What do you think?
Rate this book
Driven by Eternity: 40-Day Devotional: Make your life count today and forever
Live with eternity in view!
You were created with eternity in your heart. This is why you have an inner knowledge of a greater existence beyond this life on earth.
This 40-day devotional is inspired by Driven by Make Your Life Count Today and Forever by best-selling author John Bevere. In it he shares compelling principles on how to live with hope and assurance that will carry you through to eternity. Each day contains a devotional reading inspired by the book, additional Scriptures for study, an eternity truth, key action steps and points of reflection, and a personal prayer.
It is easy to get stuck in the busyness of life and miss what’s most important. Everyone will stand before Jesus Christ at the end of time, and those who have followed Him will receive eternal rewards. Many will be shocked to learn that the majority of their time was spent on things that won’t matter.
How can you be ready to stand confidently before Christ? This devotional will instruct you how to maintain an eternal perspective inspire you to work for the things that will endure till the end. Keep in sight the reward Christ has for you as you follow Him with all of your heart, mind, soul, and strength.
You were created with eternity in your heart. This is why you have an inner knowledge of a greater existence beyond this life on earth.
This 40-day devotional is inspired by Driven by Make Your Life Count Today and Forever by best-selling author John Bevere. In it he shares compelling principles on how to live with hope and assurance that will carry you through to eternity. Each day contains a devotional reading inspired by the book, additional Scriptures for study, an eternity truth, key action steps and points of reflection, and a personal prayer.
It is easy to get stuck in the busyness of life and miss what’s most important. Everyone will stand before Jesus Christ at the end of time, and those who have followed Him will receive eternal rewards. Many will be shocked to learn that the majority of their time was spent on things that won’t matter.
How can you be ready to stand confidently before Christ? This devotional will instruct you how to maintain an eternal perspective inspire you to work for the things that will endure till the end. Keep in sight the reward Christ has for you as you follow Him with all of your heart, mind, soul, and strength.
176 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2006
About the author
John Bevere
147 books1,072 followersMarked by boldness and passion, John Bevere delivers uncompromising truth through his award-winning curriculums and bestselling books, now in more than 60 languages, including "The Bait of Satan," "Drawing Near" and "Driven by Eternity." He is an international speaker and co-host of "The Messenger" TV program broadcast worldwide.
John enjoys living in Colorado Springs with his wife, Lisa, also a best-selling author and speaker, and their four sons.
John enjoys living in Colorado Springs with his wife, Lisa, also a best-selling author and speaker, and their four sons.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 250 reviews
June 28, 2012
Introduction
John Bevere’s Driven by Eternity is reminiscent of what is arguably one of the most famous sermons ever preached: Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God by Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758).
When Jonathan Edwards first preached his now famous sermon on July 8, 1741, the response was amazing. The congregation in Enfield, Connecticut, where Edwards was a guest preacher, was filled with cries, shrieks, and moaning as people called out, asking how they could be saved. Edwards’s passionate warning had convinced them that they were desperately close to being thrown into the endless torment of hell.1
To be sure, hearing a sermon preached and reading a book are two different things. However they are not disconnected. For, infallible Scripture says, “For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe.” 1 Corinthians 1:21. Thus human wisdom believes that a) the act of preaching the Gospel is foolishness. And b) the Gospel message is foolishness. Therefore to the unconverted the publishing of Driven by Eternity is a foolish exercise – a complete waste of a tree!
The aforementioned ‘foolishness’ being understood, John Bevere shows his readers Heaven while showing them Hell. It’s as if he is saying to the reader, ‘Look, here’s Heaven and there’s Hell,’ as he dangles them over the edge of the fire-filled pit – perhaps like a turkey roasting on a rotisserie spit. Jonathan Edwards did likewise to a group of church attendees many years before. Said Edwards to them:
Your own wickedness weighs you down like lead and is dragging you down toward hell with great weight and force. Again, if God would let you go, you would immediately sink, quickly descending and plunging into the bottomless gulf. All of your health and personal care, all of your best schemes, and all of your own righteousness would no better support you and keep you out of hell than a spider’s web would stop a falling rock.
No, we’re not reviewing Jonathan Edward’s sermon, but perhaps in a future edition of Driven by Eternity John Bevere might consider including the Calvinist Jonathan Edward’s Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God as Appendix C of his book. It would be so appropriate, and the response might have been ‘amazing.’ But three cheers to Bevere for shocking Christians into taking stock of their lives in relation to eternity.
Premise & Content
Driven by Eternity has an Introduction, thirteen chapters and two Appendices. Bevere uses a lengthy but interesting allegory to assist the reader in understanding eternity and the reader’s place in it. In order to have the reader from the very outset ponder eternity Bevere, in his Introduction, draws the reader’s attention to Sydney’s the late Arthur Stace.
Stace, post conversion from a life ‘filled with petty crime and alcoholism,’ did something strange but remarkable. ‘Arthur would rise early each morning, pray for an hour, and leave his home between 5:00 and 5:30 A.M., to go wherever he felt God led him. For hours he would write one word, eternity, approximately every hundred feet on the sidewalks of Sydney.’
Thus, by arguing that Stace was a man ‘driven by eternity,’ Bevere immediately gets the reader to contemplate the deeper meaning of eternity. Then, for the purpose of illustrating the reader’s relation to eternity, Bevere begins his allegory. The allegory reflects Jesus, God the Father, Satan, the human being’s life on this earth, the heavenly city of God, and the dreaded lake of fire. It is a story well told. And, because of some of its characters therein, it can’t help but remind the reader of that great allegory The Pilgrim’s Progress, by John Bunyan (1628-1688).
