My blog title: a motto to live by

Some of the people who may read this blog will wonder about the title of this blog Soli Deo Gloria. I shall attempt to explain. (without rambling to an excessive extent)

The Protestant Reformation was a reaction to the abuses of the Catholic Church. Luther, and others, did not set out to start a new church, merely to try to help Catholicism return to some of its grounding principles. Yet, what happened on All Saints Day, 1517 started a complete new branch of Christianity. So, what was Luther, Melanchthon, et. al. protesting? Namely, indulgences, but, on a deeper level, the issue was the authority of Scripture and the efficacy of the Pope and his indulgences. Much later in Lutheran thought, the founding principles, and what was meant to guide the church became known as the "Five Solas," described below.

Sola Scriptura: The Bible is the only inspired word of God, and as such, is the only authority for living here on earth. Furthermore, this doctrine teaches that the Bible can be interpreted by all and is accessible to all. The Bible is God's instrument on Earth.

Sola fide: By faith alone we are justified! To Luther this meant that by faith we are declared and made right before God. Rightly interpreted, this is a statement of how we experience salvation. To Luther and the other reformers, this was the central issue of the Reformation.

Sola Gratia: By Grace alone Salvation is comes to us. We do not deserve God's gift. Amen

Solus Christus: Literally, "Only through Christ," this doctrine teaches that Christ is the mediator between my sinful self, and God's Holiness. Solus Christus teaches that we need no other man to mediate our holiness. I need no Pope to stand before God and plead my case. I need Christ's perfection and the his work in the heavenly sanctuary. This idea was another very key part of the reformation.

Soli Deo Gloria: Glory to God alone! Because he alone is the author of our salvation. We as Christians should seek to laud Christ for his blessings, and, by extension of this idea, everything we do should be done in the spirit of glorifying God.

How should one live one's life? Should one adopt the Five Solas as the grounding principle of our christian walk? Maybe. Tolstoy, in his collection What Men Live By proposed that one must live a life of love and avoid trying to care for one's own needs. I agree with this. Altruism certainly is an important part of the Christian Life. In fact, in a way, Christ is the ultimate example of Altruism. Yet, I think that this mode of existence misses something important, and I also think that Luther, in his last Sola, had it right. We should live in a manner that gives constant glory and praise to God.

Another interesting aspect of the Reformation is the concept of constant reformation. Basically, this idea says that the church should constantly seek to keep itself pure and in line with true principles of Scripture. But, what happens when we apply the idea of living a life of glorifying God with the concept of constant reformation? I believe this is the life God calls me to. A life where I seek to live according to the authority of Scripture, by the the saving faith which Scripture calls me to, by the Grace extended by my mediator Christ, and to praise him in all that I attempt and the parallel journey of constantly dying to self, of submitting my will to God so that my existence is in line with his idea. This is what the title of my blog means.