Salvation Sunday

Bottom line

Salvation is a gift that needs to be shared with everyone

Opening Line

This morning I want to start the message a little different, with a little transparency.

Introduction

When it comes to preaching God’s word on a Sunday morning, every preacher is faced with a unqiue challenge. How do I bring a message that meets everyone where they are at? Let’s face it, in the congregation this morning we have people who have followed Jesus longer than I have been alive, and we have people who are brand new to faith, and everyone in between. So how do I preach something that meets everyone exactly where they are at?

Now there are those who teach that a pastor should only focus on those that are young in the faith. If you have been a believer for a long time, you should be capable of feeding yourself spiritually and not relying on a Sunday morning message to get you through the week. Though that is true, I don’t totally buy into it.

I also acknowledge the working of the Holy Spirit in our gatherings. I have learned that sometimes the miracle isn’t always in what is being said, but what is being heard. It has not happened very often here, but in our previous church, there would be times after preaching a message that someone would come up to me after the service and say, “Pastor, when you said this, it really stirred my soul. I really need to go home and meditate on it more.” As a good associate, I would smile and let them know that I was glad that they took that away from the message. After they had exited the building, I would look at Michelle with utter confusion because what they heard never came out of my mouth. I would often joke that they must have fallen asleep and imagined that I said it. Now as I look back, I realize that when the Holy Spirit is moving, each of you can have an encounter that meets you exactly where you are. I don’t have to actually say the words because He will open your ears to hear what you need to hear.

Main Point

But as we come into this morning, I want to challenge you with a slightly different perspective. See we are talking about salvation, the first experience of every believer. Last week we dove into baptism and its importance, but without salvation, water baptism is an empty practice.

For those that are new to the faith, this morning will hopefully be insightful and encouraging. I hope to flesh out more fully for you what exactly it means that you are saved by the blood of Jesus.

But what about the rest of you? What about those who have been followers of Jesus for a while and have a firm grasp of what salvation is. How do I challenge you this morning?

This is where I want to remind you of what my role is in the church.

Ephesians 4:11–12 NLT

Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ.

What is my role? To equip you to do the work of Christ. Other translations say that it is the role of the apostle, prophet, evangelist, and pastors and teachers to equip God’s people for the work of ministry. I’m not supposed to do all the ministry, I am supposed to equip you to do the ministry.

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Why it matters

What is the work of God? Matthew 28:19

Matthew 28:19 NLT

Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Before anyone here tries to discredit themselves, I want to remind you of one very important fact. Jesus gave this instruction to fishermen, some of the most uneducated people of the time. He said it to a tax collector, one of the most despised people of the time. You don’t have to have a bible school degree or even be liked to make disciples. You just have to be willing.

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So, in the interest of building up the new believers while equipping the more experienced saints, we are going to look at a tried, tested, and true tool for explaining the gospel someone. This method is called the Roman Road. How many have ever heard of it?

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For those who have their hands up, when was the last time you actually used the Roman Road to share your faith with someone?

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I don’t ask that to shame you, but out of genuine curiosity. Even if it has been a while, it is an experience to lean on. If it went well, remember what went well about it. If it didn’t, then learn from the mistake and use it as a launch pad to grow.

Why the Roman Road? Well, one of the reasons if that I found this.

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This is a card from the decks we use for Kidz Club. Every student has a deck of cards set aside for each of them, and when they are too old to continue with Kidz Club, they will receive the completed deck so that they are not missing out.

In the deck is a Roman Road card. It is there so that they have this timeless tool to help share their faith with their friend, and it is there in case they wander from faith and need a pathway to get back.

Why is it called the Roman Road? Two reasons. First and most obvious is that all the verses are found in the book of Romans. But it is also a bit of a history lesson. See when the Roman empire built a road, it was designed to get from point a to point b as quickly as possible. So, if a hill, mountain, or canyon got between them and their destination, they didn’t swerve around or take a detour. They moved whatever was in their way. Additionally, they did it so well that some of the roads they built back then continue to be used today.

Efficient and straightforward, which is exactly what you will see as we dive into the Roman Road.

Scripture

If you have your Bible, we will be in the book of Romans, starting in chapter 3. If you are the kind of person who likes to mark up your bible, and even if you’re not, I would recommend marking these verses so that they are quick reference. Some of your bibles may even have the Roman Road already marked out.

Romans 3:23 NLT

For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.

Why is it necessary that everyone be saved? Because everyone falls short of God’s standard. But what if you’re a good person? The follow up question to that is, by what standard are you good? Are you good because you think you’re good? Are you good because you’re better then your neighbour or because you haven’t killed someone? What is the standard?

Isaiah 64:6 NLT

We are all infected and impure with sin. When we display our righteous deeds, they are nothing but filthy rags. Like autumn leaves, we wither and fall, and our sins sweep us away like the wind.

Isaiah says even our good deeds aren’t enough. In fact, because sin has so infected every area of our lives, even our good deeds are filthy rags to Him.

Problem of Evil talk?

