The Leaven of Synergism...Dr. Arthur Custance The Reformation was a total break with this almost universal teaching (Synergism), a recovery of a truly monergistic doctrine of salvation, a Solus Deus position. But like all other revivals of the truth of the Gospel, it soon began to be plagued by those who demanded that allowance be made for mans autonomy if he was not to be a mere puppet, some tiny admission of spiritual competence, some small part which man might be called upon to play, as a sound basis for exhortation in preaching the Gospel and as an incentive to those striving after holiness. Luther himself was wholly committed to a God-only position. Unregenerate man is spiritually dead, not perfectly well as Pelagius held, nor merely sick as Arminius held, but completely dead as Calvin held. We have already traced briefly the gradual leavening of Luthers position by the synergistic tendencies of those who followed him [Chapter 4]. This fatal return to the heresy of all ages was, in Germany, largely the result of one man, Melancthon (1497‹1560). It was this godly and gentle man whose humanistic influence introduced once again the corrupting stream into Lutheran theology, where it took the seemingly harmless form of attributing to man nothing of a positive nature but only a non-resistance to the overtures of God without which the Holy Spirit is unable to make the grace of God effectual unto salvation. Luther was aware of this tendency from its first re-appearance among his disciples and spoke out strongly against it... custance.org/Library/SOG/Part_VI/Chapter21.html
Posted on: Mon, 15 Sep 2014 00:17:07 +0000
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