Sanctification: Is it Monergistic or Synergistic?

[Apologetic_Warrior]

As a Calvinst, yes a Calvinist, my answer to the question is sanctification can be either or, that is both, but not at the same time.

In short summary this is how I view salvation in terms of monergism and synergism:

Regeneration: monergistic
Faith and Repentance: either or (initially, I propose faith is a monergistic result of regeneration)
Sanctification: either or
Glorification: monergistic

There are other aspects we could go into, but this is meant as a conversation starter, without the walls of reading.

 

[sdowney717]

We may try to sanctify our hearts, but our results are only temporary and not very effectual.
God though, sanctifies us wholly and completely.
Just looking at scripture for the NKJV in the entire NT, the word 'sanctify' it is more of Him sanctifying us than the other way around. Sanctify to me means to make something holy.

The one 1 Peter 3:15, is our sanctifying God in our hearts, not us sanctifying us.

John 17:17
Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.
In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations
John 17:19
And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also may be sanctified by the truth.
In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations
Ephesians 5:26
that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word,
In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations
1 Thessalonians 5:23
[ Blessing and Admonition ] Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations
Hebrews 13:12
Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people with His own blood, suffered outside the gate.
In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations
1 Peter 3:15
But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear;

 

[Tree of Life]

As a Calvinst, yes a Calvinist, my answer to the question is sanctification can be either or, that is both, but not at the same time.

In short summary this is how I view salvation in terms of monergism and synergism:

Regeneration: monergistic
Faith and Repentance: either or (initially, I propose faith is a monergistic result of regeneration)
Sanctification: either or
Glorification: monergistic

There are other aspects we could go into, but this is meant as a conversation starter, without the walls of reading.

Monergistic. All of salvation is monergistic through and through.

 

[com7fy8]

God initiates, and we share with Him in how He works us >

"for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure." (Philippians 2:13)

So, if the energy is all of God, we are riding; so, strictly it is monergistic, meaning all that is necessary has God as the source.

But He changes us so we share with Him, but in His initiating what He wants in our willing and His energizing and guiding our doing.

"For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen." (Romans 11:36)

I do not mean to represent what Calvinists believe about this; I don't know.

 

[Apologetic_Warrior]

We may try to sanctify our hearts, but our results are only temporary and not very effectual.
God though, sanctifies us wholly and completely.
Just looking at scripture, the word 'sanctify' it is more of Him sanctifying us than the other way around.

The one 1 Peter 3:15, is our sanctifying God in our hearts, not us sanctifying us.

John 17:17
Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.
In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations
John 17:19
And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also may be sanctified by the truth.
In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations
Ephesians 5:26
that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word,
In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations
1 Thessalonians 5:23
[ Blessing and Admonition ] Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations
Hebrews 13:12
Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people with His own blood, suffered outside the gate.
In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations
1 Peter 3:15
But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear;

Thanks for the reply brother, and the Scriptures. I will try to explain a few thoughts. Synergism is the combination of God and man working in unison as one together according to the will of God. The regenerate man being set free from the law of sin and death, the bondage of the will to sin being broken, is made able to work with God (cooperate), able to work in obedience with the Spirit leading. Our sanctification however is not complete until God monergistically glorifies us in Heaven. By the grace and mercies of God a believer may be sanctified to great extent in temporal time, however as finite and mutable, still able to fall from the sanctified state the Spirit bestowed to the extent God allows. Thank you for causing me to think and reflect, iron sharpening iron.

 

[Apologetic_Warrior]

Monergistic. All of salvation is monergistic through and through.

Just curious what the implications of perseverance of the Saints would be, or the logic behind, assuming a strict monergism. God bless you for stretching my mind (many times), painful as it is.

 

[com7fy8]

Just curious what the implications of perseverance of the Saints would be, or the logic behind, assuming a strict monergism.

Again, I do not mean this to represent official Calvinist belief >

But if saints persevere because of God alone having us so succeed, this is simply because God is the One who in us is making sure we succeed. And God is almighty and He has us in union with Him so He can keep us >

"But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him." (1 Corinthians 6:17)

My Strong's Concordance Greek dictionary source says "united" in Greek can mean "glued". Well, we have almighty super-glue holding us together with God. So, this assures we can not get away from Him.

Plus, God is personally correcting us > Hebrews 12:4-11 < so we share with Him in His own holiness in His love's "peaceable fruit of righteousness". And this makes us more and more how Jesus is so we can easily please our Father on the day of judgment.

"Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world." (1 John 4:18)

So, our perseverance is connected with not only having some label of being the elect, but the elect are being corrected by God Himself personally curing our nature in His love, so that more and more "as He is, so are we in this world." We are so sharing with God, more and more experiencing how He is because in our character God is sharing with each of us how His love is >

"Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us." (Romans 5:5)

And this maturing in God's way of loving has us experiencing being family with our Father and Jesus and the Holy Spirit and one another who are relating the way we are called to share with one another >

"with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love," (Ephesians 4:2)

So, our perseverance more and more includes experiencing and enjoying God while growing as family with one another in tender caring and sharing >

"And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you." (Ephesians 4:32)

So, there is tender and kind forgiving; we more and better persevere in this loving, in preparation for how we will be relating with our Groom Jesus and one another.

So, persevering includes how God does not fail to truly correct us and perfect us in His love. "Love never fails," we have in 1 Corinthians 13:8. In Him there is no failure So, our perseverance involves how His love perseveres and shares this with us.

 

[sdowney717]

Just curious what the implications of perseverance of the Saints would be, or the logic behind, assuming a strict monergism. God bless you for stretching my mind (many times), painful as it is.

He is the Great Shepherd of the sheep.
Also, He owns us, He purchased us to God with His blood.
He can do what He wants with us, and thankfully our God is a good God who works all things according to the purpose of His will, and also all things work to the good of His sheep.
Have to think what does a shepherd do for the flock to enable them to persevere through trials. He also limits the troubles we could have. It could have been much worse. For the sake of the elect, it says He shortens the days, so He cares for His people and wont let them be tempted beyond what they can bear, He knows our frame right well. I assume few of those on these forums have suffered to the shedding of their blood due to evil men. But we can go through many hard and difficult trials.

Acts 14:21-23 New King James Version (NKJV)
Strengthening the Converts
21 And when they had preached the gospel to that city and made many disciples, they returned to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch, 22 strengthening the souls of the disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith, and saying, “We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God.” 23 So when they had appointed elders in every church, and prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed.

 

[tdidymas]

As a Calvinst, yes a Calvinist, my answer to the question is sanctification can be either or, that is both, but not at the same time.

In short summary this is how I view salvation in terms of monergism and synergism:

Regeneration: monergistic
Faith and Repentance: either or (initially, I propose faith is a monergistic result of regeneration)
Sanctification: either or
Glorification: monergistic

There are other aspects we could go into, but this is meant as a conversation starter, without the walls of reading.

If "God is at work in you, both to will and do His good pleasure," then sanctification is monergistic. It doesn't mean we disregard the 10 commandments. But it does mean that we believe God is working, and accept a willing agenda to cooperate with the Spirit, since we don't want to make it difficult for ourselves. "All who are being led by the Spirit of God are the sons of God." Why would I want to put God to the test in this matter? I believe, therefore I do. Fruit comes after identity.

Once I struggled in this matter; but after I got my identity straight and entered "sabbath rest" I don't struggle on that any more. My struggles are different now, but calling me to greater faith.
TD

 

[Greg J.]

God alone is our Savior. Unless we do not submit to him. God will not hold us accountable for things we didn't do (although what we are affects us).

 

[Apologetic_Warrior]

If "God is at work in you, both to will and do His good pleasure," then sanctification is monergistic. It doesn't mean we disregard the 10 commandments. But it does mean that we believe God is working, and accept a willing agenda to cooperate with the Spirit, since we don't want to make it difficult for ourselves. "All who are being led by the Spirit of God are the sons of God." Why would I want to put God to the test in this matter? I believe, therefore I do. Fruit comes after identity.

Once I struggled in this matter; but after I got my identity straight and entered "sabbath rest" I don't struggle on that any more. My struggles are different now, but calling me to greater faith.
TD

Thank you for the response, I respect your view, though I find issue. I will try to explain. For reference, usually the term "monergism" is used as a theological term to make a distinction between monergism and synergism in the doctrine of regeneration or the new birth to mean "the work of God alone". While synergism is used to mean "the work of God and man" where there is a cooperation between the will of man and the will of God. For every instance where the born again believer in Christ falls into temptation and sins...disobeys God, it is a work of their will, they are responsible, and it seems self-evident that we often fall short of the glory of God, as believers fighting the good fight from day to day. Now this is not to say that God cannot monergistically bring us back to sanctification (preservance), He does, He grants us repentance, but our failings are our own, and not God's, though He allows for them, He also allows the freedom to obey and disobey in sanctification, the progressive process where we grow and become more Christ-like. Because God allows this freedom in sanctification, I generally think of it as synergistic.

 

[Apologetic_Warrior]

God alone is our Savior. Unless we do not submit to him. God will not hold us accountable for things we didn't do (although what we are affects us).

No sins of omission? On the road to Jericho...

 

[Greg J.]

No sins of omission? On the road to Jericho...

Perhaps I should have used more technical language?

God will not hold us accountable for moral choices we didn't make.

