The Roman's Road to Salvation...
Are you wanting to devote your life to Jesus Christ, forever living in freedom from sin, shame, and condemnation? Or maybe you know someone who is asking about how they can accept Jesus as their savior, and you need help leading them there. Here is a resource for you to help guide you through understanding what salvation really means, how it was achieved, and how you can accept Christ as your savior today! The best part? It’s entirely free! You don’t need to barter, manipulate, cajole, force, strive for, or make a deal with God to receive the Holy Spirit. God gives Himself freely to you, and once the Holy Spirit enters your heart, you’re saved forevermore! Here’s what you need to know…
- Adam’s first sin in the Garden of Eden in Genesis 1 opened the floodgates for sin to enter the world, and all of us are caught up in the mess of it. This might seem unfair, but think about it this way. Before Adam and Eve’s first sin, sin did not exist. It was a perfect utopia. It could have stayed that way, but once that first sin was committed, evil was now a part of the world, and it’s not going anywhere! It’s like dropping black food coloring into a bowl of clear water. The water will forever be changed because of it. Even if you pour it into a smaller cup, strain it, or even filter it. It will still be black. So now, generations later, sin still exists in the world and we are actively affected by it from the moment we take our first breath. Sin is corruption, and no one is exempt.
Have you ever told a lie? Have you ever broken the speed limit? Have you ever taken something that wasn’t yours? Have you ever taken the Lord’s name in vain? Have you ever thought about someone lustfully who was not your spouse? Have you ever desired something that wasn’t yours? Those are just a few of the 10 commandments, and those don’t even begin to address all of the things that God identifies as sinful. If we can’t even live up to the 10 commandments, what makes us think we can avoid the identity of a sinner?
“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by His grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,” Romans 3:23-24 ESV - Because of our sin, we are bound for Hell. It’s like committing murder and sitting in a courtroom getting sentenced to life in prison. The existence of any sin is death. This is both a legal and a physical repercussion. Hell is the penalty for sin-and Hell is eternity without God. Since God is the source of all good, Hell will be a place where nothing good is present. It is a place without physical, mental, or psychological well-being, comfort, or stability. Whatever horrors you can picture here on Earth, it will be incomprehensibly worse.
“For the wages of sin is Death,” Romans 6:23a ESV
- HOWEVER! Jesus has come into the courtroom and told the judge He’s paying our bail. He’s assuming responsibility for the mess we’ve caused, and he’s legally taking care of it. But more than that, he served our sentence. If he truly paid bail, a sum of money would have been paid. But Jesus actually suffered the penalty we deserved. For a moment on the cross, God deserted His Son as Jesus took on the weight of all the sins past, present and future. “And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, ‘Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?’ which means, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Mark 15:34. Jesus died the death we deserved, but he raised from the grave triumphant over sin because HE is perfect, whereas none of us ever could be.
“but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 6:23b ESV
- It’s like we’re dying of cancer and someone tells the doctor to put the cancer in themself instead. They’d rather die so that you didn’t have to. That’s what Jesus did for you.
“but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8
- A lot of people get to this point and get confused. If Jesus did all that for me, I should be good right? Not quite. You have to actually ACCEPT the free gift Jesus gave to you. For example, I’ve got a $100 bill in my hand and say that it’s for you. It’s absolutely worthless to you unless you agree to take it out of my hand and use it. Another way to think about it is we go to Wendy’s and I buy your meal. You can reject the food, but you’re completely broke, so you can’t buy your own meal, you’ll just end up going hungry. But I’ve already bought your food and it’s just sitting here waiting for you to accept it.
Your family can’t save you either. You can’t INHERIT salvation. That’d be like your mom eating the Wendy’s meal and you expecting to feel full after she’s done.
“because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” Romans 10:9 ESV
- EVERYONE. Not “good people.” Not “people who go to church.” Not “people who volunteer X amount of hours to the church or charity.” Not only one race of people. EVERYONE. Everyone gets the opportunity to accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior. Heaven is not exclusionary. If you’ve accepted Christ, you’re in. You’re never too far gone. You’ve never “done too much.” God doesn’t see values of sin like we do. The blackness of murder is just as black as the blackness of telling a lie. God has an aerial view, whereas we have a street view. We focus on how high the walls are. God just sees that walls exist and need to be knocked down.
“For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” Romans 10:13 ESV
- Justified means cleansed. Remember that bowl of water with the black food coloring of sin? Jesus’ sacrifice is the ONLY thing that can return the water back to its crystal clear, perfect state. Notice how it’s not through our actions. Not through our service. Not through our ceremony. Not through our traditions . . . It’s through FAITH that we are saved. Because you believe, you are justified.
“Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Romans 5:1 ESV
- Congratulations, you’re FREE! No more eternal death, no more fear of the unknown, no more eternal separation from God, no more eternal suffering. You are HEAVEN BOUND! You are now in Christ Jesus, and He lives in you.
“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” Romans 8:1
- NOTHING can separate you from God, once you’re saved. There is no power on Earth, in Heaven, or in Hell that can make you unsaved. If that were so, it would completely negate the power of what Jesus accomplished on the cross. Not even your own heart can undo what Jesus has done. If you were truly saved and you decide to turn away at any point and live a worldly, secular life- you’re still saved. Nothing can undo what’s been done. You may not have many accolades in heaven, but you’ll be there. And the Holy Spirit that now dwells within your heart will make you sick and torment you until you return to the Lord. People can suppress the Holy Spirit, but you can’t get rid of Him. So, there is no need to be afraid of ever losing your salvation.
“For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:38-39 ESV
The Salvation Prayer
If you’ve read through the Roman’s Road to Salvation and you’ve decided to give your life to Jesus, this is a version of the prayer you can say to ask Jesus into your heart. You can personalize this as much as you’d like! Just be sure to hit on each of the important points, so that you’re able to pray with complete awareness and assuming full responsibility for what you’re repenting for, and what you’re asking God for.
“God, I know that I have sinned against you and am deserving of punishment. But Jesus Christ took the punishment that I deserve so that through faith in Him, I could be forgiven. With your help, I place my trust in You for salvation. Thank You for Your wonderful grace and forgiveness – the gift of eternal life! Amen!”