Divine Grace: Monergism, Regeneration, and Salvation

Devotional

Day 1: The Divine Initiative in Salvation

In the journey of faith, understanding the role of divine grace is crucial. The debate between monergism and synergism centers on how God brings a sinner to faith. Monergism asserts that God alone initiates regeneration, emphasizing that it is not a cooperative effort but a sovereign act of God. This perspective highlights the nature of divine grace as being entirely sufficient and effective in bringing about salvation. The idea is that God, in His sovereignty, intervenes in the life of a sinner, transforming their heart and enabling them to respond in faith. This understanding challenges the notion that human effort plays a role in the initial step of regeneration, instead attributing it solely to God's grace. [01:53]

Ephesians 1:4-5 (ESV): "Even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will."

Reflection: Consider a time when you felt God's presence in your life. How did this experience shape your understanding of His role in your faith journey?

Day 2: The Unilateral Act of Spiritual Resurrection

Ephesians 2 provides a profound illustration of spiritual resurrection, likening it to the physical resurrection of Lazarus. This passage underscores that while we were dead in our sins, God made us alive through His unilateral act of grace. Just as Lazarus could not contribute to his resurrection, we cannot cooperate in our spiritual regeneration. It is solely the work of God who breathes life into our spiritually dead state. This highlights the necessity of divine intervention for salvation, emphasizing that it is not by our works but by His grace that we are saved. [05:26]

Colossians 2:13 (ESV): "And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses."

Reflection: Reflect on an area of your life where you feel spiritually stagnant. How can you invite God's transformative power to bring new life into this area today?

Day 3: Regeneration Precedes Faith

In Reformed theology, the concept that regeneration precedes faith is pivotal. It is God who first changes the disposition of the soul, enabling faith to arise. This transformation is not coercive but a gracious act that aligns our will with His, allowing us to respond in faith. The idea is not that God believes for us, but that He transforms our will, making us willing to choose Christ. This understanding challenges the misconception that God forces people into the kingdom against their will, instead showing that He lovingly changes our hearts to willingly come to Him. [12:29]

John 6:44 (ESV): "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day."

Reflection: Identify a belief or habit that you struggle to align with your faith. How can you ask God to transform your heart in this area?

Day 4: The Certainty of the Golden Chain of Salvation

The golden chain of salvation in Romans 8 emphasizes the effectual call of the Holy Spirit. This internal call ensures that all who are predestined are called, justified, and glorified, highlighting the certainty and completeness of God's salvific work. The sequence of foreknowledge, predestination, calling, justification, and glorification underscores the assurance that those whom God calls will be brought to completion in their salvation journey. This understanding provides believers with confidence in the sufficiency and efficacy of God's grace in their lives. [22:47]

2 Timothy 1:9 (ESV): "Who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began."

Reflection: Think about a time when you doubted your salvation. How does understanding the golden chain of salvation provide you with assurance and peace today?

Day 5: The Efficacy of Divine Grace

The concept of prevenient grace in Arminian theology suggests that grace enables but does not ensure a response. In contrast, Reformed theology views grace as effectual and irresistible, ensuring that those whom God calls will respond in faith. This underscores the sufficiency and efficacy of divine grace in salvation, emphasizing that it is not merely an invitation but a powerful transformation that guarantees a response. Understanding this aspect of grace challenges believers to trust in the power of God's work in their lives, knowing that His grace is both sufficient and effective in bringing about their salvation. [16:33]

Titus 3:5 (ESV): "He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit."

Reflection: Consider an area of your life where you rely on your own strength. How can you shift your focus to trust in the sufficiency of God's grace instead?

Sermon Summary

In our exploration of the profound theological concepts of election, predestination, and the sovereignty of divine grace, we delve into the heart of what it means for God to intervene in a person's life to bring them to faith. This discussion has been a pivotal point throughout church history, with significant distinctions between the Augustinian view, which sees election as a sovereign act of God, and the semi-Pelagian perspective, which views it as a cooperative effort between God and man. The crux of the debate centers on whether the initial step of regeneration is a monergistic act of God alone or a synergistic cooperation between God and man.

Monergism, derived from the Greek words for "one" and "work," suggests that God alone is the active agent in regeneration. In contrast, synergism implies a cooperative effort between God and the sinner. The biblical text from Ephesians 2 is pivotal in this discussion, illustrating that while we were dead in our sins, God made us alive. This act of making alive is not a cooperative effort but a unilateral act of divine grace, akin to the resurrection of Lazarus, where Christ's command alone brought life.

The essence of Reformed theology is that regeneration precedes faith. It is God who first changes the disposition of the soul, enabling faith to arise. This is not to say that God believes for us, but rather that He transforms our will, making us willing to choose Christ. The notion that God would drag people into the kingdom against their will is a distortion; rather, He changes our will so that we willingly come to Him.

The golden chain of salvation in Romans 8 further underscores this process, where foreknowledge leads to predestination, calling, justification, and glorification. This sequence highlights the effectual call of the Holy Spirit, which is not merely an external invitation but an internal transformation that ensures all who are called are justified and ultimately glorified.

