No Room for Synergism

There is no room for synergism in John chapter 6, or as I like to say, there's no "wiggle room." In fact, I would say there's no room for synergism with respect to salvation in all of Scripture. So what do I mean by that? In the realm of soteriology, there are two systems of thought with reference to "how" a person is saved. The Arminian or Semi-Pelagian view which is synergistic and the Reformed view, which is monergistic.

Let's define our terms before we proceed. Synergism is the idea that two or more agents are involved in something in which both parties are required to produce a desired result. Think of a symphony orchestra. You can't play Mozart's 40th Symphony with only one violin. You need the entire orchestra playing together. Monergism is the idea that there is only one agent required to produce the necessary effect or goal. So when it comes to salvation the crucial question becomes, is God the sole author of salvation or is the will of man required?

Man's Freedom or God's Freedom?

Some Christians are so committed to the idea of free will that they end up sacrificing God’s freedom in the process. They claim that God is sovereign over all things and has the authority to do whatever He pleases, yet if you examine their soteriology; you end up with God trying to save people, but being thwarted by human free will. Since God is in fact sovereign over all things, then He is sovereign over salvation as well. As the Bible says, salvation is of the Lord, Jonah 2:9, Psalm 3:8. Fallen sons and daughters of Adam may resist for a season, but when God decides to bring about their salvation, there is nothing that can thwart Him, Job 42:2.

Pastors and teachers don't often talk about how a person is saved, they mainly preach about the need for salvation or give a gospel invitation, and there's nothing wrong with that. This is exactly what they are commanded to do. But I want to focus on the "how" question because it is very important to our understanding of the nature of man, the purposes of God, and the glorious salvation that Jesus perfectly accomplished for us. If we look at the sixth chapter of John’s Gospel, we see some amazing things in this regard.

John 6

We all know the story of the feeding of the five thousand, but on the next day in Capernaum Jesus’ followers come looking for Him and they get into a discussion about bread. But this time Jesus turns the conversation around and begins talking about spiritual bread; the living bread, which came down from heaven. In this context Jesus says:

“I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day,” John 6:35-40.

So what is all this talk about The Father giving people to the Son? I thought we come by our own free will? But you don't find free will in this passage do you? No, in verse 37 the text says all that the Father gives to the Son will come. They will come to the Son and the Son will certainly accept them. In verses 39 and 40, Jesus perfectly fulfills the will of His Father and will "lose nothing of all that he has given me," but raise them up (give them eternal life) on the last day.

We also see this in John 17:6, "I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world." And again in verse 9, "I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours." On the night before He is about to die on the cross for our sins, Jesus specifically prays, not for the world, but only those whom the Farther has given to Him.

In John 6:41, the Jews begin to grumble because Jesus said He came down from heaven. Then Jesus responds to their complaint by saying, "Do not grumble among yourselves. No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day," John 6:43-44. There is a direct correlation between coming, and being raised up. Those whom the Father draws, come; and they are the same ones who are raised up on the last day. Jesus reiterates this again in verse 65. I think the context is clear, coming refers to believing, and being raised up refers to the resurrection unto eternal life. Jesus clearly says here that no one can come (believe) unless something happens first, namely the drawing of the Father. So this idea that the Father is drawing everyone in the same way doesn't work because according to this passage, everyone would inevitably come to Jesus. Remember in verse 37 Jesus says, "All that the Father gives me will come to me…" There is a special drawing that is being referred to here, which is also delineated by Paul in Romans 8:30:

"And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified."

Everyone who is predestined is called, justified, and glorified. It's an unbreakable chain. You can't be called and not justified, and you can't be justified without being glorified. This is the glorious truth of God's purpose in the redemption of His people. His calling is effectual. It cannot fail. All who are brought to the Son find Him to be a perfect Savior. They will never be lost, John 10:28.

Let's get back to John 6. When Jesus' disciples heard His words about eating His flesh and drinking His blood, (verse 53) it was too much for them. They said, "This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?" But Jesus was not talking about physical things:

"It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. But there are some of you who do not believe.” (For Jesus knew from the beginning who those were who did not believe, and who it was who would betray him.) And he said, 'This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father,'" John 6:63-65.

It doesn't get any clearer than that. Coming to Jesus must be granted by the Father. This answers the "how" question. And this comports with other passages of Scripture such as John 1:13, Acts 11:18, 13:48, 1 Cor. 1:30, Phil 1:29, 2 Timothy 2:25. It is God who draws, and those whom He draws will come. And those who come are the same ones who are raised up on the last day. There’s no wiggle room here. This idea that God draws everyone and then some by their own free will believe, and others don’t, is not found in John chapter 6. The same idea is communicated in John chapter 10. Look at the reason Jesus gives for why the Jews do not believe in Him.

"So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, 'How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.' Jesus answered them, 'I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father's name bear witness about me, but you do not believe because you are not among my sheep. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me,'" John 10:24-27.