Like Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress, Bevere in Driven by Eternity seeks to show the reader the many pitfalls encountered along the way by the Christian on his journey to the ‘Celestial City,’ or in Bevere’s case, Affabel, (i.e., the New Jerusalem). To a certain extent Bevere succeeds in his endeavour. He represents some of the various personalities commonly found in the worship community of God (i.e., church attendees), by use of descriptive names such as Independent, Deceived, Faint Heart, Selfish, Charity, and others.
The sub-title of Driven by Eternity is Making Your Life Count Today and Forever. In Bevere’s own words:
This is the focus of this book: Making your life count not only today, but throughout eternity. The Bible is clear about how to do this. If we are to be motivated by the eternal, let’s start off by getting an understanding of it.
Then follows a couple of quotes from the Bible regarding eternity. Then he quotes a couple of contradictory dictionary definitions of eternity to illustrate that the understanding of many regarding this subject has become vague.
Bevere holds to the premise that ‘We are saved by His grace.’ However, like the contradictory dictionary definitions regarding the meaning of eternity, Bevere holds a contradictory view to the already mentioned Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758), and John Bunyan (1628-1688), regarding the meaning of being ‘saved by His grace.’
Likewise, Bevere also would be offside with John Newton (1725-1807) – the slave-trader who God saved by His grace. Thus, were Bevere to be consistent with his Driven by Eternity, he could not sing with conviction the well-know words of the hymn Newton penned post-conversion: ‘Amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me, I once was lost but now am found, was blind but now I see.’ For, according to Bevere’s take on salvation (as he espouses in Driven by Eternity) these words at best can only be understood as tentative.
The Lord knows that we have no wish to denigrate the man John Bevere, but the reader needs to be alerted to Bevere’s faulty theological understanding as expressed in Driven by Eternity. In clear but blunt terms, Bevere has immersed himself in the peatbog of Pentecostal theology. His Driven by Eternity is a by-product of the labyrinth of the contradictory extremities of contemporary Pentecostalism. Bevere claims to hear and see ‘voices and visions’ – which he, without objective proof, alleges is God communicating with him one on one. He also gives unqualified but wholehearted endorsement of the ‘voices and visions’ experienced by others, for example, Kenneth Hagin.
As one would expect from anyone trapped in the dark and dank dungeon of aberrant theology, the eerie sound of chain-rattling and chain-dragging contradictions to the clear ring and teaching of Scripture are heard too often in Driven by Eternity. Indeed, Bevere puts the whole Bible through the mincer of Dispensationalism. Alan Cairns warns us of one of the main pitfalls of Dispensationalism regarding the Gospel. Says Cairns,
The most dangerous element in the dispensational scheme is that it affects the very basis of the gospel of salvation by grace alone, through faith in Christ. It posits the idea that man has been on probation all along and that God’s mercy is displayed in giving him a new trial after every failure, thus holding out the possibility of salvation by works of obedience…
Thankfully, there is evidence that many dispensationalists are awakening to the failures of the system. Even in moving away quite radically from its fundamental tenets, they hold on to the name. But that name is too fraught with theological error. As Reginald Kimbo argues, dispensationalists must recognize the error, admit that it continues in the system, be clear on the soteriological effects of it, and entirely repudiate it.
In the following we wish in particular to take issue with what is perhaps Bevere’s chief aberration: that those whom God has truly saved by His grace have the power to ‘walk away.’ Thus in Driven by Eternity Bevere builds his house upon the sinking sand of faulty premise For example, in reference to John 10:28-29 Bevere has ‘Jaylin’ (who represents the Lord in his allegory) state the following:
No one can pluck you out of my hand, but I never said you couldn’t walk away. You alone hold that power.
Thus the premise and content of the book is a lengthy apology or defence for the false and demoralising doctrine that someone who is truly saved by the grace of God is not truly saved at all!
Faulty Conclusions Drawn from Faulty Theology
The upside of Driven by Eternity is that Bevere occasionally pops his head out of the murky swamp-water of faulty theology to breathe fresh air. His book seems to be a genuine attempt to deal with the ‘Decisionistic Easy Believism’ of Pentecostalism – a culture which has been steeped since its inception in a theology attended by ‘Altar Calls’ and a ‘Sinner’s Prayer’ – whereby people, because they have repeated the ‘Sinner’s Prayer,’ are told that they have now become Christian converts. Says Bevere:
Not only are those who’ve never heard, or refuse to believe the Gospel in bondage, but many typical ‘converts’ of this generation are in bondage as well. We’ve created this dilemma by neglecting to proclaim the cost of following Jesus. Many assume they are free but in reality aren’t and the evidence is in their lifestyles.
We wholeheartedly agree with Bevere’s statement just quoted, for Scripture speaks of ‘bad trees’ producing ‘bad fruit’ or ‘evidence’ of non-conversion. Whereas ‘good trees’ producing ‘good fruit’ is ‘evidence’ that the Holy Spirit has regenerated that particular individual. ‘Good fruit’ is the result of the Spirit working in the Christian’s heart. Take as an example of this the following verse of Scripture, ‘But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.’ Galatians 5:22-23a. Therefore, the true Christian ought to be confident in the promise of God that ‘He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.’ Philippians 1:6.
