The Romans Road to Salvation: Understanding God's Gift

Salvation, simply put, is the deliverance from sin through the death of Jesus Christ. Jesus died on the cross for all our sins. God has offered us the gift of salvation in His grace and mercy. All we must do is accept the gift as offered. So, how do we accept the gift that God is offering? Simply put, you ask. We will look at some Scripture that will show us how to ask.

People can show you many ways to ask. The one we will discuss is commonly called the Romans Road. The Romans Road is a set of verses from the New Testament book of Romans that lay a path from being an unrepentant sinner to accepting Jesus as your Lord and Savior.

The First Stop on the Road

The first verse, Romans 3:23, is vital because it tells us where we all start. It is essential because it tells us that we all have sinned. People have heard, “Well, when I clean up my life, I will give my life to Christ.” This verse frees you from that. We are all sinners. I am saved, and I still sin daily! You do not need to clean yourself up for God. He takes us as we are.

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Romans 3:23 (NIV)

Stop Number Two

The second verse, Romans 6:23a, tells us what the penalty of sin is if we don’t repent. This verse doesn’t discuss physical death, but you will miss eternal life with Christ if you don't give your life to Christ. This verse talks about spiritual death, which means eternal separation from God. So, there is a choice: eternal life with God or eternal separation from Him.

For the wages of sin is death. Romans 6:23a (NIV)

The Third Stop

The third verse is the second half of Romans 6:23. It is Romans 6:23b. You see, there is a way out of that spiritual death, and that is through Jesus Christ.

But the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23b (NIV)

We see all through this section of Scripture how much God loves us. So, just how much does He love us? What did this gift cost God? Let’s look at Romans 5:8.

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8 (NIV)

We see that God gave us Christ as a repayment of our sins. He loves us so much that he would give us His son. So, now you should be wondering how you receive salvation.

Fourth Stop

The fourth verse is the key. It is Romans 10:9.

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. Romans 10:9 (NIV)

That’s it! Ask and believe. That is what gives you the gift of God’s grace and mercy. I know it is hard to understand that you can be saved for eternity by simply asking. However, that is the truth of the matter. Let’s double up on this key and look at Romans 10:13.

For, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” Romans 10:13 (NIV)

So, if God puts something in Scripture once, He means business. If He says something twice, we know it’s good! Jesus died on the cross to pay our sin debt. That’s heavy, I know. I sometimes still can’t wrap my head around it. Salvation, the forgiveness of sins, is available to anyone who will trust in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

The Final Stops

The final parts of the Romans Road to Salvation played out in the following few verses.

Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Romans 5:1 (NIV)

We now have peace with God through Jesus Christ.

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Romans 8:1(NIV)

Since Jesus died on our behalf, we will not be condemned for our sins. The price has been paid for us. Does that mean we can indulge in sin with abandon? Absolutely not. I will explore that concept in another blog post.

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)

Did you catch that? If you didn’t wholly catch that, please reread those verses. Nothing can separate us from the love of God if we believe. Doesn’t that blow your mind? It should.

Conclusion

Accepting Him is just the beginning of your journey with Jesus. The next part is finding a church that teaches the Bible. Connect with that church and find someone who can disciple or teach you what being a Christian means. You are on a lifelong journey. Jesus longs to have a relationship with you, and you should want one.

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Recap

Let’s recap the road:

·         For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Romans 3:23 (NIV)

·         For the wages of sin is death. Romans 6:23a (NIV)

·         But the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23b (NIV)

·         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. Romans 10:9 (NIV)

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