Customer Reviews

Romans: The Niv Application Commentary: From Biblical Text to Contemporary Life

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I agree that Moo's other commentary is a lot more indepth and a lot better, but for a Bible study of Romans this is the perfect commentary. It's half the price and it doesn't include all of the technical info that is important for a serious study, but not necessary for a basic Bible study. The key word is "Application" - this is a great guide that gives some background and good application to Paul's letter to the Romans, without getting too indepth. If you are looking for a guide to help you understand Romans and apply it to your life, I'd highly recommend this one. If you are a theological student studying Romans more indepth - go with Moo's bigger commentary.

While this commentary is not as in-depth as Moo's NICNT commentary on Romans, it is still of great value to those who preach and/or teach the Bible. Why? Because of the contemporary application. For instance, Moo's comments on Romans 8 should be read by every evangelical Christian everywhere. Not only does he cover the Greek text adequately and succintly but he also makes the obvious connection between the ultimate redemption of the created universe and the need for real Christian ecology, which is often completely missed. Douglas Moo is a great commentator and this volume (as well as most of the NIV Application Commentaries) is must have!

Douglas Moo has definitely risen as a top scholar on Romans. I've read to one extent or another three of his commentaries on Romans. He has a longer more indepth scholarly commentary on Romans (New International Commentary on the New Testament) and a shorter commentary included in the IVP one-volume Bible commentary. This NIV Application Commentary serves its own purpose as it is designed to comment on the text itself, unpack the original context of the verses, and provide an explanation of its application to a contemporary reader or audience. I read the entire text as required for a seminary class on Romans. With a few exceptions, every page of this commentary is interesting, helpful and devotional.

Moo provides the critical exegesis material on Romans in this volume. He analyzes the Greek words when helpful, he offers differing views of other commentators and shares his own opinions when there are opposing views. He often compares his analysis with other commentaries and offers a full study of the Scripture. Moo is also not shy about sharing personal stories or offering examples from everyday life to help illustrate his points.

The organization of the commentary is helpful to Bible Study or application. Although scholars may prefer Moo's longer commentary, I think pastors, lay ministers and interested readers will be fully satisfied with Moo's treatment of Romans in this book. I would recommend it for any level of reader.

To me, this is a very fine commentary for personal Bible study. The sections on analysis of the text are brief compared to Moo's major commentary, of course, but are pithy, to the point, and display the interpretive accuracy that Dr. Moo is deservedly known for. He is particularly strong in explaining the flow of the letter. The bridging and application sections are useful in general. They often encouraged me in my own study of Romans to reflect on important issues that I would not have come up with on my own. In my own study, using Moo's major commentary for exegesis in tandem with this one for the applications, was for me the best of both worlds.

The Kindle edition has no way to quickly get to each chapter. In the table of contents it only has a link for "Text and Commentary on Romans," once you click on that it takes you to Romans 1:1-7. If you wanted to study those verses great, but if you wanted to study Romans 13:8-10, well then you have to go and find it yourself. With hundreds of pages that is extremely frustrating. I had Amazon return my money right after I discovered this.

I'm currently leading a group through Romans and we're about half way through. This commentary has been exactly what I was looking for when I began the study. Each section of text starts with an "Original Meaning" (the exegesis) which hits all those points those of us who don't know Greek miss. Then there's the "Bridging Contexts" section (the hermeneutics) that helps bridge the gap between the ancient reader and today. Finally, there's the "Contemporary Significance" section (the application) to help apply the text to our lives.

I've not seen this approach so clearly followed before and I really like it. I personally was looking for a good exegetical commentary that wouldn't have so much of the original languages that it would go over my head and this commentary achieves that. I was less interested in the bridging contexts and applications sections (I typically like to avoid commentaries for the application part), but these portions have proven to be suprisingly helpful.

The author's style is very engaging and he doesn't belabor points. He's apparently written a much longer and in depth Romans commentary and I feel he's done a great job giving me the key highlights without forcing me to wade through pages and pages of explaination that I would likely not understand or (being married with 3 kids) have time for.

I would highly recommend this to any layman who is teaching Romans but has no formal bible or original language training (it would be great for personal study too).

NIVAC is a great series for those looking for a commentary with a very pastoral approach or one that doesn't get too technical. Anyone doing any serious academic study need look elsewhere, however. For example, Moo's own NIC on Romans is almost 3 times as thick as that of his NIVAC. Then again, if you don't want to mess with Greek, this may be exactly what you're looking for.

On Moo in general, his commentary is good, but you might want to check out Schreiner's instead.

This is a must have for anyone who is studying Romans or anybody just interested in Paul's journey. I highly recommend this book to everyone!

If you need an excellent commentary for college studies or for just helping you to understand particular texts of the NIV Bible, this is the book to purchase. It is very well written with easy to understand vocabulary and textual analysis. The author explains problematic texts in a way that is easy to comprehend and put into use for your own studies or for teaching Biblical coursework. I recommend this book for NIV readers.

I purchased this commentary prior to giving a Sunday School class on the book of Romans. Douglas Moo provided a lot of insight to add to the other books I've read on Romans. The concept of providing perspective from the culture to which the letter was written and bridging it to our culture and discussing modern day application is very helpful.