Book review - Setting the Stage for Eternity.

Ever wonder why the Bible gives believers instructions on how to live? Been tempted to give up on the Christian life? Too much effort to follow Biblical principles? Harlan D. Betz tackles these and other questions in his 310 page book, Setting the Stage for Eternity.

Betz's premise is that the Bible answers all three of the above questions the same way: What we do in this temporal world has eternal implications for believers. Not implications that effect one's eternal destiny, that's covered by Jesus' work at the cross. What our actions now effect is our rewards in The Kingdom.

Betz carefully lays out the types of rewards Scripture mentions and explains the link to different areas of the Christian life in this world. He uses Scriptural references to explain how he arrives at his conclusions and clearly illustrates his points with simple examples. Betz's writing style is easy to understand and follow as well as being solidly grounded on the Bible. Each chapter has a study guide at the end so the book can easily be used in a small group setting. A short bibliography follows each study guide. Appendices make deeper study accessible by anyone who seriously desires it.

All in all I found Setting the Stage for Eternity to be interesting, solid, and challenging. I highly recommend this book for anyone struggling to understand why it's important to run the race of life well or who wants a better understanding of eternal rewards.