Kevin W. Kaufman - A Guide to Investing in Eternity: Gods Conditional Promise of Reward

If you survey books on theology you will find very little written on the topic of how God will reward His people. This book demonstrates that this is a major theme in Scripture and that faithfulness in this life will determine rewards in the next. This sobering reality should motivate us to live each day for the glory of God lest we miss the greatest rewards when in the presence of Jesus. Read it, meditate on it and ask God to bring your life in line with eternal va lues.

Dr. Erwin W. Lu tzer

Pastor Emeritus

Moody Church Chicago

The most important day in the Christians future is the day we stand before our Lord at the Judgment Seat of Christ. What we enjoy for all eternity will be determined on that day. Kevin Kaufmans Investing in Eternity explores that day thoroughly and the need to prepare for it t oday.

Dr. Woodrow K roll

Creator of

The HELIOS Projects

Investing in Eternity will challenge you. And it may change the way you understand Gods purposes. Kevins research and analysis of Gods eternal rewards are more complete than any Ive seen. Its shocking how silent this mega-truth is in the church. I highly recommend you spend time with this book and let his work open your eyes and take you deeper into Gods Word.

Jeff Ande rson

Author of Plastic Donuts and Divine Applause.

In A Guide to Investing in Eternity : Gods Conditional Promise of Reward, Kevin W. Kaufman has performed an important service for the church in this exhaustive review of the Bibles if thisthen that promises of God. The book is a readable, thought-provoking, and often insightful exposition of what those many verses t each.

Throughout, Kevin relates to people who are struggling with purpose in life. Born of a long season of personal pain, Investing in Eternity isas Kevin puts it for all who desire more out of life, suffer in this life, feel listless or unfulfilled, are tired, experience little satisfaction in the successes of this life, and are curious about what lies beyond this life. Investing in Eternity is biblically sound as well as thorough; broad as well as practical. Most importantly, it is a book of hope. I highly recommen d it.

Dr. Ed Hoskins, MD, PhD

Author A Muslims Heart (NavPress 2003) and A Muslims Mind

(Dawson Media 2011)

A Guide to
Investing in Eternity

Gods Conditional Promise of Reward

KEVIN W. KAUFMAN

Copyright 2020 Kevin W. Kaufman.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means,
graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by
any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author
except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

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Unless stated otherwise, all Scripture quotations are taken from The Holy
Bible, New International Version, NIV Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011
by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible,
New Living Translation, Copyright 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale
House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers,
Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked KJV are taken from the King James Version.

Scripture quotations marked ESV taken from The Holy Bible, English
Standard Version (ESV), Copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing
ministry of Good News Publishers. All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-1-9736-8747-4 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-9736-8746-7 (e)

WestBow Press rev. date: 4/11/2020

About the Author

Kevin W. Kaufman is an entrepreneur, inventor, and writer living in West Lafayette, Indiana. He was most recently the president of the Foundation for Christian Stewardship, an affiliate of the National Christian Foundation. For twenty-seven years before heading this ministry, Kevin was a business owner while serving as a lay leader in his church.

A graduate of the Moody Bible Institute in Bible and theology, he received his BA in history and economics from Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin.

Kevin and his supportive wife, Sandra, have three children: Rachel, Andrew, and Emma.

Disclaimers

First, Investing in Eternity is not about how to go to heaven when you die. If you have yet to put your faith in Jesus, then please go to appendix 5 and learn of Gods wonderful gift of salvation. Gods rewards are for those who have already received that unmerited gift. So please consider accepting His gracious offer of forgiveness and salvation now, during, or after you read Investing in Eter nity .

Second, this book does not advocate (because Scripture does not teach) a prosperity gospel. The health and wealth gospel is worse than mistaken; they are evil. If you believe the Bible promises temporal rewards, please read appendix 1.

Dedicated to my mo ther

Carolyn Gutwein Kau fman

through whom Jesus beautifully reveals His love.

Addendum

This book has been published in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. Never has the world more needed the message of hope found in Investing in Eter nity .

Contents

As the recently appointed president of the Foundation for Christian Stewardship, I began reading everything I could find concerning the biblical teaching of financial stewardship. I was particularly interested in what properly motivates faithfulness in financial matters. The idea that God promises to reward first caught my attention as I read Randy Alcorns Money, Possessions, and Eternity . Alcorn pointed to the hope of rewards as a powerful biblical motivation for financial stewardship. He called the central driver of this incentive, The Treasure Principle: You cant take it with you, but you can send it on ahead (Alcorn, 19).

Hmm, I thought as I read, I wonder if the Bible speaks of whole-life stewardship, too.

Once upon the scent of this doctrine, I hunted for verses that speak of it: to gather all I could find in the Bible that speak of rewards. Some of the verses I collected had been cited by Alcorn. Bruce Wilkinsons A Life God Rewards contained a treasury of Scripture references. John Piper writes of others in Desiring God . Woodrow Krolls radio series (and the corresponding book) Facing Your Final Job Review aired at a most opportune time to encourage my quest. I have since read and recommend an earlier book by Dr. Kroll, Tested by Fire , published initially as It Will Be Worth It All . Dr. Erwin Lutzers thought-provoking contribution to the subject is Your Eternal Re ward .

Those and other writings reassured me that I had not discovered some new teaching of Scripture. (If I had, it would be suspect indeed!) I found that the doctrine of rewards has been taught from early in church history and across the theological spectrum, as you will see in quotes throughout Investing in Eternity and in appendix 6.

Investing in Eternity , however, is different from other books on the subject. As I explain, I consider every explicitly and implicitly conditional promise of blessing to speak of reward for faithfulness. I have attempted to identify all of them. There are hundreds of such promises, printed in appendix 7 and categorized in indexes 13. While the writings of others helped my understanding, it is Scripture that has convinced my heart of the truth and importance of Gods promise to reward. My wonder at the extent of the Bibles teaching on the subject is matched only by my bewilderment that Gods intent to reward is so seldom mentioned by Christians.