Key Takeaways

1. The debate between monergism and synergism is central to understanding how God brings a sinner to faith. Monergism asserts that God alone initiates regeneration, while synergism suggests a cooperative effort. This distinction is crucial in understanding the nature of divine grace and human response. [01:53]
2. Ephesians 2 illustrates that spiritual resurrection, like the physical resurrection of Lazarus, is a unilateral act of God. Dead in sin, we cannot cooperate in our regeneration; it is solely the work of God who makes us alive. This underscores the necessity of divine intervention for salvation. [05:26]
3. Regeneration precedes faith in Reformed theology. God changes the heart, enabling us to willingly choose Christ. This transformation is not coercive but a gracious act that aligns our will with His, allowing us to respond in faith. [12:29]
4. The golden chain of salvation in Romans 8 emphasizes the effectual call of the Holy Spirit. This internal call ensures that all who are predestined are called, justified, and glorified, highlighting the certainty and completeness of God's salvific work. [22:47]
5. The concept of prevenient grace in Arminian theology suggests that grace enables but does not ensure a response. In contrast, Reformed theology views grace as effectual and irresistible, ensuring that those whom God calls will respond in faith. This underscores the sufficiency and efficacy of divine grace in salvation. [16:33]
** [16:33]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[00:32] - Introduction to Election and Predestination
[01:07] - The Necessity of Grace
[01:53] - Monergism vs. Synergism
[02:34] - Definitions of Monergism and Synergism
[03:05] - The Role of Regeneration
[04:25] - Ephesians 2: Spiritual Resurrection
[05:26] - Analogy of Lazarus
[06:24] - The Nature of Spiritual Death
[08:00] - The Gift of Faith
[09:41] - Double Predestination
[10:33] - The Change of Will
[12:29] - Regeneration Precedes Faith
[13:24] - The Order of Salvation
[20:09] - The Golden Chain in Romans 8
[22:47] - Effectual Call of the Holy Spirit

Sermon Clips

Anytime we have a discussion about election or about predestination and the sovereignty of divine grace, we immediately have to face the question of what it is that God does when He intervenes in a person's life in order to bring that person to faith. [00:00:01]

The difference is to what extent grace is necessary or to what degree is it necessary. And what it comes down to is at the point of regeneration -- remember we talked about regeneration as one of the works of the Holy Spirit -- the question is in the first step of the turning of the sinner from spiritual death to spiritual life, is that step accomplished through what we call monergism or synergism? [00:01:14]

When God quickens a person who is dead in sin and trespasses; when the Holy Spirit regenerates the sinner, does He lend power to an exercise or to an enterprise with which the sinner must add some of his energy, some of his power, in order to bring about the desired effect or is the work of regeneration a unilateral, monergistic work of God? [00:03:05]

Paul is looking back now and he's speaking to his friends and fellow converts among the Ephesian Christians and he reminds them of who it is who raised them from spiritual death. That while they were dead in their sins and trespasses, God the Holy Spirit quickened them, raised them from the dead spiritually. I'll remind you that dead people don't cooperate. [00:04:53]

He said, "Lazarus, come forth," and by the sheer, divine power of that imperative, that which was dead became alive. Then, of course, he cooperates after -- I mean, he walks out of the tomb, but there was no cooperation at the point of the change of his nature from death to life. [00:05:47]

Now, after He makes you alive do you reach out, do you stretch, do you come, do you believe at all? Yes! But it's that initial step, that first step, is it something that God and God alone does or does God just come right up to you and woo you and say "Come on!" Entice you. Encourage you. [00:06:53]

And Reformed theology has been after that since the days of Augustine, or I should say since the days of Paul. Because if that were the case I would have absolutely no hope of the salvation of any person in this world. Because no matter how persuasive you are, no matter how eloquent you are, no matter how powerful you are, no matter how influential you are, how in the world are you going to persuade a spiritually dead person who is at enmity with God, who is utterly in the flesh, who apart from regeneration and being reborn can't even see the kingdom of God, how are you going to persuade that person to choose Christ whom he doesn't want at all? [00:13:28]

Only God has the power to change the nature of a human soul. And so we would say that regeneration precedes faith. That's the essence of Reformed theology right there. That it is God the Holy Spirit who first changes the disposition of the soul before anybody has faith. [00:14:36]

The whole point of regeneration is the change of the will where the unwilling are made willing by the Spirit of God. Where those people who hated the things of God because they were spiritually dead now have a whole new disposition, a new heart. That's why Jesus said, unless you are born again, you can't even see the kingdom of God, let alone enter it. [00:12:12]

Now, the key point here is everyone who is called is justified. Which means that everyone who is called gets faith, which means this text cannot be talking about what we call the external call of the Gospel where everybody is called indiscriminately in the public preaching of the gospel, but it is talking about the internal call -- the operative call -- of God the Holy Spirit when God the Holy Spirit effectually changes your heart. [00:22:20]

That's what we call the effectual call of God the Holy Spirit who brings to pass in our heart what God has designed that He do from the foundation of the world that predestination may be fulfilled, that all who are predestined will be called effectually by the Holy Spirit; all who are called by the Holy Spirit will be justified; and all who are justified will be glorified. [00:22:56]

If we applied Arminian categories to this golden chain, we would have to say some who are foreknown are predestined, some who are predestined are called, or some who are called are justified, some who are justified are glorified, and the whole text means nothing. [00:23:18]

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