The Roman Road to Salvation

Purpose of Paul’s Letter to the Romans. 

The letter written to the Romans by the Apostle Paul systematically explains God’s plan to save the human race from sin. Tucked within the pages of this letter, we find five verses that form an outline for our salvation. This outline follows a three-step problem solving method:

1. DEFINE THE PROBLEM (Rom. 3:23, 6:23)
2. FIND THE SOLUTION (Rom. 5:8)
3. IMPLEMENT THE SOLUTION (Rom. 10:9-10)

Define the Problem: Why do we need salvation?

In Romans 3:23 Paul states a fact, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” We all have sinned and gone our own way. This point is also made in the Old Testament Scriptures that say that all have fallen away and there is no one who is who does what is good (Eccl. 7:20, Ps. 53:2-3). Why is this a problem? This is a problem because God is holy, perfectly righteous,and perfectly just. All that is good finds its origin in Him. Our sin deviates from His perfect and holy character and therefore separates us from God. 

Unfortunately, once we have sinned, we are guilty before God. James 2:10-11 lays out our predicament. He explains that once you have broken the law you are a law breaker. Since you can’t unbreak the law, you remain guilty before God. No amount of time or work can change your status. Our problem is real and seemingly insurmountable. At this point we are stuck and without hope.

What is the consequence of this predicament? 

Paul explains this in Romans 6:23a…“For the wages of sin is death…”When we, through our disobedience, chose to reject the righteous and loving rule of God, we gave up paradise and took on a new ruler. We are now ruled by our sin and the wage that we earn for our sin is death. God’s words to Adam and Eve recorded in Genesis 2:17b states, “…for when you eat from it you will certainly die.” Our sin brings physical, spiritual and eternal death. 

Now we love to rank sin and compare ourselves to others. “My sin isn’t nearly as bad as his or hers.” But we must remember that God is completely holy and righteous. To Him ALL sin is bad (see James 2:10-11). God is also perfectly just; therefore, He can’t just let us go unpunished. So we are in a hopeless situation, ineligible for pardon and unable to change our situation on our own.

What is the Solution?

We find the solution to our sin problem as we transition from Rom. 6:23a to Rom. 6:23b, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.” Just when all hope seemed lost, God stepped in and acted on our behalf through His Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus willingly took upon himself our punishment so that we might be free. Because He was fully human, his sacrifice could satisfy the justice requirement for human sin. Because He was also fully divine, His sacrifice was powerful enough to cover all human sin for all time.

Why has God acted on our behalf?

Romans 5:8 answers this question…“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this, that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” God has acted on our behalf for one simple reason…LOVE. God’s love is so unfathomable, that He, the sovereign King of the universe, chose to take the punishment that we deserved. How many of us would go down to the local prison and take the place of a clearly guilty person? This is exactly what God has done for us.  Instead of punishment, God gave us His mercy and His grace.

• MERCY – when we do not get what we deserve. Our rejection of God through our sin deserved the punishment of death. However, God did not give us what we deserved.
• GRACE – when you get what you do not deserve. God, in his unimaginable love, gave us what we did not deserve…the sacrifice in our place of His one and only Son, Jesus Christ.

Implementation

How do I claim this gift? Paul tells us this in Romans 10:9-10. “If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. One believes with the heart resulting in righteousness, and one confesses with the mouth resulting in salvation.” 

• SALVATION – the act of saving or protecting from harm or destruction.
• RIGHTEOUS – acting in an upright, moral way, morally right or justifiable

These two verses are mirror images giving the truth from front to back and from back to front. When we confess “Jesus is Lord” we are acknowledging his deity and that we are making him the Lord, or Master, of our lives. Thus, we become slaves to the righteous will of the risen Christ. We forsake our own agenda and give him control and sovereignty over our entire lives. 

The Greek word that Paul uses for “belief” is pisteuo which means “to have faith in” or “to trust”. These are action words. It’s clear that believing something in your heart is more than a mental acknowledgment of that thing. True belief leads to action, a change in our behavior that corresponds to the subject of that belief. In this case, the subject of our belief (trust) is the person of Jesus Christ.

Conclusion

The Apostle Paul’s “Roman Road to Salvation” describes the fundamental principle of Christianity in a clear and concise way. It isn’t an invention of his; rather, it is a summary of the unified message that permeates all sixty-six books of the Bible. It explains why all of us need Jesus.

Blessings