Jacobus Arminius (Wikipedia)
By Spencer D Gear
Why can the following be said of those who believe in an Arminian view of salvation?
- You can’t be a biblical Christian and believe that.
- It has been judged as heresy in the past and is consigned to heresy today.
- It’s an oxymoron.
- No such beast exists.
- It is not what God says about salvation.
- They are playing with fire.
- They are dying with their false gospel; it is another gospel.
- They are demons from hell.
- There is no spiritual life in Arminian salvation.
- Since Arminians think contrary to God’s word, they go to the second death in the fire of falsehood and will be in death for eternity.
That is a summary of what a Calvinistic promoter of monergism wrote to me, an Arminian promoter of synergism, on a Christian forum on the Internet (see below).
It’s a hotly contested topic
In Christian circles, monergism versus synergism can be a provocative and passionately debated topic, as we’ll see below. This is terminology that has not been used frequently. In my older theology books, I cannot find the language used. It is not in the indices of Charles Hodge , Louis Berkhof, Henry Thiessen or H. Orton Wiley. Even some modern theologians don’t use this language, examples being Wayne Grudem and Millard Erickson. However, it is in John Miley’s Systematic Theology, first published in 1893:
We have no power of self-regeneration. The nature of inherited depravity precludes its possibility. As a subjective state it is as really in us and of us as if original to our nature. Hence a power of self-regeneration would be the same as a power of changing one’s own nature. There can be no such power. It is the sense of Scripture respecting our natural state that we have no such power. In this moral impotence lies the necessity for the economy of redemption. Regeneration is a true sphere of the divine monergism.
There is also a sphere of synergism. Regeneration is not an absolute work of the Spirit. We have already shown its conditionality. There are prerequisites which cannot be met without our own free agency. There must be an earnest turning of the soul to God, deep repentance for sin, and a true faith in Christ. Such are the requirements of our own agency. There is no regeneration for us without them. Yet they are not possible in the unaided resources of our own nature. Hence there must be a helping work of the Spirit prior to his work of regeneration. There is such help. The Holy Spirit enlightens, awakens, and graciously draws us. All this may be without our consent. And even despite our resistance. We may finally resist, or we may yield to the gracious influences, and be born of the Spirit. Here is the sphere of synergism.[1]
Here’s how my opponent began:
Listen you have to know that a synergistic view of Salvation is not even Biblically Christian. It was judged a heresy at the synod of Dordt and it is a heresy today. You place yourself in Gal 1:6-9 Arminianism is another gospel which is NO gospel= no salvation.[2]
What is monergism regarding Christian salvation?
This article from Wikipedia, ‘Monergism’, gives a good, summary definition:
Monergism describes the position in Christian theology of those who believe that God, through the Holy Spirit, works to bring about effectually the salvation of individuals through spiritual regeneration without cooperation from the individual. Monergism is most often associated with Calvinism (like many American Presbyterians and Dutch Reformed) and its doctrine of irresistible grace and in particular with historic doctrinal differences between Calvinism on the one hand and Arminianism on the other.
What is synergism in relation to Christian salvation?
For fairness, I would like to use the Wikipedia article on synergism to define the theology, but the article is too slanted in favour of Calvinism for a balanced perspective.
Simply stated, ‘Synergism [is] any system that affirms some kind of cooperative interaction between the divine and the human in the process of salvation…. It is entirely possible for one to affirm the cooperative interaction of both divine and human while still affirming that the process of salvation begins entirely with God’s salvific (not common) grace’.[3]
See Norman Geisler’s ‘Monergism vs. Synergism’. His summary statements are that monergism:
- It is not supported by the Bible;
- It is not supported by the church fathers;
- It is not supported by the attribute of God’s omnibenevolence;
- It is not supported by man’s God-given free will.
- It is inconsistent.
Monergistic antagonism
A person responded to me on Christian Forums (online) with some inflammatory antagonism towards my Arminian/synergistic views. He wrote:
You say: “Synergistic Christian” That name is an oxymoron, no such animal. It doesn’t matter what anyone says, what does God say? Look, this is more important than a heart attack okay? You have no idea what you’re doing. You’re playin (sic) with fire. All of you in this “synergistic safe house” are like a smokers emporium, you’re all dieing (sic) with your false gospel. Isa 8:20 And I come in and all the demons of hell are screaming “have you come to disturb us before our time?” Matt 8:29 Yeh I am, are you able to get up and get out of there? You will have to be “quickened” Eph 2:1 to do it. There is no spiritual life in believing as you do. “as a man thinks so is he” If you think contrary to God’s word you get death, the second death the lake of fire. Rev 22:18 The fire of falsehood you so loved in life, you’ll have in death for eternity Rev 14:11.[4]
[5]See what he does with his presuppositional imposition on me for my theology? His presuppositions include:
- Synergist Christians do not fit his Calvinistic soteriology, so they are wrong.
