What Is the “Romans Road” to Salvation?
The “Romans road” to salvation is an easy-to-remember tool for sharing the message of Christ with people. It involves a smattering of verses from the book of Romans (with maybe another optional verse added to the mix, like John 3:16).
What’s great about the Romans road is you don’t have to remember anything word-for-word. All you have to do is remember the gist of the 5-6 points and the chapter/verse citations of the passages. As long as you have a small Bible or New Testament available you don’t have to memorize the passages.
Here is the basic “Romans road” in my own wording. Feel free to word it as you see fit. I’m using the NIV, but use whatever version you think will work best (click the verse citation for several other English translations of the verse in question):
1. Establish that everyone is a sinner in God’s eyes even if they deem themselves “basically a good person.”
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
As it is written: “There is no one righteous, not even one;”
Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned
2. Establish the ultimate penalty of sin, which is death. Since our Creator is absolutely just, God must honor this universal penalty (Matthew 10:28). This is important because the recipient will think “Okay, I’m a sinner, so what?”
For the wages of sin is death…
3. Establish the hope for all sinners — even those who think they’re “too bad” to be forgiven — that God has provided redemption through Jesus Christ.
…but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
This reveals that it is not God’s will that people perish, but to repent — “change their minds” via the gospel of Christ — and be saved (2 Peter 3:9, 1 Timothy 2:4 & Ezekiel 18:32).
4. Establish how the sinner can be saved from eternal death.
…the message concerning faith that we proclaim: 9 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.
This is optional, but you can throw in John 3:16 to emphasize the importance of belief in the heart for the personal receiving of eternal life.
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
Whoever confesses Jesus Christ as Lord and believes in their heart will experience spiritual regeneration — rebirth within (John 3:3, 3:6 & Titus 3:5).
You can lead them in prayer at this time if you so feel led. Here’s a simple sample prayer to lead them in:
O, God, have mercy on me a sinner. Thank you that your Son died for my sins and was raised to life for my redemption. Jesus Christ is Lord. Thank you so much for salvation and eternal life. Lead me on. Amen.
The recipient may understandably say s/he needs time to think about what you shared before making a decision. This will give them a chance to chew on the material. If this is the case, respect their position and pray for them based on John 16:7-11 that the Holy Spirit (1) convict them of sin, (2) show their need for the gift of righteousness in Christ since their righteousness is filthy rags in God’s sight (Romans 5:17 & Isaiah 64:6) and warn them of the coming judgment of unredeemed humanity (Revelation 20:13-15).
5. If the recipient accepts the gospel, alleviate any doubts s/he might have by establishing that God has accepted him/her in Christ (assuming they genuinely believed and weren’t lying).
As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.” 12 For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, 13 for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,
For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
If you think these four verses are too many to share, just use one or two.
6. Consider & offer ideas for the new believer to grow in faith and their relationship with the Lord.
Invite him/her to the fellowship you attend, including small gatherings at a house or coffee house/whatever (do the latter if you sense s/he would be intimidated by a larger gathering). If you don’t live in the area, you can recommend a nearby assembly or introduce him/her to some believers you know in the area. Maintain contact with the new believer, whether in person or via phone/email. Consider inviting him/her to do some activity together, like hiking, etc.
This is optional, but you can share one last verse from Romans at the appropriate time:
Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is — his good, pleasing and perfect will.
This will drive home the importance of regular feeding on God’s Word (Matthew 4:4) and changing one’s thinking accordingly (which is what ‘repent‘ means). Believers can feed from the Scriptures themselves, of course (1 John 2:27), but skilled fivefold ministers (Ephesians 4:11-13) and the anointed teaching & preaching thereof is necessary for believers to be fully equipped to walk in newness of life and serve the Lord effectively.
Related Topics:
Insights on Evangelism, aka “Witnessing”
REDEMPTION — God’s Plan of Liberation for Humanity & Creation
The Seven Keys to SPIRITUAL GROWTH
Why Was Jesus Sometimes Ambiguous?
Why did Jesus Answer Questions with Questions?
Disciple — What is it? (The answer might surprise you)
Is Christianity a “Relationship with God”?
The Salvation Equation: Faith = Salvation (+ Fruit + Works)
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