A man-centered gospel is the belief that the determining factor in whether or not a man is eternally saved, in the end, relies (at some level) upon an act of his own will i.e. human decision. This is often called synergism because it is thought to be a cooperative effort between God and man. While a God-centered Gospel means that man has absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with causing his salvation by “choosing God,” “deciding to follow Christ,” “asking Jesus into your heart,” and/or any other common phrases.

Sola fide and sola gratia means that while the sinner is dead in his trespasses and sins God Himself sovereignly regenerates those whom He will; gives them as His gift the faith to believe and repent. This is diametrically opposed to any of the seeker-friendly new evangelical movements like the Purpose Driven Life as taught by Rick Warren.

The contemporary American Christian Church largely believes in synergism (man cooperates with God), while in opposition to the synergism of apostate Roman Catholicism, the Reformers (even before John Calvin) taught monergism (soli Deo gloria). Yet to a great extent today the emerging church movement overall, and voices like Rob Bell in particular, also strongly believes in synergism.

See also:

A DIFFERENT GOSPEL IN THE EMERGING CHURCH AND THE NEW EVANGELICALISM?