My Sheep Follow Me

How do believers persevere in the faith? What does growth in holiness look like?
Christian teaching is often clear about justification―how God saves his people―but murky about sanctification, or perseverance―that is, how believers grow in closeness to God over time. Author Jonathan R. Pratt explores what progress toward holiness looks like and how it takes place. My Sheep Follow Me begins with an investigation of the New Testament teaching about perseverance:

• Jesus’s metaphors, including the “fruit” of belief, obedience, and love
• Paul’s demonstration of believers’ righteous responses to the Holy Spirit
• Belief as evidence in the letters of Paul and others
• The New Testament promises of God’s help in perseverance
• God’s use of his Word, suffering, the church, and prayer to assure his people’s perseverance in faith

Pratt then surveys how antinomianism, common in Protestant Christianity historically and today, threatens biblical teaching. He shows how a biblical doctrine of perseverance squelches the devastating effects of ignoring God’s spiritual gifts to believers. My Sheep Follow Me offers important cautions over distorted teaching and valuable encouragement in the process of Christian growth.

Jonathan R. Pratt (PhD, Dallas Theological Seminary) currently serves as Academic Dean and Professor of New Testament at Central Baptist Theological Seminary of Minneapolis. He is also an elder at Redeemer Bible Church in Minnetonka, Minnesota. He and his wife Elaine have four children and five grandchildren.