- What does God say? That means, ‘What do Calvinists say?’
- Only Calvinists (non-synergists) know the biblical teaching on the gospel and salvation.
- I have no idea what I’m doing in supporting synergism, but Calvinistic supporters of monergism know what they are doing. They are the only people who can get the doctrine of salvation correct.
- Synergism is a false gospel according to Calvinistic monergism.
- There is no spiritual life in understanding the Scriptures from a synergistic perspective.
- Those who believe in synergism are ‘the demons of hell’.
- The fire of falsehood of synergism sends people to damnation.
He confuses his interpretation of what the Scriptures say and calls it what God says. He is absolutist in his view that monergists are correct and synergists (as he understands synergism) are wrong and are going to hell. He doesn’t seem to be able to differentiate between what God says and his interpretation of the biblical text.
After his and my responses above were deleted, he came back to me with a similar kind of language:
A synergistic view of salvation that is two or more agents (in this case the sinner and God) to effect the result of salvation is a false gospel or another gospel as Paul calls it in Gal 1:6-9 faith of this sort is not the “faith of God’s elect” Titus 1:1 but rather a self conjured faith in the idol of imagined free-will, producing no salvation but eternal damnation.[6]
Is monergism vs synergism creating a wrong antithesis?
Ben Henshaw explains how the terms synergism and monergism get confused in his article, ‘Is Arminian Theology Synergistic?‘[7]
For some, the debate between Arminianism and Calvinism boils down to whether salvation is monergistic or synergistic. I believe the term “synergism” is not always accurately applied to the Arminian position. The word comes from the Greek synergos, which essentially means “working together”. While monergism (to work alone) may be an acceptable label for what Calvinists believe (God does all the work in salvation), synergism does not always rightly portray what Arminians have historically believed.
The word itself, when taken in a grammatically strict sense, is not a very good description of what Arminians believe regarding salvation. Arminians do not believe that both God and man “work” together in salvation. We believe that we are saved “by faith from first to last” (Rom. 1:17). Since faith is antithetical to works (Rom. 3:20-28; 4:2-5; 9:32; 10:5, 6; Gal. 2:16; 3:2, 5; Eph. 2:8, 9; Phil. 3:9), it is a misnomer to label Arminian soteriology as synergistic in the strictest sense of the word.
Arminian theology, when rightly understood, teaches that salvation is monergistic. God alone does the saving. God alone regenerates the soul that is dead in sin. God alone forgives and justifies on the merits of Christ’s blood. God alone makes us holy and righteous. In all of these ways salvation is entirely monergistic. The difference between Calvinism and Arminianism is whether or not God’s saving work is conditional or unconditional. Arminians believe that God will not save until we meet the God ordained condition of faith. Faith may be understood as synergistic only in the sense that God graciously enables us to believe, but we are the ones who must decide whether or not we will believe.
F. Leroy Forlines put it well in The Quest for Truth when he said,
“I believe that saving faith is a gift of God in the sense that the Holy Spirit gives divine enablement without which faith would be impossible (John 6:44). The difference between the Calvinistic concept of faith and my concept of faith cannot be that theirs is monergistic and mine is synergistic. In both cases it is synergistic. Active participation in faith by the believer means it must be synergistic. Human response cannot be ruled out of faith. Justification and regeneration are monergistic. Each is an act of God, not man. Faith is a human act by divine enablement and therefore cannot be monergistic.” (Forlines 2001:160).
If faith were monergistic then it would not be the person believing, but God believing for the person. Faith is the genuine human response to God’s call, and the means by which we access His saving grace (Rom. 5:1, 2). It is still God’s grace that saves, but that grace must be received by faith, and the nature of faith is such that it can never be properly called a “work”.
Does this mean that man is the determiner of salvation and not God? Absolutely not. God has determined that those who believe in His Son shall be saved, and that determination is absolute and unchangeable (Jn. 3:16-18, 36). We simply determine whether or not we will meet the God ordained condition of faith.
