My Personal Top Ten

Each one of us has some sort of canon within a canon. Whether it is intentional or accidental, we all have those chapters that stick out with prominence from the rest of scripture. Verses, chapters, or sometimes entire books that hold a special level of importance for us. These are the passages that we often will commit to memory. These are the passages that seem to show up more than their fair share in our preaching, teaching, or counseling. Even those of us who are convinced that 2 Timothy 3:16 applies to all of scripture from Genesis through Revelation have this canon within a canon. It doesn't mean that they are more inspired than the rest of scripture, but they may in fact be more important.

Sometimes this can be a very bad thing. A canon within a canon can lead us into practices like prooftexting (ripping a scripture out of its context in order to support our dogma) or it can keep us from seeing the many perspectives on a particular issue offered in scripture as a whole. (I'm thinking specifically of the various passages that offer different perspectives on the role of women just as an example.) Having a canon within a canon may cause us to miss other issues altogether.

But this doesn't have to be a bad thing. The Bible is an awfully long, complex, and dense book. It seems necessary that there will be certain passages that will rise in importance because of their explanatory power - their ability to help us make sense of the larger whole. The rest of scripture hangs on these passages like a coat hangs on a hanger. Even the first Christians had a sort of canon within a canon. There were certain passages (like various Psalms like 110) that they came back to over and over again when trying to explain what had happened with Jesus.
With that in mind I've decided to identify what I believe are the ten most important chapters in the entire Bible. The following are not necessarily in any particular order other than their canonical order.

1. Genesis 3 - I include this chapter just because there is no message of scripture without the story of brokenness and rebellion of Genesis 3. Genesis 1 and 2 are obviously important, but Genesis 3 sets us up for the overarching narrative of scripture where God sets about fixing what went wrong in the Garden. Without a doubt the most important verse in this chapter is 15 which provides the first messianic promise.
2. Genesis 12 - I had a professor once who liked to say that this was the most important chapter of the Bible. I'm not sure I'd go that far, but it definitely deserves to go in the top ten since the calling of Abram and Sarai changes the entire shape of the rest of the OT. The OT from this point forward becomes the local story of the nation of Israel which would eventually give way to the story of the Messiah.
3. Psalm 23 - I included this psalm because of how much it has shaped our understanding of God. Through history even pagans have recognized this psalm when they hear it. There is something about this psalm that resonates for all people no matter how far or close they may be to God.
4. Matthew 5-7 - Kind of cheating here but you can't separate these three chapters. The Sermon on the Mount has to be included in this list. It is the most important summary of the teachings of Jesus in the New Testament.
5. Luke 15 - The lost chapter - lost sheet, lost coin, lost son. Like Psalm 23 and Matthew 5-7, even pagans are familiar with message of this text. If Matthew 5-7 provides a summary of the teachings of Jesus, Luke 15 provides a summary of his mission.
6. John 1 - The high christology of John 1 is why I included it in the list. You get similar ideas expressed in Colossians 1 and Hebrews 1. This text is essential for knowing about the nature of Christ.
7. Acts 2 - A case could be made for Acts 10 as well. I included Acts 2 however because it tells the story of the birth of the Church. The story of scripture is incomplete without this birth narrative.
8. Romans 8 - This chapter has it all: pneumatology, christology, soteriology, eschatology, etc. etc. There is no more important chapter in Romans and perhaps in all Pauline literature - other than perhaps the next chapter.
9. 1 Corinthians 15 - Without the resurrection our faith is futile. If the resurrection didn't happen nothing else matters. This chapter has additional apologetic benefit since the creed at the beginning of the chapter is likely one of the very first creedal statements concerning the resurrection of Jesus.
10. Revelation 21-22 - New heaven and new earth. The great reversal. No story is complete without its conclusion. Revelation 21-22 provides that beautiful picture of the final restoration of all things. Even popular culture has picked up on the images of heaven in Revelation 21-22 even if they are wrongly understood.

That's my list. What would be on your list? Anything that I left out that you would add?