Grace in Eclipse: A Study on Eternal Rewards Third Edition. By Zane C. Hodges. Irving, TX: Grace Evangelical Society, 2007. 140 pp. Paper, $8.95.
Many, this writer included, consider this to be one of the best books written on eternal rewards. This is surely one of Zane’s best books in terms of content, style, and readability.
The opening chapters on faith, works, and false professors are truly ground breaking. The Free Grace movement advanced greatly as a result of this discussion.
Most Evangelicals lack a way of understanding the teaching of the Lord Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount. Chapter 3 covers the sermon clearly and succinctly.
Many stumble over the idea of saving and losing one’s psyche, life or soul, by denying oneself, taking up his cross, and following Jesus. Hodges takes the confusion away from this concept in Chapter 4.
Other chapters discuss crux passages like the rich young ruler, being judged “each according to his works,” the salvation of Zaccheus (Luke 19:9-10), the Parable of the Minas (Luke 19:11-27), reigning with Christ if we endure (2 Tim 2:11-13), the Biblical concept of meritorious inheritance, the outer darkness in Matthew, and the call to be an overcomer.
This book is a tour de force. Anyone could benefit from reading it: unbelievers, new believers, mature believers, and seasoned saints. This book explains how eternal life can be an absolutely free gift that is conditioned solely on faith in Jesus and yet how God can and will judge everyone according to their works and will them recompense them accordingly. Entering the kingdom is for all who simply believing in Jesus. Ruling in that kingdom will be reserved for those who endure to the end of their Christian lives.
I first learned these concepts when I took my first course from Zane in the spring of 1980. I felt the Bible come alive for me that semester. If you absorb what he has written in this book, your understanding of the Word of God will likewise take a giant leap forward. But more than that, your love for and desire to please the Lord Jesus Christ will advance greatly.
I recommend this book so highly that I’d say failure to read it and to do so carefully and prayerfully would be a foolish decision. Incorporating the truths of this book into your life will pay eternal dividends.
Bob Wilkin
Editor
Journal of the Grace Evangelical Society
Denton, TX