The reason Jesus gives for why they don't believe is because they are not His sheep. This is an amazing statement. Jesus could have perhaps given other reasons for their unbelief, but instead He said, "You are not among my sheep. My sheep hear my voice," implying that the reason they don't hear is because only His sheep hear Him. But didn't they have the free will to respond to the voice of the Good Shepherd? They were physically hearing His words, and yet they didn't have ears to hear. They didn't believe. Why? Obviously, because some have ears to hear and others do not, otherwise Jesus wouldn't have so frequently used the phrase, "for him who has ears, let him hear," Matt. 11:15, Mark 4:9, Luke 8:8, Rev 2:7, etc.

Why Do Some Believe?

This brings us to another crucial question. Have you ever wondered why some people repent and believe the gospel and others don't? How you answer this question is vital. Let's say two men attend the same church one Sunday morning. They even sit next to each other in the same pew. They both hear the gospel clearly preached; one believes and is born again, and the other rejects it and leaves still in his sins. The question we must ask is, why? Why does one believe and the other doesn't? Is there something better about the one who believed? Is he wiser, smarter, or more spiritually in tune? Isn't repentance and faith pleasing to God? Yes, of course. So why did he believe? Where did his faith come from? Most people answer this question by saying they don't know. This is the error of the synergistic view of salvation. It simply cannot give a satisfactory answer to this question because the logical conclusion of synergism is that the ultimate deciding cause of salvation is the self determination (free will) of the agent. Unless the man cooperates with God, he cannot be saved. God can't overcome his will in the synergistic view. So if the ultimate deciding factor in the salvation of a sinner is the sinner himself, how does this not make man sovereign? God is giving 99 percent. He wants to save the man, but He just can't do it without his cooperation. The man must give that one percent; the decisive one percent, the one percent that makes all the difference in the world. This is a man-centered salvation in which God is subservient to His own creation. Perish the thought!

Reformed theology however, can answer this question because we believe that Jesus saves. He doesn't merely make salvation possible; He accomplished it on the cross, Isaiah 53:11-12, Hebrews 7:25. He died to secure it, Hebrews 9:12. He can overcome our hard hearts; our resistance, and take out our heart of stone and give us a heart of flesh, Ezekiel 11:19. It is God who makes the decisive decision, not man. And it is by His grace alone and for His glory alone, Ephesians 2:8. Salvation is monergistic; it is all of God. The power of the Holy Spirit regenerates dead sinners; He brings us to life. He gives us the grace and the faith to believe, and we do so most willingly because once we were blind, but now we see. We were deaf and now we hear. We were dead in our sins, but now we have been made alive. Free will is powerless to do these things; it cannot produce saving faith. It cannot pull itself up by the boot straps and believe because it isn't free; it is a slave of sin, John 8:34. Only God can break the chains of sin. Only God can raise the spiritually dead.

So how do people come to Christ? They must be drawn by the Father. All whom the Father gives to the Son will come to Him. The sheep hear the voice of their Shepherd calling, and they follow Him, and He gives them eternal life.

Switchfoot and Christian Music

For those who haven't read it, here is the blog article I am interacting with in this post: http://ctkblog.com/2013/12/05/why-switchfoot-wont-sing-christian-songs/

First, I want to say that I love Switchfoot; always have, ever since The Legend of Chin. They are one of my favorite bands (although their last few albums have been a little underwhelming). And I agree with some of what Jon said, but much of it is very disappointing. I think there are some glaring errors in his reasoning and I want to examine them in light of biblical revelation.

In my opinion Switchfoot has a very counter-cultural message, which is great, and I have been impacted by many of their songs, however, I think as Christians, we fail to realize that we get a lot more out of their music than the average pagan. I’m not sure unbelievers are reading between the lines like we are. With respect to the gospel, their lyrics are ambiguous at best.

I know that Switchfoot is involved with charities and I commend them for that. I agree that how we live is very important. The person who works 9-5 at some obscure job has the same responsibility to live for Christ as the national music artist. Yet, whether we are in a famous band or we are a butcher, baker, or candlestick-maker, we all have the same duty to preach the gospel. This is what is missing from Jon’s response.

The question I have is: how is Switchfoot fulfilling the Great Commission? Jon seems to be forwarding the notion that we are to “preach the gospel, and if necessary, use words.” Nothing could be more unbiblical. Where do you find this in Scripture? If Jesus and the Apostles took this approach, no one would have ever heard gospel. The Great Commission is not a suggestion, it’s a command. What does Paul say in Romans 10:14, 17?

“How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?” “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.”

To the objection, “Just because I’m a Christian song writer doesn’t mean all my songs should be about Jesus,” I would simply ask, why not? Why? If you are a believer, why wouldn’t you want to sing about Him? I don’t understand this thinking. Now I don’t mean you have to repeat the name Jesus ten times in every song, no, but why wouldn’t you want to communicate the life-changing power of the gospel? You have a huge platform. You can reach millions of people. Why would you want to be ambiguous? Again, I would argue that most unbelievers don’t know what Switchfoot is talking about in some of their songs. Their lyrics could mean different things to different people. Sometimes I’m not sure what they’re talking about myself. As Christians, shouldn’t we be clear?

When it comes to popular bands, I think they should be especially careful and clear because they are proclaiming a public message. They are in the public eye. Whether it’s a rapper talking about money and drugs, or a country artist singing about their ex-girlfriend, they are all preaching something. They are communicating a message. What does that message say?

