A Catholic Response to the “Five Solas” 

of Protestantism

We actually agree with most of them.

Gary Hoge

Protestantism defined itself by the “five solas”: sola fide (faith alone), sola gratia (grace alone), solus Christus (Christ alone), soli deo gloria (for the glory of God alone), and sola Scriptura (Scripture alone). an online friend gave me his definitions of these five Protestant distinctives, and I gave my response.

“Faith alone”

Sola Fide (“Faith Alone”): This principle emphasizes that salvation is attained solely through faith in Jesus Christ, independent of human efforts or works. It underscores the belief that faith is the exclusive means by which one receives God's grace and justification.

We’ll often push back on the phrase “justification by faith alone,” for a couple of reasons. First, it’s blatantly unbiblical. The only time the phrase “faith alone” occurs in the Bible is in James 2:24, which says, “You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone.” Second, the hypocrisy of some Christians, who accuse us of having unbiblical doctrines while insisting on the unbiblical phrase “justification by faith alone” is galling, and sometimes hard to take. We want to answer back that the “justification by faith alone” wording couldn’t contradict Scripture harder if it tried.

Having said all that, we do recognize that even though the phrase “justification by faith alone” contradicts the language of Scripture, it can be given an orthodox meaning. The way my friend described it above, we don’t have a problem with it. Justification is attained solely through faith in Jesus Christ, independent of human efforts or works. The Council of Trent declared, “none of those things that precede justification, whether faith or works, merit the grace of justification.”¹

What my friend illustrated above is that modern Christians regard faith as more than mere belief, more than just mental acknowledgement of facts about God. As James pointed out, the demons believe those facts, too, but it doesn’t help them (James 2:19). That’s because they do not have love, and love is even greater than faith (1 Corinthians 13:13).

Modern Christians, when they say “faith” tend to include the other theological virtues of Hope (by which we desire the kingdom of heaven and eternal life as our happiness, placing our trust in Christ's promises and relying not on our own strength, but on the help of the grace of the Holy Spirit)² and Charity (by which we love God above all things for his own sake, and our neighbor as ourselves for the love of God)³ in their definition. They recognize that justifying faith, an unmerited gift from God, is a living faith that fills us with hope and spurs us to action. It is “faith working in love” (Galatians 5:6). That’s why James could say that “just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead” (James 2:26). Works by themselves do not justify, but living faith expresses itself through works of love. To paraphrase John Calvin, faith alone justifies, but the faith that justifies is never alone.

Understood in this way, we can agree that we are justified by faith alone, even if we don’t normally like to phrase it that way. In fact, Pope Benedict XVI said, 

Being just simply means being with Christ and in Christ. And this suffices. Further observances are no longer necessary. For this reason Luther's phrase: “faith alone” is true, if it is not opposed to faith in charity, in love.⁴

“Grace alone”

Sola Gratia (“Grace Alone”): This principle asserts that salvation is granted solely by God's grace, without any merit on the part of the individual. It highlights the notion that salvation is a divine gift, bestowed by God's sovereign grace.

This is an easy one. We totally agree with it. The Council of Trent declared, “If anyone says that man can be justified before God by his own works, whether done by his own natural powers or through the teaching of the law, without divine grace through Jesus Christ, let him be anathema.” (Canon 1 on Justification). We agree that we contribute nothing to our redemption but the sins that made it necessary.

“Christ alone”

Solus Christus (“Christ Alone”): This principle maintains that Jesus Christ is the only mediator between God and humanity, and that salvation is achieved exclusively through His atoning sacrifice. It rejects the concept of other mediators, such as saints or priests, having any role in the process of salvation.

We certainly agree with the first sentence. “Jesus Christ is true God and true man, in the unity of his divine person; for this reason he is the one and only mediator between God and men.”⁵ In fact, the Catechism of the Catholic Church refers to Jesus as the “one” mediator, or the “unique” mediator, or the “sole” mediator ten times.

But the Bible verse that tells us there is “one mediator between God and man” (1 Timothy 2:5) is preceded by four verses that tell us to intercede for everyone. When we intercede for others, we are acting as a mediator, and the reason we can do that is because we are in Christ, who is the one mediator between God and man. Christ alone bridges the gap between God and man, and if we are in him, not only can we intercede for others, but God commands us to do so.

In fact, there are many people and things that act as mediators of God’s grace. The Bible, good Christian books, our Christian friends who pray for us, our pastors when they preach the Word, are all acting as mediators. None of this detracts from Christ as the “one mediator,” rather he is pleased to allow us to participate in his mediation because we are in him, and he is in us (John 14:20).

“For the glory of God alone”

Soli Deo Gloria (“To the Glory of God Alone”): This principle stresses that all aspects of life, including salvation, are to be conducted for the glory of God alone. It denies any human boasting or glorification in matters of faith and salvation, affirming that all credit and honor belong solely to God.

We agree with this, too. In fact, the phrase “soli deo gloria” was used as a greeting by monks in Cistercian and Trappist monastic orders.⁶

“Scripture alone”

Sola Scriptura (“Scripture Alone”): This principle posits that the Bible alone serves as the supreme authority in all matters pertaining to faith and practice. It repudiates the authority of ecclesiastical traditions and teachings that are not explicitly found in or aligned with Scripture.

I saved this one for last because it’s the only one we really disagree with. 

First, ironically, it’s unbiblical. Nowhere in Scripture does it say that the Bible alone serves as the supreme authority in all matters pertaining to faith and practice. And if every doctrine must be provable from the Bible, then sola Scriptura also must be provable from the Bible, and it isn’t.

On the contrary, the Bible commends both Scripture and Tradition.

I praise you for remembering me in everything and for holding to the traditions just as I passed them on to you. (1 Corinthians 11:2)

So then, brothers and sisters, stand firm and hold fast to the teachings we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter. (2 Theselonians 2:15)

And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others. (2 Timothy 2:2)

Second, as a practical matter sola Scriptura doesn’t work. In only 500 years Protestantism has fractured into dozens of groups that disagree with each other on issues large and small.

I think that’s because they’re using the Bible in a way it wasn’t meant to be used. Remember that the New Testament was written to people who were already Christians. It was written to supplement the teaching they learned in the church, not replace it, and it was intended to be read and understood within the context of apostolic teaching.

The reason the Catholic and Orthodox churches agree on almost every point of doctrine despite being separated from each other for 970 years is because they’ve retained the institutional knowledge that they call “apostolic Tradition.” The early church knew, for example, whether baptism confers the remission of sins and rebirth, whether to baptize infants, whether our ministers could forgive sins in Christ’s name, etc., and the apostolic churches have retained that knowledge.

Protestants set it aside and tried to reconstruct Christianity from the Bible alone, and the result was disastrous.

That said, I do agree that all of our doctrines must be “aligned with Scripture,” that is, they cannot contradict Scripture.