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What do Monergism and Synergism mean and why are they important?
- Thread starter Reformed
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This morning's Southern Baptist Sunday School lesson was from Exodus 25. "Speak to the people of Israel, that they take for me a contribution. From every man whose heart moves him you shall receive the contribution for me." (v. 2) particularly caught my attention.
Was this particular willingness to give something the givers were especially created for, was the willingness illusionary, or were there other less definable, less obvious dynamics at work?
Was this particular willingness to give something the givers were especially created for, was the willingness illusionary, or were there other less definable, less obvious dynamics at work?
I once visited a Baptist church that presented itself as a Calvinist congregation. The service, as I remember it, was coldly orthodox. The service ended with no mention of the need for salvation. I left wondering if the doctrine of salvation was above and beyond mention, or if maybe an individual's salvation is so much of God that even mention of it might be misinterpreted as giving any amount of credit to the saved.
I believe that that's the idea of Calvinism to lots of people.
I've read and am rereading "The Inerrant Word," edited by John MacArthur. The writers keep pounding on the theme that the Bible, alone, is the inerrant word of God and worthy of undivided devotion. Calvin's Institutes and any surviving writings of Arminius or his disciples don't qualify. While skillful theologians may offer sophisticated elucidations of God's word, still they are the products of finite minds and limited knowledge.
I tend to agree with those who recognize both the Creator's sovereignty and His creatures' responsibility. I don't think I could espouse either to the total exclusion of the other.
You win the Spurgeon cigar (and his snifter of brandy)!
SheepWhisperer
Active Member
You are "generated" the moment you are "gendered" or "born". A person is ''regenerated'' at the moment they are "born again"; at the moment they heed the gospel by believing on Jesus Christ.
The Bible teaches that sinners are spiritually dead.
Ephesians 2-1: And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, 2 in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience.
The Greek word for dead in verse 1 is nekros. It is the word used to describe a corpse. So, while alive physically, sinners are dead spiritually. Being spiritually dead, and in bondage to sin (Rom. 6:6), something from outside of the sinner must make the sinner capable of belief. Paul writes in Colossians:
Colossians 2:13 When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions,
Also, back in Ephesians:
Ephesians 2:4-5 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ...
We see in both passages that God took unilateral action without any condition on the part of man. The sinner is incapable of believing while still in his sin:
Romans 8:6-8 6 For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, 7 because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, 8 and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
1 Corinthians 2:14 14 But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.
Again, without God acting first, no man would ever believe.
So, in which way does God work first? Regeneration. Ephesians 2:8 tells us, "For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;". What is the gift of God? All of it. Grace conveyed, which is through faith, that leads to our salvation. Regeneration is the nothing less than the change of our spiritual condition from death to life. It is the work of the Holy Spirit that replaces our heart of stone with a heart of flesh (Ezk. 36:26). Once regeneration has taken place, then the former sinner is able to believe (i.e. have faith).
This is a more detailed explanation of the Monergist position. The Synergist position teaches that the sinner is not actually dead in his trespasses and sin in the way that Monergists believe. The sinner has a latent type of faith; just enough so that he can choose to believe (or not) the Gospel call.
In Revelation 3 Jesus called the church at Sardis dead and then commanded them to wake up. It is clear that the use of the word dead in that passage does not meet the definition imposed on by those who believe dead means total inability.
As I have mentioned recently the prodigal son was termed dead and lost. The story of the prodigal shows the understanding of dead to mean separated because of sin and rebellion. Isaiah 59:2 supports this understanding that we are separated from God because of sin. It does not say either directly or my implication that the issue with sinners is total inability.The idea of total inability is foreign to scripture.
Further, Paul tells us to consider ourselves dead (nekros) to sin. Surely one would not interpret that to mean total inability when we all know we all still sin. However, the correct intention and understanding of the word dead (separated) would work here as well. We can consider ourselves separated from sin but we would never say we consider ourselves totally unable to sin.
As I have mentioned recently the prodigal son was termed dead and lost. The story of the prodigal shows the understanding of dead to mean separated because of sin and rebellion. Isaiah 59:2 supports this understanding that we are separated from God because of sin. It does not say either directly or my implication that the issue with sinners is total inability.The idea of total inability is foreign to scripture.
Further, Paul tells us to consider ourselves dead (nekros) to sin. Surely one would not interpret that to mean total inability when we all know we all still sin. However, the correct intention and understanding of the word dead (separated) would work here as well. We can consider ourselves separated from sin but we would never say we consider ourselves totally unable to sin.
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Yet another ad hominem post, devoid of content addressing the many conditional covenants found in scripture.
According to Icon, I am the only one who believes we are saved through faith, rather than saved and given faith.
According to Icon, I am the only one who believes Christ laid down is life as a ransom for all, becoming the propitiation or means of salvation for the whole world.
According to Icon, I am the only one who believes we are chosen for salvation through faith in the truth, a conditional election.
I see we are on page 6 with the Cals defining all the terms, and looking at the issues through their presuppositions. And then we can toss in a bunch of ad homenim posts whose purpose is to disparage.
Lets back up to God making conditional covenants, i.e. if you repent, I will relent. Since God establishes the conditional, and determines who, if anyone, meets the condition, God's action is monergistic. God does not need for anyone to repent, and repenting does not cause God to rely upon man. A conditional covenant does not mean God is not all powerful.
On the other hand, you will see posts where Cals claim if God does not compel the repent, God is depending on man's actions.
Such is the absurdity of their argument.
God has mercy on whom He has mercy, and if God chooses to have mercy on those whose faith He has credited as righteousness, that salvation is monergistic. For salvation does not depend on the person who wills, but on God having mercy. Thus the Cal argument has once again been shown to be unbiblical and unstudied.
And I see a few more false theology claims have been made, like we are regenerated in order to have faith in Christ. Folks, we are regenerated (originated again) when we arise in Christ a new creation. No one is regenerated or made alive before they are transferred into Christ. Note "we are made live together with Christ." So yet another example of taking a vague term and redefining it according to Calvinism.
And Fin, pay no attention to all the disparagement, its par for the course.
Lets back up to God making conditional covenants, i.e. if you repent, I will relent. Since God establishes the conditional, and determines who, if anyone, meets the condition, God's action is monergistic. God does not need for anyone to repent, and repenting does not cause God to rely upon man. A conditional covenant does not mean God is not all powerful.
On the other hand, you will see posts where Cals claim if God does not compel the repent, God is depending on man's actions.
Such is the absurdity of their argument.
God has mercy on whom He has mercy, and if God chooses to have mercy on those whose faith He has credited as righteousness, that salvation is monergistic. For salvation does not depend on the person who wills, but on God having mercy. Thus the Cal argument has once again been shown to be unbiblical and unstudied.
And I see a few more false theology claims have been made, like we are regenerated in order to have faith in Christ. Folks, we are regenerated (originated again) when we arise in Christ a new creation. No one is regenerated or made alive before they are transferred into Christ. Note "we are made live together with Christ." So yet another example of taking a vague term and redefining it according to Calvinism.
And Fin, pay no attention to all the disparagement, its par for the course.
Thanks !!
SheepWhisperer
Active Member
Whenever it seems "everyone else" is going after something, I like to take a step back and look at why.......
Exodus 23:2 Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil; neither shalt thou speak in a cause to decline after many to wrest judgment: But Just like God told Elijah in 1 Kings 19.....you're not the only one.
SheepWhisperer
Active Member
Calivinistic, fatalistic, "monergistic" beliefs. In response to this.........
Who cares what "everyone else" does or does not believe as long as you have the truth? Follow the herd if you want, your choice.
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