Soli Deo Gloria - final Sola for Sunday School

Soli Deo Gloria

Book recommendation: Attributes of God or Sovereignty of God by A W Pink, gets us outside of our sinful carnal desire to dwell on ourselves & spend time meditating on who God is & how “other” or unlike ourselves He is.

Solas Review:

1. How is a person justified before God? Answer: Through Faith Alone
2. What is the sole authority for the Christian in matters of faith and practice? Answer: The Scriptures Alone
3. Upon what basis are we made righteous before God? Answer: By Grace Alone
4. Through whom are we made righteous before God? Answer: In Christ Alone, which is a GREAT modern Hymn by the way

Today, we will answer the following question: What is the reason for man's salvation? The answer to that question is the glory of God. All things are done for the glory of God, and it is to God alone that all glory belongs.

@@@

Review Key Verses:

@@@

Soli Deo gloria emphasizes the glory of God as the goal of life. Rather than striving to please church leaders, keep a list of rules, increase our material possessions, our goal is to glorify the Lord. The idea of soli Deo gloria is found in 1 Corinthians 10:31: “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”

So what did the Reformers mean by the slogan "To God Alone be the Glory?" This slogan gives us the reason, or the goal, of God's saving activity. The reason why God justifies mankind by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone is to manifest and make known to all the world the glory of God in the salvation of his people.

In a previous class, we looked at Ephesians 2:8-9. In that passage, we see that we are saved by grace through faith and not by works "so that NO ONE may boast!" In salvation, all boasting is silenced! No one can claim any credit when it comes to salvation (I believe) because even the faith we exercise to make salvation a reality is graciously granted to us by God.

God's glory is the totality of all his attributes made manifest. In Exodus 33:18, Moses asks God to show him his glory. God responds by giving him a glimpse of his glory (for no one can see God's glory in its fullness and live):

The LORD descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD. The LORD passed before him and proclaimed, "The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children's children, to the third and the fourth generation." (Exodus 34:5-7)

In this brief glimpse Moses gets of God's glory, Moses learns of the infinite graciousness and mercy of God as well as the infinite justice and holiness of God. God is glorified in showing grace and love and mercy to the righteous, and he is glorified in showing judgment and wrath and justice to the wicked.

The glory of God is also something that is manifest all throughout creation. (Psalm 19:1) & (Romans 1:20). The universe, being the work of God's hands, shows forth his glory in a multitude of ways.

God's glory is made even more evident in the creation of mankind who was created in his image (Genesis 1:26-27). The ultimate display of God's glory and his "exact imprint" is Jesus Christ (Hebrews 1:3) who fully manifests the glory of God among mankind.

We could go on talking about God's glory for quite some time, but for our purposes here, the glory of God is manifest in the salvation of his Elect. If God's glory is manifest through the display of his attributes, then we get a good picture of this in the Salvation of the Elect and the Damnation of the Wicked. The Salvation of the Elect demonstrates God's love, grace and mercy; whereas the Damnation of the Wicked demonstrates the holiness, wrath and justice of God (Romans 9:22-23).

Much of the bad theology that exists in American Evangelicalism today ultimately comes from a failure to acknowledge the glory of God in all things. This was the central focus of the Protestant Reformers over against the glorification of man found in Renaissance and Enlightenment thinking or the glorification of Mary, the church and her saints in Roman Catholic thinking. The Reformers were constantly zealous to protect the glory of God in their theology and practice.

So, how does this relate to Christians living in the 21st century? No different than it did for Christians living in the Reformation or at any other point in history. The glory of God is the ultimate purpose for everything that exists. Paul told the Corinthian church that whatever they did, they needed to do it to "the glory of God" (1 Corinthians 10:31). That exhortation is as true today as it was the day it was first penned. The particular problem we face in the 21st century is that the church is infected with a lot of man-centered theology. From Theological Liberalism to the Seeker-sensitive movement to the Emergent church movement; all of these philosophies are infected with a man-centered approach to doing church. They may have begun with the best of intentions, but once you untether the glory of God as your basis for doing anything, you deviate from the God-ordained means and methods for doing church. We need to return to a more God-centered focus in our practice – preaching the word faithfully, administering the sacraments regularly, living God-honoring lives day to day, and trusting the Holy Spirit to do his work. Only then will we see the glory of God manifest in his church.

