A critical issue regarding spiritual formation in Protestant spaces concerns how spiritual formation relates to soteriology.
Historically, Catholicism and Orthodoxy have tended to emphasize a soteriological vision that privileges sanctification. Protestantism's soteriological vision, by contrast, has tended to privilege justification. The origin story of Protestantism illustrates the contrast. As a monk, Martin Luther struggled to perfect himself through the ascetical practices of monastic life. Luther, however, experienced these efforts as both wearying and guilt-inducing. In response to this despair, at least partially, Luther would come to articulate the doctrine of justification, which played a critical role in starting the Protestant Reformation.
Now, I don't want to distort or oversimplify here. So let me be clear. Catholicism and Orthodoxy believe in justification. And for its part, Protestantism believes in sanctification. But within Protestantism, there was a shift in soteriological emphasis that affects how spiritual formation is perceived and experienced in Protestant spaces.
Specifically, within Catholicism and Orthodoxy, salvation is understood as a developmental journey that draws us deeper into the life of God. The focus is on transformation. And importantly for this series, spiritual formation plays a crucial role in this transformation. Prayer, fasting, confession, contemplation, ascetic practices, and sacramental participation are the means by which God forms and transforms the believer. Spiritual formation is, therefore, not something added onto salvation. Spiritual formation is precisely the means of our salvation.
By contrast, Protestantism has tended to place its soteriological emphasis on justification. The central question concerns how sinful human beings can be declared righteous, from a forensic and juridical perspective, before God. The answer is God's gracious declaration of forgiveness, which we accept through faith. In this view, our forensic standing before God is not dependent upon our moral achievement or religious effort. Salvation is secured by grace alone. True, sanctification is an important part of the Christian life, but this transformation flows from our justification. Consequently, Protestant spirituality has often emphasized preaching, Scripture, and faith in Christ over spiritual formation practices. Gospel assurance is privileged over transformation.
This difference in soteriological emphasis helps explain why spiritual formation practices can trigger allergic reactions in Protestant spaces. Practices that developed within traditions where sanctification was integral to salvation can create anxiety and concern when transplanted into a tradition where justification is the focal soteriological concern. For example, language of spiritual effort, discipline, and progress, along with an emphasis on the necessity of transformation, can cause Protestants to fear a return to "works-based righteousness." A return to what Martin Luther was running from. Practices intended to cultivate transformation are, therefore, misunderstood as attempts to earn our salvation. Sadly, calls to spiritual formation can be resisted because they are experienced as undermining our salvation. And such misunderstandings are another example of transplant shock.
