This book is absolutely fantastic and I could not recommend it more. Stott examines the church's role in social action historically, and wonderfully explains the Christian's biblical responsibility. He then approaches various topics such as war, the environment, North-South economic inequality and human rights. He gives a very easy-to-read but thorough description of the issues and the biblical response. It is extremely thought provoking and would be wonderful for a group discussion.

Dear Sir:
Only book beside the Holy Scriptures that I found very uplifting and encouraging. Part I on THE ORIGINAL JESUS and Part IV on ETERNAL JESUS are masterly and superb. I had written off western theolgians and their writings. They are not worth the paper they are printed on. Dr. Stott's book "Incomparable CHRIST" is worth having and studying.
His analysis of Ecclesiastical Jesus was an honest depiction of the JESUS that the fallen human beings have made in their own image.
In the part II on Ecclesiastical Jesus, in section 8 "Christ the human teacher: Ernest Renan and Thomas Jefferson", the author talks about Jefferson cutting and pasting the passages of the Scriptures to come up with his own Bible devoid of the Spernaturals and Miracles of the LORD ESHOO MESHIHAH. Jefferson should have subjected himself to the warning in the book of Proverbs " Do not add to His words; lest He reprove you, and you be found a liar". I am told that he is one of the signers of the declaration of independence. If He had truly understood the Holy Scriptures and embraced the LORD ESHOO who is the PERFECT Priest, who made the Perfect Sacrifice and inaugrated the Perfect Covenant, the lines in the declaration of Independence " Life. liberty, and pursuit of happiness " would have instead read " Eternal life, freedom from sin, and pursuit of holiness".

In the Part III on Influencial Jesus, in section 4 on the Sermon on the Mount the author talks about how Mahatma Gandhi tried to emmulate sermon on the mount via Non-Violence principles? Gandhi was too proud of his humilty to grasp the essence of the Sermon on the Mount. Gandhi in his autobiography titled " My experiment with truth" made blasphemeous statement on the Perfect Sacrifce that ESHOO MESHIHAH made on behalf of sinners like me. Having rejected ESHOO's work on the cross, Gandhi forfeited the gift of the HOLY SPIRIT who God gives to those that believe in HIM and obey HIM. It is only through the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit that we can live out the life as expounded by my SAVIOR and LORD in the Sermon on the Mount that issued from His blessed lips 2000 years ago and still speak to us today, for Eshoo said, heaven and earth shall pass away but my word shall not pass away.

Finally God is Spirit and they that worship Him must worship Him in Spirit and in truth. Ten Commandment forbide us to make an image of Him. Therefore putting a picture of Eshoo on the cover page of the book is in violation of the second of the Ten Commandments. Apostles have left us with the work of Christ and the words of Christ, but not have handed down to us any picture of ESHOO.This may be the result of the Anglican church being an offshoot of the Catholic Church whose especiallity it is to make and sell pictures of Jesus thus making merchandise of the Gospel. I strongly urge that the picture from the cover page be deleted.
As for as my own copy of this book is concerned. I have smeared the picture with a black ink marker thus honoring the Ten Commandment. I was tempted to throw the book away but did not want to throw out the baby with the bath water. This is the perseverence of saints that they keep the commandments of God and their testimony of Jesus.
After all I am honoring first of the three test that Dr. Stott talks about in this book and they are (1) Doctrinal Test, (2) Moral Test, and (3) Social Test.
I shall always be deeply indebted to Dr. John R. W. Stott for writing this book especially the chapters on THE ORIGINAL JESUS and THE ETERNAL JESUS.
Sincerely and Cordially.

Dr. Ram Munjal

This is the first book I have read by John Stott, and am impressed. I quickly came to the conclusion that here was an author whose opinion carries weight. No hackneyed collection of classic quotes and tired connect-the-dots reasoning, the book exhibits rich scholarship, broad range, and a wise combination of boldness and caution. He discusses both Jesus as a historical person (and I agree with him that the "historical Jesus" is the "Christ of faith"), and the influence of Jesus on history, through intermediaries not so unlike you and I.

