The Church universal is being used to write God’s beautiful and dramatic story of redemption and reconciliation. In light of this reality, the opportunity to join a local church body (i.e., a particular group of believers in a particular locale) is much more than a commitment to consistent attendance or active involvement in community. It is also a sacred call to be involved in the redemptive work of our sovereign God to push back the darkness of a fallen world through the power of the Holy Spirit with the light of His Son, Jesus Christ.
So then, what is a church member?
A church member is someone who is formally recognized as a Christian and a part of Christ’s universal body.
There are two qualifications for being a church member in the New Testament: salvation and baptism. There is freedom to pursue ways to determine if someone has been redeemed. At Grace Life Church, we believe that baptism is a symbol of what Jesus has done for us and that it is a baptism by water immersion after a person has placed their faith in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins.
Church membership matters because God calls His people into covenant, not only to Himself but also to each other.
He calls us to a life of sacrifice, generosity, service, and radical commitment to the good of the body. This happy obligation is most readily pursued within the context of a particular body—a local church. In light of this reality, membership is not merely a responsibility but a blessed opportunity to covenant with a particular people to live out the gospel together.
Membership is not about privilege or prestige. It is not some elevated level of access with secret insider benefits. It is not a legal document or means of control. Membership recognizes and responds to the call of discipleship in the context of gospel-centered community. It is an affirmation and agreement to contribute to the good of the body rather than consume from it. It is a formalization of that which already implicitly exists. It is an obligation to sacrificially seek the good of others in the body of Christ by taking the general call toward service and incarnating it within a particular people.
Christians commit themselves to each other in the context of the local church in countless ways. At Grace Life, the current process for partnership involves participating in a class, reading a book, and completing a questionnaire. Far from mere formality, these expressions are important representations of the formal commitment that members make. So if you have not yet committed yourself to the local body of Grace Life Church, plan to attend The Intro on June 26th after the morning gathering to learn what the next steps are towards becoming a member.
In Christ,
Pastor Ben