Conclusion:

The final sola is the great underlying reason behind the importance of the first four. The Reformers knew the Biblical truth that: “from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever. Amen” (Rom. 11:36, ESV). They were held captive by a passion for God’s glory, and a conviction that He Himself would “not give [His] glory to another” (Isa. 48:11). And they knew that to depart from the Word of God and compromise the Gospel of Salvation by Grace alone, through Faith alone, in Christ alone, was to cast contempt on God’s glory.

John Calvin, writing to the Catholic Cardinal Sadolet, thus said: “You . . . touch upon Justification by Faith, the first and keenest subject of controversy between us . . . . Wherever the knowledge of it is taken away, the glory of Christ is extinguished.”[vi] Oh, that we would have such concern for the glory of our Savior!

My prayer is that this brief remembrance of the Reformers and the great truths they preached will stir within your heart a passion to faithfully spread this glorious Gospel of Salvation by Grace alone, through Faith alone, in Christ alone. We need a host of Luther-like men today - and a host of churches to stand behind them in their proclamation of the Gospel. Were the Reformers perfect? No. Did they have some obvious faults? Yes. But considering the time in which they lived and the darkness from which they were delivered, they were very great men.

Soli Deo Gloria Verses

Soli Deo Gloria Verses

Isaiah 42

⁵ Thus says God, the Lord, [He] who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and what comes from it, [He] who gives breath to the people on it and spirit to those who walk in it:
⁶ “I am the Lord; I have called you in righteousness; I will take you by the hand and keep you;
I will give you as a covenant for the people, a light for the nations, ⁷to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness.
⁸ I am the Lord; that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to carved idols.
⁹ Behold, the former things have come to pass, and new things I now declare; before they spring forth I tell you of them.”

                  What 2 things does God (the Lord, Yahweh) refuse to share with others in this passage?

@@@

Psalm 115:1 

Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory, for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness!

                  What does Psalm 115 teach us about sharing in God’s Glory?  

@@@

Revelation ch 5 – probably the best chapter in the whole of the Bible J

Then I (the Apostle John) saw in the right hand of Him (God) who was seated on the throne a scroll written within and on the back, sealed with seven seals. ² And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?” ³ And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it, ⁴ and I (John) began to weep loudly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it. ⁵ And one of the elders said to me, “Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.”

⁶ And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. ⁷ And he went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who was seated on the throne. ⁸ And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. ⁹ And they sang a new song, saying,

“Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, ¹⁰ and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.”

¹¹ Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, ¹² saying with a loud voice,

“Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!”

¹³ And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying,

“To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!”

¹⁴ And the four living creatures said, “Amen!” and the elders fell down and worshiped.

            The first paragraph of this chapter attempts to describe a universal lack of  worthiness amongst Mankind.           

            The second paragraph describes to us a Worthy, Perfect, Sacrificial Lamb; whom does the Lamb represent?

            The next several paragraphs are a Hymn of worship describing why this   particular person is worthy alone to be worshiped. Why is He worthy?

            What is the Lamb worthy to receive from His people, he created & redeemed?

            A preview for TULIP to come: How does Revelation 5 describe Salvation?

            Is Salvation seen as an Offer that is left up to individuals to accept or reject?

            Who is the main actor in Salvation? God the Father, Christ & the Holy Spirit or       Man?

            Are the number of the Saved large or small? Are they limited to just the Jews?

           

                                     

“5 benefits of Going to Church” - Heath Mooneyham in Joplin, Mo

From the Sermon Series: Why Church? 

“5 benefits of Going to Church” from, what I can only assume is either a non-Christian pastor or at least a person unfit to be a pastor, Heath Mooneyham in Joplin, Mo. Who is without a doubt the WORST preacher/pastor I have ever heard in my life…and I study Church History so I regularly listen to & read Theological liberals, Emergents & full on Heretics as well as Classic & Modern scholars, preachers & pastors regularly.

