The Roman Road

July 30, 2025

The Roman Road: Step 1

In the book of Romans, the Apostle Paul lays out what has become known as The Roman Road—a clear pathway to salvation. This is where our journey begins. The first step is found in Romans 3:23, where Paul writes, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (NIV). We all fall short. We often say, “Nobody’s perfect.” Perhaps we aren’t as bad as someone else, but when we compare ourselves to God, the difference becomes staggering.

Paul makes it clear that we are without excuse. He writes, “Ever since the creation of the world, God’s invisible qualities—God’s eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, because they are understood through the things God has made. So, humans are without excuse” (Romans 1:20, NIV).

The older I get, the more I recognize my own sinfulness, my imperfections, and, like Paul, I find myself confessing, “I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate” (Romans 7:15, NLT).

Take selfishness, for example. Andy Stanley, in his book How Good Is Good Enough? Since Nobody’s Perfect, writes:

And as much trouble as our selfishness gets us into, we continue to bow to it.  It chokes the love out of marriages.  It drives a wedge between parents and their adolescent kids.  It lures men and women outside the boundaries of common sense in the arena of personal finances.  It fuels ambition to the point of self-destruction.  And after several millennia of human experience, we still have not found a way to rid ourselves of this taskmaster.  What we need is to be, well, saved.  We need to be saved, or delivered, from the thing that rages inside us.  And we need to be forgiven for all the hurt we have caused as a result of our sin.  Jesus came to this earth to be both deliverer and forgiver.  No one else in recorded history has ever claimed to be either of those, much less both.

Many people avoid church because they feel unworthy. Others sit in church, still feeling unworthy. Some come precisely because they know they are unworthy—they know they fall short. That conviction is the work of the Holy Spirit. This is what Jesus meant when He said the Spirit “will guide you into all truth” (John 16:13, NIV).

When someone says to me, “I’m not worthy…I don’t feel worthy,” my response is, “Amen. That’s the first step. You’re right—you’re not worthy. No one is.”

Isaiah said it centuries before Christ: “We are all infected and impure with sin. When we display our righteous deeds, they are nothing but filthy rags” (Isaiah 64:6, NLT). This is why we need a Savior.

The Roman Road: Step 2

Once we are convicted of our sin, we must accept the truth that sin separates us from a holy and perfect God. Paul writes, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23, NIV).

Scripture is clear: God loves everyone and wants all to be saved. Paul, writing to Timothy, explains:

[God] wants not only us but everyone saved, you know, everyone to get to know the truth we’ve learned: that there’s one God and only one, and one Priest-Mediator between God and us—Jesus, who offered himself in exchange for everyone held captive by sin, to set them all free. (1 Timothy 2:4–6, MSG)

But God gives us a choice—a choice between sin and Jesus Christ. If we choose sin and reject Christ, we also reject God’s mercy, leaving us to stand before a just God on our own. In that case, no one else can pay the penalty for our sin but ourselves.

Paul tells us plainly: the penalty for sin is death—separation from God. But if we choose Jesus Christ, he writes:

Therefore, there is now no condemnation [no guilty verdict, no punishment] for those who are in Christ Jesus [who believe in Him as personal Lord and Savior].For the law of the Spirit of life [which is] in Christ Jesus [the law of our new being] has set you free from the law of sin and of death. For what the Law could not do [that is, overcome sin and remove its penalty, its power] being weakened by the flesh [man’s nature without the Holy Spirit], God did: He sent His own Son in the likeness of sinful man as an offering for sin.

And He condemned sin in the flesh [subdued it and overcame it in the person of His own Son], so that the [righteous and just] requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us who do not live our lives in the ways of the flesh [guided by worldliness and our sinful nature], but [live our lives] in the ways of the Spirit [guided by His power]. (Romans 8:1–4, AMP)

Jesus took our sins upon Himself. He accepted the penalty we deserve and stood where we should have stood—our substitute before a just God.

The Roman Road: Step 3

Paul proclaims the good news: “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8, NIV). He continues: “Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life” (Romans 5:10, NKJV).

God is both perfect justice and perfect love. As William Lane Craig writes, “Both of these are equally powerful, and neither can be compromised.” God is just and fair. Every person can expect absolute justice—and therein lies the problem: all of us fall short. Craig observes, “…we find ourselves under the law of divine justice: You reap what you sow…”

So, we must throw ourselves upon God’s mercy, trusting that He also loves us. Craig elaborates:

Sometimes people get the idea that God is a sort of cosmic tyrant up there, out to get us. But this isn't the Christian understanding of God. Listen to what the Bible says: “Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked?” says the Lord God. “And not rather that he should turn from his way and live?...For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone,” says the Lord God. “So, turn and live!” (Ezekiel 18:23,32; 33:11)

The New Testament echoes this: “The Lord is not willing that any should perish but that all should reach repentance” (2 Peter 3:9, NIV) and “He desires all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4, NIV).

