Staff Devotion 7

Intro

This particular devotion isn’t something I think either of you need to know for personal salvific purposes, but it is a great tool each of us can use in our travels!

The Gospel of Jesus is the good news that he came and brought salvation to his people. But not everyone accepts that as truth. Not everyone understands the gospel well. What I want to teach on for a moment is the Roman’s Road. Simply, the Romans Road is a list of passages from the Book of Romans that help us understand God’s salvation and how we can obtain it.

Today, I simply want to go through each part of the Roman’s Road and dissect a small portion of each.

First, what is the Romans’ Road? It isn’t magic, it isn’t a 12 step program, it isn’t something that you repeat and hope for the best. It is a few verses (of many) in the Scriptures which teach a simple and real faith in Jesus Christ.

Part One

Romans 3:23 “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;”

For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

Though this verse is small in word count, it is mighty in meaning. When I think of this verse I cannot help but go back to the book of Genesis, where Adam and Eve first sinned. They had perfect union with God and ruined it all with their sin.

I think this is important to note when we talk about the sinfulness and depravity of mankind. For knowing the sin of Adam and Eve teaches us that every single human to ever live has sinned, not one person (other than Jesus Christ) made it through this life without sin.

For ALL have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.

The glory of God that this is referring to is what we were created to live in at all times. We were supposed to be glorious and perfect. Dominating the world and all of creation. Basking in the light of God’s glory for all eternity on earth. Never dying, never hurting, never crying. However, sin corrupted that plan. Making sure that all men fall short of the glory of God.

This is where the redemptive plan kicks off as well as the plan of salvation.

Think of it this way. Imagine you have a car, and this car is knocking on 30 years. This car has been passed down in your family since it was new and has close to 300,000 miles. Well one day you’re driving it and the temperature light comes on. Now at this point you have two options, 1) believe that the light is telling you the truth, pull over, get a mechanic to look at it, and avoid sure disaster. Or 2) scoff at the light, believing that it is NOT true and say “I know more about this car than any mechanic,” and inevitably break down and have to buy a new car.

You are like that worn out car believe it or not. You are going to burn out, you are going to need help, and if you do not get that help, one day it will be too late and you’ll either die or the Lord will come back and you will in Hell. But if you believe that you are a sinner and need grace (just like believing the temperature light on your car) you can possibly avoid a tragic eternity.

Don’t let human pride cloud your mind, don’t let culture convince you of lies. You sin against God, therefore you owe a price.

Which leads to the second part of the Romans Road

Part Two

Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

We know that if we drive our car with the temperature light on for a while it will surely die. Well if you live your life without Jesus, you will surely die a painful death for all eternity.

This is easily avoidable. Once you believe that you need help, then you need to look at consequences of not seeking help. In the case of the car it is a blown engine and a car payment. In the case of your soul, it is an eternity in the fiery pit of Hell.

That sounds terrifying because it is. However, there is a way out! If you believe that you are a sinner then you can believe this, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ out Lord.

Even though you are a sinner, you do things that go against God and His Holy Word, He still WANTS to save you from Hell and a life here on earth without Him and His help. He is not only able but willing! He is not annoyed when you come to Him in prayer with your many requests, needs, wants, or laments. He is thrilled that you still have faith enough to seek Him.

The same is true for those first seeking Christ as their Lord and Savior. He will look at the sin that you have and cast it so far away that it can never be found again. He wants to save you and give you an eternity in perfect Heaven, you just have to let Him.

When someone offers you a gift, not just any gift, but a gift that you need to survive. You take it.

Which leads to the third part of the Roman’s Road.

Part Three

Romans 5:8 “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”

Did you know that everyone is a sinner, there are simply two kinds, a heaven bound sinner and a hell bound sinner. One is saved buy Jesus’ wonderful grace and the other is not.

If you had no issue believing that you are a sinner and that Jesus offers you salvation, then you should have no issue believing why you have that salvation: Jesus’ love and sacrifice.

Even though every sin you commit is like a dagger of betrayal in God’s back, he still chose to willing die a painful death of Crucifixion on the cross so that you may have the opportunity for salvation.

You are not a Christian just because Jesus died on the cross, that simply gave you the opportunity to become a Christian.

Do you understand though the magnitude of this reality? Although you sin against God, time and time again, He chooses to forgive you. He chose to die for you. He modeled love your enemies like none other!

Romans 5:8 “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”

Which leads to the fourth part of the road.

Part Four

Romans 10:9–10 “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”

Before I move on this let me say, we have talked a lot about what we need to believe in order to become a Christian and those things may sound like a lot but they are very very simple. Just as simple as this next part.

All you must do if you believe those first three things is to confess your sins to Jesus, no you do not have to sit and tell Him every sin that you have ever committed, He already knows that, you must simply tell Him that you are a sinner and that you want to change.

This must not be just words that you repeat after someone, they must be true to your heart. Even if they are words that you repeat after someone, you MUST believe what you are saying. You MUST believe that you are becoming a Christian and want to be saved, For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

In other words, you must repent. You must make Jesus not only your Savior but your Lord. That means you cannot just accept that your eternal home is heaven. You must also trust that He is Lord while you are still here.

What is a Lord? A Lord is someone who is in charge of you (think like a landlord). Historically, there have been good lords and bad lords. Our Jesus is a GOOD Lord. He is one who you have to let rule your life because you trust that He has your best interests in mind!

Which leads to the last part

Part Five

Romans 10:13 “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

Once you believe all of these things, confess your sins, repent, and believe that it is true, you are saved. It is that simple. There is no fine print, no tricks or hoops. It is an absolute fact that God will save you if you genuinely believe and confess these things.

God loves you today, there is no doubt about it. So much so, in fact, that though you and I fail Him daily, He is still there to catch us when we fall and place us back on solid ground.

This is not something that you can fake! This must be a real and genuine decision to surrender your life to Christ. To repent of your sin. To turn from your sin. To give up your passions and desires and let God transform you from the inside out! This verse should give us great confidence that God is real and that He really loves us! This is assurance that when you repent, God will save and transform you. Do you trust Him this morning?

I do not know if you are a Christian here today or not, but I do know this. It is my prayer that each and every person here today does not get in their car to leave without knowing Jesus.

This is a decision you must make for yourself, if you want to come pray, grab me or someone else who you trust as a Christian and lets pray. If not, let me just tell you how absolutely serious this is. Salvation is the one and only thing that will bring you true joy on this earth and send you to heaven one day and Jesus is the only one and way to that salvation. Think on these things, let God work in your heart, believe and repent—its that simple.