50%
Confidence
Belief overview
Sola Gratia
Salvation depends primarily on the grace of God.
2
Supportive
1
Contrary
0
Neutral
What it is: Sola gratia affirms that salvation depends primarily on the grace of God and not on the self-sufficient capacity of the human being.
How the religion understands it: The saving initiative is divine, and redemption is treated as an unmerited gift. Internal differences arise more in how human freedom, election, regeneration, and perseverance are explained than in the centrality of grace itself.
Context: The formula is linked to the vocabulary of the Reformation, but also relates to older debates against Pelagianism and other forms of self-salvation.
Documentary evidence
Supportive
Ephesians 2:8-10
Salvation by grace through faith, with a place for good works.
The passage states that salvation is God's gift and not the result of human boasting, but it also declares that believers were created in Christ for good works. Catholic theology reads it as a balance between the gratuity of grace and ethical transformation. It is an important text in debates about justification and merit.
Ephesians 2:8-9
Salvation by grace through faith.
Reference: Ephesians 2:8-9.
Content: The text states that salvation is by grace through faith and not by works as the basis for human boasting.
Use in debate: It is central to sola fide and sola gratia.
Contrary
Council of Trent, Session VI
Catholic definition on justification, grace, and human cooperation.
Session VI of Trent expounds the Catholic doctrine of justification, insisting on the initiative of grace, the necessity of faith, and the transforming character of salvation. The text rejects both self-saving merit and interpretations seen as excluding inner renewal and the cooperation of the justified believer.