Some of the people Stott discusses,(offering mostly positive but I think balanced critiques of Wilberforce and Gandhi, for examples, and a deservedly negative review of the Jesus seminarians) have been written about often enough elsewhere. But Stott makes the story fresh because he thinks for himself, reads a lot, and displays a depth of background knowledge such that his evaluation carries weight. Others of whom Stott writes, Justin Martyr, N.T. Wright, and Toyohiko Kagawa, I agree ought to be better known. Some (St. Benedict) were new to me. Whether famous or forgotten, Stott establishes himself as a trustworthy and wise guide from page one to the end.

Not that he is necessarily right about everything. I disagree with his view of the Crusades. Certainly Stott does not cover everything worth covering. (The Clapham Sect also deeply influenced India, for example. See Farquhar, Crown of Hinduism, and Mangalwadi, Missionary Conspiracy, etc.) This is only one book, and Christ is not only incomparable, but also incomprehensible, in the historical sense: a river of influence whose channels and depths and end no one standing on our side of the bank can fully know. But Stott generally notices what is important in those topics he does discuss. Even his take on that mysterious, strange book of Revelation does not overlook the obvious, as so many do: that in some sense at least, the book sure is inspired.

Yancey, Wright, and Polkinghorne are also worth reading on the "historical Jesus." There are some good books out there on the influence of Christ on history. But all in all, and combining both, this may be the best of the Jesus books I have read so far. (Along with my own, Jesus and the Religions of Man, which naturally I also recommend.)

This book is an obligation to understand the role of Christianism in these times. Although the Bible has been writen centuries ago, the author shows its importance and relevance nowadays. The book discusses many different aspects like social compromise, unemployment, racism, nuclear weapons, enviromental issues, sex ethical items like abort, homosexuality, divorce. But the strenght of the book is not the wide range of items, but the biblical fundations of his ideas. The author bases his ideas on what the Bible says and teaches about these aspects. And he also shows statistical and historical evidence and what non-christian people think. Good book.

Clowney gives a straightforward and helpful exposition of this significant epistle. This series is highly readable, and Clowney's contribution on I Peter is no different. He has clearly thought long and hard about most of what he says, even if some of the argumentation for his views is left out of the book.

For a more serious exegetical commentary, look to Paul Achtemeier's Hermeneia volume, J. Ramsay Michaels' work in the Word Biblical Commentary series, or Peter Davids' NIC volume. For a more expository commentary, this book stands with I. Howard Marshall's IVP New Testament Commentary as the best you can find.

Marshall has more of a scholarly bent, and his footnotes contain much information that Clowney either leaves out or works into the text, which makes Clowney's work a little more uneven. Sometimes he devotes much attention to an issue (e.g. his excellent treatment of the spirits in prison passage, encapsulating some of the material and arguments Wayne Grudem presents in his excellent appendix on the topic in his Tyndale commentary, but Clowney does so in a more shorter and more readable manner).

Other subjects get shorter shrift, and you would need a more in-depth commentary to get more background on those. Marshall seems to give a little more depth to more issues with some exegetical help in the footnotes and for that reason may be more helpful to someone who asks questions about that sort of thing. But I enjoyed Clowney more out of the two and got more out of his work personally. As straightforward exposition, this is great work.

Alec Motyer is one of the best biblical expositors out there. His greatest strength in biblical scholarship has been in the structure of biblical works, something most people have found entirely lacking in James. Motyer reconstructs what may well have been the connections in the mind of James between seemingly unrelated teachings. In this book, James no longer seems to be a collection of miscellaneous proverbs but is more a summary of a thought process that moved from one thought to the other very quickly and without explicitly tracing the connectiuons, but Motyer shows the connections behind such moves.

The unity of the book of James thus comes out very strongly, and Motyer's thesis that James is a summary of a sermon or series of sermons makes much sense. On the level of details, Motyer does a great job explaining the text and its significance for daily life. He explains the theology behind James's thinking, something many scholars have assumed is not present in this book, and he presents his material in an easily readable manner without sacrificing the quality of his comments or the grounding of what he says in the actual text of James and the light of biblical theology.

This is certainly not the most in-depth commentary on James or maybe even the best. The work by Luke Timothy Johnson in the Anchor Bible series and Douglas Moo's Pillar Commentary (as opposed to his earlier, more brief Tyndale volume) are probably the best works on this epistle. However, Motyer is an excellent place to start for a more popular level and provides a nice complement to those works.