 

[tdidymas]

Thank you for the response, I respect your view, though I find issue. I will try to explain. For reference, usually the term "monergism" is used as a theological term to make a distinction between monergism and synergism in the doctrine of regeneration or the new birth to mean "the work of God alone". While synergism is used to mean "the work of God and man" where there is a cooperation between the will of man and the will of God. For every instance where the born again believer in Christ falls into temptation and sins...disobeys God, it is a work of their will, they are responsible, and it seems self-evident that we often fall short of the glory of God, as believers fighting the good fight from day to day. Now this is not to say that God cannot monergistically bring us back to sanctification (preservance), He does, He grants us repentance, but our failings are our own, and not God's, though He allows for them, He also allows the freedom to obey and disobey in sanctification, the progressive process where we grow and become more Christ-like. Because God allows this freedom in sanctification, I generally think of it as synergistic.

I think there is a misunderstanding. To go deeper, what is the cause of sanctification? If you think that man's work in cooperation with God's work is the cause of sanctification, then you think it is synergistic. But I didn't say that. When I said that we cooperate with God, I'm saying to make our sanctification less difficult. God is going to sanctify us the easy way or the hard way. We have the "freedom" to make it hard by stubborn conceit and unbelief, but in fact that is no freedom at all. Freedom is in submission to God's work. So then, our cooperation doesn't cause sanctification in my view, only God's work does. Thus, the apostle writes "Work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for God is at work in you, to will and do His good pleasure." What makes sanctification difficult for us is lack of trust in God. So I stand on the idea that the Bible teaches monergism in regard to sanctification.
TD

 

[Knee V]

Christ Himself is our salvation, so any understanding of salvation and the Gospel starts with the knowledge of who Christ is (which is why the church fought so hard against all the various christological heresies; it wasn't because they wanted to make sure everyone had various facts correct, but because the person of Christ is the essence of the Gospel and the Christian faith).

Christ is the perfect union of God and man - the two natures joined together in one Person, such that there is no separation, with neither nature adding to nor subtracting from the other, nor otherwise changing the other in any way. As such, every action of Christ is simultaneously a human action and a Divine action. But it is not such that every action is half human and half divine. Rather, it is His humanity acting in its fullness simultanously with His Divinity acting in its fullness.

What our salvation is is Who Christ is, and Who Christ is is what our salvation is. As such, it is impossible for anything aspect of our salvation to be zero-sum; as if the percentage that I perform is added to the percentage that God performs, the sum of which is 100%. In that (eroneous) line of thinking, one might be forced to conclude that since God has to be 100%, man must be 0%. But that is not Who Christ is, and that is not what salvation is.

St Paul summarizes the reality of this issue perfectly when He says, "Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling [100% man], for it is God who works in you both to will and to do His good pleasure [100% God]."

There is no zero sum. Our salvation is simultaneously 100% the work of God and 100% the work of man. Neither adds to nor subtracts from nor otherwise changes the other.

Since what we say about Christ is what we say about salvation, it is also true that what we say about salvation is what we say about Christ. If we proclaim a salvation which is 100% God and 0% man, we therefore also proclaim a Christ who is 100% man and 0% God. For this reason Monergism is a Christological heresy and is antithetical to a knowledge of Christ and of the Gospel. Monergism destroys the Incarnation and presents us with a false Christ, just like the other various christological heresies. It is the mirror image of the heresy of Monophysitism.

 

[Apologetic_Warrior]

I think there is a misunderstanding. To go deeper, what is the cause of sanctification? If you think that man's work in cooperation with God's work is the cause of sanctification, then you think it is synergistic. But I didn't say that. When I said that we cooperate with God, I'm saying to make our sanctification less difficult. God is going to sanctify us the easy way or the hard way. We have the "freedom" to make it hard by stubborn conceit and unbelief, but in fact that is no freedom at all. Freedom is in submission to God's work. So then, our cooperation doesn't cause sanctification in my view, only God's work does. Thus, the apostle writes "Work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for God is at work in you, to will and do His good pleasure." What makes sanctification difficult for us is lack of trust in God. So I stand on the idea that the Bible teaches monergism in regard to sanctification.
TD

Monergistic sanctification would seem to be quite compatible with the Wesleyan doctrines of perfection of sanctification...in this life whilst living in the flesh. The only sinless perfection I have witnessed though, is by faith in one person, Jesus Christ and Him alone.

 

[tdidymas]

Monergistic sanctification would seem to be quite compatible with the Wesleyan doctrines of perfection of sanctification...in this life whilst living in the flesh. The only sinless perfection I have witnessed though, is by faith in one person, Jesus Christ and Him alone.