The fruit in the Christian’s life is not only the ‘evidence’ of the Christian’s regeneration, but, more importantly, it indicates that that God is true to His Word and that it is God who has all the power of salvation and not the Christian. For, it is God who begins the ‘good’ work. The Christian is powerless – being beforehand in bondage to sin, self, and Satan. If indeed God has begun a good work in someone’s heart, it is not the Christian who will complete it, but Almighty God. Therefore the Christian does not have the power to ‘walk away,’ i.e., pluck himself out of the Lord’s hand as Bevere alleges.
To teach a loss of salvation is nonsense because God does not convert ‘bad trees’ into ‘bad trees.’ Rather He only ever converts or changes ‘bad trees’ into ‘good trees.’ And since ‘good trees’ (i.e., true coverts) produce ‘good fruit’ (by the power of the Holy Spirit working in and through them) these ‘good trees’ don’t produce ‘bad fruit.’ Therefore, a ‘good tree’ cannot reject God because rejecting God would be extremely ‘bad fruit.’ Thus rejection of God is clear evidence of being unconverted regardless of any prior seeming conversion.
In the Parable of the Sower Jesus illustrates what Bevere is mistakenly portraying as a loss of salvation.
‘A sower went to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell by the wayside; and it was trampled down, and the birds of the air devoured it. Some fell on rock; and as soon as it sprang up, it withered away because it lacked moisture. And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up with it and choked it. But others fell on good ground, sprang up, and yielded a crop a hundredfold.’ When He had said these things He cried, ‘He who has ears to hear, let him hear!’
Then His disciples asked Him, saying, ‘What does this parable mean?’ And He said, ‘To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is given in parables, that Seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.
‘Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. Those by the wayside are the ones who hear; then the devil comes and takes away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved. But the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy, and these have no root, who believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away. Now the ones that fell among the thorns are those who, when they heard, go out and are choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity. But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience.’ Luke 8:4-15.
Notice that the parable does not speak of anyone losing salvation. Rather, the parable indicates, that there are those who, though they seem to be numbered among the saved, prove to be otherwise. No doubt this is why Scripture says, ‘Do not lay hands on anyone hastily…’ 1 Timothy 5:22a. It comes as a shock and is bewildering for a Christian to see another who was so ‘full on’ for Christ ‘walk away’ from Him. But, in light of the Parable of the Sower we ought to expect to see this from time to time.
Bevere invokes Hebrews 6:4-6 to prove his allegation that true Christians can lose their salvation. But we interpret Scripture by Scripture. Therefore keep in mind the Parable of the Sower as you read what the writer to the Hebrews says:
For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame.’ Hebrew 6:4-6.
Hear again what Jesus said regarding some of those who have ‘tasted the good word of God’ but have fallen away: ‘The seed is the word of God… The ones on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy, and these have no root, who believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away. Now the ones that fell among the thorns are those who, when they heard, go out and are choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity…’ Thus some ‘fall away.’
The Apostle John speaks of those who ‘… went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us; but they went out that they might be manifest, that none of them were of us.’ 1 John 2:19. Then later in 1 John 5:19, he says, ‘There is a sin leading to death. I do not pray that he [i.e., Christians] should pray about that.’ 1 John 5:16b.
In the following, Martin Duffield refers to those who have tasted ‘ the good word of God’ but have rejected it, i.e., those who have ‘walked away’ from Christ, as the ‘terminally sinful’:
The terminally sinful, for who Scripture says we should no longer pray are men and women who have known the truth but have now turned from it, they have known the law of God and will not now submit to it and who have heard the call to love one another as Jesus loved us but now refuse. In these things it would appear that they have crossed the line and belong to that dreadful category captured in the words of Hebrews six, ‘it is impossible to renew them.’
Conclusion
There are many gold nuggets in Driven by Eternity, but it is such a pity that the reader has to crawl around in the decayed and dangerous mineshafts of Dispensationalism and Arminianism to find them! Bevere’s challenge for Christians to live godly lives by keeping God’s Commandments is heartening. His exhortation to do so in order to secure a good seat in eternity is not – although we thank him for the timely reminder that as Christians we ought to be thinking in terms of eternity. However, as Christians we ought to serve the Lord out of love and gratitude for the salvation He has purchased for us on Calvary’s cross. We ought never to presume upon His grace as we strive to love Him with all our heart, all our soul, all our strength, and all our mind, and love our neighbour as ourself.
It was a delight to read in Driven by Eternity of a Heaven that is a real and solid place for real and solid (saved) human beings. And it was good to read about the real and solid New Earth to which the real and solid New Jerusalem descends. Yes, there are some aspects even of these things where we’d beg to differ with Bevere on the basis of Scripture. For example, Bevere speaks of a resurrected Christ who walks through solid walls. However, this is nowhere taught in Scripture. Indeed great care needs to be taken here not to confuse the two natures of Christ and have the divine nature absorb the human nature of Christ even for a moment.
Bevere then ascribes the same divine attributes to resurrected Christians in order for them to do likewise regarding solid objects and also to traverse vast distances at the speed of light by their own power. This is to distort the true nature of man even in his glorified state. To be sure, the resurrected saint will have immortal and incorruptible qualities, but as God always remains God so man will always remain man.
John Bevere’s Driven by Eternity is reminiscent of what is arguably one of the most famous sermons ever preached: Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God by Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758).