And don’t worry its nothing boring like to learn about Repentance or the Forgiveness of Sins or Eternal life or God’s Word, to learn Discipleship, join in corporate Worship, or to receive Baptism or the Lord’s Supper or hear about Christ & Him crucified for our sins or boring old Namby-Pamby stuff like that….No, no, no. This is sure to please a “What’s in it for me” generation.

            1          A lower risk of Depression – supposedly 22% less likely

            2          Better Life & Time Management  

            3          Better Grades & Higher Education prospects – for kids, better at Math & Reading

            4          Significantly lower risk of DEATH & longer life expectancy

            **5       Better Sex Lives – Church going Women get significantly higher rates of AWESOMENESS during Sex 

(**Heath’s favorite)

@@@

for more on Pastor Heath find him online…like at Fighting for the Faith or here:

Pastor of 'America's manliest church' which once gave away assault rifles to members steps down after being busted for DWI

• Heath Mooneyham relinquished control of Ignite Church on Sunday after saying in a statement that he had 'let his family down'
• He will undergo alcohol treatment after failing a breathalyzer on September 16 in Joplin, Missouri while driving home from a bar 
• Mooneyham, a heavily-tattooed 36-year-old, launched his church in 2008 from his home and has grown membership to 800 followers
• He has given away guns to get people through the doors and has a sermon series titled 'Grow A Pair'

By Louise Boyle for MailOnline

Published: 11:57 EST, 23 September 2014

Sola Fide Sunday:

Sola Fide Sunday:

Last week we spent a lot of time looking at the Works-less-ness of Sola Gratia & a few verses that expressly stated that.

But this week we're looking at a doctrine that Luther himself declared was the doctrine on which the Universal Church of Christ stands or falls. Sola Fide or Justification by Faith which ties the other Solas together. The way this is commonly described is that our standing before God is entirely dependent on God's Grace (Sola Gratia) & His mercy, and Christ's work done for you (Solus Christus) and that Salvation is not something you earn for yourself & is instead on account of the merit of Christ. The question becomes then how is this merit of Christ applied to you the individual? Answer: Sola Fide.  

As Scripture says: Christ is the Vine and we are his branches John 15:5, and when we are connected by Faith Alone to him, we enjoy as Eph 1:3 says “every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places” therefore ALL works in the Christian life are the FRUIT (or result) of our Salvation, not the CAUSE of our Salvation.

However for a RCC member, Catholics continually apply the merits of Mary, the Saints & Christ to themselves which are issued by the activity of the priesthood via Masses, baptism, penance & even doing the sign of the cross. So in practice human salvation is entirely linked to the organized institution of the official RCC & to human works & earning or meriting Salvation

The RCC’s understanding of the church is tied to their idea of Gospel & the ritual activity of the priesthood which denies the completeness of Christ’s work done on the cross.  In my eyes (personally) it would be a sin to even attend a Mass as each Mass or more specifically the Eucharist is a re-sacrifice of Christ denying the once & for all completeness of the Atonement.

Faith Alone = means only faith & like Sola Gratia excludes good works as necessary for salvation, Sola Fide is the teaching that Justification (or being declared just or righteous by God) is received by faith and that that faith is only in the completed works of Christ done for you, without any mixture of good works.

Some Protestants summarize the relationship between faith & works thus: “Faith yields justification & good works” where the RCC says, “No; faith & good works yield justification.”

**The RCC’s main argument against Sola Fide is James 2:14-17, let’s read that. Tell me what you think its saying?

My personal impression is James is talking about one justifying oneself horizontally before men not vertically before God. Because, I cannot “see” your genuine repentance & faith & conversion BUT I can see the results of one’s true conversion in some of their actions. 

Everyone has faith in something: themselves or others or oblivion but what God does is continually destroys any self-righteousness or self-reliant faith & replaces it with more & more holy respect & worship for Christ & trust in His work done for us.