Sin not only causes us to fall short of God’s standard, but it also cuts us off from God.

Romans 6:23 NLT

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.

James 1:14–15 NLT

Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away. These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death.

Isaiah 59:1–2 NLT

Listen! The Lord’s arm is not too weak to save you, nor is his ear too deaf to hear you call. It’s your sins that have cut you off from God. Because of your sins, he has turned away and will not listen anymore.

Ephesians 2:1–3 NLT

Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins. You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil—the commander of the powers in the unseen world. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God. All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we were subject to God’s anger, just like everyone else.

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Sin leads to death. Sin cuts us off from God. All have sinned which means all have been caught off from God. But the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus

Romans 5:8 NLT

But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.

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If good works are not enough to save you, then what is the basis of salvation? The basis of salvation is God’s love for you, his people.

John 3:16 NLT

“For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.

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You are not saved by repuation or or good works. You can’t even be saved by following God’s law perfectly.

Romans 3:28 NLT

So we are made right with God through faith and not by obeying the law.

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It is a free gift, given to you by God simply because he loves you and could not bear the idea that you would be separated from Him because of sin. So how do you accept this free gift?

Romans 10:9–10 NLT

If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved.

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How do you respond to this gift? By believing in your heart and openly declaring your faith that you are saved. These are not acts of salvation, but simply a response to the free gift of God. For Paul tells us

Romans 10:13 NLT

For “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

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Salvation requires that you make the decision to follow. You are not saved because your parents are believers. You are not saved because you show up church. Salvation requires a decision.

John 3:17–18 NLT

God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him. “There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son.

John 3:36 NLT

And anyone who believes in God’s Son has eternal life. Anyone who doesn’t obey the Son will never experience eternal life but remains under God’s angry judgment.”

Acts 3:19 NLT

Now repent of your sins and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped away.

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Once you believe in your heart and declare openly that Jesus is Lord, your sins are wiped away, and when you were once an object of wrath, you now experience peace that was not possible apart from him.

Romans 5:1 NLT

Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us.

Romans 8:1 NLT

So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus.

Romans 8:38–39 NLT

And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.

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Not only are you saved from your sin, but God replaces your sin with peace, with assurance that what He has accomplished can never be taken away from you. Nothing can ever separate you from Him and His love ever again.

Transition to Application

Ok, so I rattled off A LOT of scripture there, and some of you may be thinking that there is nothing simple or straightforward about anything I just said. Ok bear with me, I wanted to make sure I provided the full scope of everything before I gave you the scaled down version. If I just gave you the Roman Road, we would’e been out of here a long time ago and where’s the fun in that?

Main To Do

So here is the Roman Road, and I will hand it out to you so that you can take it home. It is also on the app, imagine that!

Romans 3:23

Romans 6:23

Romans 5:8

Romans 10:9-10

That is the Roman Road in it’s entirety. The first verse is that all have sinned. The second is that sin leads to death. The third is that God loved you enough to send his son to die for you. The fourth is you can accept the free gift of salvation by believing in your heart and openly declaring with your mouth.

The bonus verses which are also found in Romans are:

Romans 10:13

Romans 5:1

Romans 8:1

Romans 8:38-39

The reason I say that they are the bonus verses is that they were not included in the original version, but they are good verses to remember as they provide the assurance of salvation that we all need sometimes.

So what are you supposed to do with this? Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to memorize these verses. Get them embedded into the hard drive of your mind.

Why it matters

For the new believer, these are the truths of the decision you have made to follow Jesus. You were once a sinner separated from Him, and now you are child of God, free from sin and condemnation. That is a major life shift. You have assurances of faith so that when life gets hard, these verses will carry you through.

For the long time believer, and just so we are clear, anyone who has been a follower of Jesus for more then a year fall in this category. Jesus commission to you was to go make disciples. The Roman Road is meant to help you share your faith with people. So I want you to pray for an opportunity to share your faith with someone, and walk down the Roman Road with them. Pray for the opportunity, pray for wisdom on what to say and how to say, and pray that they will make the decision to follow Jesus.

The time is short, and we have got the stop wasting it. Church it is time to get busy and see the lost and hurting of our community find hope and new life in Jesus Christ. It is time to get busy.

Memorize these verses, and share with someone this week.

Closing Line

Salvation Prayer

Thank you, Jesus, for dying on the cross for me. I believe You are the Son of God and that you lived, died, and came to life again. Forgive me of all my sins against You, and help me obey and follow You all the days of my life. In Jesus’ Name, I pray, Amen.

Discussion Questions

What stood out from the message?

How can you actively share the gift of salvation within your community this week?

What does it mean to you personally that salvation is a free gift?

In what ways can understanding the Roman Road help you in your conversations about faith?

How can you ensure that you are equipped to do the work of ministry in your daily life?

What steps can you take to memorize the verses of the Roman Road and use them confidently?

How can the Roman Road serve as a guide when discussing faith with your peers?

How can you respond to someone who feels unworthy to receive salvation?

What are some practical ways you can prepare for opportunities to share your faith this week?