The question I’m asking here is which chapter of the Bible would you take with you if you were sent to prison for a few years? Many of our Bible heroes were arrested or imprisoned, from Joseph and Jeremiah in the Old Testament to Jesus, Peter, Paul, and many more in the New Testament. And many thousands of Christians are in prison for their faith today in a significant number of countries.

So being imprisoned for being a Christian is far from unusual. But suppose you could only take one chapter of the Bible into prison with you, either because that was all that was allowed, or perhaps that was all you could safely smuggle in. Which chapter would you choose? Well I’m sure there are hundreds of great ideas among the 1189 chapters of the Bible, and if I asked ten people there would surely be at least ten different answers! But I’m going to suggest that Romans 8 would be a very strong contender, and give three reasons why.

Firstly the promises. The best-known verse in Romans 8, verse 28, is a promise:

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.

Romans 8:28, NIV UK

This promise would be a great encouragement in prison, reassuring me that God is in control. Whatever the devil or evil men may throw at me, God is still working His purposes out. It would remind me of how God worked in the wrongful imprisonments of Joseph, Paul and Silas, and of course Jesus Himself.

But this is only one of at least five great promises in this one chapter of Romans. We also have:

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

Romans 8:1, NIV UK

I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.

Romans 8:18, NIV UK

If God is for us, who can be against us?

Romans 8:31b, NIV UK

For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 8:38,39, NIV UK

Each of these verses is full of encouragement, and they aren’t the only great promises in the chapter. We are also promised an inheritance of Christ’s glory, if we share in His sufferings (v17), we have Christ in us (v10), and we have the Holy Spirit to help us (v26).

Secondly the Trinity. Romans 8 is full of references to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, God in three persons but loving to work together with each other and with us. I especially love verse 11:

And if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of His Spirit who lives in you.

Romans 8:11, NIV UK

In one verse we get three references to the Holy Spirit, three references to God the Son, and three references to the Father, the One who raised Jesus from the dead. The Spirit is the Spirit of the Father, and the Father is the Father of the Son, each is described in reference to the others. And the Spirit is living in us, giving us the Spirit of Christ (v9), helping us in our weakness (v26), and enabling us to cry “Abba, Father” (v15).

There is so much more to learn about our awesome God, and the three persons of the Trinity. And having this chapter would be a great basis for such study and contemplation.

Thirdly, the depth. The encouragement of the promises is wonderful. The teaching about the Trinity is beautiful. But if I needed a chapter to sustain me through months or years in a prison cell, it would have to have some depth to it, it would have to be meaty and chunky. Romans 8 covers a wealth and breadth of material, and it opens up exploration of serious and important subjects.

Condemnation and freedom, the law and the Spirit, life, death and resurrection, our adoption as sons and co-heirs, the glory of the coming kingdom, God’s purposes and plans in human history, these themes are vital, and Paul’s teaching about them here is enlightening, challenging, and most of all encouraging and uplifting. He delves into some of the richest treasures of the wisdom of God to be found anywhere in the Bible, and there is food for our spirits here, be they strong or faint.

Finally, if you’re wondering what this has to do with worship or worship leading, the answer is simple: God’s promises are always fuel for worship; when we read the five promises above we can’t help but rejoice and sing. When we understand better who God is, then we want to praise Him more. And when we get glimpses of His awesome and glorious plans in human history and in our own lives, then we can do no more than fall down in worship once again.

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