When Jonathan Edwards first preached his now famous sermon on July 8, 1741, the response was amazing. The congregation in Enfield, Connecticut, where Edwards was a guest preacher, was filled with cries, shrieks, and moaning as people called out, asking how they could be saved. Edwards’s passionate warning had convinced them that they were desperately close to being thrown into the endless torment of hell.1
To be sure, hearing a sermon preached and reading a book are two different things. However they are not disconnected. For, infallible Scripture says, “For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe.” 1 Corinthians 1:21. Thus human wisdom believes that a) the act of preaching the Gospel is foolishness. And b) the Gospel message is foolishness. Therefore to the unconverted the publishing of Driven by Eternity is a foolish exercise – a complete waste of a tree!
The aforementioned ‘foolishness’ being understood, John Bevere shows his readers Heaven while showing them Hell. It’s as if he is saying to the reader, ‘Look, here’s Heaven and there’s Hell,’ as he dangles them over the edge of the fire-filled pit – perhaps like a turkey roasting on a rotisserie spit. Jonathan Edwards did likewise to a group of church attendees many years before. Said Edwards to them:
Your own wickedness weighs you down like lead and is dragging you down toward hell with great weight and force. Again, if God would let you go, you would immediately sink, quickly descending and plunging into the bottomless gulf. All of your health and personal care, all of your best schemes, and all of your own righteousness would no better support you and keep you out of hell than a spider’s web would stop a falling rock.
No, we’re not reviewing Jonathan Edward’s sermon, but perhaps in a future edition of Driven by Eternity John Bevere might consider including the Calvinist Jonathan Edward’s Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God as Appendix C of his book. It would be so appropriate, and the response might have been ‘amazing.’ But three cheers to Bevere for shocking Christians into taking stock of their lives in relation to eternity.
Premise & Content
Driven by Eternity has an Introduction, thirteen chapters and two Appendices. Bevere uses a lengthy but interesting allegory to assist the reader in understanding eternity and the reader’s place in it. In order to have the reader from the very outset ponder eternity Bevere, in his Introduction, draws the reader’s attention to Sydney’s the late Arthur Stace.
Stace, post conversion from a life ‘filled with petty crime and alcoholism,’ did something strange but remarkable. ‘Arthur would rise early each morning, pray for an hour, and leave his home between 5:00 and 5:30 A.M., to go wherever he felt God led him. For hours he would write one word, eternity, approximately every hundred feet on the sidewalks of Sydney.’
Thus, by arguing that Stace was a man ‘driven by eternity,’ Bevere immediately gets the reader to contemplate the deeper meaning of eternity. Then, for the purpose of illustrating the reader’s relation to eternity, Bevere begins his allegory. The allegory reflects Jesus, God the Father, Satan, the human being’s life on this earth, the heavenly city of God, and the dreaded lake of fire. It is a story well told. And, because of some of its characters therein, it can’t help but remind the reader of that great allegory The Pilgrim’s Progress, by John Bunyan (1628-1688).
Like Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress, Bevere in Driven by Eternity seeks to show the reader the many pitfalls encountered along the way by the Christian on his journey to the ‘Celestial City,’ or in Bevere’s case, Affabel, (i.e., the New Jerusalem). To a certain extent Bevere succeeds in his endeavour. He represents some of the various personalities commonly found in the worship community of God (i.e., church attendees), by use of descriptive names such as Independent, Deceived, Faint Heart, Selfish, Charity, and others.
The sub-title of Driven by Eternity is Making Your Life Count Today and Forever. In Bevere’s own words:
This is the focus of this book: Making your life count not only today, but throughout eternity. The Bible is clear about how to do this. If we are to be motivated by the eternal, let’s start off by getting an understanding of it.
Then follows a couple of quotes from the Bible regarding eternity. Then he quotes a couple of contradictory dictionary definitions of eternity to illustrate that the understanding of many regarding this subject has become vague.
Bevere holds to the premise that ‘We are saved by His grace.’ However, like the contradictory dictionary definitions regarding the meaning of eternity, Bevere holds a contradictory view to the already mentioned Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758), and John Bunyan (1628-1688), regarding the meaning of being ‘saved by His grace.’
Likewise, Bevere also would be offside with John Newton (1725-1807) – the slave-trader who God saved by His grace. Thus, were Bevere to be consistent with his Driven by Eternity, he could not sing with conviction the well-know words of the hymn Newton penned post-conversion: ‘Amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me, I once was lost but now am found, was blind but now I see.’ For, according to Bevere’s take on salvation (as he espouses in Driven by Eternity) these words at best can only be understood as tentative.
The Lord knows that we have no wish to denigrate the man John Bevere, but the reader needs to be alerted to Bevere’s faulty theological understanding as expressed in Driven by Eternity. In clear but blunt terms, Bevere has immersed himself in the peatbog of Pentecostal theology. His Driven by Eternity is a by-product of the labyrinth of the contradictory extremities of contemporary Pentecostalism. Bevere claims to hear and see ‘voices and visions’ – which he, without objective proof, alleges is God communicating with him one on one. He also gives unqualified but wholehearted endorsement of the ‘voices and visions’ experienced by others, for example, Kenneth Hagin.
As one would expect from anyone trapped in the dark and dank dungeon of aberrant theology, the eerie sound of chain-rattling and chain-dragging contradictions to the clear ring and teaching of Scripture are heard too often in Driven by Eternity. Indeed, Bevere puts the whole Bible through the mincer of Dispensationalism. Alan Cairns warns us of one of the main pitfalls of Dispensationalism regarding the Gospel. Says Cairns,
The most dangerous element in the dispensational scheme is that it affects the very basis of the gospel of salvation by grace alone, through faith in Christ. It posits the idea that man has been on probation all along and that God’s mercy is displayed in giving him a new trial after every failure, thus holding out the possibility of salvation by works of obedience…
Thankfully, there is evidence that many dispensationalists are awakening to the failures of the system. Even in moving away quite radically from its fundamental tenets, they hold on to the name. But that name is too fraught with theological error. As Reginald Kimbo argues, dispensationalists must recognize the error, admit that it continues in the system, be clear on the soteriological effects of it, and entirely repudiate it.
