The Message of Romans

Stott is solidly evangelical with a pastor’s heart. With exuberant love and reverence for God’s Word, he offers readers relevant application points that are particularly helpful for teachers in local church groups. [Full Review]

I have become a collector of commentaries ever since my seminary days in the 1990s. As such, I am only going to recommend the best overall commentary for each book of the Bible on this site. Stott's commentary on Romans is at times too brief on matters, but it is by the first commentary on Romans I ever consult. If you only had one, I would start with him. (Schreiner and Moo offer more "scholarly" works).

Written by John Stott. What else is there to say? Awesome! Highly recommend.

When Paul first penned his letter to the house churches of Rome, his purpose was to gain prayerful support for his coming mission to the western reaches of the Mediterranean world. Little did he know that for two millennia this tautly tuned exposition of the gospel would echo through church and academy, market and home. Or that it would leap great oceans to reverberate through lands and hearts beyond the farthest edges of his world. John Stott, in this new paper edition previously released under the title Romans, joins a chorus of distinguished voices of the church who have pondered and lived the great themes of Romans, and who have tuned our ears to hear its rich harmonies and meditate on its broad vision. In the classic tradition of great Christian leaders who have commented on Romans, Stott expounds Paul’s words, themes and arguments. The power of the gospel, the righteousness of God revealed from heaven, is clearly addressed to today’s men and women who have answered its summons. Not only is Stott deeply acquainted with the text and context of Romans, he is also conversant with the most recent Pauline scholarship. But most important, he views Romans from his own pastoral and missionary perspective, an outlook shaped in turn by the great vision of the apostle. Here is a commentary spanning the two worlds of Romans–Paul’s and ours. [Full Review]

There were some decent offerings here by Stott. I would not recommend this commentary if you were only going to purchase one or two on the book but I did like the fact that he often engaged with thoughts from Lloyd-Jones amongst others that often do not gain enough attention in critical commentaries. He states plainly what is needed and is very accessible. I particularly liked the way he approached the contentious section of Romans 7. All in all, this commentary is very good!

[Full Review]