Studies in the Sermon on the Mount

Do you hate religion? I know I do, and I'm a pastor. Christianity is not hoops of rituals, rules, and traditions that people hop through in an attempt to please God. Christianity is not trying to be a better person or trying to pretend we are more than we really are. The Sermon on the Mount reveals what true Christianity is about. The Sermon on the Mount lays the foundation for Christianity. It exposes our true helpless condition before God and calls for Him to transform us into what truly does please Him. In fact, our sinful nature and our world goes contrary to everything that Christ teaches here. "Blessed are the poor in Spirit?" Our world says don't be humble, be aggressive. Demand your rights. "Blessed are those that mourn" Our world and minds tries everything possible to avoid thinking on true sinful conditions of our world. We instead want to deny the truth and escape to some pleasure. In David Martyn Lloyd-Jones book on the Sermon on the Mount he lays out before us what Christ was truly teaching about the Kingdom of God and its citizens. The Sermon teaches us what it takes to be a true Christian: Poor in spirit - We must humbly recognize our spiritual bankruptness before God. We must admit we are sinful, helpless, and deserving of God's righteous punishment. This humility opens the door for the next Beatitude... Mourning - As Lloyd-Jones will lay out for you this is having godly sorrow over your sin and the sins of others. Not only have you recognized you deserve God's judgment, but you truly want to change (repentance). This repentance opens the door for the next Beatitude... Meekness - Your true awareness of self in the presence of God makes you lowly, gentle, and humble towards others. You tend to agree with them of your lowly state and that it can only be by God's grace that you can be changed and used for the good. starve and thirst for righteousness - As each beatitude builds off the other one the next one to naturally follow is craving the necessities of spiritual life. This person starves for God to deliver them from their sins and replace those things with Christ's perfect and good character. It also speaks of having true peace with God through a right relationship. And each Beatitude, as you will see in this book, builds off each other. They not only speak of the path of one becoming a true follower of Christ, but also these describe the character of every true follower of Christ. Because God's Spirit enters the believer the Christian will live this supernaturally good life. And people around us will recognize the difference between us and the rest of the world, just as a Japanese citizen would stand out in another culture. Of course, this book is not just about the Beatitudes but about the whole Sermon on the Mount. Trust me, this book may be huge, but it's a great read. Pace yourselves by reading one 10 page chapter each night. And don't forget to apply what you learn. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to know the truth about God's Kingdom and how a real follower of Christ is live. No more religion! Give me the real stuff: a God-empowered life and a humble relationship with my Creator, King, and Savior.

One of the greatest books of The sermon on the Mount I've ever read I've had to order five or six extras to pass out to close brothers in Christ to share this great word with them very informative great book

I have come across no better treatment of the Sermon on the Mount than what D. Martyn Loydd Jones has done this volume. There is no doubt that He was given particular grace to exposit and expound this exceptional passage of scripture. He gives such clarity and has a keen insight to see into the text and lift out the essence of the gospel in such a simple and relevant way so as to be timeless. The era he wrote in just after WW II, seemed to be quite remarkable because it created certian tensions in both society and the church. These pressures weighed on the minds of men and created an atmosphere that is much like our own in some ways, because we are looking for a solution to the international tensions that seem ready to explode at any minuet. England had just passed through it's greatest test as a nation, and both she and Europe were devastated by HItler's reign of terror on the earth. This cause all kinds of supposition and clamor for how to solve the worlds problems, and the church was not exempt in it's attempt to have an answer. In this way, it is prophetic for our day as we look at the rising tensions in the earth and the uncertainty that hangs over her. The author has such keen insight to see through the rhetoric and mistaken notions of the gospel so as to cut right through it and expose the fallacies floating around the church. Much the same kind of thought permeates the church today as they look for a political solution, or some other way to reform the behavior of man by some human means. Over and over again, as he mines the depths of the beatitudes and what they truly mean, He shows that only the work of the Holy Spirit can change the heart of a man and thus bring peace in the earth. This book has shed so much light for me on the true meaning and intent of the gospel, it has shifted my understanding of what God has truly intended in the Gospel. No only that, it has given me much insight on the ways of God and what He is truly after in the heart of man- HIs love and devotion to Him alone, and God's commitment to do that in the man that will yield to Him.

Convicting easy read that has really cleared up some questions I’ve always had about the impossibility of living up to the Sermon on the Mount. His thesis is that if you think you CAN live up to it by trying hard enough then you are “doing violence” to the sermon. He starts with the Beatitudes and how they build upon one another. It all starts with being poor in spirit. Like the tax collector who beat his breast, or like Isaiah who said “I am a man of unclean lips who lives among a people of unclean lips” or like Peter after his betrayal of Christ. He talks about the impossibility of building righteousness into our own lives. Righteousness is a gift from God, but we are not just passive receivers. We have to do the work of “putting ourselves in the way of Jesus” like the blind man did. He put himself in front of Jesus and said, “I’m blind!” ..and Jesus healed him. The blind man didn’t just passively sit there waiting for something to happen. He responded to what was available. I loved that. So simple yet so revealing about why we don’t do that. He also talks about avoiding things that hinder our righteousness. But without getting all prideful about ourselves. We can go into a ditch on both sides of the road. Such a good read!

For Christians, and those aspiring to become Christian, you would be wise to purchase this book and study it. Don't let the number of pages discourage you from buying it; each verse is broken down into 8 to 10 pages for easy understanding and future reference. There are many books out there to help you understand the Bible. This one is at the top of my list. Plan on reading it for a year; your time invested will be a 1000-fold rewarding in your spiritual understanding.

