In homeschool this year, we read Pilgrim’s Progress together. In that allegory, the path that Christian travels on demonstrates to us the life of every person. There are good times, hills and valleys, hardships, disappointments, joys, and sorrows. This road brings challenges, but those things are what leads him from unbelief to belief. He comes to know Jesus, and his life is changed forever! Similarly, every person is on their path or road towards belief. Some have just begun while others have been on this journey with Jesus for a long time. Using this idea that we are all on a path, “The Romans Road” is a tool that we use to share our faith. It uses Bible verses from just the book of Romans to lead a person to Christ; it allows people to Walk through the Romans Road of Salvation. Follow along as I take you along this path and show you how to lead someone to Christ using the Romans Road.
1. The Problem
Romans 3:23 “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
The Bible tells us in Genesis that we were all made by God. He is our Creator, and we can see His intelligent design all over the world that He made. Since we are all made by Him, we must follow His rules. We must first face the reality that God is holy while we are sinners. Romans 3:23 states, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” We do things every day that go against the law that God has established, and those things are sins. The Ten Commandments are a perfect example of God’s law for us. One of those commands is not to lie. If you have lied (and I believe we all have), then we have sinned. Even one little lie keeps us from God. His holiness does not allow us to be with Him.
2. The Penalty
Romans 6:23a “For the wages of sin is death…”
God tells us that there is a penalty for our sin, the things we do that go against His laws. Romans 6:23a says, “For the wages of sin is death.” We usually think of wages as something that we earn from our hard work at our jobs. But in this passage, God is telling us that our sins that we commit against Him earns us death. That death is separation from God forever in Hell.
3. The Present
Romans 6:23b “But the gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord.”
Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrated His love for us in this: while we were still sinners Christ died for us.”
There is good news, though. In the second half of Romans 6:23, it says, “but the gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord.” We earn death. But God gives us eternal life through Jesus as a free gift. How is that possible? Jesus came to earth as a baby and had a sinless life. The people in His day put Him to death by executing Him on a cross. It was an excruciating death. His death was the payment for our sin, though. Romans 5:8 says that He did it because He loves us. “But God demonstrated His love for us in this: while we were still sinners Christ died for us.” He didn’t die for us because we loved Him or because we were good enough. He died for us because He loves us and wants us to be with Him eternally.
4. The Path
Romans 10:9-10 “If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.”
How can we accept this gift? What is the path that we need to take? Romans 10:9-10 states: “If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.” We accept this gift in our hearts and declare it aloud! We can never earn salvation — God calls it a GIFT. Jesus tells us that we need to accept His gift as the way to salvation without trying to earn it with our good works. They will never be enough to get us into Heaven with God. Ask God to forgive your sin and repent from it (that is what making Jesus Lord is all about). Turn away from your sin and live for Him. Making Jesus Lord is not just saying it, but it is choosing to obey Him with your life.
5. The Peace
Romans 5:1 “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ”
Romans 8:1 “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”
When we accept this free gift of God and declare that He is Lord, we now have peace with God. Romans 5:1 says, “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Before this we were His enemies, doing things that were against His Law. Now He sees us through what Jesus did on the cross, which makes us friends with Him. We have peace with God. We no longer have the guilt and shame and the penalty of our sin. Jesus died for us, so we have His holiness. There is no longer condemnation for us who believe. Our punishment has been paid, and we live in peace and joy! (Romans 8:1 “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”)
In conclusion
This is how we walk the Romans Road with a friend or a child who does not know the salvation message. By using only verses from the book of Romans, you can show the depravity of man, the need of a Savior, and the solution that we have through the death of Jesus on our behalf. Use this or other tools (see the Bridge illustration article below) to guide loved ones on their journey to faith in Christ.
Click on one of the images below to download these printables:
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