This revised edition of Vaught's theological investigation of the Sermon on the Mount begins with the assumption that the text cannot be understood apart from a transformation of the human spirit. The stages of this transformation are outlined in the Beautitudes, and, against this background, the book comes to focus on the perfection that Jesus demands from his followers.

Vaught's study is a theological attempt to explore some of the ways in which perfection can be achieved. The text moves from Matthew's Beatitudes, through simple illustrations of salt and light, to indications about the way in which Jesus fulfills and transcends the religious tradition from which he comes. In The Sermon on the Mount, we also find suggestions about how to deal with the practical problems of murder and anger, adultery and divorce, the problem of retaliation, and the problem of responding to our enemies.