Studies in the Sermon on the Mount by David Martyn Lloyd-Jones is regarded as a spiritual classic on Jesus’ remarkable kingdom charter in Matthew 5 – 7.
Jones is detailed in his exposition, showing that the Sermon on the Mount is not a code of ethics or a list of moral rules.
According to Jones,
“When we consider the Sermon on the Mount, we are never to stop even with the moral, ethical, spiritual teaching; we are to go beyond all these things…to the Person of the Preacher Himself [Jesus]…. In other words, the Sermon on the Mount… is really a kind of basic statement out of which everything else comes. It is full of doctrine; and the idea that it is moral, ethical teaching and nothing else, is an idea that is quite foreign to the teaching of the Sermon…”
I love the statement: “We are to go beyond all these things…to the Person of the Preacher Himself [Jesus].”
Whenever I have taught on this part of Matthew’s Gospel, I have stressed that what Jesus says there is a really, at bottom, a depiction of Himself and His character.
And as we live by Christ’s indwelling life together, those wonderful characteristics are visibly expressed in a body of believers.
That’s my own take.
Jones’ work is remarkable in that it’s highly detailed as well as thought provoking.
For anyone who is looking deeply at this portion of Scripture, they should have this work in their possession.
Here are some reviews.
John R. W. Stott – “A spiritual classic.”
Southwestern Journal of Theology – “Books on the Sermon on the Mount are legion, but Lloyd-Jones’ penetrating work deserves to be classed among the very best of them. . . These messages deal seriously with the meaning of the biblical text, probe deeply into the human heart, and come to grips with humanity’s profoundest needs.”
Eternity – “One of the most important studies of Matthew 5-7 in print. Lloyd-Jones speaks plainly and forcefully. He is loyal to the word of God and offers ample reason for the Christian gospel and hope. A reading of this book cannot help but bring a fuller understanding of and love for the Sermon on the Mount.”
Restoration Review
“Lloyd-Jones has written some of the best stuff ever. His Studies in the Sermon on the Mount will thrill your soul.”
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