Note: This was written in early 2008. I attended a Christian and Missionary Alliance church from 1989-2007.  All rights reserved. This post may not be copied or republished in any form.

A topic that I have followed for some time but have previously not focused a lot of specific attention on is the “higher life” movement popular in certain branches of evangelical Christianity. Closely related to the evangelical holiness movement, proponents of “higher life” teach that it is possible to achieve a state of complete sanctification (completely free of sin) during this life.

Adherents to this belief state that in addition to the “conversion experience” there will be a second point in life where an individual reaches a point of complete surrender such that sinful motives no longer are present. Adherents of this view refer to this as “victory” and speak of the experience in terms such as “breaking through to the victorious life.”

As this view gained ground in the latter part of the 19th century, conferences and revival meetings were held so as to share the recent “discovery” and further the movement. Proponents claimed that through the conferences people could break through to “life more abundant.” Although it started in England, “higher life” teaching quickly caught on in the United States, where the rugged “pioneer spirit” and independent mindset had already been proven to welcome human-centric theological positions.

Though on the surface the goal of being sinless seems like a noble goal, there are some reasons why “higher life” thinking seems to be both dangerous and untenable. First, while Scripture is clear about (a) the one-time justification through Christ’s work, (b) the ongoing work of sanctification through the Holy Spirit, and (c) the future state of glorification, Scripture does not seem to teach that God-like perfection will happen in this life. Second, if this second experience is needed, then it is implied that regeneration, faith, and justification are insufficient. It is as if regeneration does not truly occur until a person has an experience of “breaking through.” This stands in sharp contrast to the traditional Christian belief that regeneration precedes faith. Under the “higher life” school of thought, regeneration is either ineffective, insufficient, or else partial prior to the “total surrender” experience.

A further problem with “higher life” theology is that it establishes two classes of Christians – those who are simply “saved” and those who are “in surrender.” Suggesting this distinction also implies that the work of Christ was not enough to make the Christian completely blameless in the sight of God, but rather that there are some who “do it better” and thus are “better” Christians. It becomes a society of the “haves” and the “have-nots” – those who are “just getting by” and those who are really “assets for Christ.” The “haves” will then tend to grow prideful due to their so-called “higher life,” thanking God that they are not like those “tax collectors” – those who haven’t yet had a “higher life” experience. The “have-nots” are left feeling inadequate, pressured into believing that what Christ has done for them is not enough and that in order to be as good as their surrendered brethren, there is something more that they must do in order to measure up.

By this point it should seem pretty clear that this system is little more than semi-Pelagianism in yet another form. And this, too, should not be a great surprise, considering that is the de-facto American religion. With this in mind, then, those who claim to oppose all forms of Pelagian thought must be wary about the various means in which this way of thinking creeps into our lives. Of course we can expect to see it in the many semi-Pelagian denominations, including but not limited to the Methodist churches, Pentecostal churches, Evangelical Holiness churches, Mennonite churches, Nazarene churches, Christian and Missionary Alliance churches, Assemblies of God, and General Baptist churches – to name a few.

In fact, the Christian and Missionary Alliance and later the Assembly of God denominations can trace their roots back to the higher life movement itself! A.B. Simpson, founder of the Christian and Missionary Alliance, believed that he himself had this “breakthrough moment” (he referred to it as a “mountain top experience”) through which he was sanctified. He subsequently left the Reformed/Calvinistic viewpoint he had previously held to (and taught) and picked up a theology firmly rooted in individual choice. Emphasizing this individual choice, he made the decision to be baptized a second time – this time not based on the sign of God’s work but rather as a confirmation of his decision. Simpson is also the founder of the “four-fold Gospel” – a key point of both C&MA and Assemblies doctrine. A critique of the “four-fold Gospel” is beyond the scope and focus of this entry, but one such critique can be found at link #7 in the Resources section at the bottom of this entry. While looking at the close connection between the C&MA and the “higher life” movement, it should be noted that the C&MA itself has on its website references to the “higher life” movement – including, but not limited to, the beginning of the “Keswick Convention for Higher Spiritual Life.” The official timeline of the C&MA (see resource #8 below) states that in 1858 Simpson “received divine assurance of his salvation” but also that in 1874 Simpson was “filled with the Holy Spirit.” In other words, on this official electronic publication of the denomination the allegation is made that sixteen years elapsed between when Simpson received divine assurance of his salvation and his “filling with the Holy Spirit.” This is typical of the “higher life” movement (also commonly known as the “Keswick movement”), and illustrates the deep connection between the C&MA (as well as Assemblies) and the Keswick movement.