The def. of Justification for Protestants means to be “declared righteous” a definitive event & for RCC Justification means being “made righteous” which is conditional journey & a process.  

Let’s review some verses - Romans 5:1-2, Eph 2:-9, John 3:16-18

Read Romans 5:1-2

We read some of Romans 4 last week & Paul’s example of Abraham which said Abraham was saved by faith before he’d done the “good work/obedience of circumcision” (some people would substitute baptism in here as well) in order to show us that we also are saved by faith before any good works we do that we might recognize that Salvation is a gift of grace & not a reward due us because of obedience.

How do we receive Justification?       Faith

And Peace with God?             Faith

And Grace?     Faith

On account of who’s works; ours or Christs?            Christ’s

Eph 2:1-10

Who made us alive together with Christ?       God

By what have you been saved?       Grace

Through what means?            Faith

Vs. 8 & this Salvation by grace through faith is not a result of your worth or works but God’s mercy.

Now that that is settled should we do NO good works? No, why?

The point of God saving us by grace, through faith is so that we will do good works but I think it’s in order to curb our sinful motivation to do good in order to earn rewards & replace it with doing good because of thankfulness to God & genuine love for others.

Read John 3:16-18

Why are only some saved?   Only some believe

What was God’s action?        Sent Son

Why did God act?       Love

What is our response to this action?              Believe & love in turn

All Reformers unite in declaring– We are justified by Faith Alone, which lies ahold of the Alien righteousness of Christ that God freely credits to the account of the believers.

Protestant faith includes 3 aspects: 1 knowledge of Christ & what he’s done, belief that that is True, Historically, Factually & finally that it was done FOR YOU, this is Salvific faith!

Sola fide and the Early Church Fathers

Sola fide and the Early Church Fathers

·       There are several Church Fathers whom Protestant apologists believe taught the doctrine of Sola Fide. Here are some of them:

·       Clement of Rome (c. 30-100) - “And we [Christians], too, being called by His will in Christ Jesus, are not justified by ourselves, nor by our own wisdom, or understanding, or godliness, or works which we have wrought in holiness of heart; but by that faith through which, from the beginning, Almighty God has justified all men; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.”^[37]

·       Justin Martyr (d. 165) - in his Dialogue with Trypho: “No longer by the blood of goats and of sheep, or by the ashes of a heifer . . . are sins purged, but by faith, through the blood of Christ and his death, who died on this very account.”^[38]

·       Didymus the Blind (c. 313-398) - “…a person is saved by grace, not by works but by faith. There should be no doubt but that faith saves and then lives by doing its own works, so that the works which are added to salvation by faith are not those of the law but a different kind of thing altogether.”^[39]

·       Hilary of Poitiers (c 315-67) on Matthew 20:7 - “Wages cannot be considered as a gift, because they are due to work, but God has given free grace to all men by the justification of faith.”^[40]

·       Basil of Caesarea (329-379) - “Let him who boasts boast in the Lord, that Christ has been made by God for us righteousness, wisdom, justification, redemption. This is perfect and pure boasting in God, when one is not proud on account of his own righteousness but knows that he is indeed unworthy of the true righteousness and is (or has been) justified solely by faith in Christ.”^[41]

·       Ambrose (c. 339-97)- “Therefore let no one boast of his works, because no one can be justified by his works; but he who is just receives it as a gift, because he is justified by the washing of regeneration. It is faith, therefore, which delivers us by the blood of Christ, because blessed is he whose sins are forgiven, and to whom pardon is granted.”^[42]

·       Jerome (347-420) on Romans 10:3 - “God justifies by faith alone.” (Deus ex sola fide justificat).^[43]

·       Chrysostom (349-407) - For Scripture says that faith has saved us. Put better: Since God willed it, faith has saved us. Now in what case, tell me, does faith save without itself doing anything at all? Faith’s workings themselves are a gift of God, lest anyone should boast. What then is Paul saying? Not that God has forbidden works but that he has forbidden us to be justified by works. No one, Paul says, is justified by works, precisely in order that the grace and benevolence of God may become apparent.^[44]

·       Augustine (354-430) - If Abraham was not justified by works, how was he justified? … Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness (Rom. 4:3; Gen. 15:6). Abraham, then, was justified by faith. Paul and James do not contradict each other: good works follow justification.

