Beyond the Law Living the Sermon on the Mount

From all the rules the church preaches to the world, it's easy to assume that obeying the law is the measure of a Christian. But Jesus paints a different picture in his Sermon on the Mount. Beyond the Law considers that God's kingdom is based not on a code of law but on God's goodness and the bounteous love that God desires for the life of every Christian community. The Beatitudes open up new avenues of discipleship when received not as law but as Jesus' generous welcome to people from all walks of life.

Author Philip K. Clemens offers what he calls "a layperson's guide to discovering how God lives and moves among ordinary people." Clemens helps Christians navigate these avenues by focusing on three themes—righteousness, community, blessing—that stand out in the Sermon on the Mount. Clemens illustrates how the Sermon on the Mount opens new avenues of discipleship when received not as law but as Jesus' generous welcome to people from all walks of life.

Clemens questions why the Sermon on the Mount is the best-known, but least-followed text in the New Testament. Approaching this task from a perspective beyond mere observence of the law, he offers an enthusiastic and at times very entertaining exposition on the ultimate attractiveness and winsomeness of the gospel message.