written November 17, 2008
I heard my friend/mentor/dad in Japan, Jim, mention the Romans Road for the first time last week. After two of my Christian brothers and I decided to discuss what it means to be a good witness, I decided to study Romans to see what verses I might use to guide someone who knows Scripture and wants to believe and have faith in Jesus Christ as his/her Lord and Savior. Here is what I came up with:
In the first chapter of Romans, Paul quickly defines what it means to be a Christian. Anyone wanting to know what the Gospel is all about has to look no further than verses 1-6 for the answer. To summarize the verses, Paul explains Jesus's lineage from David, His resurrection declaring Christ's divine nature, and the gifts of grace and apostleship that we use to witness to the lost. Chapter 1 has two more key points that I find significant enough to mention. The first is the idea of righteousness by faith, which becomes one of the main themes of Romans and all of Paul's letters. The second is found in verse 20 and reads, "For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities--His eternal power and divine nature--have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse." God has revealed Himself to us and instilled in us a desire to find the truth as to why we are here on this earth. This speaks volumes to me. The more of God's Word I take in, the more I desire to know God and seek His Truth.
To set up Paul's fundamental doctrine, he first discusses God's righteousness in chapter 2. In verse 13, Paul says that those who obey the law will be declared righteous. Paul goes on to say that even the Gentiles have this law written on their hearts even though they are not practicing Jews. So clearly we must abide by every law that God has decreed in order to be righteous. But wait, is this even possible?
In chapter 3, Paul makes it clear that "no one is righteous, not even one; no one understands, no one seeks God" in verses 10 and 11. In verse 20, Paul states that the law has no power to save, rather it makes us aware of our sins and inability to become righteous. Since we have a loving God, there must be another way to be made righteous. Verses 23-24 declare that "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that came by Jesus Christ our Lord." Christ presented Himself as the atonement of our sins by dying on the cross. It is through faith in Him that we are saved, by the grace of God! If you have any doubt, Paul spends all of chapter 4 showing how Abraham was made righteous by his faith in Jesus Christ. Let's keep journeying ahead to see just how Jesus has redeemed us.
Chapter 5 illustrates just how much God loves us. When we were still sinners, Jesus died for us (v8). How amazing it is to think that I was given the gift of salvation when I least deserved it! What an awesome God we serve! Since the law made us aware of our sins and unrighteousness, Christ came to make us aware of God's amazing and saving grace that He lavishes upon us with all wisdom and understanding as Paul proclaims in Ephesians 1.
Chapter 6 is a good place to turn to gain an understanding of how it is James can say that you will know his faith by his works. Paul discusses our death to sin upon accepting Christ into our hearts and how this ends our slavery to sin. Paul confirms that, not only are we dead to sin, but we are alive in Christ. He goes on to say that we have a new master, Jesus Christ, whom we need to obediently serve since we are now slaves to the righteousness that comes through Christ. The end of chapter 6 speaks of the wonderful gift we are given when we live for Jesus Christ: the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. When we acknowledge that life is not about us and submit to God's authority, Christ changes our hearts and we reap holiness. Wow! Cool, huh?
Chapter 7 is very significant for anyone that wants to argue that "I'm a good person. I do a lot of good things for people and God will let me in Heaven because of the good I do." In verse 10, Paul writes "I found that the very commandment that was intended to bring life actually brought death." The Law was thought to be a way of righteousness, however, it only served to point out the sin of man and show man's need for a savior. There is no way around it. We are creatures of wrath by our very nature and cannot free ourselves from this. Even Paul, one of the most versed and disciplined followers of Christ, admits his struggle with sin in verses 22-23. "For in my inner being, I delight in God's law, but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members." The Law of the Old Testament served to show all of mankind his inability to defeat sin. None, other than Jesus Christ, have defeated sin and none ever will.
Well, I will still sin even in Christ so why bother? is a question that arises and Paul answers that in Chapter 8: 1-2: "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death." These verses have given me great comfort in the past when I was struggling with sin and the resulting shame. We are set free from the law of sin! It is no longer our master! Of course, we can still walk in that lifestyle, but it will lead to misery because the higher calling of God will never leave us once a genuine relationship with Christ is established. What an encouragement. What a challenge also for us to bury our old nature and trust completely in Jesus to make us mature and complete and perfect our faith in Him! Understand verses 1 and 2 and you can develop complete and total freedom of the purest form which is only found when walking with Jesus Christ.
But what about my sin? How can I be worth all this stuff? What if I used to be a believer and don't feel God anymore? Sin caused me to have these questions in the past. I believed like many people do that I was just too broken for God to use in any meaningful way. However, Scripture tells us that we must hold the opposite opinion that while I am broken, I fully expect God to use me in an extraordinary way for the glory of his Kingdom and as a living testimony of His grace and mercy. My sin is removed from me as far as the East is from the West. Paul makes it abundantly clear how God views these questions and the idea of us being unusable. Chapter 8:38-39 says "For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither present nor the future, nor any powers, 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." When we are found in Christ, we are secured. Fear not. Seek His face and delight in the Almighty. Rejoice knowing that we are free from sin and death and alive in Jesus!
So, the Law was created to point out our sin and need of a savior. In Chapter 10:4, Paul explains that "Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes." How is that righteousness attained? 10:9 is the end of the road. "That if you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, YOU WILL BE SAVED." (emphasis added) Accept the calling of God; Confess Jesus as Lord; Gain an eternity of glory with the one true God.
Heavenly Father,
May the divinely inspired words of Paul continue to guide people into a personal relationship with your Son, our Savior. May we find encouragement in your Word and boldly share your Truth with the world. Thank you for being so real in my life and dying for me when I was still a sinner. May your name be proclaimed Holy and Majestic forever. Amen.
