There is much to commend about higher life theology. It's intention is to provoke believers to pursue holiness of life and walk closely with the Lord. History is replete with proponents who would advocate this or something like this, and these proponents are believers of good standing and worthy of respect. Some examples are John and Charles Wesley, F.B. Meyer, Andrew Murray, Hudson Taylor, Amy Carmichael, D.L. Moody, Lewis Sperry Chafer, and Charles Ryrie.

Higher Life Theology, or variations of it, teach that believers need a second experience after their conversion to jump start their sanctification. Those who have this experience live on a "higher" plane with the Lord than the rest of the Christian community. There are steps one can take to pursue this richer relationship, and to not do so is to settle for much less than God intends for your life.

Again, there is much to commend. What true believer does not desire a closer walk with the Lord? Upon hearing testimonies of how those who have achieved such nearness to God, what true believer would not want to follow? So whatever form higher life teaching takes, it has always enjoyed a strong following.

The problem, however, is that at its core, the teaching of two separate categories of Christians does not match with the Scripture's presentation of the Christian life. All believers are in the process of being sanctified, not some. The Spirit lives in all believers, not some. Carnal is not a classification of some believers; it is an issue that all believers face. We are all "fleshly" in one area or another, to one degree or another. In addition to this key biblical hermeneutical issue, Naselli offers nine other harmful effects of adopting a higher life view of Christianity. For example, much like prosperity teaching, what about those genuine believers who strive for but never attain the goal? They are left disillusioned and discouraged, and it's not because they or their faith is faulty. It's because their theology is faulty. What about those "average" or "carnal" Christians who are satisfied with being average and carnal? Higher Life theology ends up discouraging true believers and encouraging false believers.