God’s justice demands punishment for sin. God’s love demands reconciliation and forgiveness. Neither can be compromised. So, what is the answer?

The answer is Jesus Christ. He is where God’s justice and love meet. At the cross, we see both God’s love for sinners and His wrath upon sin.

Craig continues:

On the one hand we see God's love. Jesus died in our place. He voluntarily took upon himself the death penalty of sin that we deserve. The Bible says, "In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins" (1 John 4:10).

But at the cross we also see God's wrath. Jesus was our substitute. He bore the punishment for every sin. None of us can imagine what He endured.

Olin Curtis once wrote:“There alone our Lord opens his mind, his heart, his personal consciousness to the whole inflow of the horror of sin... the boundless ocean of desolation. He allows wave upon wave to overwhelm his soul.”

Jesus endured hell for us so that we would never have to. That’s why Jesus is the key, and life’s supreme question becomes: “What will you do with Christ?”

This is the question that must be answered before we can draw nearer to God. Paul writes, “While we were still weak, at the right moment, Christ died for ungodly people” (Romans 5:6, CEB).

What a powerful truth: “…while we were weak…ungodly…” Many say, “I need to get my life together first,” or “God couldn’t love me after what I’ve done.” But God says, “Come as you are.” Revelation 22:17 states, “The Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come!’ And let the one who hears say, ‘Come!’ Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life” (NIV).

Paul emphasizes:

So, now that we have been made righteous by his blood, we can be even more certain that we will be saved from God’s wrath through him.If we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son while we were still enemies, now that we have been reconciled, how much more certain is it that we will be saved by his life?

And not only that: we even take pride in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, the one through whom we now have a restored relationship with God. (Romans 5:9–11, CEB) Ruined by sin. Rescued by Christ.

The Roman Road: Step 4

We have a decision to make. Paul writes:

“But what does it say?…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.” (Romans 10:10, NKJV)

Lee Strobel, once an investigative reporter for The Chicago Tribune, set out to disprove Christianity. In the process, he encountered the risen Christ. In The Case for Christ, he writes:

Christianity is unique. It’s based on the “done” plan—Jesus has done for us on the cross what we cannot do for ourselves… I didn’t have to strive to make myself worthy. The Bible says Jesus offers forgiveness and eternal life as a free gift… Even someone like me.

On November 8, 1981, I prayed a sincere, unedited prayer of repentance… and I knew from John 1:12 that I had become a child of God… Forever adopted into His family through the risen Jesus.

So radical was the change in my life that months later, our five-year-old daughter said, “Mommy, I want God to do for me what He’s done for Daddy.”

“For ‘whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved’” (Romans 10:13, NKJV). This is the good news. This is the gospel. This is the power of God for salvation to all who believe.

John Wesley experienced this on May 24, 1738. Hearing Paul’s words read at a meeting in Aldersgate Street, London, he recorded:

In the evening…someone was reading Luther’s Preface to the Epistle to the Romans. About a quarter before nine…

…I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ—Christ alone—for salvation, and an assurance was given me that He had taken away my sins, even mine…

Paul writes: “For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God…you received God’s Spirit when He adopted you…Now we call him, ‘Abba, Father’” (Romans 8:14–15, NLT).

As Paul concludes his letter to the Romans, he urges believers to live out their salvation. Once we recognize the gift we’ve been given and accept Christ, the Holy Spirit begins to transform us. Paul reminds us: “Don’t you realize that God’s kindness is supposed to lead you to change your heart and life?” (Romans 2:4, ESV).

And so, as those who have been reconciled to God through Christ, we are now called to live lives that reflect that reconciliation. This means seeking peace with others, extending the same grace we have received, and breaking down walls of division, bitterness, and unforgiveness. We are called to turn away from every thought, behavior, and desire that pulls us away from God’s heart—and to walk in step with the Spirit, choosing what is holy, pure, and life-giving.

Most importantly, we are called to love. Love is not optional—it is the defining mark of those who follow Christ. Jesus said, “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:35, NIV). A reconciled life is a life of love: love for God, love for neighbor, and even love for our enemies. This is the fruit of the gospel and the evidence of a transformed heart.