See the article on the Society of Evangelical Arminians website, ‘The False Antithesis Between Monergism and Synergism: A Lesson from Historical Theology’.
Conclusion
Gratefully, there are not many like the hostile person I met on Christian Forums who is prepared to announce my damnation in the hell of fire because I believe in a synergistic view of salvation. When I asked a Lutheran on the Forum, who believes in monergism, if he would say that there is no eternal salvation for those who believe in a synergistic view of salvation through Christ, his response was:
Of course not. That would be works-righteousness, placing the onus of salvation in the power and capacity of man. Grace being grace, however, must mean that the onus is on the saving power of Christ, who by His Means creates faith in us—not a mental assent to doctrine, but a saving, justifying faith. Such faith even the unlearned and the infant can have—according to the gracious work of Christ alone.
Making such doctrinal minutia intrinsic to our eternal salvation ignores the whole point of what makes Grace Grace; and further draws focus away from Christ and His Cross toward ourselves and our ability.[8]
Ben Henshaw’s view (as above) is to the point and is as good and brief as any I have read recently:
The word itself [synergism], when taken in a grammatically strict sense, is not a very good description of what Arminians believe regarding salvation. Arminians do not believe that both God and man “work” together in salvation. We believe that we are saved “by faith from first to last” (Rom. 1:17). Since faith is antithetical to works (Rom. 3:20-28; 4:2-5; 9:32; 10:5, 6; Gal. 2:16; 3:2, 5; Eph. 2:8, 9; Phil. 3:9), it is a misnomer to label Arminian soteriology as synergistic in the strictest sense of the word.
Arminian theology, when rightly understood, teaches that salvation is monergistic. God alone does the saving. God alone regenerates the soul that is dead in sin. God alone forgives and justifies on the merits of Christ’s blood. God alone makes us holy and righteous. In all of these ways salvation is entirely monergistic. The difference between Calvinism and Arminianism is whether or not God’s saving work is conditional or unconditional. Arminians believe that God will not save until we meet the God ordained condition of faith. Faith may be understood as synergistic only in the sense that God graciously enables us to believe, but we are the ones who must decide whether or not we will believe.
See my other articles:
An Arminian view of faith in Christ;
Is prevenient grace amazing grace?
Calvinists, free will and a better alternative;
Does regeneration precede faith in Christian salvation?
What is the nature of human free will?
Is it possible or impossible to fall away from the Christian faith?
Calvinistic excuses for rejecting Jesus’ universal atonement;
Once Saved, Always Saved or Once Saved, Lost Again?
References:
Forlines, F L 2001. The quest for truth: Answering life’s inescapable questions. Nashville, Tennessee: Randall House Publications.
Notes:
[1] John Miley 1893. Systematic Theology (online), vol 2. Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers, available at: www.lcoggt.org/General/Miley/REGENERATION_MILEY.doc (Accessed 19 July 2012).
[2] Christian Forums, Theology (Christians Only), Christian Scriptures, ‘Did God stop “dictating” his Word after the Book of Revelation?’, kevinmccue #43, available at: http://www.christianforums.com/t7554361-5/#post61004583 (Accessed 19 July 2012).
[3] Marc Cortez,‘Synergism is not semi-Pelagianism’, Everyday Theology, available at: http://marccortez.com/2010/11/20/synergism-is-not-semi-pelagianism/ (Accessed 19 July 2012).
[4] Ibid #46. This post has since been removed from the thread after I complained about the inflammatory nature of the post and a moderator of the Forum advised me that this poster was using ‘flaming’ language and the post was deleted.
[5] This was my response a OzSpen, ibid. #47. However, since #46 has been removed, so has been my response at #47.
[6] Ibid., kevin mccue #56.
[7] Available at: http://evangelicalarminians.org/is-arminian-theology-synergistic/. Also available from kangaroodort, Arminian Perspectives, July 25, 2007, available at: http://arminianperspectives.wordpress.com/2007/07/25/is-arminian-theology-synergistic/ (Accessed 1 August 2013). Could kangaroodort be Ben Henshaw? At the time of posting this article to my homepage, Ben Henshaw’s article was no longer available online from the Society of Evangelical Arminians. I wrote them to inquire why it had been removed and am awaiting a reply.
[8] ViaCrucis, Christian Forums, #53, available at: http://www.christianforums.com/t7554361-6/ (Accessed 19 July 2012).
Copyright © 2012 Spencer D. Gear. This document last updated at Date: 29 October 2015.