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.

This is a very good basic overview of the right (Biblical) attitude to the Bible, how and when the study it and understand it. It is especially good in helping the reader to see the principles of natural, original and general meaning, and has some useful geographical stuff as well.

Definitely a worthwhile introduction to the topic, with challenges and incentives to read the Bible, while avoiding legalism.

A must read. Probably one of the best books on the basics of Christianity as Dr. Stott carefully lays out the foundations of the faith. Not a word is wasted. Could be a life changing book for many as it was for me.

This book is the right place to start if you want to learn the essentials of evangelical Christianity. Stott does an excellent job outlining who Christ was/is, what He did, and why He had to come and die on the Cross. He also does a good job in explaining man's need and the devastating effects sin brought on mankind. Though his interpretations of the the Ten Commandments are a bit extreme, he does a good job explaining that the root of the problem is not the external Commandments themselves but the depravity of human hearts. He also does a good job explaining why we must make a personal decision for Christ, and that our Christian upbringing or church attendance will not justify us before God. The last section of the book deals with our privileges and responsibilities as Christians. He explains that as Christians we have an intimate and personal relationship with God due to Christ's sacrifice on the Cross. Also, he strongly believes that Christians can and should have assurance of their salvation and that all Christians (no matter what their spiritual progression/regression) have a secure relationship with the Father. He also points out that as Christians we not only have a responsibility to God, but also to the Church (loving and helping fellow believers) and the world (in evangelizing to the lost). The only dark spot about the book is that the author holds to lordship salvation. Overall, though, I would highly recommend this book to "babes in Christ" and mature believers.

This is one of the most precise to the point books on Christianity that I have read. Stott writes in a down to earth no extras way that keeps you on track with his message. I recommend this book to none Christians as well as mature Christians.

As Protestantism continues to fragment, especially in America, this little book is a wonderfully clear definition of what it means to be an Evangelical Christian. The clear distinction that Pastor Stott makes between evangelicals and fundamentalists is especially welcome, given that most secular, and some religious writers mistakenly assume that the two are the same.

This book centers on the essentials of the Chistain faith. It seeks to focus on what evangelicals should and do hold as important. It is a positive approach to what can be a thorny problem of definition of an evangelical. There are interesting surprises for those who would call themselves evangelicals and those who would not, alike! It is straightforward and easy to read. It is written with Stott's characterisitic clarity of thought and style.

John Stott's work, Baptism and Fullness, I have to admit was expecting to be timid. To my surprise, it contained some pretty good information about how the Holy Spirit works in the lives of believers. This book concerns questions like, what is the promise of the Spirit in the Old Testament? To what extent does the promise apply? What is the "fruit of the Spirit" or the "fullness of the Spirit?" What about spiritual gifts? How many, and are they for today?

So, this book is a short and sweet look at these above questions. It was also pretty simple reading, though he occasionally refers to the greek language (that should not be a problem for you if you cannot read koine greek). I was not in full agreement with Stott (for instance with his interpretation of 1 Cor. 3 and the 'carnal' Christian); but for the most part, I was pleased with his approach. This work that I read was his updated second edition. One thing I would tell Stott to do if he makes a third edition is when covering if spiritual gifts are for today, discuss *which ones precisely* are for today. Otherwise, nice book (not ground-breaking, but good).

Stott carefully wades his way through the waters of life in the Spirit for Christians.

With all the different teachings about the work and manifestation of the Holy Spirit, Stott in this small volume contributes much towards beginning an understanding of the Scriptural view.

He correctly asserts that all life as a Christian is life in the Spirit. It begins at baptism, with water and Word of God and the gift of the Spirit and faith.

Holy Spirit does not want to draw attention to itself, but always to Christ our Savior. For there is forgiveness of sin in no other way. Spirit points not to individual gifts and manifestiation, but to edification of the body gathered under Word and Sacrament.

Carefully reflects that modern charismatic teaching of tongues does not reflect what NT teaches.

This book was well written. Mr. Stott put a lot of study and prayer into the writing of this book. It will open the Scripture up for a good understanding. People with all views will be made to rethink and look at the Scripture again to strengthen their understanding.