What do you think about the Reformed Solas?

Let me tell you something about eggplants.

The local supermarket has been my exclusive source of groceries. When I want an eggplant, this market ALONE is where I would buy one. They have the best looking eggplants I have ever seen. This has been going on for years.

Guess how many eggplants I have purchased from there? Zero. This is because I have never wanted to buy an eggplant in my life. In fact, I have never bought any prune juice from there. Or grape soda. Or microwave popcorn. Or a hundred other things.

There are more things in that market that I have never purchased than things that I have purchased. But this market ALONE, is where I get my groceries.

You see, alone is not a lot. In fact, alone can be nothing. Exclusive does not mean exhaustive.

The Solas are not wrong, but they are not enough. Nevertheless, in connection with the Reformed, the Solas are just…so lame.

First, the Reformed are liars when it comes to the Solas. “Scripture alone”? Yeah, right. They have made up so many doctrines and traditions, and they impose these on people as if they carry the same force as Scripture. Even if they refrain from this in principle, they do it in practice. Think through the other four. You will see that they do not in fact keep the Solas. But they like to talk about them and rub them in people’s faces.

Second, whereas the Solas were supposed to be convenient slogans for faithful religion, they in fact represent the lowest level of acceptable religion. If you make them into pillars, then it just means that you are proud of a big fat zero.

If your faith is not from Scripture alone, then it is not even acceptable. But Scripture alone is the starting point, not the apex of anything. What is in Scripture? What about Scripture do you believe?

If you worship both Christ and Satan, then you are not saved at all. You are not a Christian, and your religion is unacceptable. So you go “Christ alone,” but that is just the starting point. What about Christ do you believe? What do you do with this Christ?

You need to stress the “alone” thing when you are leaving Catholicism. (We need to affirm justification by faith alone, but faith can receive a lot more than justification.) Some circles have been stuck at the starting point for five hundred years. I say this charitably, since as I mentioned, they have not even rid themselves of other things — there is really no “alone” on anything with them.

You cry, “Scripture alone!” Good, but to believe the Bible alone does not mean to believe the Bible a lot, or any of it. I can say that I believe the Bible alone and have never read any of it. If I believe only John 3:16, I would believe in the Bible alone, but that is not enough.

You say, “Christ alone!” The Reformed are fond of talking about “preaching Christ from all of Scripture.” This is so basic that it is pathetic that it is even an issue. But I say that we should be “preaching ALL of Christ from Scripture.”

Regardless of what passage of Scripture they choose, they always end up talking about only the few aspects about Christ that they allow in their theology. Either they avoid passages that talk about other aspects of Christ, or they make these passages into allegories for the few aspects of Christ that they allow. See? So what good is it, if they cry “Christ alone”?

Christ alone indeed! But I want all of Christ. The Bible teaches me about the Christ who heals the sick and casts out demons, the Christ who brings boatloads of fishes with a word, the Christ who multiplies bread for thousands, the Christ who teaches that all things are possible to faith, the Christ who baptizes his people with the Spirit, so that they can do the same things, and even greater things.

Do your preachers mention these aspects of Christ? When they mention them, do they affirm that you can receive these aspects of Christ, or do they make them into allegories for the one, two, or three aspects of Christ that their tradition allows? What good is it if they say “Christ alone,” if they won’t let you have him?

In refusing to preach almost every aspect about Christ, and in twisting almost all aspects about Christ into the few aspects that they accept, in effect they have rejected and even preached against most aspects of Christ. Thus they are anti-Christ.

What do I think about the Reformed Solas? I agree with them. (I also think the Reformed never truly agreed with them.) Now if only the Reformed would actually keep them, then they can START learning and preaching all of Scripture, believing and loving all of Christ, receiving and dispensing all of grace (all that grace gives us, including the gifts of the Spirit, prophecies, and all kinds of signs and wonders), taking and working all of faith (all that is promised to faith, including healing, prosperity, and all kinds of blessings we inherited from Abraham through Christ), and finally render to God alone the glory — all the glory — that he deserves.