Saved, Adopted, Free

A few years ago, I was reading the letter of Romans whilst on a train. As I was reading chapter 8 I was struck by how many of the well-known and popular Bible verses were in that single chapter. As I read over it again, I realised that this chapter of the Bible had some significant truths about our identity as Christians. I began to study further and discovered that many people have recognised this fact, and the importance that Romans 8 has in our understanding of the gospel that Paul preached. I was keen to write about this chapter, but rather than write about it in a methodical way, as would be found in a commentary, I believed it was important to explore how this chapter can help new Christians to learn some of the vital lessons about our identity. Many of the themes that are explored in this book are lessons that many in church, myself included, have learned late in their Christian journey, and sometimes have struggled to grasp at all. It is my hope that this book will help people to learn those lessons much earlier in their life of Christian discipleship. I have sought, therefore to present those truths in a way that is accessible, through a relaxed, colloquial writing style, whilst being rooted in scripture and in so doing, also giving them some tools for how to approach their scripture reading with other key passages. Using stories from my own and other's experiences, I have written about 14 of the key verses in Romans 8, covering the themes of our salvation, adoption and freedom. There is a particular focus on the role of the Trinity in helping us to discover our God given identity. I have sought to give practical advice on how to live the kind of life Paul encourages us to live in Christ.What I have sought to do through this book, is give a taster menu of Romans 8. Taking Paul's presentation of important truths and reflect on them in a way that is both personal and powerful. Jim Partridge, author of the forward writes: "[through this book] we get to 'taste' the goodness of these words and as we do we develop a fuller understanding of who God is, who we are as His children and what it means to be adopted into His family. Something we all need to grasp to a greater degree."