It is appropriate for us to celebrate the 500^th anniversary of the posting of Luther’s 95 Theses because that act marked the dawning of the light of the Gospel breaking through the darkness of Middle Ages. That act was the spark that lit the fires of reformation throughout Europe. That event marks the beginning of a movement toward biblical literacy, religious freedom, democracy, free market capitalism, and basic civil rights.

Today I want to review three of the five great solas of the reformation—we are saved by grace alone (sola gratia), by faith alone (sola fide), and by Christ alone (solus Christus). Each of these ideas stand in stark contrast to what the RCC had been teaching at the time of the reformers. The rediscovery and emphasis on these three biblical principles changed the church and changed the world, starting about 500 years ago.