Customer Reviews

Driven by Eternity: Making Your Life Count Today & Forever

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If you have ever wondered what exactly Paul meant when he wrote those words in 2nd Corinthians 5:10, this is exactly the book to explain it to you.

It should be noted that Bevere is not presenting anything "new" in this book, but the message of the book has been so neglected in the past quarter century that many readers will think it is new. The central theme is that everyone, even Christians, will appear before Christ to have our lives judged. In that moment, our eternal future will be sealed...and what will be our fate?

The concepts that are presented in the book are challenging and the intent is to try and get people to truly examine themselves in the light of what scripture reveals on the topic of eternal rewards and punishments. The greatest portion of the book is spent exploring the topic of the judgement of Christian believers before Christ. (Yes, folks...even Christians will have their lives examined to show what kind of servants they were...)

Bevere illustrates many of the concepts in this book by using a brief allegory of a fictional land called Affabel. The allegory briefly outlines the lives of six charachters named:

Independent
Deceived
Faint Heart
Double Life
Selfish
Charity

Each charachter's life patterns are briefly examined, and then the allegory turns to the judgement of each individual before King Jalyn, an allegorical figure meant to mirror Jesus.

At first, I was put off by the concept of using an allegory in a book meant to discuss Christian teaching, but after considering the scope of what Bevere was trying to accomplish, I believe it was a very clever idea. The allegory helps to transport the reader into a throne room similar to the one spoken of in The Bible, and shows the judgements that will take place there.

The words Jalyn uses in judging the lives of the six charachters are nothing more than paraphrased quotes from the teachings of Christ in The Bible. Citations are given whenever a scripture is used so that the reader can look up the reference for themselves.

The rest of the book spends time detailing the concepts illustrated by the allegory and discusses them in depth, again with more scripture being used to demonstrate that what is presented in the book is also presented in scripture.

Driven By Eternity is a book that every Christian should read and take to heart. The concepts presented in it will challenge you and cause you to, as scripture puts it, "Examine yourselves, as to whether you are in The Faith. Test yourselves!" 2nd Cor. 13:5 NKJV

If the message of the book is taken seriously, it can profoundly impact the life of the reader in a positive manner, albeit a corrective one. It is great for individual study and it is also a superb basis for Sunday School classes, discipleship training programs, and group studies.

Let me start off by saying I'm inspired by and appreciate John Bevere's ministry. I've found nearly all of his books to be both challenging and well written. It is good and sadly all too rare these days to find a "charismatic" who is well grounded and not too "flaky" in his faith. So by my having a few issues with this particular book I am in no way trying to be negative with John's overall teaching.

( And by the way I have actually bought and read this book. :))

At heart, the issue I struggle in Driven By Eternity is the confusion between judgment and rewards for service (faithfulness) and Judgment and rewards for salvation. I realize that the lines between the two are easily blurred. We do stare into a clouded mirror in trying to understand what heaven and the judgment seat of Jesus is really like . But I do feel as an evangelical, there has to be a clear doctrine that we are "Saved" by faith alone, we will never be "good/faithful/dedicated" enough. Even as a "Christian" we lay down our deeds at the cross and rejoice because Christ paid the price. But I sensed for weeks after reading this book a feeling of condemnation and despair, because the way it is written believers get thrown into the dark tower (hell) for what they had or hadn't done in their lives. Only the ones who were next to perfect get to go to heaven. And this, though well intentioned is not correct.

The book has two parts, the first is dealing the story of Affable where the rewards and punishment of heaven are written in a parables type fashion. The second or latter half deals with the living a lifestyle based on a believers final destination. Having an Eternal value system and perspective if you like. Where "driven" shines and is excellent; is in the challenging of our faith towards rewards and commitment. But I feel john confused this aspect of heaven with salvation.

It is easily done, as there are certainly 'difficult" passages to understand. Especially where Jesus speaks in the bible about rewarding and condemning people for their deeds in this life. (Foolish and wise virgins etc). And I certainly don't even pretend to have a clear blueprint of how heaven truly works. i.e. who's the true church, who gets a mansion for the intentions of their heart etc .
But there is a clear message that Jesus died for our sins, so it is by Faith we enter heaven. Yes we'll have to give account for every word and deed done somehow, but our entry is not according to how "good' we've been. The bible does seem to indicate that some people will only just make it(i.e. they'll have the smell of fire on them) 1 Cor 3.15; but they will be saved. Somehow the unfaithful children will suffer loss, but they will still be children of God (and hence get to live in God's house-heaven). I am defiantly not a Calvinist and believe in once saved always saved stuff. ( If anything closer to the Armenian school). But I feel Bevere did overstep his case, that by pushing the need for repentance to the Kingdom standard, he neglected Grace and forgiveness.

