The Roman Road
The Roman Road is a collection of verses in Paul’s Epistle to the Romans that offers a clear and structured path to Jesus Christ. To start, write “Romans 3:23” on the inside cover of your Bible (or to the first blank page). This is the first verse of the Roman Road. Writing this reference in the front of your Bible allows you to be instantly ready to begin the Roman Road whenever you need it. Now turn to Romans 3:23.
The Problem
Romans 3:23 (Highlight this verse in your Bible. Underline the word SINNED.)
“For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.”
We have all sinned. All of us have done things that are displeasing to God. There is no one who is innocent. Sin is anything we say, think or do that violates God’s law. Things like lying, cheating, having bad thoughts, or losing our temper. Even knowing to do good, but failing to do it is sin.
(Now write ROMANS 6:23 in the margin close by)
The Consequences
Romans 6:23 (Highlight this verse in your Bible. Underline the words WAGES and GIFT.)
“For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
The punishment (wages) that we have earned for our sins is death. Not just physical death, but eternal death and separation from God! BUT – the gift of God is eternal life! Because it’s a gift, it’s free to all who will receive it. We don’t have to earn it, and because we’re all sinners we don’t deserve it, but that’s the grace and love of God – God giving us what we don’t deserve instead of what we do deserve! Even though the gift is free to us, it had to be paid for by someone.
(Now write ROMANS 5:8 in the margin close by)
The Solution
Romans 5:8 (Highlight this verse in your Bible. Underline the words CHRIST DIED FOR US.)
"But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."
Jesus Christ died on the cross and rose from the dead to pay the penalty for of our sin and purchase a place in Heaven for us, which He offers as a free gift. Jesus lived a perfect, sinless life, so he could do something for us we can’t do for ourselves. His death on the cross is the only acceptable sacrifice for our sin. Because He loves us and wants to spend eternity with us, He chose to take our punishment even though we were His enemies. So how do we receive this gift?
(Now write ROMANS 10:9 in the margin close by)
The Response
Romans 10:9-10 (Highlight this verse in your Bible. Underline the words CONFESS, LORD JESUS, BELIEVE, & YOU WILL BE SAVED.)
“that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”
Salvation and the forgiveness of sin is available to anyone who will trust in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. To be saved, we must confess our belief in Him and express our willingness to surrender control and let God sit in the driver’s seat of our lives. This requires repentance! Repentance means that we have a change of mind – we agree with God that our behavior is sinful and we are willing to turn away from it – we turn away from our sin and turn to Jesus.
(Now write PRAY? in the margin close by)
The Clarification & Commitment
When you’re done sharing the gospel with someone, you need to make sure they understand and give them an opportunity to respond. Ask:
We call on the name of the Lord through prayer. If this is what you truly want, here is a simple prayer you can pray to God. Saying this prayer is a way to declare to God that you are relying on Jesus Christ for your salvation. The words themselves will not save you. Only faith in Jesus Christ can provide salvation!
“God, I know that I have sinned against you and am deserving of punishment. But Jesus Christ took the punishment that I deserve so that through faith in Him I could be forgiven. With your help, I place my trust in You for salvation and turn from my sin. Thank You for Your wonderful grace and forgiveness - the gift of eternal life! Amen!”
(Now write Romans 10:13 in the margin under PRAY)
The Assurance
When someone accepts Christ they need assurance of their salvation – but you can’t give it to them because you don’t really know what happened. Only they themselves and God know that. However, the word of God can give them confidence.
Romans 10:13 (Highlight this verse in your Bible. Underline the words EVERYONE, CALLS, WILL BE SAVED.)
for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
Did you honestly and sincerely mean the words you prayed? That’s something only you and God know for certain. If you did, then the Bible says you have been saved from the penalty of your sin.
(Now write Romans 8:1 in the margin close by)
The Result
Romans 5:1 (Highlight this verse in your Bible. Underline the words JUSTIFIED and PEACE WITH GOD.)
“Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,”
Now that you have placed your faith in Christ, you can experience peace with God because your sins have been forgiven. Someone once said that when we’re justified it’s “just as if I’d” never sinned.
(Now write Romans 8:1 in the margin close by)
Romans 8:1 (Highlight this verse in your Bible. Underline the words NO CONDEMNATION and IN CHRIST JESUS.)
“There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.”
The word condemnation means to pronounce guilty, convict, sentence, to condemn a prisoner to die. When we trust that Christ’s death on the cross was sufficient to pay the penalty for our sin, we are declared not guilty. We are no longer condemned by God. Any condemnation we now feel is from the enemy, not from God.
(Now write Romans 8:38-39 in the margin close by)
Romans 8:38-39 (Highlight this verse in your Bible. Underline the words NOTHING, NOR, SEPARATE US and LOVE OF GOD.)
“For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
The truth of these verses is overwhelming! Its truth for you is that nothing, nada, not one thing – not sins past, present or future can separate you from the love of God. His love for you is perfect, complete and it is everlasting. You can’t do anything to make Him love you more and He will never love you any less. You are secure in His love!
The Problem
Romans 3:23 (Highlight this verse in your Bible. Underline the word SINNED.)
“For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.”