In the following we wish in particular to take issue with what is perhaps Bevere’s chief aberration: that those whom God has truly saved by His grace have the power to ‘walk away.’ Thus in Driven by Eternity Bevere builds his house upon the sinking sand of faulty premise For example, in reference to John 10:28-29 Bevere has ‘Jaylin’ (who represents the Lord in his allegory) state the following:
No one can pluck you out of my hand, but I never said you couldn’t walk away. You alone hold that power.
Thus the premise and content of the book is a lengthy apology or defence for the false and demoralising doctrine that someone who is truly saved by the grace of God is not truly saved at all!
Faulty Conclusions Drawn from Faulty Theology
The upside of Driven by Eternity is that Bevere occasionally pops his head out of the murky swamp-water of faulty theology to breathe fresh air. His book seems to be a genuine attempt to deal with the ‘Decisionistic Easy Believism’ of Pentecostalism – a culture which has been steeped since its inception in a theology attended by ‘Altar Calls’ and a ‘Sinner’s Prayer’ – whereby people, because they have repeated the ‘Sinner’s Prayer,’ are told that they have now become Christian converts. Says Bevere:
Not only are those who’ve never heard, or refuse to believe the Gospel in bondage, but many typical ‘converts’ of this generation are in bondage as well. We’ve created this dilemma by neglecting to proclaim the cost of following Jesus. Many assume they are free but in reality aren’t and the evidence is in their lifestyles.
We wholeheartedly agree with Bevere’s statement just quoted, for Scripture speaks of ‘bad trees’ producing ‘bad fruit’ or ‘evidence’ of non-conversion. Whereas ‘good trees’ producing ‘good fruit’ is ‘evidence’ that the Holy Spirit has regenerated that particular individual. ‘Good fruit’ is the result of the Spirit working in the Christian’s heart. Take as an example of this the following verse of Scripture, ‘But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.’ Galatians 5:22-23a. Therefore, the true Christian ought to be confident in the promise of God that ‘He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.’ Philippians 1:6.
The fruit in the Christian’s life is not only the ‘evidence’ of the Christian’s regeneration, but, more importantly, it indicates that that God is true to His Word and that it is God who has all the power of salvation and not the Christian. For, it is God who begins the ‘good’ work. The Christian is powerless – being beforehand in bondage to sin, self, and Satan. If indeed God has begun a good work in someone’s heart, it is not the Christian who will complete it, but Almighty God. Therefore the Christian does not have the power to ‘walk away,’ i.e., pluck himself out of the Lord’s hand as Bevere alleges.
To teach a loss of salvation is nonsense because God does not convert ‘bad trees’ into ‘bad trees.’ Rather He only ever converts or changes ‘bad trees’ into ‘good trees.’ And since ‘good trees’ (i.e., true coverts) produce ‘good fruit’ (by the power of the Holy Spirit working in and through them) these ‘good trees’ don’t produce ‘bad fruit.’ Therefore, a ‘good tree’ cannot reject God because rejecting God would be extremely ‘bad fruit.’ Thus rejection of God is clear evidence of being unconverted regardless of any prior seeming conversion.
In the Parable of the Sower Jesus illustrates what Bevere is mistakenly portraying as a loss of salvation.
‘A sower went to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell by the wayside; and it was trampled down, and the birds of the air devoured it. Some fell on rock; and as soon as it sprang up, it withered away because it lacked moisture. And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up with it and choked it. But others fell on good ground, sprang up, and yielded a crop a hundredfold.’ When He had said these things He cried, ‘He who has ears to hear, let him hear!’
Then His disciples asked Him, saying, ‘What does this parable mean?’ And He said, ‘To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is given in parables, that Seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.
‘Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. Those by the wayside are the ones who hear; then the devil comes and takes away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved. But the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy, and these have no root, who believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away. Now the ones that fell among the thorns are those who, when they heard, go out and are choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity. But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience.’ Luke 8:4-15.
Notice that the parable does not speak of anyone losing salvation. Rather, the parable indicates, that there are those who, though they seem to be numbered among the saved, prove to be otherwise. No doubt this is why Scripture says, ‘Do not lay hands on anyone hastily…’ 1 Timothy 5:22a. It comes as a shock and is bewildering for a Christian to see another who was so ‘full on’ for Christ ‘walk away’ from Him. But, in light of the Parable of the Sower we ought to expect to see this from time to time.
Bevere invokes Hebrews 6:4-6 to prove his allegation that true Christians can lose their salvation. But we interpret Scripture by Scripture. Therefore keep in mind the Parable of the Sower as you read what the writer to the Hebrews says:
For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame.’ Hebrew 6:4-6.
Hear again what Jesus said regarding some of those who have ‘tasted the good word of God’ but have fallen away: ‘The seed is the word of God… The ones on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy, and these have no root, who believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away. Now the ones that fell among the thorns are those who, when they heard, go out and are choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity…’ Thus some ‘fall away.’
The Apostle John speaks of those who ‘… went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us; but they went out that they might be manifest, that none of them were of us.’ 1 John 2:19. Then later in 1 John 5:19, he says, ‘There is a sin leading to death. I do not pray that he [i.e., Christians] should pray about that.’ 1 John 5:16b.