·       Augustine (354-430) - Although it can be said that God’s commandments pertain to faith alone, if it is not dead [faith], but rather understood as that live faith, which works through love.^[27][28]

·       Augustine (354-430)- “When someone believes in him who justifies the impious, that faith is reckoned as justice to the believer, as David too declares that person blessed whom God has accepted and endowed with righteousness, independently of any righteous actions (Rom 4:5-6). What righteousness is this? The righteousness of faith, preceded by no good works, but with good works as its consequence.”^[45]

·       Ambrosiaster (4th century), on Rom. 3:24 - “They are justified freely because they have not done anything nor given anything in return, but by faith alone they have been made holy by the gift of God.”

·       Cyril of Alexandria (412-444) - For we are justified by faith, not by works of the law, as Scripture says (Gal. 2:16). By faith in whom, then, are we justified? Is it not in him who suffered death according to the flesh for our sake? Is it not in one Lord Jesus Christ?^[46]

·       Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) - Therefore the hope of justification is not found in them [the moral and ceremonial requirements of the law], but in faith alone, Rom 3:28: We consider a human being to be justified by faith, without the works of the law.^[27][28]

Sola Gratia – Sunday School (5 Solas)

Sola Gratia –

Through the last several weeks we’ve seen that the RCC taught that we are saved through a combination of God’s grace & the merits that we accumulate through penance & good works, & the superfluity (excessively large amount) of merits that the saints before us had already accumulated that we can earn or purchase. The Reformation’s response, “Sola gratia.”

Sola Gratia means “only grace” & it excludes the merit done by a person to achieve salvation. SG is the teaching that Salvation comes from divine grace or “unmerited favor” only, not as something merited by the sinner. This means Salvation is an unearned gift from God for Jesus’ sake.

SG-Q#1- CH Spurgeon, All of Grace – “I think it well to turn a little to one side that I may ask my reader to observe adoringly the fountain-head of our salvation, which is the Grace of God. ‘By grace are you saved.’ Because God is gracious, therefore sinful men are forgiven, converted, purified & saved. It is not because of any thing in them or that ever can be in them, that they are saved; but because of the boundless love, goodness, pity, compassion, mercy, and grace of God. Tarry a moment, then, at the well-head. Behold the pure river of water of life, as it proceeds out of the throne of God & of the Lamb! What an abyss is the grace of God! Who can measure its breath? Who can fathom its depth? Like all the rest of the divine attributes, it is infinite.”

A central cry of the Protestant Reformation was Salvation by Grace. Though the RCC taught that the Mass is a “sacrifice [which] is truly propitiatory” meaning attending mass merited a good work – the Reformers returned to the Biblical doctrine of Salvation by Grace through faith. That our Righteous standing before God is imputed to us by grace because of the work of Christ Jesus our Lord. In contrast to the doctrines of self-merit taught by Rome, Sola Gratia & the accompanying Doctrines of Grace were preached by all the Reformers throughout the Protestant movement.

SG-Q#2 - As the Baptist Confession of 1689 says, “Christ, by HIS obedience & death, did fully discharge the debt of all those that are justified; and did, by the sacrifice of himself in the blood of his cross, undergoing in their stead the penalty due unto them, make proper, real, and full satisfaction to God’s justice in their behalf;….their justification is only of Free Grace, that both the exact justice & rich grace of God might be glorified in the Justification of sinners.

**Stress** In denying Solus Christus or Christ Alone, RCC has to deny Sola Gratia & Sola Fide. The RCC still claims to believe in salvation by grace alone, if we accept their idea of grace. For them, grace is a spiritual blessing that Christ won which we continually apply to ourselves in Masses, penance & good works in our pilgrimage toward Salvation. So Salvation is a destination to obtain or get to for RCC & for Protestants it’s a definitive decision by God to declare a sinner “acceptable” in his presence. 

