The five solas summarize what the church Reformers taught in the 15th & 16th centuries. It is also what we hold to as a Church. When we talk about the five solas—we’re using the Latin word sola, meaning “only” or “alone.”

First, sola sciptura (Scripture alone)

Scripture is the highest authority, not some mixture of Scripture, tradition, and church teaching. That doesn’t mean there are not important things to be learned from tradition or other sources; it simply means that if you put them together in the boxing ring, only one holds the knockout blow; only one remains standing at the end. Nothing can ever be allowed to override or overcome or overthrow what God has said in His Word. We believe the Bible is God-breathed and our sole authority. We believe in Inerrancy and infallibility. These are two views of the Bible that describe its truthfulness. Inerrancy means the Bible is free of error in all matters, including history and science. Infallibility means the Bible is trustworthy and cannot fail, and will do what God intends for it to do.  2 Timothy 3:16-17

Second, solus Christus (Christ alone)

Salvation is, and can only be, by Jesus Christ alone. We do not become saved by anything we do, or a mixture of things we do, plus Jesus. That is because we are, as it says in Scripture, “dead in our transgressions.” We are Jonah sinking to the bottom of the sea, entangled in the seaweed and dying. We are truly powerless to save ourselves, which is why Christ—and only Christ—can save us.

Romans 6:23 says, 'For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.' 'Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved' (Acts 4:12).

Third, sola gratia (Grace alone)

Salvation is by grace alone, meaning the entirety of salvation is a gift from God, not just part of it. We cannot earn our salvation. Salvation is grace, an undeserved gift, freely given by God. Romans 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

From the Word of God, I gather that damnation is all of man, from top to bottom, and salvation is all of grace, from first to last. He that perishes chooses to perish; but he that is saved is saved because God has chosen to save him. Charles Spurgeon

Fourth, sola fide (Faith alone)

We receive this gift of salvation through faith alone; simply by trusting in Christ alone for salvation; simply by taking God at His word. Do not fall into the trap of thinking that “faith” is a nice little gift that we give to God in exchange for salvation. It is not. As it says in Ephesians 2:8-9, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

 Fifth, soli Deo gloria (To the glory of God alone)

When all of the above is true, we can sincerely cry out, as the redeemed do in Revelation chapter 7, that salvation belongs to God! It’s all Him, from beginning to end, before the world was formed. Everything necessary for our salvation has been done already by God, in Christ—we simply receive it as a gift. Even the receiving is made possible by Him. Therefore, He receives all the glory. We do not get to keep any of the glory for ourselves. No, none! Quite rightly, the Author of the universe gets all the glory. Anything less ought to be a source of shame to us.

Why adhere to these five solas today?

Because by nature, we are glory-seeking creatures. If you and I were left to invent a religion from scratch, we would always—always—bring into it some way of making it ultimately about us. We would invent a list of things necessary for us to do in order to be accepted by God.

Jeremiah 17:9: The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?

The five solas remind us of what Scripture teaches: that God is truly God, and that all the glory—for all things -belongs to Him.

Beliefs from scripture on the subject of: The Holy Spirit, Trinity, Jesus Christ (God incarnate), Church Leadership, Marriage, Sexuality, and the Christian Life:

We believe the Holy Spirit is one of the three persons of the Holy Trinity, and He is a personal being rather than an impersonal force. He is the same in substance and equal in power and glory with God the Father and God the Son. Each person of the Godhead possesses a unique personal property. The personal property of the Spirit, who is the third person of the Godhead, is that He “proceeds” from the Father and the Son. God the Holy Spirit functions as the life-giving agent of creation and new creation. The Spirit is the principal agent of biblical revelation, illumination, and persuasion. He also brings about the conviction, regeneration, and transformation of the hearts of sinners. In the economy of redemption, the Spirit applies the saving work of the Son to the hearts and lives of His Church. The Spirit unites believers to Christ, imparting all the benefits of Christ’s person and work to them.

We believe the doctrine of the Trinity is foundational to the Christian faith and to Christian living, since knowing God is at the heart of biblical religion and God is fully revealed as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in the unfolding of the divine mystery. The one true and living God eternally exists in three distinct yet inseparable persons.

We believe Jesus Christ God incarnate.