In the following, Martin Duffield refers to those who have tasted ‘ the good word of God’ but have rejected it, i.e., those who have ‘walked away’ from Christ, as the ‘terminally sinful’:
The terminally sinful, for who Scripture says we should no longer pray are men and women who have known the truth but have now turned from it, they have known the law of God and will not now submit to it and who have heard the call to love one another as Jesus loved us but now refuse. In these things it would appear that they have crossed the line and belong to that dreadful category captured in the words of Hebrews six, ‘it is impossible to renew them.’
Conclusion
There are many gold nuggets in Driven by Eternity, but it is such a pity that the reader has to crawl around in the decayed and dangerous mineshafts of Dispensationalism and Arminianism to find them! Bevere’s challenge for Christians to live godly lives by keeping God’s Commandments is heartening. His exhortation to do so in order to secure a good seat in eternity is not – although we thank him for the timely reminder that as Christians we ought to be thinking in terms of eternity. However, as Christians we ought to serve the Lord out of love and gratitude for the salvation He has purchased for us on Calvary’s cross. We ought never to presume upon His grace as we strive to love Him with all our heart, all our soul, all our strength, and all our mind, and love our neighbour as ourself.
It was a delight to read in Driven by Eternity of a Heaven that is a real and solid place for real and solid (saved) human beings. And it was good to read about the real and solid New Earth to which the real and solid New Jerusalem descends. Yes, there are some aspects even of these things where we’d beg to differ with Bevere on the basis of Scripture. For example, Bevere speaks of a resurrected Christ who walks through solid walls. However, this is nowhere taught in Scripture. Indeed great care needs to be taken here not to confuse the two natures of Christ and have the divine nature absorb the human nature of Christ even for a moment.
Bevere then ascribes the same divine attributes to resurrected Christians in order for them to do likewise regarding solid objects and also to traverse vast distances at the speed of light by their own power. This is to distort the true nature of man even in his glorified state. To be sure, the resurrected saint will have immortal and incorruptible qualities, but as God always remains God so man will always remain man.
December 25, 2016
This book was so spiritually enlightening and empowering. I benefitted from this book. A must read for all christians.
Actual ratings ~ 4.5
Actual ratings ~ 4.5
January 14, 2010
I took my time reading this book. John Bevere is truly an inspiration to Christians everywhere. Man, would I ever like to sit down and talk to him personally. Bevere doesn’t shy away from the topics of sin, judgment, hell and salvation.
Bevere writes: “We determine how we will build, and we have two major choices in our constructing every moment of our life. One is to gravitate toward the temporal, that which appeases the flesh (wood, grass, or straw). The other is to live in line with our born-again spirit’s desire, the eternal Word of God (gold, silver, and precious stone). How we build, or how we live our lives, will determine how we fair when the fire of His presence examines our work.”
One of the most important things that I became enlightened to in reading this book, is that "faith" is not something that we reach for, but is is something that we "release".
I highly recommend this book. I,too, believe that there will be many shocked Christains when we stand before Jesus Christ on Judgement Day!
Bevere writes: “We determine how we will build, and we have two major choices in our constructing every moment of our life. One is to gravitate toward the temporal, that which appeases the flesh (wood, grass, or straw). The other is to live in line with our born-again spirit’s desire, the eternal Word of God (gold, silver, and precious stone). How we build, or how we live our lives, will determine how we fair when the fire of His presence examines our work.”
One of the most important things that I became enlightened to in reading this book, is that "faith" is not something that we reach for, but is is something that we "release".
I highly recommend this book. I,too, believe that there will be many shocked Christains when we stand before Jesus Christ on Judgement Day!
March 1, 2017
So at one level I found this book incredibly inspiring. The volume of scripture quoted was a huge encouragement. He even quoted often from the apostolic fathers! That's rare but refreshing. But I also felt at times he spoke authoritatively about some of the personal words he received from God, as if they were true for everyone and the exact interpretation of the verses he quoted. Thus some of the points were a bit overstated. The opening drama illustrates this in some subtle ways. So I wouldn't want to recommend this book to everyone - especially a new believer. I think it requires maturity to absorb appropriately (I think I just called myself mature... that's not what I meant). At the end of the day, I'm glad I read it and will read it again. The main thrust of the book: to live in light of eternity and not let the values of our world dictate our priorities... that's a message I can't hear enough.
January 30, 2017
This is possibly the most life changing book I have ever read. It's helped me change my priorities and world view.
The writing is simple without diminishing the content, you can almost hear Johns voice reading the book.
I am particularly appreciative that each chapter built on the preceding one, and the thoughts were based solely on Gods word.
Because of this book, I am more focused on living each day with eternity in mind. Seeking to bring Him alone glory.
Finally, the allegory is simply spell binding. I could almost image myself in Affabel.
The writing is simple without diminishing the content, you can almost hear Johns voice reading the book.
I am particularly appreciative that each chapter built on the preceding one, and the thoughts were based solely on Gods word.
Because of this book, I am more focused on living each day with eternity in mind. Seeking to bring Him alone glory.
Finally, the allegory is simply spell binding. I could almost image myself in Affabel.
March 31, 2020
If you wanna feel condemned to hell just because you breathe, this book is for you. Filled with hate and fear, this kind of books makes you wonder, in case there is a god, that he’s anything but love.
Avoid this lectures if you don’t wanna feel bad for being a human being.
Avoid this lectures if you don’t wanna feel bad for being a human being.
