📖 Biblical Definition
While Scripture commands believers to "be still and know that I am God" (Psalm 46:10) and to rest in the Lord, biblical rest is never passive annihilation of the will. The Christian life is described as warfare (Ephesians 6:10-18), running a race (Hebrews 12:1), working out salvation with fear and trembling (Philippians 2:12), and active obedience. Biblical trust in God's sovereignty produces bold action, not quietist passivity. The believer rests in Christ's finished work for justification while actively pursuing holiness through the means of grace — prayer, Scripture, fellowship, and obedience.
📜 Webster 1828 Definition
Peace or tranquility of mind; apathy; dispassion.
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QUI'ETISM, n. Peace or tranquillity of mind; apathy; dispassion; indifference. In theology, the system of the Quietists, who maintained that religion consists in internal rest or recollection of mind, employed in contemplating God and submitting to his will. Note: Webster recognized quietism as a specific theological error — the reduction of the Christian life to passive contemplation at the expense of active obedience.
📖 Key Scripture
• Philippians 2:12-13 — "Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you."
• Ephesians 6:10-11 — "Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the whole armor of God."
• James 2:17 — "So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead."
⚠️ Modern Corruption
Quietism persists in "let go and let God" theology that replaces obedience with passivity.
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Modern quietism appears in the popular slogan "let go and let God" and in Keswick "higher life" teaching that tells believers to stop striving and simply surrender. While surrender to God is biblical, the quietist version removes human responsibility entirely. It teaches that any effort is "the flesh" and that true spirituality is pure passivity. This contradicts Paul's language of fighting, running, pressing on, and working out salvation. It also appears in political quietism — the belief that Christians should withdraw from cultural engagement because "God is in control." Biblical sovereignty produces courage and action, not retreat. The Puritans understood this: they trusted God absolutely and worked tirelessly. Quietism trusts God as an excuse to do nothing.
Usage
• "Quietism mistakes spiritual passivity for spiritual maturity — but Paul ran, fought, and pressed on toward the goal."
• "The 'let go and let God' theology is baptized quietism — it replaces the biblical command to work out your salvation with a pious excuse for laziness."