Returning once again to the main theme of this entry, the Keswick movement/”higher life” movement, one must again ask – why does all this matter? With this knowledge, why should I care? Why is it significant? It is significant in that adherence to “higher life” thinking changes one’s entire view of God and the Christian life. Though the goal of pressing toward the mark of perfection sounds noble, it is not something that we can accomplish in ourselves (nor is it the ultimate goal). If there is a second experience that a Christian needs to reach and undergo, it means that there is something lacking – that one who is a Christian still needs something more than Christ’s finished work. Also, if this second experience is a reality, then it gives way to a Christian caste system. Based on levels of surrender as well as outward standards, it allows a scorecard by which some Christians can perceive themselves as better than the lesser so-called “carnal” Christians – those who have not had an experience of total surrender. The focus is not on Christ’s work – or Christ himself – but instead the way life is lived and the works we do. While even in the Keswick movement most or all will say that salvation is by grace alone, not by works, most will also imply that there are works and standards that help to be “better.”

At this point I hope I have demonstrated the dangers of the Keswick movement in a way that carefully delineates between “higher life” theology and a healthy relationship with Christ. For it is true that one who is a follower of Christ and one seeking to bring glory to Christ ought to be surrendered to the Holy Spirit and living a life that is becoming of one who claims the name of Christ. But the focus must remain on Christ and not means of achieving a better feeling, better prestige, perceived higher standing with God, etc. for ourselves. We must be careful to not allow distinctions between “higher” and “common” forms of Christianity, such as to think that those who live a certain way or have undergone a certain experience are better than those who have not. We need to humbly remember that regeneration precedes faith – as it is not our faith that makes it possible to receive Christ, but rather that it is a work of Christ that makes it possible to have faith in Christ. If faith precedes regeneration, then we had better make sure we dot our “I’s” and cross our “T’s” because it depends on us. But if regeneration precedes faith – and this is the historic belief of the church – then we are free from bondage to works for standing before God because it all depends on Christ.

Finally, I urge the reader to consider John’s words to the early church in the book of 1 John, issuing a strong warning against the Gnostic heresies which were pervasive at the time. For ultimately, this “higher life” theology is but another form of Gnosticism in that it implies a “secret” or “higher” truth that is only available to an elite few, who then have something special that the others do not have. As the Teacher of Ecclesiastes wrote, “there is nothing new under the sun.” Gnostic heresies are alive and well today, and just as in John’s day we must be careful to not allow this deception to sway us away from the truth.

Scriptures:
1 John 1:7-8 ~ “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.”

1 John 2:1-2 ~ “My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.”

1 John 2:20, 26-27 ~ “But you have been anointed by the Holy One, and you all have knowledge. . . I write these things to you about those who are trying to deceive you. But the anointing that you received from him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about everything—and is true and is no lie, just as it has taught you—abide in him.”

1 John 2:28-3:3 ~ “And now, little children, abide in him, so that when he appears we may have confidence and not shrink from him in shame at his coming. If you know that he is righteous, you may be sure that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of him. See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 2Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.”

1 John 4:5-6 ~ “They are from the world; therefore they speak from the world, and the world listens to them. We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error.”

1 John 4:17-19 ~ “By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world. There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. We love because he first loved us.”

1 John 5:4-8 ~ “For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? This is he who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ; not by the water only but by the water and the blood. And the Spirit is the one who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. For there are three that testify: the Spirit and the water and the blood; and these three agree.”

Resources:

1. http://www.ondoctrine.com/10armini.htm

2. http://www.withchrist.org/MJS/armcalpaul.htm

3. http://reasonablechristian.blogspot.com/2007/01/response-to-prosperity-gospel-in.html

4. http://www.trinityfoundation.org/journal.php?id=124

5. http://www.pcahistory.org/findingaids/rpces/docsynod/289.html

6. http://www.frontlinemin.org/higherlife.asp

7. http://www.apts.edu/caps/Occasional%20lecture/series01/Lecture%20Four.pdf

8. http://www.cmalliance.org/whoweare/archives/timeline.jsp (click on 1850s and 1870s)