On Reclaiming the Reformation —by Rich Gordon

The rallying cry of the Protestant Reformation was comprised of the “three solas:” sola gratia, sola fides and sola scriptura. Sola gratia means grace alone and refers to the message that salvation is bestowed on man by God by His grace alone, through faith alone, that is, sola fides. These two principles are presented in elegant simplicity in Ephesians 2:8,9, which read, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.”

For most Protestant Christians these two solas are universally embraced and celebrated. Unfortunately, the same cannot really be said for the final sola. While it is true that most Christians would say that the scriptures alone serve as their guide to life and faith, the rampant biblical illiteracy and theological incompetence of Christians—particularly American Christians—argues to the contrary.

The fact is that most people really do not understand what it means to truly live out sola scriptura. To put this another way, to live by scripture alone is to live a truly biblical world view, in which everything— life, death, love, work, politics, ministry, worship—is continuously examined through the lens of scripture. Sola scriptura also means that the Bible is one hundred percent adequate for any and all evaluations of speech, actions, feelings, desires, philosophies, society, politics, problems, sin, policies, etc. Sola scriptura means that the wise Christian has no need whatsoever of the “wisdom of man” as a partner for the word of God.
When sola scriptura is not given a place of primary importance in our world view, then it becomes neglected, then ignored and finally abandoned completely. Failing to protect our embrace of sola scriptura opens us to syncretistically accreting all manner of worldly philosophies, which we then assign equal or greater importance within the framework of our world view.

The syncretism of non-Christian ideas, philosophies and practices is certainly not new. In fact, the New Testament reveals that this problem arose almost immediately in issues such as the Judaizers and the influence of Greco-Roman pagan ideas and worship practices. All heretical movements over the centuries began this way. In the post-Enlightenment era this led to the birth of the Unitarian-Universalist movement, which, in turn, turned the great universities of England, such as Cambridge and Oxford, away from the truth of the Gospel. From there its poison spread to the American Ivy League divinity schools, with the result that the Gospel has not been preached or taught faithfully in an Ivy for over one hundred and fifty years.

Liberation theology was the syncretism of Marxism and Post-Colonialism into Christianity, with the result that churches became vehicles for anti-Christian Marxism. Liberation theology was used as a very effective tool of deception in the Cuban revolution. Many people, who would not have otherwise joined Castro and Guevarra in their pursuits, went along because they were promised that faith would play a renewed role in the new Cuba. One of those people was the father of Alberto Salazar, America’s greatest marathon runner. However, once the dust had settled and the bodies were buried, the truth was revealed to Alberto’s father. He was an architect, and when he presented Fidel with his design for a beautiful new national cathedral, Castro said, “There is no room for your God in the revolution.”

Today the church in America is ravenously gobbling up Marxian, post-modern ideas as if they were manna from heaven. Post-colonialism, gender theory, feminist theory, critical race theory, queer theory and others are not just infiltrating churches, seminaries and Christian universities, but they are actively pursued by Christians who, having abandoned sola scriptura, have developed an appetite for this philosophical pig slop. If we were to assemble a list of all of the people who contributed to these philosophies, from Darwin and Marx, through Horkheimer, Marcuse, Derrida and Foucault, all the way up to now, with Crenshaw, Kendi and DiAngelo, we would see that, to a person, not a single one sought first the Kingdom of God. How then have we come to exalt these people and their ideas to a place of moral supremacy?

Many Christians argue, “But we can use these ideas as useful tools in understanding our world and society.” To that I quote the great R.C. Sproul: “What’s wrong with you people!” I will tell you what’s wrong with these people, brother Sproul, sola scriptura is no longer sufficient for the new millennium. It’s not cool. It’s not hip. Sola scriptura is not an Instagram influencer. The biblical world view is just so “OK Boomer.” When the Bible says, “Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing” (1 Pet 3:9), these Christians say, “We need to let the world define what is evil and what is good.” The truth of that is seen clearly when Christians embrace principles of retribution as morally good. Consider the following quote from Ibram X. Kendi:
“The only remedy for racist discrimination is anti-racist discrimination. The only remedy for past discrimination is present discrimination. The only remedy for present discrimination is future discrimination.”

If discrimination is evil (spoiler: it is), then retributive discrimination is also evil. Held up to the lens of even one verse of scripture Kendi’s words are shown to be wicked. And yet he and others like him are now celebrated—by Christians who should know better—across the country in churches, schools, and universities and, perhaps most tragically, seminaries. What the Unitarian-Universalists did to the Ivies, the Critical Race Theorists will do to dozens of modern institutions. When men turn away from the Bible and look toward the world’s Good Idea Fairies, the result is never an improvement. The telos of syncretism is always complete takeover. The camel’s nose is already in the tent, and it won’t be long until he and his flea-bitten buddies drive out the original occupants.

The one and only remedy for any spiritual ailment is the word, will and wisdom of God. He and his perfect revelation are always and ever not just sufficient but overflowing in abundance of grace and truth and life. Make no mistake, we are at war with the world, the flesh, and the devil. Satan’s schemes so often masquerade as good, useful ideas, but they are spiritual poison, nonetheless. Consider that Marxist/Communist/Socialist governments murdered somewhere between one hundred twenty and two hundred million of their own citizens in the twentieth century. That self-inflicted death toll is estimated to be greater than all the casualties of all the wars in the history of the earth. And yet ideas born from Marx and Engels are the warp and weft of all critical theories.

Let me encourage you, brothers, to stand firm and steadfast under the banner sola scriptura! God’s surpassing greatness is manifested in the gratia and fides that brought us into the Kingdom of God and bind us together in the Holy Spirit. That self-same fides and gratia will, if we humbly seek first His will and Kingdom, empower us to be strong and courageous spiritual warriors, no matter what comes our way on the battlefield of life and faith. Let us lift our banners high, so the guardians on the ramparts of the Gates of Hell can read them from miles away.

SOLA FIDES!                         SOLA GRATIA!                        SOLA SCRIPTURA!                  SOLA DEO GLORIA!