Let Go and Let God?

Andy Naselli

Research Manager for D.A. Carson

Andy Naselli is Research Manager for D.A. Carson and Administrator of Themelios. His digital book Let Go and Let God? A Survey and Analysis of Keswick Theology is being published by Logos.

What Is Keswick Theology?

Keswick theology—one of the most significant strands of second-blessing theology—assumes that Christians experience two "blessings." The first is getting "saved," and the second is getting serious. The change is dramatic: from a defeated life to a victorious life, from a lower life to a higher life, from a shallow life to a deeper life, from a fruitless life to a more abundant life, from being "carnal" to being "spiritual," from merely having Jesus as your Savior to making Jesus your Master. According to this view, people experience this second blessing through surrender and faith: "Let go and let God."

Why Is Keswick Theology Pervasive and Appealing?

Keswick theology is pervasive because countless people have propagated it in so many ways, especially in sermons and devotional writings.

It is appealing because Christians struggle with sin and want to be victorious in that struggle—now. Keswick theology offers a quick fix to this struggle, and its shortcut to instant victory appeals to genuine longings for holiness.

Why Is Keswick Theology a Bad Idea?

Keswick theology is not biblically sound. My book lists fifteen negative theological critiques of Keswick theology, but I'll mention just seven here:

1. Disjunction: It creates two categories of Christians. This is the fundamental, linchpin issue.
2. Perfectionism: It portrays a shallow and incomplete view of sin in the Christian life.
3. Quietism: It tends to emphasize passivity, not activity.
4. Pelagianism: It tends to portray the Christian's free will as autonomously starting and stopping sanctification.
5. Methodology: It tends to use superficial formulas for instantaneous sanctification.
6. Impossibility: It tends to result in disillusionment and frustration for the "have-nots."
7. Spin: It tends to misinterpret personal experiences.

How Should Pastors Watch Out for Keswick Theology?

You can tell that Keswick theology has influenced people when they give their Christian "testimony" like this: "I was saved when I was eight years old, and I surrendered to Christ when I was seventeen."

By "saved," they mean that Jesus became their Savior and that they became a Christian. By "surrendered," they mean that they finally gave full control of their life to Jesus as their Master, yielded to do whatever he wanted them to do, and "dedicated" themselves through surrender and faith (i.e., "let go and let God").

That two-tiered view of the Christian life is let-go-and-let-God theology.

For more information, see Let Go and Let God? A Survey and Analysis of Keswick Theology.