Conclusion from Five Leading Reformers

Finally, as Billy Graham once said, 'You may be a deacon in your church and not be born again.' The Reformation doctrine of sola fidei, justification by faith alone, is a lynchpin of the Protestant understanding of Christian faith, and thus, for the Protestant, of Christianity itself. It is thus the ultimate guard against complacency. If we are not saved by works but by faith, as a gift of the grace of God, then none of us has any cause to regard ourselves as a Christian by virtue of our parentage, our country of birth, our contributions to church funds, or any other outward marker. It is by grace we are saved through faith, and by faith alone. Our social standing, our heritage, our denomination: all make no difference whatsoever to our standing before God.

-p. 188 Five Leading Reformers