The author is writing principally to bring Reformed and biblical thinking to what is called spiritual formation. Some evangelicals have been drawn into modern spiritual formation techniques borrowed from other religious traditions. The aim of the book, we are told, is to retrieve a Reformed approach to this subject.
So what is spiritual formation? The book explains three closely related words: spirituality, sanctification, and piety. Spiritual formation is a narrower concept being ‘those God-appointed means that we actively and consciously employ in the pursuit of spiritual growth’. It is the process of moulding the mind, heart, and life to Christ. As the title of the book suggests, it is closely related to keeping the heart (from Proverbs 4:23). The book seeks to ‘stir up greater taste and desire for God and the things of God’.
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