Mere Spirituality: A Modest Proposal for Spiritual Formation
By Chris Talbot
In Mere Christianity, C. S. Lewis likened the historic Christian faith to a hallway “out of which doors open into several rooms.” [1] He argued these rooms are various denominations or theological traditions. The confessional distinctives are found in the rooms, not the hallway. Yet, in case a reader is tempted to stay in the hallway, Lewis reminded us: “It is in the rooms, not in the hall, that there are fires and chairs and meals. The hall is a place to wait in, from which to try various doors, not a place to live in.” [2]
I am thankful for Lewis inviting us into the hall. I have personally been impacted by his apologetics in Mere Christianity. And, at least for me, his approach worked. I did not stay in the hall. Instead, I found a hearty meal with the room marked “Free Will Baptist” on the door.
While Lewis sought to use this analogy for apologetics, I want to borrow his language and metaphor to describe a healthy and shared Christian spirituality. Lewis was not offering a reductionistic defense of the Christian faith in Mere Christianity. Instead, he offered an intellectually stout defense of the faith. Likewise, I am not interested in offering a weakened view of Christan spirituality but one that is robust and broadly evangelical.
Mere Spirituality
To offer a healthy and robust view of Christian spirituality across various theological distinctives, I want to propose three important Christian convictions. Like Lewis, I do not think these convictions signify the end of a healthy or complete view of Christian spirituality. Instead, they are a sound starting point for those who wish to promote a richer and more biblical approach to Christian spirituality. One can begin with these suggestions and grow deeper with Christ in his or her own confessional beliefs. These convictions include: 1) a rich theological anthropology, 2) a committed Protestant soteriology, and 3) an unwavering view of Scripture’s sufficiency.
Rich Theological Anthropology. [3] Much could be said on this subject, but two points will suffice. One, a “mere spirituality” should emphasize man’s bearing the image of God (imago Dei). As Scripture explains, the imago Dei provides the grounding for human worth and dignity; it sets humanity apart from the rest of creation. Thus, any Christian spirituality worth its salt must rightly emphasize man’s unique position in God’s creation.
Two, evangelicals would do well to emphasize mankind is both body and soul. Most derelict approaches to spiritual formation begin with misunderstanding on this point. People either think of man in a purely spiritual (soul) perspective, which fails to account rightly for man’s embodied existence, both now and in eternity, or they focus too much on man’s habits as an embodied creature in a manner that fails to account for man’s immaterial side. One side sees man as only a soul and reinforces a latent Gnosticism, while the other side ends up being nothing more than a baptized naturalism. Instead, a healthy view of spirituality rightly emphasizes both elements of mankind, noting he is both body and soul.
Rightly emphasizing both body and soul means our discipleship practices engage the whole person. We preach and pray and fast and worship knowing we are interacting with people who are not just bodies or souls but both. Our outer habits and our inner life are both important. Our souls can be affected by the things we physically watch and hear, and our physical life can be enriched by biblical spiritual disciplines. With respect to a healthy spiritual life, we are whole people.
Consequently, we should emphasize a holistic approach to Christian spirituality.
Committed Protestant Soteriology. [4] I avoid using the word reformed here because of the wide range in which that word is used (although the traditional understanding of “reformed” is largely what I mean). Specifically, a healthy spirituality includes a clear understanding of total depravity, justification by faith, sanctification, and glorification. While space here does not allow a full exploration of how this implicates spiritual formation practices, I will give one example to illustrate my point.
We must rightly balance justification and sanctification to avoid lopsided spiritual practices. If a believer realizes he or she is justified in Christ — positionally righteous in the eyes of the Father — that believer will avoid any attempt at works-based righteousness. And yet, if one rightly emphasizes sanctification, he also will avoid antinomianism and seek to display loving obedience to God as he seeks to grow closer to Him day by day.
Knowing we are justified before the God of the universe alleviates us from the impossible pressure of earning our own salvation. Likewise, knowing we are called to “work out” or exercise our own salvation in fear and trembling (Philippians 2:12) keeps us from a “set it and forget it” approach to our Christian faith.
Unwavering View of Scripture’s Sufficiency. Years ago, the question for evangelical Christians was whether the Bible was inerrant. While some still debate the question, many have settled on their side of the line. Evangelicals (another contested term) have largely declared the Bible, as God’s Word, is both inerrant and infallible. Yet, while we evangelicals often say out of one side of our mouths the Bible is inerrant, we betray it out of the other by not demonstrating its sufficiency.
James Montgomery Boice rightly stated over a decade ago, “Inerrancy is not the most critical issue facing the church today. The most serious issue, I believe, is the Bible’s sufficiency.” [5] Today, we contradict our statements regarding inerrancy by methods that reject the Bible’s sufficiency.
We betray the Bible’s sufficiency when we say it is God’s Word but fail to live under its daily authority. When it comes to our spirituality, we see this betrayal when people feel a need to add to the Bible’s commands on one side or to ignore its commands on the other. Some feel they need to do more than what the Bible commands, inventing practices to make themselves feel more spiritual. Others feel the need to dismiss the clear commands of the Bible, bending to cultural pressure and the spirit of the age and ignoring what the Bible makes clear.
A Simple Conclusion
Ultimately, I am convinced theology should drive methodology. What we believe theologically will orient how we approach spiritual practices and discipleship programs. Much more could be said about healthy approaches to Christian discipleship and spiritual formation. But my prayer is that those seeking to find a deeper walk with the Lord are not tempted toward extreme spiritual practices that instead malform the disciple of Christ. I pray these three Christian convictions serve as the “hallway” leading to a rich walk with Christ our Lord.
By rightly emphasizing mankind, we will avoid trying to do things God never intended for us, thereby becoming lopsided in our spiritual formation. Committing to Protestant soteriology will strengthen our resistance against trying to earn our salvation through spiritual practices. Lastly, trusting in the Bible’s inerrancy and its sufficiency will provide a clear guide to maturing in Christ.
These three convictions are our “mere spirituality” leading from the hallway into rooms where we find food and warmth in the fires and meals of our particular confessions.
About the Writer: Chris Talbot is the youth and family ministry program coordinator at Welch College. He is the author of Remodeling Youth Ministry:
A Biblical Blueprint for Ministering to Students. Learn more: Welch.edu. This article is adapted from an essay originally published by Helwys Society
Forum: TheHSF.com.
C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity (New York: HarperCollins, 2001), xv.
Lewis, Mere Christianity, xv.
Consider two books on the intersection of Christian spirituality and theological anthropology: Kelly M. Kapic. You’re Only Human: How Your Limits Reflect God’s Design and Why That’s Good News (Grand Rapids: Brazos Press, 2022); and Ranald Macaulay and Jerram Barrs. Being Human: The Nature of Spiritual Experience (Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 1998).
Matthew Bingham’s A Heart Aflame for God: A Reformed Approach to Spiritual Formation (Wheaton: Crossway, 2025) is a wonderful resource for this subject.
James Montgomery Boice, Whatever Happened to The Gospel of Grace? Rediscovering the Doctrines That Shook the World (Wheaton: Crossway, 2009), 72.
