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 The
Aeolian Harp was a stringed instrument incased in a wooded frame
which was open at both ends. It’s strings were tuned so that
when it was set in a window the wind would stimulate harmonious
vibrations soothing to the ear. Is man like the Aeolian Harp? Is
he a will-less instrument which gives glory to God only as God
chooses to vibrate him by the Spirit? Or, to put it another way,
is monergism or synergism true?
Monergism
is, "…the doctrine that regeneration is the work of the
Holy Spirit alone, and that the human will, having no
inclination to holiness, is incapable of assisting or
cooperating ," Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary, p. 1160).
As opposed to monergism, synergism means that man has a will and
cooperates with divine grace in accomplishing his own salvation.
If
man is as the Aeolian Harp then God places him where HE wills,
does with him as HE chooses, and picks out and individually
vibrates a man’s spirit to salvation without any consideration
for man’s will, belief, or aspiration. Such a view postulates
God’s will as monothetic — i.e., that God’s will is the
single, essential element. Logically, it also makes man a mere
puppet who dances when God pulls the strings.
God
made man a free, moral being with a will and right of choice.
The historical account of man’s creation and fall so affirms
(GEN.1:26-27, 3:1-ff). However, in order to create man with the
right to choose either good or evil, God had to impose upon
himself certain restrictions in dealing with man. To
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deny that statement is to make Adam's‘
sin the result of God’s will Therefore from the beginning, God
has expressed His will for the good of man and when man orders
his life in conformity, God is glorified. But, God neither
forces man to obey or disobey His will.
After
Christ died to atone for man’s sin, Paul expressed God’s
will thusly: "Who will have all men to be saved, and to
come unto the knowledge of the truth". (1TI.2:4). Later, in
the N. T., Peter clarifies God’s longsuffering as His
willingness that none perish, but all should come to repentance
(2PE.3:9). To make God’s will monothetic would mean that all
men are going to be saved — God willed it. Such a conclusion
contradicts Jesus’ statement that few would be saved
(LUK.13:23-24)
Christ’s
death was for all men but not all will choose to avail
themselves of such benefits. God is longsuffering not willing
that any should perish, but many obstinately misinterpret His
patience. God would have all men to be saved, but serving God is
not the will of the multitudes. You see, man is not like the
Aeolian Harp, for, even as our beloved brother Paul says, man
must actively seek God and His will. "To them who by
patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and
immortality, eternal life: But unto them that are contentious,
and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation
and wrath, tribulation and anguish..." (ROM.2:7-9) Jim
R. Everett
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