Reformation Solas

From the LOCH A TUATH NEWS July/August 2000

Some years ago I had the privilege of hearing James Montgomery Boice speak to a group of pastors in Stornoway. Dr Boice was Senior Minister of Tenth Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia, and author of numerous books on Bible exposition and on theology. He was the consummate gentleman, and a model of clarity and simplicity in his Bible teaching.

Dr Boice died in his sleep on Thursday, 15th June of this year, just eight weeks after being diagnosed as having liver cancer. He had been pastor of his congregation for 32 years, and had seen it grow from 350 to 1,200. He was a popular teacher and conference speaker, and he will be greatly missed.

One of Dr Boice's projects was the establishing of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals, which he served as President, and Chairman of its Council. The Alliance was set up because of a concern of many within the American evangelical scene that (to quote) "Evangelical churches today are increasingly dominated by the spirit of this age rather than by the Spirit of Christ. As evangelicals we call ourselves to repent of this sin and to recover the historic Christian faith". The Alliance is made up of evangelical leaders and churches across the American religious scene, and works to recover the meaning of the word 'evangelical' by returning to the creeds and confessions of Reformation doctrine and biblical truth. That means an emphasis on five things, which must serve as the bedrock of all truly Christian and truly evangelical endeavour.

First is the emphasis on Scripture alone. The Reformation recovered the doctrine of the sufficiency of the Bible, which had been compromised by an increasing emphasis on tradition within the Church. In every congregation and denomination, there can be a tendency to make tradition the rule of thumb. But our Church confesses, as every true church must, that the Bible alone and in its entirety is the Word of God in written form, and is alone authoritative for our doctrine, practice and life.

Second is the emphasis on Christ alone. In a world dominated by theories of the equal validity of all religions, the Christian faith emphasises that there is only one way to God, and it is through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. He stands unique as the one who is the Way to God, the Truth about God, and the Life from God. He stands unrivalled and unparalleled as the Saviour of sinners.

Third is the emphasis on Grace alone. The salvation of men and women is not a matter of doing things to please God, but of recognising that we constantly come short of what God requires us to be. That there is salvation for us at all is alone due to the unmerited favour of God, who loved the world and gave his Son for it. The fountain of all spiritual life is in the grace of God to us, and the love that he demonstrated for us at Calvary.

Fourth is the emphasis on Faith alone. Faith means knowing that Jesus is there to save, believing that he can save, and trusting that he will save all those who come to him. It is a faith that works through love, and that loves to work. But it recognises that only by receiving what Jesus did can we have peace with God.

Fifth is the emphasis on God's glory alone. In all our life, and preaching, and Christian experience, the emphasis is not on what we are or on what we can get, but on the fact that God must have the glory. Our concern is not to have primacy of place ourselves, but to give the primary place to him.

Dr Boice will be remembered for many things. But his insistence that only by returning to these five great 'solas' of the Reformation can the evangelical church recover its soul. We need to have this message reinforced in our church life and witness if we too are to serve our culture and generation well in the name of Christ.

For more information on the Alliance, see their website at www.alliancenet.org.