All Christians, musicians included, are called to share the gospel and make disciples, but it seems like Jon Foreman is saying that’s not the calling of Switchfoot, at least not musically. So I guess they’re exempt from the Great Commission, or maybe it’s just their music that’s exempt, I don’t know.

Further, I think the connection made between Bach and Switchfoot is naïve. The difference between Bach and Switchfoot is the difference between lyrical music and instrumental music. Most of Bach’s compositions were instrumental, which is hard to classify as “Christian.” But when there is lyrical content, that content can most certainly be classified as Christian or non-Christian. What is the song about? What is the central message? Does it comport with the teachings of Scripture? Does it communicate a biblical worldview or biblical principles? What about Handel’s Messiah? Is that Christian music or not? What about A Mighty Fortress is Our God, or other great hymns of the faith? Don’t tell me there is no such thing as Christian music! What about the song of Miriam in Exodus 15:21? What about Mary’ song: The Magnificat, in Luke 1:46-55, or what about the Psalms of David? How would you classify these? Look at what Paul said in Ephesians 5:19:

“speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord.” Make music from your heart to whom?

It’s ironic that he mentions Keith Green. Keith was radical. All his songs were about Jesus. He was totally sold-out. You would never hear Keith Green saying these things; trying to distance himself from “Christian” music.

Most importantly, the question that needs to be asked is: does the music you are singing glorify God? This idea is also lacking from Jon Foreman's comments. Aren’t we supposed to do everything to the glory of God? Does Switchfoot’s music glorify Him, or is it just whatever Jon feels like writing about? This is the mistake that musicians and artists tend to make. They think they are somehow exempt from the biblical mandate. Sure they are free to “express” themselves however they want, but wouldn't it be better to focus your songwriting on the Lord Jesus? This is a systemic problem in the lives of modern-day Christians. The glory of God is not paramount in their thinking.

C. S. Lewis is also a poor example, which does not help Jon's case. No, Lewis’ fiction books do not overtly proclaim the gospel, but I would argue that there are definite and deliberate parallels, but this is beside the point, because his many non-fiction writings are clearly and profoundly Christian in nature. Lewis has been hailed as one of the greatest Christian thinkers of the 20^th century. He didn’t hide behind the, “my writings aren’t born again” argument; whatever that means. No, everyone knew where Lewis stood. I’ve listened to Switchfoot since the beginning. I’ve seen their music videos, and watched their concerts. Do their non-Christian fans know where they stand?

Now I’m not trying to beat up on Switchfoot. I’m not going to boycott their albums or anything stupid like that, I just think some of Jon’s reasoning is flawed because I don’t see how it is biblically justifiable. Here are some quotes I want to interact with.

"But judging from scripture I can only conclude that our God is much more interested in how I treat the poor and the broken and the hungry than the personal pronouns I use when I sing."

Actually God is interested in both. He’s interested in both our actions and our words.

“Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer,” Psalm 19:14.

“I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned,” Matt. 12:36-37.

These are sobering reminders that the personal pronouns we use are in fact, very significant.

"I am a believer. Many of these songs talk about this belief. An obligation to say this or do that does not sound like the glorious freedom that Christ died to afford me."

Really? This isn't why Jesus died my friend. He died to free us from our sins. We were slaves of sin, (John 8:34) and deserving of hell, (Eph. 2:3). By His grace we are saved through faith, and now we are slaves of Christ. We no longer live to do our own will but the will of the Master who redeemed us. This doesn’t sound like the words of the Apostle Paul who called himself a bondservant of Christ, Rom. 1:1, Gal. 1:10. It has nothing to do with confining your lyrics to a box; freedom in Christ has to be contextualized. The Bible speaks about freedom in Christ in different ways; freedom from sin (John 8:31-38) and freedom from the works of the Law (Gal. 5:13). Read the context of Galatians and you will see it has nothing to do with what Jon is talking about. Yes, Jon, you are obligated. You are obligated to proclaim the gospel. And if you have been given a public platform, you dare not shirk that responsibility.

The fact is, the vast majority of people are going to remember Switchfoot for their songs. Their songs are on the radio. They’re on TV. People are singing them in the shower; listening to them in the car; playing them in garage bands. Of course lyrics (including personal pronouns) matter! To say what you do is more important than what you sing is a cop out. It's both and, not either or. Again, my question is: why does Jon Foreman want to avoid being put into a "Christian" box? What is he afraid of? If you're not ashamed of the gospel, good, then why aren't you shouting it from the rooftops? I don’t understand this thinking. So when you were lost, blind, poor, and wretched; wallowing in your own sin, Christ found you. He rescued you, and with His own blood, redeemed you. In agony and humiliation on the cross, He endured the pains of hell and the wrath of God that you deserve, and gave you His righteousness instead, but you don’t want to sing about that? Jesus is worth singing about. He is worthy of our songwriting; of our all. More worthy than we could know. There is every reason in the world to sing about Him! So I want to turn it around. Give me one good, biblical reason not to sing about Jesus.