The Roman Road to Salvation

I am totally excited for this post and I hope that your life might potentially change today. A couple of weeks ago, my mom asked me if I ever posted about salvation or how you can come to Jesus and I told her that I never have. She recommended that it might be a good idea so I told her, that when the time was right I would. Which for me, I guess probably wasn't the smartest answer because you never know when Christ will return or your life might be over. Crazy things happen.

I feel like I should mention, I am not expert with witnessing. I have witnessed to only a couple of people in my lifetime. If there is an area of my life where I could greatly improve, it would be in that area. I don't know if you knew this or not, but that is the one thing that you cannot do in heaven. Everybody is already saved so there is no need!

For this post, I had to do some research. I wanted to make sure that all of the information was accurate and presented clearly.

I ask that before you read this you say a prayer and ask the Lord to prepare your heart for what you are about to read.

If you have never given your life to Christ it doesn't have to be done after reading this post, there is no pressure at all. I am not posting this to pressure you into anything. When the Holy Spirit knows it is your time, that is when it'll happen.

The Roman Road to Salvation

I don't know if you have ever heard of the The Roman Road to Salvation before but it is a selection of  Bible verses taken from the book of Romans that present the plan of salvation through Jesus Christ.

* steps down the Roman Road to Salvation *

1. I consider myself a 'good person'...won't that be enough?

- Romans 3:23 - For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God
- Romans 3:10 - As it is written: "There is none righteous, no, not one.
- Romans 5:12 - 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-

The creator of the universe is Holy. God is light and there is no darkness at all. He has set laws in place for his creation to obey. Those laws began as the 10 commandments. It is often easy to think that we are good compared to other people, but how do we measure up against God's law? Have you ever lied? I bet you have. I know that I have. Then we are both liars. James 2:10 says: "For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it."

Even when you make the decision to give your life to Christ you are still going to struggle with these things. I have for years and I gave my life to Christ years ago. It's taken me 21 years to get to the point where I feel as if I am living my life for Christ every single day in both the things I say and do.

2. Is sin really THAT big of a deal? If it is...what HOPE is there?

- Romans 6:23 - For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Disobedience to an infinite eternal God deserves an infinite eternal consequence. God shows us His character and his laws in his creation, the world around us. He has also written his laws on our hearts. In Ecclesiastes it is written that eternity is written on our hearts. He has also given us his WORD the Bible. No good judge would let the guilty go free, the criminal go unpunished. Neither can a holy righteous God allow a sinful man to go unpunished...but God LOVES a man whom he has made in his image and He has provided a way of escape by sending his only son to die in your place.

3. After what I've done to grieve God...HOW could He willingly die in my place?

- Romans 5:8 - But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

I am sure you have heard John 3:16 right? "For God so loved the world that He gave his one and only son so that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life." I learned a new way to say that verse while I was in China last summer. Try it this way...(but where my name is, put yours) "For God so loved Luke that He gave his one and only son that when Luke believes in Him, he should not perish but have eternal life."

While he died on the cross, he was mocked, spit on, and cursed. Yet Jesus cried out, "Father forgive them for they know not what they have done." With such love, Jesus died in your place...knowing every evil act, word, and thought you would commit. What powerful love is that! He loves you unconditionally even to the point of death when you are at your worst. He loves us no matter what.

4. HOW can I be saved?

- Romans 10:9-10 - 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. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that your profess your faith and are saved.

You will never be saved by trying to be a good person or by trying to do good things for other people. We are saved by the grace of God. Ephesians 2:8-9 says: For by grace you have been saved through faith. And that, not of yourselves. It is a gift from God. You and I can be saved only be confessing our sins and placing our faith in God's son, Jesus Christ who died for our sins and on the cross. We must also surrender our life to His lordship...placing him in charge of every area of our life because we now belong to him. Both John the Baptist and Jesus himself began their preaching with the word, 'Repent'. To repent means 'change one's mind' or to turn - to go in another direction. How can we be led to repentance? The first step toward repentance is true sorrow for what we've done wrong. "For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death." Worldly sorrow is more like the regret of a criminal who has just been caught whereas godly sorrow is the deep remorse or conviction that produces a change in direction. Have you ever felt convicted? I know that I have. When I am convicted, there is no words I can used to describe how I feel. What I feel is so deep in my heart. One of the most valuable lessons I have learned the past couple of months is that when you feel convicted, take action! That even relates to when you feel God's presence. When you feel His presence and act on it, amazing things happen. John 16:7-8 says: "The Holy Spirit convicts us of our sin."

5. Did God HEAR me? Did He accept me?

- Romans 10:13 - Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

Yes! God has heard you. God promises that to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God. He hears you and accepts ALL who come to put their faith in Him. There is no need to fear death any longer because Jesus BROKE the power of sin and death on the cross with his own shed blood. The price for your sin has been paid in full and it is God's promise to receive all who come to him by placing their faith in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. As a believer, you have a new life in Christ. He rose from the DEAD! 2 Corinthians 5:17 says: "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!"

6. What do I do now?

- Romans 10:17 - Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ. Now is your time to learn. Begin spending time in the word of God on daily basis, begin praying, etc. Now is your time to grow and to take action.

It's a celebration! Your journey as a child of the King of Kinds has begun! Or today, you have recommitted your life to Christ which is just as amazing.

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I hope and pray that this post changed your life. This is for sure the most important post that I have ever done. Like it, Share it, get it out there! My hope is that as many people see this as possible and that at least one person might come to Christ. If not, that is totally fine. You now know The Roman Road to Salvation.

You are loved!!!