Monergism and Synergism
COMMENT
I have appreciated your emphasis on monergism vs. synergism, with reference to eternal life, in many of your presentations. I think using these terms really does help cut through a lot of the confusion and misapplication that is out there among believers today, especially since they nearly all claim to believe in salvation by grace. I ran across this verse recently which also makes a clear case for the monergistic nature of our life in Christ: 1Co 8:6 But to us [there is but] one God, the Father, of whom [are] all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom [are] all things, and we by him. (Anonymous)
RESPONSE
Having spent many years among the “reformed,” I have often employed the terms monergism and synergism in the hope of explaining Old Baptist theology in a way that might make sense to those coming from that theological point of view, since their best and brightest theologians and ministers use those terms quite a bit in their efforts. On the other hand, at times I have wondered how well this terminology would be received within the Old Baptist church, since I don’t often hear our ministers employ this terminology in their preaching. Nevertheless these terms accurately represent some of the theological ideas found in the bible and taught among our people. To my surprise, I have found extra-ordinary resistance among the “reformed” with whom I have used these terms to explain our theology, and have found some appreciation for them among my PB brethren.
I believe this is because what we believe with respect to grace and works maps nicely to monergism and synergism. If an Old Baptist has not encountered these terms before, they can become instantaneously proficient in using them once they are given their definitions as a result of their clear understanding of the difference between grace and works (Romans 11:6). The “reformed” on the other hand, have proven themselves virtually incapable of utilizing these terms outside the domain of regeneration (where they almost exclusively use them) and, in fact, have essentially stated that the use of these terms in respect to anything other than regeneration, is inappropriate and inconsistent with their traditional use in theology. I have pointed out on more than one occasion that “monergism” is just a word that means “the work of one.” It does not have any inherent association with the regeneration. The term can be employed to describe any work, whether that work is found in the bible or is the simple act of picking up a log. They tend to resist this usage very strongly – largely because when applied to a host of OTHER theological ideas, like repentance for example, it underscores the inconsistencies in their ersatz grace theology. Those conversations have often gone something like this…
PRIMITIVE BAPTIST: Is repentance required to obtain eternal salvation?
REFOMRED: Oh, yes. Man is responsible to repent to be eternally saved.
PRIMITIVE BAPTIST: Is repentance monergistic or synergistic?
REFORMED: It is synergistic.
PRIMITIVE BAPTIST: If repentance is synergistic and it’s a requirement for eternal salvation, then our eternal salvation is synergistic and not monergistic.
REFORMED: Oh, wait, no that’s not right, our salvation is monergistic, so therefore repentance is monergistic not synergistic?
PRIMITIVE BAPTIST: So YOUR repentance is a monergistic act of God?
REFOMRED: Yes.
PRIMITIVE BAPTIST: Seriously? How can a man actively and responsibly participate in a monergistic act of God? Monergism is the “work of one.” If man is actively, responsibly, and participatorially involved, then repentance is undeniably a “work of more than one” and thus it is synergism.
REFORMED: You can’t use those terms to describe repentance, they are inappropriate for that purpose. Monergism has to do with regeneration, not repentance.
PRIMITIVE BAPTIST: But it just means “the work of one.”
REFORMED: That’s not reformed theology. Reformed theology defines monergism as regeneration.
And on it goes…
Anyway, thank you for your words of encouragement. When putting things on the internet one often wonders if anyone finds them profitable and it is always a source of joy when I hear from those of like-precious faith, who know and love the truth, and who see and appreciate that truth even when it is expressed with different terminology.
- Elder Daniel Samons
POST SCRIPT
Using this terminology had not been universally applauded by PBs. Some insist that it introduces unnecessary complexity and that this does not serve clarity but confusion. While I am not fond of that position, I recognize that it has some merit, at least in some settings. I have used the terms less in my preaching of late and tend to reserve them for occasions when a reformed listener is under consideration.