The Roman Road To Salvation
“The Roman Road”
The Biblical way of salvation in Jesus Christby David Frye (Christ’s Church)
“Christianity is more than a religion, because every religion has one basic characteristic. Its followers are trying to reach God, find God, please God through their own efforts. Religions reach up to God. Christianity is God reaching down to man. Christianity claims that men have not found God, but that God has found them. To some this is a crushing blow. They prefer religious effort—dealing with God on their own terms. This puts them in control. They feel good about ‘being religious.’ Christianity, however, is not religious striving. To practice Christianity is to respond to what God has done for you” (How To Be a Christian Without Being Religious, Fritz Ridenour).
I. Man’s Problem—Sin
A. Rom. 5:12
1. Sin entered the world through Adam & Eve’s disobedience to God in Eden (Gen. 3:1-6).
a. God did not put the tree of knowledge of good and evil in the Garden of Eden to tempt
Adam and Eve. God tempts no one. He put the tree there so they would have a choice
to follow Him or to disobey Him. God wants us to follow Him, not because we are
forced to, but because we choose to. For love to be meaningful it must have the
element of choice. God will force no one to love/follow Him. The price tag for free
will is the possibility that people will choose something other than God. This is a risk
He was willing to take in order to have a relationship with human beings.
b. Someone might say, “God is responsible for Adam and Eve’s sin because He put the
tree there.” No, He is responsible for the possibility, but they are responsible for the
decision to eat from the tree. If you gave a child a skateboard and he/she fell down
and broke their arm, are you responsible for their fracture?
2. The Bible defines sin as lawlessness (1 John 3:4), breaking God’s law, missing His mark.
3. There are two kinds of sin; commission and omission.
a. Sin of commission is breaking a command of God such as one of the Ten
Commandments or other sins. Sin of omission is the failure to do what we know is the
right thing to do (Jas. 4:17).
4. People are not born as sinners, but the flesh possesses a disposition toward sin. Adam and
Eve were not ashamed of their nakedness until they sinned (Gen. 2:25). Little children are
not ashamed of their nakedness because they are not sinners—they are innocent.
5. A person becomes a sinner when they intentionally know something is wrong, but they
willfully do it anyway—they reach the age of accountability. This excludes the
childishness of little children, toddlers, etc. Rom. 4:15b “where there is no law, there is
also no violation.” A person is not guilty of “law breaking” if they are incapable of
understanding “law breaking.” This is true of babies, small children, and the mentally
handicapped. Rom. 7:9 teaches a person is not born inheriting guilt/sin. “I was once alive
apart from the law; but when the commandment came, sin came alive and I died.”
B. Rom. 3:10, 23
1. All have sinned (an act committed—not inherited guilt). It doesn’t take a person of an
accountable age long to become a sinner. People find sin easily (Eve/Adam).
C. Rom. 3:20
1. It is a common idea that people think because they are a good person, they will be able to
go to heaven. This is not a biblical idea—Is. 64:6, Jas. 2:10.
Good is a relative term. When we compare ourselves to God’s perfection, we are not good, but rather stand condemned because of the consequences of our sin.
If three people attempted to swim from California to Hawaii, there is no reward or
consolation in the fact that the person who swam the farthest still didn’t safely reach their destination and died short of the goal just like the poor swimmers. In our world some people are more moral than others, but not even the best person can “swim” to heaven on their own merits. It is not possible to get to heaven being a good person!
D. Rom. 6:23a
1. Because of Adam and Eve’s sin, the sentence of death was placed upon the world
(Rom. 5:17). Therefore, all will die, and this sometimes includes people who have never
sinned such as babies, the mentally handicapped, and younger children.
2. All people will die, but the death Paul talked about here is spiritual death. The book of
Revelation calls it the second death (Rev. 20:14-15). This death is a separation from God
and His goodness in a wicked place called hell (Rev. 21:8). Sin, even one sin, requires
punishment because God’s law has been broken. If we want to relate to God based upon
obeying His law, we have to have perfect obedience every day! Once we mess up one
time there is no way to make it up. Extra credit does not exist before God (Luke 17:7-10).
3. There are three conditions we can be in before God: 1) Innocent/guiltless and thus not
under condemnation. 2) A sinner (one who has broken God’s law and deserves just
punishment). 3) Forgiven of our sins and in Christ—a Christian. Which one are you?
II. God’s Solution—A Savior
A. Rom. 6:23b
1. Jesus was God’s solution to mankind’s sin problem.
2. Who is Jesus? He is the second person in the trinity—God the Son. He was virgin born;
God impregnated Mary (Luke 1:35). He lived a sinless life (2 Cor. 5:21). His miracles
validated His identity (Acts 2:22). His ministry consisted of teaching/preaching. His
death on the cross was payment to God for the sins of every human being (Heb. 9:14,
1 John 2:2). He resurrected from the dead (Matt. 28:6, Acts 1:3). He ascended to heaven
(Acts 1:9). He is coming again (Rev. 1:7).
3. Becoming a Christian is about following Jesus/loving and serving Him. This is about a
Personal relationship and not religion.
