synergism
The view that salvation is attained through a cooperative process between God and human beings;1 any soteriology that employs an independent free will to “work together” with God’s activity of grace in regeneration.2
- From The Century Dictionary:
Synergism is “…the doctrine that there are two efficient agents in regeneration, namely the human will and the divine Spirit, which, in the strict sense of the term, cooperate. This theory accordingly holds that the soul has not lost in the fall all inclination toward holiness, nor all power to seek for it under the influence of ordinary motives. To put it simply, synergism is the belief that faith is produced by our unregenerated human nature.
- From the Five Articles of Remonstrance, Article 1 (This is a synergistic document.):
… God, by an eternal and unchangeable purpose in Jesus Christ his Son, before the foundation of the world, hath determined, out of the fallen, sinful race of men, to save in Christ, for Christ’s sake, and through Christ, those who, through the grace of the Holy Ghost, shall believe on this his son Jesus, and shall persevere in this faith and obedience of faith, through this grace, even to the end… .
Learn more:
- Got Questions: Monergism vs. synergism - which view is correct?
- John Hendryx: Two Views on Regeneration
- Charlie Martin: Salvation: Synergism or Sola Gratia? (pdf)
- Ligonier.org: Sovereign Regeneration
Related terms:
1 From The Christian Faith by Michael Horton.
2 From Pocket Dictionary of the Reformed Tradition by Kelly M. Kapic and Wesley Vander Lugt
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