page_title: Sola fide
section_title: Origin of the term
hierarchical_section_title: Sola fide / Origin of the term
caption_attribution_description: depicts Martin Luther discovering the doctrine of Justification by Faith.
context_page_description: Justificatio sola fide, meaning justification by faith alone, is a Christian theological doctrine commonly held to distinguish many Protestant denominations from the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox churches. The doctrine asserts that it is on the basis of their faith that believers are forgiven their transgressions of the law of God rather than on the basis of good works which they have done. This forgiveness is known as "justification". In classical Lutheran and Reformed theologies, good works are seen to be evidence of faith, but the good works themselves do not determine salvation.
context_section_description: Martin Luther elevated sola fide to the principal cause of the Protestant Reformation, the rallying cry of the Lutheran cause, and the chief distinction of the Lutheran and Reformed branches of Christianity from Roman Catholicism. John Calvin, also a proponent of this doctrine, taught that "every one who would obtain the righteousness of Christ must renounce his own." According to Calvin, it is only because the sinner is able to obtain the good standing of the Son of God, through faith in him, and union with him, that sinners have any hope of pardon from, acceptance by, and peace with God.
  Historically, the expression—"justification by faith alone"— has appeared in a number of Catholic bible translations: the Nuremberg Bible (1483) in Galatians 2;16 ("δικαιοῦται ἄνθρωπος ... διὰ  πίστεως  Χριστοῦ Ἰησοῦ") has "nur durch den glauben", and the Italian translations of 1476, 1538 and 1546 have "ma solo per la fede" or "per la sola fede".
  The official Italian Bible of the Catholic Church, La Sacra Bibbia della Conferenza Episcopale Italiana (2008), in Galatians 2:16, reads in part: "but only through faith in Jesus Christ" (ma soltanto per mezzo della fede).
  The "faith alone" expression also appears in at least nine English Bible translations:
  Amplified Bible (AMP)
  Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC)
  God's Word Translation (GW)
  Good News Translation (GNT)
  Living Bible (TLB)
  The Message (MSG)
  Names of God Bible (NOG)
  The Voice (VOICE)
  Weymouth New Testament (WNY)
  Luther added the word allein ("alone" in German) to Romans 3:28 controversially so that it read: "So now we hold, that man is justified without the help of the works of the law, alone through faith". The word "alone" does not appear in the Greek texts and Luther acknowledged this fact, but he defended his translation by maintaining that the adverb "alone" was required by idiomatic German:
  I knew very well that the word solum ["alone" in Latin] is not in the Greek or Latin text (…) It is a fact that these four letters S O L A are not there (…) At the same time (…) it belongs there if the translation is to be clear and vigorous.  I wanted to speak German, not Latin or Greek, since it was German I had undertaken to speak in the translation.  But it is the nature of our German language that in speaking of two things, one of which is affirmed and the other denied, we use the word solum (allein) along with the word nicht [not] or kein [no]. For example, we say, ‘The farmer brings allein [only] grain and kein [no] money.
  Luther further stated that sola was used in theological traditions before him and this adverb makes Paul's intended meaning clearer:
  I am not the only one, nor the first, to say that faith alone makes one righteous. There was Ambrose, Augustine and many others who said it before me. And if a man is going to read and understand St. Paul, he will have to say the same thing, and he can say nothing else. Paul's words are too strong — they allow no works, none at all! Now if it is not works, it must be faith alone.
  Other Catholic authorities also used "alone" in their translation of Romans 3:28 or exegesis of salvation by faith passages.
caption: 1861 painting of Luther discovering the Sola fide doctrine at Erfurt
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