B. Rom. 5:6-10, 17; 3:24.
It is remotely possible that someone would give their life for a “good person,” (spouse/ child), but Jesus didn’t die for good people—He died for sinful people like us!
2. God’s great love is demonstrated in His reaching out to mankind with His son Jesus to die
to pay the penalty for our sins. This is where the concept of grace enters the picture.
“Grace is that peculiar disposition in the heart of God to favor those who deserve only
condemnation” (What The Bible Says About Grace, Pile, pg. 36). Grace is favor bestowed
to us by God when wrath is owed to us by God. Grace is God treating people unfairly—
not in a bad way, but a good way. We get the opposite of what we deserve, but
unfortunately for Him so did Jesus (2 Cor. 5:21).
a. The concept of grace is seen in the example of money in a wallet. If you give someone
a dollar out of your wallet, that they didn’t work for, that is an example of grace. It is
something received that was not earned. However, that is the “light” definition of
grace. If you caught someone stealing from your wallet, and instead of calling the
police, you gave them the money, that is the “heavy” definition of grace. The person
deserved to be arrested and prosecuted, but you gave them the very opposite of what
they deserved.
3. The blood of Jesus is the only method that God would accept as payment to Him (Heb.
9:14) for the sins of people. Not just any blood, but the blood of His sinless Son (Rev. 1:5).
The cross teaches us two primary truths: 1) One, in God’s eyes, sin is very bad. Two,
to God, sinners are worth dying for and that includes you!
4. To be justified before God means to be treated by God as if we had never sinned even
though we have. Specifically it means, “no penalty” because someone else already paid
it—Jesus. This all took place in one act (Jesus’ death—Rom. 5:18). Therefore, a person
is made acceptable before God, because they are saved/justified by Jesus’ blood. They are
viewed by God as if they have already suffered eternity in hell because Jesus paid/penalty!
5. “Saved from His wrath.”
a. The wrath of God is like a missile pursuing its target. It will either catch us at death
and destroy us for eternity in hell or the wrath we deserved for our sin will be diverted
to Jesus’ death on the cross if we are a Christian. The word “propitiation” used in
Rom. 3:25 means, “a sacrifice that appeases or turns away God’s wrath” (1 John 2:10).
III. Man’s Response—Obedience to God’s Plan of Salvation
A. Though God’s part in the role of man’s forgiveness has been completed by Jesus’ life, death,
and resurrection from the dead, people must still respond to the free gift of salvation from sin
that God has offered to them (Heb. 2:3, Heb. 5:9).
1. If someone gave you free tickets to a concert, you would still have to drive to the arena,
park your car, walk to the ticket line, have your ticket scanned, and walk to your seat. By
doing all of those things, would you have earned the ticket? No, they were a gift, but you
had to put yourself in position to receive what someone else gave you.
2. If a radio station ran a contest to win a free trip to the 13th caller who gave the right answer
to the names of Columbus’ three ships. If you were the 13th caller and you said, “Nina,
Pinta, and Santa Maria,” could you say you earned, worked for, or deserved that trip? No,
you simply put yourself in position to receive what someone else bought and paid for.
You met the terms to receive their grace gift. So it is with Jesus’ salvation. He bought and
paid for it, but people have to take hold of it. This is not salvation by works.
3. Let’s say your uncle promised to give you $10,000 if you met him at a restaurant at 11:00
a.m. on Saturday. Did showing up at the diner at the right place and time earn the gift?
No, your uncle gave you his money. You just met the requirements he gave to receive his
free gift to you. Who would have the nerve to say, “Because I showed up, I earned it?”
4. Just because a person must do something to receive God’s forgiveness is not an indicator
that they are working for or earning their salvation. They are simply putting themselves
in position to receive the offer God has freely given.
5. A man drowning in a river is saved by many things. He is saved by the person who threw
him the life preserver. He is saved by the life preserver and rope. And he is saved by
himself since he had to take a hold of it! He could have chosen to drown.
a. There are several things that save a person from their sins. God has “thrown” us a
spiritual life preserver in Jesus, but we must respond by receiving or taking a hold of
God’s free offer. Acts 2:40b says, “Be saved from this perverse generation.”
b. This is not salvation by works, but is meeting the terms God has set up to receive his
free gift. Joshua 6:2 “I have given Jericho into your hand.” Yet, the nation of Israel
had to march around the walls of Jericho once a day for six days and seven times on
the seventh day, shout, blow horns before the wall would fall down (Jos 6:4-6).
Their obedience to what God said was them simply taking the gift God chose to give
them. However, they would not have received His gift had they not done what God
told them to do. Did they work for it? No. Did they put themselves in position to
receive God’s gift? Yes.
B. Rom. 10:13-17 Hear the Word of God
1. The conscience is convicted/pierced/pricked based upon the activation of the hearing. We
“hear” with our ears, but also with our eyes.
C. Rom. 1:16-17 Faith (belief) in Christ
1. Saving faith does include the mental acknowledgement (assent) that God exists, but even
the devil/demons have this level of faith (Jas. 2:19). Saving faith also includes belief in
testimony (we didn’t see Jesus, but we believe the eyewitnesses who did), and it includes
trust (2 Cor. 5:7). Saving faith leads to obedience (Heb. 11), but obedience is not included
in the element of faith (Mark 16:16).
