Early Christian Commentary of the Sermon on the Mount


Book Description

What the world needs today is not a new definition of Christianity, but a present-day demonstration of Christianity. Rather than re-define Christianity to accommodate our present generation, we must re-discover Christianity from the apostolic generation. In this regard, the early Christian writings are a helpful tool. During the first three centuries of Church history, many books, commentaries, letters and sermons were being circulated among the ancient Church. Many of these writings have survived until our own time. The early disciples provide an extremely valuable history and commentary on the New Testament Scriptures. Today, their writings provide us a record of primitive Christianity during the time period directly following Jesus Christ and the Apostles. The beliefs and practices found within modern Christendom most often part ways with early Christianity when it comes to interpretation of the Sermon on the Mount and participation in the divine life. Moreover, there are men of education and expertise, esteemed widely as safe and sound expositors of Scripture, who make it their business to hinder the disciples of Christ who would go up the mountain where Christ's own words are to be heard. A substantial number of the early Christians died as martyrs. Like the apostles, the early Christians were willing to die for their beliefs. Therefore we ought to seriously consider what they have to say to us today, especially when it comes to their understanding of history's greatest sermon ever preached. May the reader be edified and blessed as we ascend the mountain together with the early Christians to hear the words of eternal life from our Lord Jesus Christ. . . .




The Sermon on the Mount and Human Flourishing


Book Description

The Sermon on the Mount, one of the most influential portions of the Bible, is the most studied and commented upon portion of the Christian Scriptures. Every Christian generation turns to it for insight and guidance. In this volume, a recognized expert on the Gospels shows that the Sermon on the Mount offers a clear window into understanding God's work in Christ. Jonathan Pennington provides a historical, theological, and literary commentary on the Sermon and explains how this text offers insight into God's plan for human flourishing. As Pennington explores the literary dimensions and theological themes of this famous passage, he situates the Sermon in dialogue with the Jewish and Greek virtue traditions and the philosophical-theological question of human flourishing. He also relates the Sermon's theological themes to contemporary issues such as ethics, philosophy, and economics.




Dictionary of Early Christian Beliefs


Book Description

Interest in the ways of the early church has never been more intense. What did early Christians believe about the divinity of Christ? What were the beliefs of those who sat at the feet of Jesus’ disciples? Now, for the first time, a unique dictionary has been developed to allow easy access to the ancient material and furnish ready answers to these questions and others like them. David W. Bercot has painstakingly combed the writings of these early church leaders and categorized the heart of their thinking into more than 700 theological, moral, and historical topics to create A Dictionary of Early Christian Beliefs. Wonderfully suited for devotional or thematic study as well as sermon illustration, this resource offers a window into the world of the early church and affords special opportunity to examine topically the thoughts of students of the original apostles, as well as other great lights in the life of the early church.Collects relevant comments on key Christian concepts from prominent figures such as Origen, Clement of Alexandria, Clement of Rome, and HippolytusIncludes key biblical verses associated with a given topicOffers brief definitions of unfamiliar terms or concepts, allowing easy access to the ancient materialProvides a “who’s who” of ante-Nicene Christianity to put in context the ancient Christian writersDiscusses more than 700 key theological, moral, and historical topicsGives strategic cross-references to related topicsFunctions as a topical index to the writings of Ante-Nicene Fathers




Reading the Sermon on the Mount


Book Description

Talbert concludes that only when the text is read in three contexts--the whole of Matthew, the whole of the New Testament, and the entire biblical plot--can the Sermon on the Mount make a contribution to decision making.




Sermon on the Mount


Book Description

Emphasizing the historical distance between the New Testament and our contemporary culture, The Sermon on the Mount offers helpful contextual insights for those seeking to discern how to live out the Bible in today's world. This sermon is the moral portrait of Jesus' own people—yet the contrast between his vision and our lives is so stark that many theologians have tried to soften the demands it makes on us until it's been skewed beyond recognition in the minds of many Christians. The goal of this special volume of The Story of God Bible Commentary series is to investigate the Sermon on the Mount in light of the way Jesus meant it to be heard, requiring us to ask difficult questions about ethics, discipleship, and salvation. The first commentary series to do so, SGBC offers a clear and compelling exposition of biblical texts, guiding everyday readers in how to creatively and faithfully live out the Bible in their own contexts. Its story-centric approach is ideal for pastors, students, Sunday school teachers, and laypeople alike. Each volume employs three main, easy-to-use sections designed to help readers live out God's story: LISTEN to the Story: Includes complete NIV text with references to other texts at work in each passage, encouraging the reader to hear it within the Bible's grand story. EXPLAIN the Story: Explores and illuminates each text as embedded in its canonical and historical setting. LIVE the Story: Reflects on how each text can be lived today and includes contemporary stories and illustrations to aid preachers, teachers, and students. Edited by Scot McKnight and Tremper Longman III, and written by a number of top-notch theologians, The Story of God Bible Commentary series will bring relevant, balanced, and clear-minded theological insight to any biblical education or ministry.




Sermon On The Mount


Book Description

Matthew 5-7, popularly known as the Sermon on the Mount, has been described as "the essence of Christianity" and inspired many commentaries. However, New Testament professor Charles Quarles believes a fair number of those volumes either present Christ's sermon as containing an impossible spiritual ethic or instead dilute its message so much that hardly any ethical challenge remains. Also concerning, a recent Gallup poll indicated only onethird of American adults recognize Jesus as the source of this teaching that has often inspired people who do not even embrace evangelical Christianity. Quarles' new analysis, part of the New American Commentary Studies in Bible & Theology series, aims to fill the gap between these extremes by dealing with the important questions of whether believers can live by the Sermon on the Mount today, and, if so, how. Looking at the Beatitudes, what it means to be salt and light, and the demand for superior righteousness, he writes to restore this crucial section of our Lord's teaching to its proper place in His church.




On the Sermon On The Mount


Book Description

This is the extended and annotated edition including * an extensive biographical annotation about the author and his life This edition includes the two books that St. Augustine wrote as explanations on the Sermon On The Mount which our Lord delivered and which are written down in Matthew 5-7.




The Gospel According to Matthew


Book Description

The publication of the King James version of the Bible, translated between 1603 and 1611, coincided with an extraordinary flowering of English literature and is universally acknowledged as the greatest influence on English-language literature in history. Now, world-class literary writers introduce the book of the King James Bible in a series of beautifully designed, small-format volumes. The introducers' passionate, provocative, and personal engagements with the spirituality and the language of the text make the Bible come alive as a stunning work of literature and remind us of its overwhelming contemporary relevance.




Living the Sermon on the Mount


Book Description

In Living the Sermon on the Mount, theologian and award-winning author Glen H. Stassen helps us to see that the revolutionary ideas in the Sermon on the Mount about loving and caring for each other, living in peace, and acting justly are not unattainable ideals but a recipe for wholeness and healing in our human relationships and deliverance from the vicious cycles that we get stuck in.




The Sermon on the Mount


Book Description

Taking his cue from Saint Augustine, who once described the Sermon on the Mount as the perfect measure of the Christian life, Frank Matera provides an exposition of the sermon that draws out its implications for daily life. Written for readers who want to know how they ought to live out their discipleship today, this volume shows how the sermon summons all believers to single-minded devotion and wholehearted service to God. This lively and engaging commentary is an ideal resource for adult education and Bible study groups, as well as for individuals looking to deepen their discipleship.