Welcome again to Things Unseen. If there was some way of taking a pull of listeners

to this podcast or indeed to any or all of the Ligonier programs, a pull asking this

question, what's your favourite passage in the Bible? Or what's been the most important

passage in the Bible for you? I'm fairly sure that some or all of Romans chapter 8 verses 28

through 39 would be near the top of the list and maybe actually be at the top. And that's

our theme this week. Or more accurately it's one specific feature of that passage that I want

us to reflect on for the next few days. By any stretch of the imagination it's an amazing passage.

When I read it I'm reminded of a comment my own church history professor made. I don't think

he would have called himself a conservative evangelical. But I'd recall him saying one day

in a lecture on the hourly fathers that if you want to be convinced of the inspiration of the

New Testament what makes it different? You just need to read the writings of the Christians who

followed. The difference is unmistakable. And when you read this passage Romans chapter 8

you're bound to think there's nothing in human literature just like this. It's a stupendously

great passage. I want to read it for us in a moment and I encourage you just to listen and to

let the glory of the words as it were marinated in your soul during the day. But then I want to

top and tail the reading of it with a couple of questions. The first is this. Do you ever read the

Bible out loud to yourself? Actually until at least the time of Saint Augustine people used to

read everything out loud or at least they would read out loud but quietly. And if you think about

it the Bible was actually written to be read out loud. It was the only way people who couldn't

possibly have afforded a copy of the Bible had access to it. And because it was written to be

read out loud I think we sometimes benefit most from it when we read it out loud to ourselves.

Well that's the first question. Do you ever read the Bible out loud? But let's listen to Romans

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