We are not under condemnation (Romans 8) but grace. And as I have stated before, trying to figure out "works" and "faith" is a difficult complicated business. Unfortunately John's book doesn't really give much help in balancing the two, it ultimately comes down heavy handed on the "Be ye Perfect" side. When you can apply this to working out your salvation with fear and trembling, it's great. But when it comes to resting on the work of the Cross it's in error.

I loved "Drawing Near" and it truly changed me; however when John makes the point that any number divided by infinity is zero I was profoundly impacted, and the fact that we will be judged not according to what we did but according to what we were called to do has given me an eternal perspective that I am confident will help me to make the second half of my life more focused and effective.

Thank you John for your boldness and obedience.

This book has changed my whole life! What I thought was important, is no longer important to me after I read this book. This book has changed everything about me... the way I worship, the way I pray, the way I speak to people. I am no longer ashamed of what I know about living a life for God. I want to tell everyone that they need to think long and hard about where they want to spend eternity. The world lacks the "fear of God". As I was reading this book, I received the "fear of God". The healthly fear that the Bible talks about. I WILL NEVER EVER BE THE SAME AFTER READING THIS BOOK!

This is a great book. It is rich in many biblical concepts, yet it lacks in others. Mainly that of grace. The author seems to miss the concept that faith in the cleansing blood of Christ ALONE provides us salvation, not faith in Christ + following all of the laws perfectly until death. While following all of the laws is very important (and the lack of will have consequences), The whole reason Christ came is because I cannot keep all of the laws. Christ himself spoke of the erring ways of the Pharisees and Saducees of being so focused on not breaking any laws, while not walking in grace from, and love towards God.
What this book forced me to do is use scripture IN ITS CONTEXT to support what I believe. Such as 1 John 5:13 "I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may KNOW that you have eternal life. This verse in its contexts gives me authority to say that I KNOW (not hope) that I have ETERNAL life (not life until I choose my selfish ways over God's law, which occurs every time I sin). Also John 6:37 in which Christ says "All that the father gives to me will come to me, and he who comes to me I WILL BY NO MEANS CAST OUT." This verse, in context, says that ALL who come to Jesus for salvation will not be cast out. It does not say that a perfect life, heart, record, attitude, biblical understanding, driving record, tithing record, etc. is necessary for salvation.
One of the verses taken out of context by this author is Rev 3:5 which speaks to specific people (not everyone ever created) in the church of Sardis, telling them they God WILL NOT take their name out of the book of life. The author reads into this verse and gets the idea that a person's name can be taken out of the book of life. GOD DOES NOT SAY THAT THIS IS POSSIBLE ANYWHERE IN HIS WORD.
Without getting into the extensive amount of time needed to debate eternal security vs. loss of salvation, these are just some of the biblical concepts I believe this book incorrectly proclaims. However, hopefully after reading this book you will never be distant enough from Christ to even have to worry about which biblical verses seem to substantiate eternal security, and which verses seem to substantiate the notion that once you've been cleansed and sealed by the blood of Christ, you still have to hope that your future (intentional) sins will not cancel out the grace that Christ gave you.

Driven by Eternity is most impacting, riveting book I have ever read. I wept, I cried and could not sleep for days because of the truths and realities in this book. I now hold in my heart the power to change my forever! I will never, ever be the same. If you have any interest at all in your eternal future, you MUST get this book. It will rock your world.

I have rarely been challenged to the extent that this book has challenged me. I find myself empowered, more disciplined, more intentional, more eternally focused and better able to articulate the faith I have to others. This book was amazing and I would STRONGLY recommend it to others...the truth you find here will change your life and your eternal destiny!

This life is only a test. Your reward lasts forever. Your station in life is not as important as your attitude and faithfulness. These points are not new to you perhaps, but John Bevere shines light in all the dark corners and will cause you to think of how serious the life we now live really is. Pleasant and easy to read, but with challenges to your faith, attitude and even your doctrine. Except for the Bible, this is the best Christian book I have read this year.

I have been a Christian for almost 20 years and the truths found in this book are some that I have never been exposed to before this. The author pulls no punches as he lays out Biblical truths pertaining to salvation and the fact that so many of us have been deceived by the false prophets that abound in our times.
The book's revelations are shocking but are exactly what our sin-filled, materialistc society needs. It is better to know the truth now than when we stand at the Judgement Seat of Christ.
I am buying this book for seven people in my life - it was that good.

The author's characters (in the opening chapters) illustrate different behaviors set in a fictional city, which accurately depicts our walk on this earth. Allows the reader to draw conclusions and make personal comparisons in a non-threatening manor. By the time the characters came before their judgement seat, however, this reader was motivated to ask God to remove the hidden darkness and selfishness NOW!

All of this occurs in just the first few chapters! The remainder of the book delves deep into the things that lie ahead. A must read!