**Stress** If Christ’s work on the Cross IS complete (meaning we don’t have to earn it as he’s already earned it), then salvation MUST be a gift of God’s grace because he gives it free of charge. The inclusion of human works as a necessary requirement for Salvation is a denial of God’s grace. ML makes a big deal of this fact in his Commentary on the book of Galatians, where Paul is so white hot with anger that the Judaizers are putting his church back under the bondage of obedience to the Law that he calling down damnations on them & saying they’ve been lead astray by “another” gospel.

Why does God do it? God in showing mercy, grace, kindness – for his glory

Where does ‘faith’ come from? Faith is the tow rope of salvation

Sola Gratia – Quote #3 - Here are some great words from Luther on salvation by grace alone.  These quotes are from a sermon on Titus 3:4-8 and can be found in volume 3 of Baker’s 7-volume set of Luther’s sermons (edited by J. N. Lenker and others).
 “So he [Paul in Titus 3:5-7] discards all boasted free will, all human virtue, righteousness, and good works.  He concludes that they are all nothing and are wholly perverted, however brilliant and worthy they may appear, and teaches that we must be saved solely by the grace of God, which is effective for all believers who desire it from a correct conception of their own ruin and nothingness…He who does not receive salvation purely through grace, independently of all good works, certainly will never secure it…Truly, then, we are saved by grace alone, without works or other merit.”

Why Sola Gratia is important?

2 weeks ago we spent the whole hour exalting or lifting up Christ to a pre-eminent place of glory. Sola Gratia does that as well because behind all of the “we are NOT saved by works” rhetoric is a secret; we really are completely saved by works! The difference between Protestants & the RCC is that we are trusting solely in the fact that Christ’s many works are applied (or imputed) to us via faith in his holy life lived & atoning sacrifice for us on the cross.

Just like Paul said in the Romans 4 passage we studied at the beginning of class, which says, “Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness.” We cling to this works-less gifted righteousness applied by faith like barnacles cling desperately to boat-bottoms & mollusks cling to whales! They hang on for dear life. That is the way we cling to the Christ & the Cross, that is how he is exalted.

Sola Gratia Quotes

Sola Gratia-Quote #1- CH Spurgeon, All of Grace – “I think it well to turn a little to one side that I may ask my reader to observe adoringly the fountain-head of our salvation, which is the Grace of God. ‘By grace are you saved.’ Because God is gracious, therefore sinful men are forgiven, converted, purified & saved. It is not because of any thing in them or that ever can be in them, that they are saved; but because of the boundless love, goodness, pity, compassion, mercy, and grace of God. Tarry a moment, then, at the well-head. Behold the pure river of water of life, as it proceeds out of the throne of God & of the Lamb! What an abyss is the grace of God! Who can measure its breath? Who can fathom its depth? Like all the rest of the divine attributes, it is infinite.”

Sola Gratia-Quote #2 - As the Baptist Confession of 1689 says, “Christ, by HIS obedience & death, did fully discharge the debt of all those that are justified; and did, by the sacrifice of himself in the blood of his cross, undergoing in their stead the penalty due unto them, make proper, real, and full satisfaction to God’s justice in their behalf;….their justification is only of Free Grace, that both the exact justice & rich grace of God might be glorified in the Justification of sinners.

Sola Gratia – Quote #3 - Here are some great words from Luther on salvation by grace alone.  These quotes are from a sermon on Titus 3:4-8 and can be found in volume 3 of Baker’s 7-volume set of Luther’s sermons (edited by J. N. Lenker and others).

 “So he [Paul in Titus 3:5-7] discards all boasted free will, all human virtue, righteousness, and good works.  He concludes that they are all nothing and are wholly perverted, however brilliant and worthy they may appear, and teaches that we must be saved solely by the grace of God, which is effective for all believers who desire it from a correct conception of their own ruin and nothingness…He who does not receive salvation purely through grace, independently of all good works, certainly will never secure it…Truly, then, we are saved by grace alone, without works or other merit.”