What does 'run that you may obtain' mean for believers?
For believers, 'run that you may obtain' means pursuing the Christian life after salvation to gain reward, not to earn salvation. Salvation comes by grace through faith plus nothing; once received, God expects His people to work for reward, enhancing His work and Kingdom and bringing honor and glory to His Name.
Les explains that most of Christendom wrongly thinks you work to attain salvation, but Scripture says you work absolutely not at all for salvation—it is all of grace by faith plus nothing. Once a person has entered the salvation experience, God expects believers to work for reward. Paul uses the Olympics and a foot race in I Corinthians 9:24: all run, but one receives the prize, the winner. As believers working in this building process, the analogy is to run that you may obtain, not salvation—since that is already attained by faith—but reward, to enhance His work and Kingdom and bring honor and glory to His Name.
Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain.
More Questions
In 1 Corinthians 9:24, is the prize believers run for salvation?
The prize Paul tells believers to run for in 1 Corinthians 9:24 is not salvation but the prize (a reward), since salvation is not something obtained by running.