We have all sinned. All of us have done things that are displeasing to God. There is no one who is innocent. Sin is anything we say, think or do that violates God’s law. Things like lying, cheating, having bad thoughts, or losing our temper. Even knowing to do good, but failing to do it is sin.
(Now write ROMANS 6:23 in the margin close by)
The Consequences
Romans 6:23 (Highlight this verse in your Bible. Underline the words WAGES and GIFT.)
“For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
The punishment (wages) that we have earned for our sins is death. Not just physical death, but eternal death and separation from God! BUT – the gift of God is eternal life! Because it’s a gift, it’s free to all who will receive it. We don’t have to earn it, and because we’re all sinners we don’t deserve it, but that’s the grace and love of God – God giving us what we don’t deserve instead of what we do deserve! Even though the gift is free to us, it had to be paid for by someone.
(Now write ROMANS 5:8 in the margin close by)
The Solution
Romans 5:8 (Highlight this verse in your Bible. Underline the words CHRIST DIED FOR US.)
"But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."
Jesus Christ died on the cross and rose from the dead to pay the penalty for of our sin and purchase a place in Heaven for us, which He offers as a free gift. Jesus lived a perfect, sinless life, so he could do something for us we can’t do for ourselves. His death on the cross is the only acceptable sacrifice for our sin. Because He loves us and wants to spend eternity with us, He chose to take our punishment even though we were His enemies. So how do we receive this gift?
(Now write ROMANS 10:9 in the margin close by)
The Response
Romans 10:9-10 (Highlight this verse in your Bible. Underline the words CONFESS, LORD JESUS, BELIEVE, & YOU WILL BE SAVED.)
“that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”
Salvation and the forgiveness of sin is available to anyone who will trust in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. To be saved, we must confess our belief in Him and express our willingness to surrender control and let God sit in the driver’s seat of our lives. This requires repentance! Repentance means that we have a change of mind – we agree with God that our behavior is sinful and we are willing to turn away from it – we turn away from our sin and turn to Jesus.
(Now write PRAY? in the margin close by)
The Clarification & Commitment
When you’re done sharing the gospel with someone, you need to make sure they understand and give them an opportunity to respond. Ask:
- Does this make sense to you? (Don’t ask what don’t you understand – that opens the door to chasing rabbits!) Instead clarify the points of the Gospel:
- Do you understand that you are a sinner – that we are all sinners?
- Do you understand that the wages of sin is death – eternal separation from God?
- Do you understand that God loved you so much that even though you are a sinner He sent Jesus to die for you?
- Do you understand to be saved from your sin and eternal punishment you must believe in your heart that Jesus died to take the punishment that you deserve, that God raised Him from the dead on the third day and that you must confess with your mouth that Jesus is your Savior and Lord?
- Do you understand that you need to repent – turn away from your sin and turn to Jesus?
- If they understand the Gospel, ask if they would like to receive God’s gift of eternal life.
We call on the name of the Lord through prayer. If this is what you truly want, here is a simple prayer you can pray to God. Saying this prayer is a way to declare to God that you are relying on Jesus Christ for your salvation. The words themselves will not save you. Only faith in Jesus Christ can provide salvation!
“God, I know that I have sinned against you and am deserving of punishment. But Jesus Christ took the punishment that I deserve so that through faith in Him I could be forgiven. With your help, I place my trust in You for salvation and turn from my sin. Thank You for Your wonderful grace and forgiveness - the gift of eternal life! Amen!”
(Now write Romans 10:13 in the margin under PRAY)
The Assurance
When someone accepts Christ they need assurance of their salvation – but you can’t give it to them because you don’t really know what happened. Only they themselves and God know that. However, the word of God can give them confidence.
Romans 10:13 (Highlight this verse in your Bible. Underline the words EVERYONE, CALLS, WILL BE SAVED.)
for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
Did you honestly and sincerely mean the words you prayed? That’s something only you and God know for certain. If you did, then the Bible says you have been saved from the penalty of your sin.
(Now write Romans 8:1 in the margin close by)
The Result
Romans 5:1 (Highlight this verse in your Bible. Underline the words JUSTIFIED and PEACE WITH GOD.)
“Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,”
Now that you have placed your faith in Christ, you can experience peace with God because your sins have been forgiven. Someone once said that when we’re justified it’s “just as if I’d” never sinned.
(Now write Romans 8:1 in the margin close by)
Romans 8:1 (Highlight this verse in your Bible. Underline the words NO CONDEMNATION and IN CHRIST JESUS.)
“There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.”
The word condemnation means to pronounce guilty, convict, sentence, to condemn a prisoner to die. When we trust that Christ’s death on the cross was sufficient to pay the penalty for our sin, we are declared not guilty. We are no longer condemned by God. Any condemnation we now feel is from the enemy, not from God.
(Now write Romans 8:38-39 in the margin close by)
Romans 8:38-39 (Highlight this verse in your Bible. Underline the words NOTHING, NOR, SEPARATE US and LOVE OF GOD.)
“For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
The truth of these verses is overwhelming! Its truth for you is that nothing, nada, not one thing – not sins past, present or future can separate you from the love of God. His love for you is perfect, complete and it is everlasting. You can’t do anything to make Him love you more and He will never love you any less. You are secure in His love!
| The Roman Road.pdf |