Philippians 2:5–11

5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,1 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped,2 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant,3 being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Early Christians like Polycarp were martyred because they refused to confess Caesar as lord. They knew that Jesus alone is divine and would have no one usurp His status. These Christians knew the New Testament was not merely being polite when calling Jesus “Lord”; rather, it teaches that Jesus is God Almighty. Idols of sex, money, power, prestige, and so on can become “lords” if we are not careful; therefore, let us always confess that Jesus Christ alone is Lord over all.

We believe in the sinfulness of all persons; this is an inherited sin from Adam which shattered our relationship with God. It is only through the belief in Jesus Christ that we can be redeemed. God promised to confirm Adam in a state of life—to give him eternal life—if Adam were to obey Him perfectly. In this covenant, Adam is the federal head of humanity. That is, he represented us in such a way that God pledged to count what he did to us. If he had obeyed, his obedience would be ours and all people would have eternal life. Since Adam disobeyed, however, his disobedience is counted to us, and we are born in a state of sin and separation from God.

The covenant of grace is a gracious covenant because someone else—Christ Jesus our Lord—fulfills the covenant of works for us. As the last Adam, He renders the perfect obedience God demanded of the first Adam, and He atones for the sin of His people, satisfying God’s wrath. In the covenant of grace, Christ is the federal head of His people. When we trust Christ, His perfect obedience is imputed to us—it is put on our accounts before God—and God declares us righteous and as having fulfilled the covenant of works. Therefore, we inherit eternal life.

The covenant of grace is first announced in Gen 3:15, where God promises to crush the serpent who introduced sin into the world. The specific work of Christ in fulfilling God’s demands by His obedience is revealed in texts such as Matthew 3:15 and Romans 5:12–21. The imputation of Christ’s righteousness to us is revealed in passages including Romans 3:21–4:25 and 2 Corinthians 5:21.

We believe in the equality of men and women of all ages, recognizing that all are made in the image of God. We believe both men and women are divinely gifted and called to develop and use their God-given gifts for the good of the church, home, and society, as in accordance with God's Word!  Local church leadership, often modeled as pastors/elders, and the servant role of a deacon should be composed of men whose lives model the requirements of elders and deacons outlined in 1 Timothy and Titus. These local church leaders should model obedience to Christ by shepherding and encouraging believers to use their God-given gifts for the building up of the church and by proclaiming the gospel so that men, women, and children may receive salvation by faith in Christ.

Paul explains that “women should keep silent in the churches” (vv. 33–34). However, it seems clear that the Apostle does not mean for women to be completely silent in every church setting or even in every worship service. For example, Paul apparently takes it for granted that at least some women will pray and prophesy in public (11:4–5), whatever that would have entailed. The Apostle does not have in view women speaking as ordained teachers in the church. This follows well with 1 Timothy 2:11–15, where Paul gives a similar injunction for women to learn in submission and in silence and not “to teach or to exercise authority over a man.” Essentially, Paul is telling us in 1 Timothy 2 and in 1 Corinthians 14 that women are not to be ordained to the office of teaching elder. The qualifications of Elders and deacons listed in Timothy and Titus, show only men are qualified to lead the church.

Paul’s justification for limiting the church’s public teaching ministry to men is grounded in the law’s teaching that women should be in submission (v. 34). The Apostle does not name the specific text to which he refers, but most likely he has in view Genesis 1–2, where the fact that Adam was made before Eve demonstrates that men have authority in the church and home (see also 11:2–16; 1 Tim. 2:11–14).

MARRIAGE & SEXUALITY: God established marriage as a lifelong, exclusive relationship between one man and one woman. All intimate sexual activity outside the marriage relationship, (including pornography) whether heterosexual, homosexual, or otherwise, goes against the will of God, and therefore is sin. We believe homosexuality is defined in scripture as sin. (Leviticus 18:22, Jude 1:7, Romans 1:26-28) We believe that God created the human race male and female (Genesis 1:27, Mark 10:6-9) and that all conduct with the intent to become a different sex or adopt a gender incongruent with one’s birth sex goes against the will of God and therefore is sin.

SANCTITY OF HUMAN LIFE: We believe that all human life is sacred and created by God in His image. Human life is of immeasurable worth in all its dimensions, including pre-born babies, the aged, the physically or mentally challenged, and every other stage or condition from conception through natural death. We are therefore called to defend, protect, and value all human life. Genesis 1:27

We desire for people of all generations and backgrounds to have a thriving relationship with Christ Jesus. This is accomplished through our mission of sharing the Gospel and fostering discipleship: to help people become passionately devoted followers of Jesus Christ. Matthew 28:19-20