Nothing is more urgent for the church than protecting, propagating, and passing on the true gospel encapsulated by the five solas. It is our only hope, our greatest comfort, and our supreme joy. Most of all, these biblical teachings will always be important because they bring us to Christ, who is our life.

The five solas (Latin for “alone”) of the Reformation—Scripture alone, grace alone, faith alone, Christ alone, to the glory of God alone—are indispensable for the church in any era. They will always be relevant because they summarize the biblical gospel, which is the church’s lifeblood in every age. They are particularly significant today because even professing evangelicals, to say nothing of the culture around us, are being tempted to abandon the gospel. Therefore, the church must recognize the dire need of not only defending the five solas but also celebrating them.
The five solas are important for us today for at least three reasons. First, they set apart the true gospel from every other religion, worldview, or philosophy. Every day, the world calls out its siren song of spiritual compromise. Satan loves to negotiate the nonnegotiables of biblical truth. He whispers the lie that we don’t need to have strong convictions about the Bible as our only standard of truth or hold firm to the teaching that only those who trust Christ alone for salvation are right with God. The temptation to downplay doctrine is unceasing. A winsome but unyielding grasp of the five solas can help us resist these attractive lies.
Second, the five solas provide us with unspeakable comfort in a chaotic world.
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We live in a world that gives us good cause to be afraid. When crisis strikes or when world-altering events take place, our first instinct is fear. All of us want to know that everything is going to be OK. Focusing on God’s sovereignty helps us and our children understand that everything ultimately will be OK, even if it won’t be OK immediately. In short, we are calling them to put their faith in the One who controls everything that makes us afraid. We are asking them to listen to the Savior, whose favorite command is “Do not be afraid.” There is no one safer for us to listen to in uncertain times.

Faced with political confusion, economic turmoil, a global pandemic, and the disruption of just about every normal routine of life, many parents have felt ill-equipped to get through these times, let alone talk to their children about significant events. But as Christians have learned to expect, when we feel the most helpless, God is the most helpful. So what should we say to our children about events like those we’ve faced this year and similar events that I’m sure we will continue to face in the future? I’ll offer some observations, not as an expert but as a fellow traveler and father.
Far and away, the most helpful assistance a father can offer his children who are trying to understand noteworthy events is helping them to see the reality of God in every detail of this world and their lives. Everything around them is calculated to make God seem unreal, distant, and uncaring. The world invites them to consider reality as basically atheistic. A wise father will challenge this godless assumption by teaching his children to see every major happening that captivates their attention in the light of God (Ps. 36:9).
What, specifically, should we teach our children (even if they’re grown) about God? Chief among His many attributes we should highlight is the truth of God’s sovereignty. Children, not to mention adults, crave certainty. The world scorns this craving as an infantile, unobtainable desire. But God wants us to be sure about many things, not the least of which is His absolute control of all that comes to pass.
Again, our children are being bombarded with the message, “God is not sovereign. You are on your own in this harsh world.” To drown out this cacophonic jangling of falsehood, fathers must open their Bibles and walk their children through the countless passages that proclaim the life-giving truth of God’s sovereignty.
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