One of my favorite sections of Scripture is the Sermon on the Mount, from Matthew 5, 6 and 7. Some of Jesus’ best known teachings come from these three chapters. And many of the topics he speaks of in these verses have become very familiar to us.

Too familiar, maybe.

From turning the other cheek to being a city on a hill. From treasures in heaven to judgment. From divorce, murder, and adultery to giving, worry and fasting. There are the wise and foolish builders, the narrow and wide gates, and the passage telling us to ask, seek, knock. And then there are the Beatitudes.

While most of these passages are straight forward and can be taken at face value, the Beatitudes seem to stump us. The Beatitudes seem vague and general. Are they a stair-step progression of what a Christian should be? Or are they deeper than that? Or, perhaps, is it much more simple than that?

These are some of the questions that have always bothered me as I read these short verses. I’ve landed on the general belief that they are a progression that we go through as Christians as we grow, but even so, that understanding seems to leave something behind. It doesn’t quite explain this passage of Jesus’ words satisfactorily.

Until now. Until I read Crucifying Morality, by R. W. Glenn.

Because of my love for the rest of these chapters, and when I saw that this book might help explain the purpose of the first section, I had to read it.

And I’m glad I did.

Crucifying Morality is a deep examination of the Beatitudes, looking at them in a totally new light. These eight statements aren’t steps to follow, or phases we go through. They are, quite simply, the Gospel in a nutshell. Jesus makes these eight declarations and stuns us when we actually get a good look at what he’s saying, and not what we think he’s saying.

Too often, we try to do our own thing. Even in the realm of our faith, we tend to think that if we just do more, or do it better, we can somehow please God and take a step closer to salvation.

But Jesus makes it clear: nothing we can do will get us there. He had to do what needed to be done; he had to crucify our morality, so that we could depend upon his grace to do what we could never do on our own.

And that’s the message of the Beatitudes.

In Crucifying Morality, Glenn disposes of the notion that the Beatitudes are steps we must take, or a progression we must go through to become like Christ. Instead, he presents them more as realities we become as we become more and more dependent upon God and his grace.

There are a lot of great insights in this short book, things that I wonder that I’ve never discovered before. Many of the things Glenn says have sparked new thoughts and ideas in my mind concerning the Beatitudes that I’ve never explored before. Glenn gives excellent definitions of such terms as meekness and poor in spirit. He defines repentance in a fresh way that sheds new light on the term. He discusses the difference between grace and mercy, showing how the two are different, yet inseparably linked together.

Essentially he defines Christianity:

Christianity is not about making yourself a Christian. It is about ceasing and desisting from the futile and foul attempt to save yourself by your own record or merit or background. It is about repenting of your righteousness to embrace the righteousness of Christ — and it is about doing this every day.

I was very impressed with Crucifying Morality. However, this is not necessarily material for your children’s Sunday School class. This work is deep and thoughtful. There were many times I had to stop and reread a paragraph or two, or even put the book down for a while to ponder and idea, so that I could make sure I understood what Glenn was saying there.

But despite the more difficult readability, I was very impressed with the book. My only disappointment was with Glenn’s chapter on the peacemakers. It seemed as if he didn’t have as great of a grasp on this topic as he did the others. That particular chapter seemed vague and indistinct to me, incomplete.

But over all, I was very challenged by the content in Crucifying Morality. in may ways, I know it will be a resource I use over and over.

If you love the Sermon on the Mount, I recommend you read this book. You’ll definitely gain more insight from Glenn’s efforts. And you’ll awaken new ideas and thoughts that you may have never had before. My guess is you’ll be glad you read it too.

What is your favorite portion of the Sermon on the Mount? You can leave your thoughts in the comments section below.

If you are interested in reading Crucifying Morality, by R. W. Glenn, you can purchase it at Amazon.com, or directly from Shepherd’s Press.

Disclosure of Material Connection:
I received this book free from Cross Focused Media as part of their Cross Focused Reviews blogger review program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. Also, some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links”. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.“