The Message of the Sermon on the Mount

John R. W. Stott, The Message of the Sermon on the Mount. Christian Counter-Culture. Leicester/England and Downers Grove, Illinois: InterVarsity Press. First edition 1978; regularly reprinted in this format since 1984. 238 pages. Although this book is, in the meantime, almost 30 years old, it remains as timeless as the Bible chapters on which it is commenting - and as a reminder of what a tremendous gift John Stott has been to the church in his role as teacher and author. His "Message of the Sermon on the Mount" has a number of characteristics which make it more or less ideal as a guide through three of the New Testament's most fascinating, but also most difficult chapters. The first of these characteristics is its intellectual plausibility and good sense: Stott nowhere speculates, never goes off at a tangent, but always gives a thorough, intelligent, well thought-out explanation of the text that takes account of opposing views but counters these with irrefutable arguments. The second characteristic is its theological orthodoxy, coupled however with broadness of scope, awareness of other positions and honesty in the face of difficulties. Stott is never dogmatically narrow-minded, but always loyal not only to the ipsa verba, but to the very spirit of the Biblical text - something that should warm every Christian's heart. A third characteristic is Stott's familiarity with the literature and his adeptness in providing apt quotes at just the right moment. And he does not limit himself here to other commentaries or to parallel Bible verses; there is a liberal sprinkling of pithy comment from Augustine and Chrysostom from the early church period, from the great reformers Luther and Calvin, and from more modern theologians and thinkers of various schools, e. g. Joachim Jeremias, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, A. B. Bruce, Alfred Plummer, even C. S. Lewis. And of course, Stott has read and digested Dr. D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones's massive volume of sermons on Matthew 5 thru 7 Studies in the Sermon on the Mount. A fourth characteristic would be Stott's balance between the more "evangelistic" type of approach and the social aspects of the Christian faith. And a fifth characteristic would be his insistence on the supremacy and sovereignty of Jesus Christ as the Son of God and only Saviour. If you are looking for a book of "manageable" size on the Sermon on the Mount, and assuming you require a volume which is really faithful to the words of the text, you could do no better than turn to Stott's classic exposition. This is one of the absolute highlights of the "The Bible Speaks Today" series (which, in itself, has proved, in my opinion, rather uneven).

I am preaching through the beatitudes right now, and next year, I plan on preaching through the rest of the Sermon on the Mount. I already had all the heavy duty technical books on this section of the Bible. So I really needed a book where the writer explained the text in a way that people could understand it. Stott's book fills that void. He masterfully explains and applies the text to life, and he always gives you something to chew on in digestible form. In addition to owning one or two technical commentaries on Matthew, I recommend picking up this little book if you are preaching or studying Matthew 5-7. Rev. Marc Axelrod

Stott almost always combines scholarship of a high order with practial/pastoral application. This is one of those books. I have had this book for a number of years, and it is a helpful resource for understanding aht applying the Sermon. I have it on a par with Lloyd-Jones, but Stott is much more succinct. I also like D. A. Carson's treatment. The concept of Christians as a counter culture - a concept a bit dated in these days of churches that surf culture - is important. There ought to be a difference, and it ought to be based on "what did Jesus teach."

This is on of the best books I have ever read. It is very fundamental to Christianity as ABC. It covers why and how Christians to be different from this world, from this "Culture". It gives reader a truly good overview on Christianity and Christian values and behavior. Even though it's written in 197.. , it's timeless. So don't worry to get outdated or something. Questions are common today as if they were yesterday. Read this book please. You won't be disapointed. (only if you're willing to accept challenge)

I read an older edition of this book that was titled Christian counter culture, but I'm sure that the content is largely the same. John Stott shares his insights as he guides us through the Sermon on the Mount. He calls us to radical devotion to Christ and His principles outlined in this famous portion of Scripture. He gives good historical meanings of many of the words in Greek and unlocks his mainly orthodox interpretation of the passage. He also sites historical comments from Calvin, Tolstoy, and Bonhoeffer as well as others. Although this is not an exegetical commentary in the strictest sense, it is readable and quite insightful into Christ's words.