Spiritual Formation or Biblical Sanctification?

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by Mike Ratliff

18 And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20 NASB)
The command by our Lord included in the Great Commission (above) to make disciples is part of the sanctification process ordained and controlled by God in the life of all true believers. However, in the current visible church there is much confusion between what we know of as Biblical Sanctification and a new term called “Spiritual Formation.” What is it? Is it a new way to do the same thing or maybe an improved way…? Can man come up with with a better way to disciple new Christians than that which God has given us? Here is what John MacArthur says.
I suggest you also carefully read the post by my good friend Ken Silva titled Dr. Gary Gilley On Spiritual Formation.
Soli Deo Gloria!

6 thoughts on “Spiritual Formation or Biblical Sanctification?”

  2. Ah, the required readings of all entering freshmen at nearly every Christian university today. Like Cedarville in Ohio for example! Yep! Foundations 101… Here is a good link to check for yourself http://www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com/organizations.htm Just click on contemplative colleges near the top of the list. By the way this list is never complete as it is always being added to. The very best way to find out is to look at the authors of the required texts at the school bookstore via their school website, or when you tour the school.
    What the youth pastor wasn’t able to do to your children in trust to them, the college will finish, and your Christian child, IF they stay in the church, will have a different Christianity then you thought they were getting… This is NO JOKE, nor is it a MINOR problem today…

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  3. Here is their link to colleges that are not CURRENTLY promoting contemplative spiritual formation. I say CURRENTLY, because the downgrade continues!!! Remember to review the bookstore on campus often! “A Celebration of Discipline” by Richard Foster usually shows up first, but any of the authors or organizations can show up also. I know first hand as one of my nephew’s works for CREW the former Campus Crusade for (another) Christ, Bill Bright’s program…
    I have added college names to the list myself, including a college my child attended that morphed in front of our very eyes!!

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  5. Thank you for this article. I’ve been hearing people talk about spiritual formation but haven’t really been tracking it or know what it is; I suppose I was too busy walking in the faith already and serving Him to give it another thought. But you are right on to see the spiritual life and all of life for that matter in Biblical categories rather than a foreign paradigm

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