This commentary is an excellent sermon / bible study resource. It requires some background knowledge but gives great incite into the text.

It sets out to "proclaim afresh" for this generation, "the word of God, for the glory of God" and achieves this with flying colours. Can't wait to experience the next Hodder Bible Commentary.

Thank you to Martin Salter, Hodder and to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book. I was not required to write this review, which reflects my honest opinion.

I appreciated getting a copy of this commentary on Acts by Martin Salter. It's very straightforward and clear to follow even as a layperson. There's a helpful introduction about the author of Acts and dating of when it was written as well as clarifying who it was written for. There is then a good piece about the structure of the book and the themes within it. The actually commentary is broken down into manageable and readable sections with the relevant passage from Acts being set out in the book too.

With thanks to NetGalley and John Murray Press | Hodder & Stoughton for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I received a complimentary copy of the book.

The book of Acts have always felt intimidating to me, the first few chapters I am well acquainted with, but as the book goes on, I never really understood or got to dig deeper in order to understand what's happening and how God is shown throughout the story.

This Bible commentary really helped me understand the things I would normally just read over and not get a full revelation or understanding of.
Sometimes I am overwhelmed by Bible commentaries, also because there's so many writers out there giving their opinions and revelations, so in the beginning of this I felt a little overwhelmed, but as I kept reading while reading my Bible, I started to enjoy it more.

This Bible commentary is a great tool to use alongside your Bible. I love how it shows how the message of salvation is spread even through difficult situations.

I would recommend this to anyone who would like to dig deeper in the passages of the book of Acts and gain greater understanding of the verses and life of Peter, Paul, the church, the message of salvation, etc.

This was a pretty good Bible Commentary. I was hesitant about this because I've never heard of the writers, but I was impressed.

I love the book of Acts. It's so interesting to see how the disciples go forth for Jesus, but there is so much information in this book, it's easy to get lost. This Bible Commentary help clear up a lot of places I was confused. I am really glad to have this for my Bible study.

I learned a lot from this and would recommend it to anyone looking for a new Bible Commentary.

*I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own *

Okay Read

I received an advanced review copy for free from Netgalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This was a good read. I got some of the Hodder Bible Commentary books from Netgalley, and I decided to start with The Hodder Bible Commentary: Acts. The Hodder Bible Commentary: Acts is written by Martin Salter and thoroughly examines the Book of Acts. I think it gives me more of a perspective of the events that occurred. I thought it made me expand on my biblical knowledge so that I can build my relationship with God. This is my first Bible Commentary book, and I know as I grasp more understanding of what goes into a commentary. I believe that this was an okay start for me to build on my relationship and understand the many questions that I had in the Book of Acts. I hope as I go through the other Bible Commentary books that I can gain more insight into the Bible and the historical and scholarly aspects presented in the commentary. Overall, an okay read.

An extremely useful guide to The Book Of Acts. A great resource for bible students and enthusiasts who want to deepen their understanding of scripture and their faith.

I have read Acts many times so it was nice to get a different perspective on it and get an even deeper understanding the journeys the men took.

Salter provides a fairly comprehensive commentary on the Book of Acts, utilizing scholarship and historical accounts. It would be helpful for many to have a basic understanding of the earliest decades of The Way (the new Christian “church”). It’s easy to read and understand and answers many of the most common questions about this part of Christian scriptures.

Like many commentaries, but unlike the best ones, Salter does not present many contrary viewpoints or deal with the really difficult questions. For example, I found his view of Paul/Saul to be one of extreme reverence, almost making Paul infallible and equal to Christ. Such as Paul’s return to Jerusalem, recounted in Acts 20-21, he avoids how to interpret 20:22-23 with 21:4. In the earlier verses, Paul says he’s compelled by the Spirit (capitalized in most translations to show the deity). Or is he compelled in his own spirit? Because Paul admits that he’s been warned by the Holy Spirit—note the distinction—of the imprisonment and afflictions if he goes there. And then on his journey, Paul is greeted by church members in Tyre who proclaim that the Spirit (again, often capitalized) is indicating that Paul should not go to Jerusalem. Salter does not answer whether it’s the Holy Spirit in all three messages, or just the one so designated. The alternative is that Paul’s own spirit says, “Go” while the church leaders’ vibe (lower case spirit) is that Paul should not go. And the only divine message is one predicting his fate. Salter does not acknowledge that perhaps Paul’s hubris as the Great Evangelist compels him towards the Jewish capital. Salter only exalts Paul’s determination to suffer, if he must, for the cause. But what cause? Jerusalem already had plenty of apostles, evangelists, teachers. If death occurs in Jerusalem, as might be expected, it does not further any potential mission to Rome.

In the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament), and in the Gospels, we’re given portraits of many flawed people of faith who stumbled, imperfectly trying to live up to God’s expectations. I didn’t find anything like that in this commentary. Even Peter, who needs to be told three times in a vision to eat “unclean” (non-kosher) food (Acts 10), is viewed favorably in this commentary. Peter’s obtuseness or cultural reluctance or stubbornness is not mentioned (as is often found in commentaries)…or was he already open to new relationships, staying with a tanner (an awful, odorous job) because he had already communed with a tax collector and Zealot and a half-Jewish/half-Greek as fellow disciples?. Peter had already learned from the Christ how to relate to non-Jews: his spiritual brothers and sisters in the inner circle, throughout Samaria, the Decapolis, Tyre/Sidon, etc.. So what really is the lesson of Peter’s vision? Salter in some ways just gives us the Sunday School answer here.

If you need a basic single volume commentary on the book of Acts, you can’t go wrong. But you might do better as well with a bit more thought.

Acts is a book that I've always felt intimidated by because of how good it is haha. There's so much to take away from the text and I never feel like I can glean it all on my own. The Hodder commentary gave me some insights that I know I would have missed on my own and I enjoyed having that additional help in learning and understanding.

This was the first time I've read a Hodder commentary, and I must say, I'm impressed. For my personal Bible study time or teaching prep, I usually lean toward the Matthew Henry or John MacArthur commentaries, but I will be adding The Hodder Bible Commentary of Acts to my references. This was well written, with rich theological takes. Acts isn't always an easy book to read through and it would be even harder to make an accurate commentary with little bias, but oh is it important when studying church history!

If you are looking to get back into your faith, or someone who is already pretty headstrong in their beliefs this is a great book to understanding the books of the bible.

This book starts with a great intro situating the book in time and giving a perspective on how to consider reading Acts - a look at God’s hand on the early church and the position as Christians came into being. There is helpful commentary on the Trinity and the role of the Triune God. The author has some excellent references for those interested in wider reading, some classics but some lesser know material too.
Act is broken down to chapter and verses and unpicked in small groupings reminiscent of Tom Wright, the unpickings are direct and clean and focused on what the scripture is saying or referring to. This is gimmick free and refreshing to not have a family example or ‘strange how this happened to me’ mini sermon each time. This is precise and clear although a little of the explanation made me struggle.