I heard my friend/mentor/dad in Japan, Jim, mention the Romans Road for the first time last week. After two of my Christian brothers and I decided to discuss what it means to be a good witness, I decided to study Romans to see what verses I might use to guide someone who knows Scripture and wants to believe and have faith in Jesus Christ as his/her Lord and Savior. Here is what I came up with:
In the first chapter of Romans, Paul quickly defines what it means to be a Christian. Anyone wanting to know what the Gospel is all about has to look no further than verses 1-6 for the answer. To summarize the verses, Paul explains Jesus's lineage from David, His resurrection declaring Christ's divine nature, and the gifts of grace and apostleship that we use to witness to the lost. Chapter 1 has two more key points that I find significant enough to mention. The first is the idea of righteousness by faith, which becomes one of the main themes of Romans and all of Paul's letters. The second is found in verse 20 and reads, "For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities--His eternal power and divine nature--have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse." God has revealed Himself to us and instilled in us a desire to find the truth as to why we are here on this earth. This speaks volumes to me. The more of God's Word I take in, the more I desire to know God and seek His Truth.
To set up Paul's fundamental doctrine, he first discusses God's righteousness in chapter 2. In verse 13, Paul says that those who obey the law will be declared righteous. Paul goes on to say that even the Gentiles have this law written on their hearts even though they are not practicing Jews. So clearly we must abide by every law that God has decreed in order to be righteous. But wait, is this even possible?
In chapter 3, Paul makes it clear that "no one is righteous, not even one; no one understands, no one seeks God" in verses 10 and 11. In verse 20, Paul states that the law has no power to save, rather it makes us aware of our sins and inability to become righteous. Since we have a loving God, there must be another way to be made righteous. Verses 23-24 declare that "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that came by Jesus Christ our Lord." Christ presented Himself as the atonement of our sins by dying on the cross. It is through faith in Him that we are saved, by the grace of God! If you have any doubt, Paul spends all of chapter 4 showing how Abraham was made righteous by his faith in Jesus Christ. Let's keep journeying ahead to see just how Jesus has redeemed us.
Chapter 5 illustrates just how much God loves us. When we were still sinners, Jesus died for us (v8). How amazing it is to think that I was given the gift of salvation when I least deserved it! What an awesome God we serve! Since the law made us aware of our sins and unrighteousness, Christ came to make us aware of God's amazing and saving grace that He lavishes upon us with all wisdom and understanding as Paul proclaims in Ephesians 1.
Chapter 6 is a good place to turn to gain an understanding of how it is James can say that you will know his faith by his works. Paul discusses our death to sin upon accepting Christ into our hearts and how this ends our slavery to sin. Paul confirms that, not only are we dead to sin, but we are alive in Christ. He goes on to say that we have a new master, Jesus Christ, whom we need to obediently serve since we are now slaves to the righteousness that comes through Christ. The end of chapter 6 speaks of the wonderful gift we are given when we live for Jesus Christ: the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. When we acknowledge that life is not about us and submit to God's authority, Christ changes our hearts and we reap holiness. Wow! Cool, huh?
Chapter 7 is very significant for anyone that wants to argue that "I'm a good person. I do a lot of good things for people and God will let me in Heaven because of the good I do." In verse 10, Paul writes "I found that the very commandment that was intended to bring life actually brought death." The Law was thought to be a way of righteousness, however, it only served to point out the sin of man and show man's need for a savior. There is no way around it. We are creatures of wrath by our very nature and cannot free ourselves from this. Even Paul, one of the most versed and disciplined followers of Christ, admits his struggle with sin in verses 22-23. "For in my inner being, I delight in God's law, but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members." The Law of the Old Testament served to show all of mankind his inability to defeat sin. None, other than Jesus Christ, have defeated sin and none ever will.
Well, I will still sin even in Christ so why bother? is a question that arises and Paul answers that in Chapter 8: 1-2: "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death." These verses have given me great comfort in the past when I was struggling with sin and the resulting shame. We are set free from the law of sin! It is no longer our master! Of course, we can still walk in that lifestyle, but it will lead to misery because the higher calling of God will never leave us once a genuine relationship with Christ is established. What an encouragement. What a challenge also for us to bury our old nature and trust completely in Jesus to make us mature and complete and perfect our faith in Him! Understand verses 1 and 2 and you can develop complete and total freedom of the purest form which is only found when walking with Jesus Christ.
But what about my sin? How can I be worth all this stuff? What if I used to be a believer and don't feel God anymore? Sin caused me to have these questions in the past. I believed like many people do that I was just too broken for God to use in any meaningful way. However, Scripture tells us that we must hold the opposite opinion that while I am broken, I fully expect God to use me in an extraordinary way for the glory of his Kingdom and as a living testimony of His grace and mercy. My sin is removed from me as far as the East is from the West. Paul makes it abundantly clear how God views these questions and the idea of us being unusable. Chapter 8:38-39 says "For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither present nor the future, nor any powers, 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." When we are found in Christ, we are secured. Fear not. Seek His face and delight in the Almighty. Rejoice knowing that we are free from sin and death and alive in Jesus!
So, the Law was created to point out our sin and need of a savior. In Chapter 10:4, Paul explains that "Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes." How is that righteousness attained? 10:9 is the end of the road. "That if you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, YOU WILL BE SAVED." (emphasis added) Accept the calling of God; Confess Jesus as Lord; Gain an eternity of glory with the one true God.
Heavenly Father,
May the divinely inspired words of Paul continue to guide people into a personal relationship with your Son, our Savior. May we find encouragement in your Word and boldly share your Truth with the world. Thank you for being so real in my life and dying for me when I was still a sinner. May your name be proclaimed Holy and Majestic forever. Amen.
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