June 30, 2023
okay idk why goodreads only had the 40 day devotional of this book because - I READ THE ACTUAL BOOK !!! and it is so good! i recommend this to everyone! the book is convicting, yet encouraging and eye opening. the message here is profound, this is solid teaching of the bible & eternity.
April 19, 2024
One of the best books I’ve read this year! This is a must for all Christians to read!!
January 20, 2018
I closed this book feeling as though I had just received the biggest pep talk and kick in the rear simultaneously.
The author consistently peels back the layers of scripture realigning the grey areas of earth vs. eternity to reveal the big picture of who we are and what our purpose is in the Kingdom. A must read!
The author consistently peels back the layers of scripture realigning the grey areas of earth vs. eternity to reveal the big picture of who we are and what our purpose is in the Kingdom. A must read!
April 13, 2018
I’m a sucker for allegories and so I enjoyed that aspect of this work. The bash on the doctrine of eternal security was too much for me. “Easy believism” is not synonymous with eternal security. Oh well, it may cause some to think about eternity, hopefully they pick up their Bibles after this book and even out some of the errors.
Read
December 26, 2025“Many things lost in life can be restored; however, time misused can never be recovered. Once the sun goes down, the day is forever gone.”
-John Bevere
Page 231
"Max Jukes, the atheist, lived a godless life. He married an ungodly girl, and from the union there were 310 who died as paupers, 150 were criminals, 7 were murderers, 100 were drunkards, and more than half of the women were prostitutes. His 540 descendants cost the State one and a quarter million dollars.
But, praise the Lord, it works both ways! There is a record of a great American man of God, Jonathan Edwards. He lived at the same time as Max Jukes, but he married a godly girl. An investigation was made of 1,394 known descendants of Jonathan Edwards of which 13 became college presidents, 65 college professors, 3 United States senators, 30 judges, 100 lawyers, 60 physicians, 75 army and navy officers, 100 preachers and missionaries, 60 authors of prominence, one a vice-president of the United States, 80 became public officials in other capacities, 295 college graduates, among whom were governors of states and ministers to foreign countries. His descendants did not cost the state a single penny. 'The memory of the just is blessed' (Prov. 10:7)."
-John Bevere
Page 231
"Max Jukes, the atheist, lived a godless life. He married an ungodly girl, and from the union there were 310 who died as paupers, 150 were criminals, 7 were murderers, 100 were drunkards, and more than half of the women were prostitutes. His 540 descendants cost the State one and a quarter million dollars.
But, praise the Lord, it works both ways! There is a record of a great American man of God, Jonathan Edwards. He lived at the same time as Max Jukes, but he married a godly girl. An investigation was made of 1,394 known descendants of Jonathan Edwards of which 13 became college presidents, 65 college professors, 3 United States senators, 30 judges, 100 lawyers, 60 physicians, 75 army and navy officers, 100 preachers and missionaries, 60 authors of prominence, one a vice-president of the United States, 80 became public officials in other capacities, 295 college graduates, among whom were governors of states and ministers to foreign countries. His descendants did not cost the state a single penny. 'The memory of the just is blessed' (Prov. 10:7)."
April 22, 2022
This book was absolutely phenomenal! I first learned about it by listening to the audio drama "Affabel" - an incredible riveting allegory about life on this earth and in heaven. I was propelled to listen to the entire book and it was truly eye opening about heaven and how we prepare ourselves to get here. I was realizing that while many preachers prepare us for heaven by speaking about morality and trusting Christ, very few actually describe the scenes and realities of all we will experience there. Furthermore, while preachers warn us not to go to hell, we aren't really taught in detail the true horrors which await us. I am grateful for this book, and as a chaplain and pastor, it has also reminded me of the incredible burden I have to share the Gospel with my church. I want my life to have a Kingdom impact however big or small and be faithful to God's calling. Thank you for sharing your resources on Messenger X
May 26, 2020
Classic John Bevere with a charming and effective allegory to help explain his points. I'm not sure how many of this author's books I've read, but I enjoy him because he speaks truth with equal portions of passion and compassion. He strives to fully explain himself, breaking complex subjects into understandable pieces. And he always backs what he's saying up with plenty of Scripture.
This book included an allegory, which drew me in and didn't let go. It helped me to think through what he was trying to convey and made the lessons stick in my heart and mind as only fiction can.
The overall message of this book is powerful and critical. As Mr. Bevere wrote, "Those who are wise in the kingdom realize we are not working to provide a future in retirement years. We are preparing for eternity!"
This book included an allegory, which drew me in and didn't let go. It helped me to think through what he was trying to convey and made the lessons stick in my heart and mind as only fiction can.
The overall message of this book is powerful and critical. As Mr. Bevere wrote, "Those who are wise in the kingdom realize we are not working to provide a future in retirement years. We are preparing for eternity!"
May 10, 2019
This book woke me up from my spiritual slumber
August 24, 2025
Amazing book! It has a lot of analogy yet is still very Biblically based. The Holy Spirit was working as I read this book and it changed my life!
February 28, 2026
Phenomenal book.
April 28, 2021
Thanks to the author, I gained this book in arabic as a gift.. And it is awesome, I recommend it.
July 13, 2017
This book will wake you up. It says everything you read in scripture but choose to ignore. These were my take-outs
You will to hold the idea of salvation by grace (eph 2:8) and working out your salvation with fear and trembling (Phil 2:12). You're halfway there.