What is this?? How do you get perfectionism out of monergistic sanctification? There is a vast difference between saying God is sanctifying us (as an ongoing process), and God has sanctified us completely so that we are sinless. It doesn't follow. I stand on the monergistic sanctification idea, not on perfectionism.
TD

 

[Apologetic_Warrior]

What is this?? How do you get perfectionism out of monergistic sanctification? There is a vast difference between saying God is sanctifying us (as an ongoing process), and God has sanctified us completely so that we are sinless. It doesn't follow. I stand on the monergistic sanctification idea, not on perfectionism.
TD

Jesus Christ and His sinless life applied to the believer (through His substitutional atonement) is all of a believer's righteousness. Sanctification involves our will, monergism involves the will of God alone. To say that sanctification is monergistic, is to say that your will is not involved in your sanctification. Which does not follow, because if sanctification were purely monergistic through and through, all imperfection would be done away with (Philippians 3:12), the flesh would not be a thorn at all (Romans 7:24). By faith I know that Christ is all of my righteousness, that when the Father sees me, He sees the Son, the perfection of Christ, and not my [forgiven] sins. Nothing of my will could ever add to or take away from the finished work of Christ, and the process of sanctification will not be completed until the Lord decides it is my time to be with Him in glory. Therefore I believe sanctification is "either or" meaning it can be either monergistic or synergistic as the Lord of Heaven so wills, and I think the norm is synergistic which involves our wills, were it not so, we would never have a doubt or loose an ounce of assurance.

 

[tdidymas]

Jesus Christ and His sinless life applied to the believer (through His substitutional atonement) is all of a believer's righteousness. Sanctification involves our will, monergism involves the will of God alone. To say that sanctification is monergistic, is to say that your will is not involved in your sanctification. Which does not follow, because if sanctification were purely monergistic through and through, all imperfection would be done away with (Philippians 3:12), the flesh would not be a thorn at all (Romans 7:24). By faith I know that Christ is all of my righteousness, that when the Father sees me, He sees the Son, the perfection of Christ, and not my [forgiven] sins. Nothing of my will could ever add to or take away from the finished work of Christ, and the process of sanctification will not be completed until the Lord decides it is my time to be with Him in glory. Therefore I believe sanctification is "either or" meaning it can be either monergistic or synergistic as the Lord of Heaven so wills, and I think the norm is synergistic which involves our wills, were it not so, we would never have a doubt or loose an ounce of assurance.

To say that sanctification is monergistic, is to say that your will is not involved in your sanctification.

This statement is a false conclusion, and your idea that monergism involves only God's will is a false idea. I don't know where your idea is coming from, and wonder if you can give a link to an authority on the subject to show that an authority on the subject teaches that.

The way it actually is goes like this: God decides on His own who gets saved, and it has to be this way because man's sinful nature leaves him unable to break free of deception and bondage to the flesh due to satanic darkening of his heart - "men love darkness rather than light." So, God in His infinite grace and wisdom changes the disposition of a man's heart that He wishes to save, and that man then becomes willing to believe and obey the gospel. Therefore, it starts out with God's will only, but then because of divine imposition, involves the will of the man being saved.

IOW because of man's spiritual bankruptcy, he does not want to hear the gospel and obey, and cannot and will not do so. But God's love and mercy for such an individual (namely us believers today) is shown in God imposing His will on that person by making that person want to obey God's will. He does this through divine revelation of Himself, granting spiritual wisdom, opening his inner ears to hear, changing his heart (softening it) so that he no longer is hostile to God's will, and bending his reason favorably to divine truth. This is a spiritual and supernatural action. It is the activity of regeneration done by God alone. It then follows that people whom God acts upon in this way will be willing to accept the truth about Christ, because they then see the value of this divine illumination, which they did not see before because of being blinded by Satan the god of this world. Seeing the value of following Christ, then, there appears no choice but to do so for that person.

This description is perfectly in line with all 5 points of Calvinism, since "God is at work in us to will and do His good pleasure." The one who is convinced of gospel truth wants to make sure that his own will is completely in submission to the will of God, and is in fact the will of God. Our will under God's authority means that our will is God's will. No separation means complete reconciliation. Such is the ideal that is taught in the NT, and although we aren't perfect until glorified, we try our dangest to be. This is monergism, not synergism, because our faith is in God, not in ourselves. Therefore the will of the believer is intricately involved in what God does monergistically.

Finally the idea that if God were working monergistically on our sanctification, that we would then "be perfect" is also a false conclusion. The fact is, God continues to allow the sinful nature to operate in us so that we keep enduring in faith, since perseverance is part of the faithful character in being sanctified. It being an ongoing process doesn't require synergism. It requires our trust in God for Him to work.
TD

 

[Hazelelponi]

I think this is a lot of words that aren't in the Bible and this is making it very difficult for me to understand what you all are talking about.

I will keep this as a marker and try to figure this all out and see if I can't add to the conversation later..