D. Rom. 2:4 Repentance of sin
1. God’s kindness is what causes us to repent. Repentance is a change of mind about sin.
Our attitude is one of hatred toward sin because it cost Jesus His life. We possess godly
sorrow toward our sins (2 Cor. 7:9-10). What we once participated in with little or no
thought now we cannot accept. Luke 15:11-24 describes repentance.
E. Rom. 10:9-10 Confession of faith
1. Confession is not of sin, but of unashamed faith in Jesus. It is not just a confession of the
saving power of Jesus, but His lordship over our life. In short, we are confessing that
Jesus is our Lord and we are under new management! He owns us.
F. Rom. 6:3-7 Baptism
1. The proper mode/practice of baptism is by dipping/immersion. Paul said that baptism was
a burial. When something or someone is buried they are put completely under the ground.
The practice of sprinkling for baptism is an idea that is not found in the Bible. Notice that
John 3:23 says, “John also was baptizing in Aenon near Salim, because there was much
water there; and people were coming and were being baptized.”
2. The purpose of baptism is the forgiveness of sins and gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38;
22:16). When we are baptized the old person guilty of sin before God is buried with Christ
and a new person rises, cleansed from their sin, not by the water, but by the blood of Christ
(Rev. 1:5). The water is not special or holy in any way, but is the burial grave where God
forgives our sins.
3. Thus, we are saved by grace not law through faith not works at baptism for the purpose of
serving God (Eph. 2:8-10, Col. 2:10-14).
4. Faith is the means to salvation as opposed to works and baptism is the occasion of
forgiveness of sins/putting on Christ (Gal. 3:26-27).
5. Acts 8:35-38 is a description of a baptism.
IV. Now that I am a Christian, what do I do? Rom. 6-8
A. The decision to become a Christian is a one-time decision, but the decision to remain a
Christian is a daily decision.
1. While justification/forgiveness happens instantly at baptism (Acts 22:16), where we go
from being 0% forgiven to 100% forgiven, the process of sanctification (putting to death
the deeds of the flesh) is a life-long process. Our soul is forgiven, but our flesh still
struggles with the sin (Rom. 7:18-24). Sanctification is the process of bringing our flesh
into the same condition as our soul (Rom. 8:12-13, Col. 3:5-10). We will never reach
sinlessness in this life, but nevertheless this must be our goal.
a. Paul said, “I die daily” (1 Cor. 15:31b). The old, crucified person will seek to resurrect
itself in our lives.
B. There are several things we must do lest we are overtaken by the devil again and the “last
state becomes worse than the first” (Matt. 12:43-45).
1. We must read and study the Bible personally every day (1 Pet. 2:2, 2 Tim. 2:15).
2. We must worship with the church on the Lord’s Day (Sunday) and other assemblies of
the church such as Sunday School, in-home Bible studies (Heb. 10:25). We should seek as
many opportunities as we can. You cannot separate Christ and being a Christian from His
church. They are like two blades on a pair of scissors. You can’t have Christ without the
church for He is the head and the church is His body (Eph. 1:22-23).
3. We must participate steadfastly/regularly in the elements of Acts 2:42 (the Lord’s Supper
communion 52 Sundays a year—Acts 20:7) and other aspects of this text which are so
vital to spiritual life and growth such as prayer and sharing life together with other
Christians in mutual encouragement.
4. We must give a portion of our financial resources as part of our worship to God.
Christians should tithe or give a minimum of a tenth of their income (Mal. 3:8-10,
1 Cor. 16:1-2) and grow upward from there. God owns everything—we manage it.
5. We must share our faith with those who do not know Christ Jesus (Matt. 28:19, Acts 1:8).
All Christians should be sharing their faith with people who are not saved. You do not
have to know everything about the Bible to be a witness for Christ, but you can tell people
what Jesus means to you, has done for you, and what are the consequences of not being
saved (hell) and the eternal promises for the Christian (heaven).
6. There is no “treading water” for the Christian. Our relationship with Christ is either
growing day by day or is decreasing day by day. We have to take in spiritual food to
grow. We want to fulfill Luke 6:40 “A pupil is not above his teacher; but everyone, after
he has been fully trained, will be like his teacher.” Our goal is not to be conformed to the
world, but be transformed into the image of our teacher—Jesus Christ (Rom. 8:29).
7. The Christian life is not a 100-yard dash but is a marathon—it is forever. If you are not
willing to give Jesus complete control of your life, for the rest of your life, you are not
ready to become a Christian. Jesus said, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must
deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me” (Mark 8:34).
a. It has been pointed out that a crucified person is facing one direction, they have no
future plans of their own, and they are not going back from where they came. This is
what it means to be a Christian. Please read Gal. 2:20 now and see if this describes
you.
8. Having gone through this study are you saved or guilty/condemned in sin? If you
answered the latter, are you ready to give your life to Jesus and become one of God’s
children by obeying the things you have learned?