'The followers of Jesus are to be different,' writes John Stott, 'different from both the nominal church and the secular world, different from both the religious and the irreligious. The Sermon on the Mount is the most complete delineation anywhere in the New Testament of the Christian counter-culture. Here is a Christian value-system, ethical, standard, religious devotion, attitude to money, ambition, lifestyle and network of relationships - all of which are totally at variance with those in the non-Christian world. And this Christian counter-culture is the life of the Kingdom of God, a fully human life indeed but lived out under the divine rule.' In his careful exposition of the Sermon on the Mount, John Stott accurately expounds the biblical text and relates it to life today. Above all, the author says, he wants to let Christ speak this sermon again, this time to the modern world.

Chalmer E. Faw brings Acts to life for our day. He blends thorough biblical scholarship with wisdom from extensive and varied experience in missionary work and Bible teaching. His careful exposition of the book of Acts is supplemented with literary and theological discussion.The key word in Acts is witness for Jesus Christ, from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth. God's Spirit anoints the church at Pentecost, leads believers in handling conflicts between converts new and old, and empowers Christians to overcome false beliefs and magic. In Acts, Luke tells this dramatic story with subtle humor. 336 Pages.

Ernest D. Martin takes Bible students into the rich text of the letter to the church at Colossae and the highly personal letter to Philemon. Martin draws on his experience as pastor, teacher, and writer to engage the reader in the complexities of the text. All the while, he focuses on a Christ-centered biblical theology and the amazingly revelant pastoral concerns that shaped these letters. In commenting on Colossians, Martin highlights a wholistic Christology in contrast to the past and present perversions of the gospel. In the section on Philemon, he draws attention to the social implications of the koinonia of faith for the servants of Jesus Christ. 344 Pages.

Pleins' exposition reveals in the Psalms the core of a liberating worship that grasps the realities of individual suffering as well as the stern demands of social justice. Presenting a stirring fresh translation of many of the ancient hymns and prayers of the psalter, Pleins offers new perspectives on their meaning for the individual as well as for the community, from biblical times to the present.

The Believers Church Bible Commentary presents the best of modern scholarship in an accessible, practical form. The commentary emphasizes the special concerns of readers from the Believers Church tradition.

At the end of each chapter, an article on "The Text in the Life of the Church" highlights how the Scripture passage applies to the daily practice of Christian faith. Some of the themes that the Believers Church Bible Commentary underscores are believer's baptism, submission to the rule of Christ in the church, and following Christ in personal sacrifice and service.

The Gospel according to Matthew is perhaps the most important single document of the New Testament, for in it we have the fullest and most systematic account of the birth, life, teaching, death and resurrection of the founder of Christianity, Jesus the Messiah. Michael Green shows how this very Jewish Gospel portrays the power and purpose of Jesus' life and work, which was to bring light to all nations. Matthew records Jesus as Son of God, Messiah, Son of David, Son of Man and supremely as God returning to Jerusalem as judge and redeemer. The consequences of this steady focus are as relevant now as then. We need Matthew's emphasis on the unity of God's revelation, old and new, its reaching on the life of discipleship and the meaning of the kingdom of heaven, and its insights into the people of the messiah, the end of the world and the universality of the Good News.