Written by Matt Lee Monergism

Written by Matt Lee

Asst. Pastor, Church Planting & Innovation

Theological Grounding

Monergism “Monergism” is the idea that God alone saves sinners; this concept runs throughout Ephesians 2:1-10, seen in the truths that 1) Unbelievers have no spark of spiritual life with which to search for God and find Him; 2) God is the One who intervenes in the life of those dead in trespasses; 3) God makes the dead alive together with Christ; 4) Grace saves and will be on display for all eternity; 5) Grace and faith are gifts from God (“It is not of your own doing”); 6) We are the workmanship of God. Paul calls believers to walk before God towards maturity, but even this must be God’s doing. Therefore, it is right to speak of salvation—justification, sanctification, glorification, and more —from beginning to end a work of grace, even as believers act upon God’s commands to do His will.

I’m not sure how many of you remember the 1995 movie Dead Man Walking, but it was a powerful film about Matthew Poncelet, played by Sean Penn, who was a hardened and hopeless criminal awaiting execution for his heinous crimes. He was filled with pride, prejudice, and anger. He truly seemed “dead” inside and would soon be dead physically. Sadly, there was no sign of change nor redemption until Sister Helen Prejean, played by Susan Sarandon, came to visit him. Through Sister Helen’s commitment, relationship, and love towards Matthew, he finally experienced redemption as he confessed his guilt and took responsibility for his actions.

In some ways this film paints a picture of what our lives were like prior to encountering the Gospel and experiencing forgiveness through Jesus. As Ephesians 2:1-10 mentions, we were spiritually “dead” because of our sin and rebellion towards God. As a result, we were under God’s wrath awaiting eternal punishment. We were in essence “dead people walking”—without any hope and without any spiritual life. Yet, out of God’s grace and mercy, He chose to visit us through His Son, Jesus. Jesus lived the perfect life we could not live, died the death we could not die, and rose from the dead to give us eternal life—not because we deserved it, but because of God’s sheer mercy and love. And because of His initiative, and through the work of His Spirit in us, God enabled us to confess our sins and trust in Jesus for our salvation. As a result, we were set free, redeemed, forgiven, and given a new and eternal life. But again, as Paul reminds us in Ephesians 2:8-9, none of this was due to our own effort or righteousness. This salvation was “not from ourselves” but was instead a “gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.”

This is the essence of the Gospel and the difference between Christianity and all other religions— grace: the unmerited, undeserved, mercy and love of God shown through Jesus. And it is God’s grace that reminds us that there is absolutely nothing we have done or can do to earn salvation. All that we can do is receive it. This is the central idea behind the theological term, “monergism.”

As I reflect on this term, it reminds me of how I personally came to faith in Jesus. Prior to my senior year in high school I had no desire to live for God. I lived for my own pleasure and selfish desires. I had no purpose, no true joy, and no relationship with God. I was like Matthew Poncelet from Dead Man Walking, except in a spiritual sense. I was walking through life as if I was alive, but inside I was dead. All of that changed when God came to visit me during a church retreat. Even though I wasn’t looking for salvation, God granted His saving grace to me. Through a time of prayer, He revealed the depth of my sin and brought me to my knees. I was sure that God’s wrath would fall down on me that night—but instead, all I sensed was God’s love and grace. He forgave me and cleansed me because of what Jesus had done for me on the cross. As I turned from my sins and trusted in Jesus, I was forgiven, accepted, and saved—I was born again. I felt a love, meaning, joy, and peace that I had never felt before. My slate was clean; I knew that God was real and that He loved me. My life was never the same after that moment.

Every time I think about that salvation experience, I am reminded of the truth that there is absolutely nothing that I have done or can do to earn God’s salvation. It is all grace. All that I can do is receive it and respond to it. This is at the heart of Paul’s message in Ephesians 2:1-10.

My hope and prayer is that as we continue to explore Ephesians, we will all be reminded not only of our own personal salvation story, but also that life is all about God’s grace. That despite our sins, faults, and failures, we are loved, accepted, and forgiven because of God’s grace in Jesus. And it is this grace that will sustain us and motivate us to keep living for Him. May you receive this grace afresh and anew today. May you learn to soak in it and be humbled by it. May you be filled with it and motivated by it to live for Him.

Pastor Matthew Lee currently serves as the Pastor of Church Planting & Innovation, overseeing our church planters and our Directors of Evangelism and the Center for Faith, Work, and Innovation. He and his wife, Grace, are both from Virginia and graduated from two rival schools: UVA and VA Tech. Yet, they are still able to make the marriage work! They have two energetic boys, EJ and Aaron.

If being reminded of your own salvation story stirs you to play a part in how God plans to save others, join two “Gospel Conversations” workshops on Zoom with Pastor Emmanuel, Sunday, October 4, and Sunday, October 11 from 2–3 PM. Register here. To get the gears turning, watch this three-minute InterVarsity video in advance on the importance of building trust with friends.

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