Run to Win the Prize

Thomas Schreiner's study emerges from one of the most persistent debates in Christian theology: the relationship between God's sovereignty in salvation and the believer's responsibility to persevere in faith. Writing as a Reformed scholar deeply engaged with contemporary discussions of eternal security, Schreiner addresses the apparent tension between passages that emphasize God's keeping power and those that warn believers about the possibility of falling away. His work represents a careful attempt to honor both the biblical emphasis on divine sovereignty and the numerous New Testament warnings about apostasy.

Schreiner argues that the New Testament presents a coherent theology of perseverance that holds together divine preservation and human responsibility without collapsing either into the other. He contends that God's elect will certainly persevere to the end, but that this perseverance is not passive—it requires ongoing faith, obedience, and vigilance on the part of believers. The book examines key warning passages in Hebrews, the letters of Paul, and other New Testament writings, arguing that these warnings function as genuine means by which God preserves his people rather than merely hypothetical scenarios. Schreiner maintains that the warnings are addressed to mixed communities of genuine and spurious believers, serving both to expose false professors and to motivate true believers toward faithfulness.

The work has contributed significantly to Reformed discussions of assurance and perseverance, offering a framework that takes seriously both God's sovereignty and the reality of moral responsibility. Schreiner's approach has influenced pastoral practice by providing a way to preach warning passages with full seriousness while maintaining confidence in God's preserving grace. Who should read this: Reformed pastors and theologians wrestling with how to understand and preach New Testament warning passages, and anyone seeking to understand how divine sovereignty and human responsibility intersect in the Christian life. Those looking for devotional material or practical guides to spiritual discipline should look elsewhere.