Grasping eternity is beyond the scope of the human mind, and the result of that is you don't spend your life focusing on getting it right. Hence: Driven by eternity
The other thing is to dread God (Isaiah 8:13). He will judge as He promises to-John 5:22/Eccl 12:14/ 2Cor5:10/ Acts 17:31/ Rom 2:16/Rom 14:10
The idea that obedience is what pleases God and not good results or a smooth trouble free life😀. In this age, the end is all that matters, how many 'good deeds' -if you saved 1,000 by becoming a pastor, while you were called to be a market place evangelist-it's meaningless. It will go up in smoke even while you may be saved. 1Cor3:13-15. It's built in vain Ps 127.
Loved this book. Full of scriptural wisdom
You will to hold the idea of salvation by grace (eph 2:8) and working out your salvation with fear and trembling (Phil 2:12). You're halfway there.
Grasping eternity is beyond the scope of the human mind, and the result of that is you don't spend your life focusing on getting it right. Hence: Driven by eternity
The other thing is to dread God (Isaiah 8:13). He will judge as He promises to-John 5:22/Eccl 12:14/ 2Cor5:10/ Acts 17:31/ Rom 2:16/Rom 14:10
The idea that obedience is what pleases God and not good results or a smooth trouble free life😀. In this age, the end is all that matters, how many 'good deeds' -if you saved 1,000 by becoming a pastor, while you were called to be a market place evangelist-it's meaningless. It will go up in smoke even while you may be saved. 1Cor3:13-15. It's built in vain Ps 127.
Loved this book. Full of scriptural wisdom
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 28, 2017
In a day of politically correct churches and a watered down gospel, this book will set you straight on what the Bible does say and the consequences of the way we think and live this life - for good and for bad. I have gone from church to church looking for one that preaches what I read in the Bible. I can find none in my city. I found one in a neighboring city. I thought I was alone in my beliefs until I read this and realized that even I have work to do to come in line with the Scriptures.
This book is clear. Much of it is Scripture just written in a way that it flows to understanding. Then the story Affebel, wow! If you're a story person, this will drive home all the truths from Scripture Mr. Bevere has written about in the other portion of the book. I highly recommend getting the audio version of Affebel, too.
This book is clear. Much of it is Scripture just written in a way that it flows to understanding. Then the story Affebel, wow! If you're a story person, this will drive home all the truths from Scripture Mr. Bevere has written about in the other portion of the book. I highly recommend getting the audio version of Affebel, too.
September 7, 2017
If give this book 5 stars because it impacted my perceptions of the whole counsel of the Scriptures so profoundly. This message is so so so helpful in giving me a balanced view of the judgment of the Lord. The allegory of Affabel is so powerful. I downloaded the allegory so that my family can listen to it too. I only give it 4 starts however because sometimes, Mr. Bevere can get a little wordy in making his points and sometimes he states something very black and white. I understand the heart of what he's trying to say in those moments, but a less mature Christian might walk away with a belief that their Eternity really is works based. That being said though, thank you so much for this book John Bevere!
July 23, 2011
If you may to read only one book (except Bible itself) in your life, read John Bevere's "Driven By Eternity". Half of this book is allegorical story that reminds parable of sheep and goats, the other half is Bible-teaching about eternal destination, eternal rewards and judgements. It's not the best book I've ever read, but is one of most valuable! Why? Because our life and eternity absolutely depends on our proper knowledge and understanding of God's purposes and callings. Don't waste your life, don't waste your talents and today choose the future God destined you to achieve. This book will help you in it!
January 13, 2014
I read this book many years ago and for some reason it has always stuck in my head. Wanting to read it again, thinking about buying it again, thinking for days on the name of the book so I can do one or more of these things. I think there is certainly a reason why this book has stuck by me for so long.
December 23, 2016
This was a very sobering book. I needed to hear it. Some parts seem harsh, but it is a wake up call to the Church. It reminds us that our life here affects Eternity. We have to think about that very seriously.
I will have to listen to it again.
I will have to listen to it again.
April 6, 2017
filled with TRUTH.
and gives me the urgency to spread the gospel.
As I finish this as high school ends I'm filled with regret for not being more faithful and exemplifying God's image. All these names pop up in my head as I read this book.
and gives me the urgency to spread the gospel.
As I finish this as high school ends I'm filled with regret for not being more faithful and exemplifying God's image. All these names pop up in my head as I read this book.
November 25, 2018
The concept of role playing/story telling is good, but the doctrine and theology is flawed. I would not recommend this book, especially if you are not strong in knowledge of the eternal plan of God and His mercy and grace.
June 13, 2019
John is a pastor with a wonderful message, of how we can obtain eternity with our Savior Jesus.
This was a great book, of scripture, and direction for any Christian's walk.
I would highly recommend this book!
This was a great book, of scripture, and direction for any Christian's walk.
I would highly recommend this book!
April 22, 2022
Esse livro transformou minha vida. Ele tem ensinamentos fortes sobre a eternidade, e como tudo impacta no nosso julgamento, não para que haja medo em nós, mas sabendo disso podemos caminhar em direção ao eterno mais concientes do que nos aguarda mediante a nossa conduta na Terra
October 12, 2023
This book was so good. It was really eye opening and confronting at times, but everything I was taught through this book has made me understand certain things a lot better and I will definitely be reading this a lot more in the future
April 17, 2018
I've read many books of John Bevere and I like this one the best.
Highly recommend!
Highly recommend!
July 20, 2020
This devotional was so good! It helped me understand a few things about eternity!
It was so encouraging!
I highly recommend this devotional!
It was so encouraging!
I highly recommend this devotional!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 250 reviews