Utterly fantastic. One of the coolest things about the Sermon on the Mount is that it basically describes what a Christian is supposed to be like. It's literally the longest stretch of teaching in the Bible directly from Jesus. It's just packed with amazing truth. It covers so many aspects of faith and Christian living. And Martyn Lloyd-Jones is known as one of the very best expository teachers ever. I first heard of him because Tim Keller says he's one of his heroes. Another great thing about the book is that each chapter is a separate sermon that was transcribed (he preached at Westminster Chapel in London for almost 30 years). So it reads really naturally and doesn't feel like a textbook. Each chapter is roughly the same length and is short enough that it can be read in 15 minutes or so. But the nice thing about it is that it has continuity. So you can get in a rhythm and really dive deep into the same passages day after day, week after week.

Very helpful insight into the sermon on the mount. This text is 65 years old, but very relevant. I only wish I had bought it sooner! It does contain both volumes 1 and 2

I am in chapter twenty, not yet finished with this remarkably stunning, challenging book. In agreement with another reader, I think/feel that this is the best book I have read besides the Bible itself. It is full of thought and facts elaborated/expounded on. Chapter twenty contains explanations I have never read before, that are so core to understanding what this book is about.-- As well as illuminating for all New Testament study. PLEASE read this book all the way through. You will not regret spending the time, and you will be blessed.

Consistente com o ensino do sermão ! Explicou pontos importantes e destacou as diferenças entre o cristão e o não cristão

This has to be the best book ever written on the Sermon on the Mount. It is a detailed study that is as relevant today as it was 2000 years ago! I have read through the entire book but plan on starting over again and re-reading it. If you read it and apply it daily to your life, it will not only change you spiritually and your relationship with God but everyone else you meet along the way. I highly recommend it!

Christians or not, we are bound to have heard quotes or teaching from the Sermon of Mount. If you grew up in the church environment, the teaching would have stuck in your mind as moral teaching at the very least. That familiarity gives us a false sense of understanding. The exposition of Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (MLJ) on the Sermon of the Mount is spot on. First he points out that it is wrong to pick bits of the teaching out of the context. Rather the Sermon must be learnt and understood as a whole. Secondly, he points out that few, even non-Christians, are offended by Christ's teaching in the Sermon. In fact, many embrace it as sound moral teaching. This can only be that they do not really understand the teaching. MLJ then drops the bombshell that the Sermon is for Christians and no one in his own effort can observe the teaching of the Sermon on the Mount. We need a regenerated soul with Christ dwelling in us to be able to put it into practice. It is a description of born-again Christians. To think that we can take it as moral ideals which, if observe,will lead to a better society reflects a total misunderstanding of the Sermon. If we do understand what the teaching is about, it will become offensive, as in the offence of the cross (Galatians 5:11), because of what it exposes about ourselves if we are truthful in submitting ourselves to the scrutiny of the Word. "For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart." (Hebrews 4:12) If we read the Sermon of the Mount properly, you will experience the active and piercing word of God. I agree with MLJ that we need to hear the faithful preaching of the Sermon of the Mount, lest we face the shock at the final judgement when we thought we were going to go into heaven, only to hear Christ say, "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord', will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?' And then will I declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.' (Matthew 7:21-23) If we do not grab hold of the Sermon of Mount, there is a huge danger for us to deceive ourselves into believing that we are Christians but actually we are not. In expounding this passage, MLJ points out how subtle the difference is. We know that we need to continually examine ourselves, but with what? With the Sermon of the Mount! This is something we can keep examining not our behaviour but our HEART! where people do not see and there is a chance that we may not even see it ourselves.It is a strait gate and narrow way to heaven for a reason. We have Christianity Explored Course or Alpha course - actually we should just teach the Sermon of the Mount to seekers or believers alike as what Christianity is about is all in there. All the answers we want to know about Christian being and living are in here - the Sermon of the Mount. MLJ questions how often we hear the Sermon of the Mount preached in totality. Actually in my thirty years of sitting in the pews, I cannot recall it has been preached like MLJ did - as a whole with the logic and linkage pointed out before looking into the details. Therefore his book is ground breaking for me. It reveals its depth to me and the beauty of our Lord Jesus Christ. Prior to that, my understanding was superficial, if not grossly wrong! If Christians do not know the true meaning of the teaching of the Sermon of the Mount, we do not really know what it means by being a Christian and the chance is that we can be wrong in believing we are. Besides we may pick up social interpretations of it without even being conscious of it, which then need to be corrected. Having read this book, I am convicted that I have slighted our Lord's teaching. Although I have read through the Sermon of the Mount many times, I don't think I have truly heard the voice of the Lord in it until now. I have been humbled to realise how little I did know. If you are a Christian, reading this book is a matter of urgency. Don't delay it. Read it now. the book is long and full of repetitions as they are sermons but they are needed, to take us through the teaching and to make sure we get it. We also need the length of the book to really have it sink in. Therefore do not rush it but take your time to dwell deep into it. There is nothing more I can say about this book, except that it unlocks the spiritual treasure for us which has been dulled by our over-familiarity and overbearing manner in our approach to it. .

Good insights

「山上の垂訓」の学びをされたい方にお勧めです。 Vol. 1のみですが、Vol.2 のキンドル化が進むことを期待しています。