The Message of Acts (Bible Speaks Today) [Paperback]

John R. W. Stott, The Message of Acts: The Spirit, the Church & the World. Leicester, England, and Downers Grove, Illinois, 1994 (originally published in 1990, my edition is the 13th printing 2005), 428 pages (including Study Guide), ISBN 0-8308-1236-9.

I have been a great admirer of John Stott, and in particular of his books, for many years; I have even translated some of them into German. Stott's explanations and commentaries on Scripture are lucid, full of enlightening remarks and overflowing with quotes not only from other Bible books or from the latest theological expositions, but also from the great thinkers and churchmen of the patristic, reformation and, occasionally, Puritan and evangelical periods. On the whole, Stott's book on Acts lives up to this statement pretty well, and his treatment of Paul's missionary journeys and his enforced trip to Rome are masterly, with Stott cleverly combining a re-telling of Luke's text with other historical information normally not so easily available. All during the second half of the book I found myself more or less glued to its pages, always happy to read more than I had originally planned. However, I still want to reduce my evaluation to four stars instead of five because of one point which rather disturbed me. For all his attempts at fairness and balance, Stott here seems to me to miss the mark when it comes to Luke's treatment of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit among the first Christians. Stott is so determined to see everywhere his theory of a "single Christian initiation" that he gets himself caught up in obvious logical problems, as well as missing the exegetical point in a number of passages and glossing over facts which don't seem to suit him in others. It would take too long here to argue this through, so one example will have to suffice. Stott's insistence on a single Christian initiation (something that, in fact, probably no born-again Christian will deny) seems to include water-baptism. And yet (and Stott is an Anglican paedo-baptist!) it would be very unlikely and, today at any rate, unusual for someone to be converted and baptized all at the same time. So what is the problem with a baptism in the Holy Spirit which takes place at a slightly different time from conversion? I found myself disagreeing with Stott's conclusions at all the places where such a work of the Holy Spirit is mentioned in Acts. Stott tries to argue against Pentecostals and Charismatics, but he tends to erect a "man of straw", denying statements that surely only the most unguarded of (neo-)Pentecostals would make. Personally having studied these texts in detail, I must say that I find the broad Pentecostal-charismatic way of expounding these passages to be much more natural and intellectually satisfying than Stott's way of arguing around them (each new case of Spirit-infilling being explained away as the beginning of a new phase of church evangelism among new people-groups, something that doesn't really ring true in Acts 8, is theoretically possible in Acts 10, but which goes against the whole thrust of Luke's text in Acts 19). So, generally, I would say any Bible-loving Christian will gain a lot from this book but should examine the whole Holy Spirit issue with a more open mind than Stott was able to bring to this matter.

John Stott is a thought-provoking writer with dozens of helpful titles in print, from books about his travels [People My Teachers: around the world in 80 years], books about his life-long habit of bird-watching [The Birds Our Teachers] to the many helpful books about Christian teaching, guides to the Bible and commentaries on specific books of the Bible.

His exposition of Acts has been a great help to us in our bible study group, as we are ploughing through Acts. He gives you several interpretations of controversial issues, but also lets you know his own thoughts. If you want a conservative, evangelical treatment of Luke's book about the Early Church, you will appreciate this book.

The study guide is helpful, but bear in mind that it is intended to be a guide to Stott's book, not to Acts itself. As we were not studying Stott's book, but Acts, we adapted the questions to suit ourselves, and did not find this too difficult to do.

Highly recommended. I am also finding Howard Marshall's Tyndale Commentary useful, as I prepare the studies for our group.

John Stott provides masterful exposition and commentary on the Acts. The Acts is an important book to master for any serious Bible reader; Stott's book may be the best one available for the lay student. Easy to read, non-technical, full of practical and insightful commentary. See my review of Stott's Romans commentary also. Complete the Study Guide at the back of the book and you will come away with a deep practical knowledge of Acts.