Scripture Reading: Romans 3:21-31

The great evangelist D.L. Moody was once confronted by a woman who said she didn’t like his method of evangelism. D. L. Moody responded, “I don’t particularly like my method either. What’s yours?”

The woman said, “I don’t have one.”

To which D.L. Moody replied, “Then I like mine better!”

There are many methods for sharing your faith, such as “The Four Spiritual Laws” from Campus Crusade, “Steps to Peace with God” from Billy Graham, “The Two Questions” from Evangelism Explosion, or “The Ten Commandments” from The Way of the Master.  As someone has said, sharing your faith is like prayer:  there’s probably only one wrong way to do it, and that’s to not do it at all!

Still, I’d like to give you a method of sharing your faith today that I hope will make it easier for you to do it.  It’s called “The Roman Road,” and it begins with a Scripture that’s found in the passage we’re looking at today in the book of Romans, chapter 3.

But before I start, I’d like to remind you that sharing your faith is not about a method, but about a person, Jesus Christ.  Remember that it is not a method that saves people, but Jesus―and He would love to work through you to touch the lives of those around you.  When you remember this, it takes the pressure off of you and your method.  It’s Jesus who will save people!

I’d also like to remind you to pray for opportunities to share with others.  Sometimes we don’t share with others because we don’t spend time praying for opportunities to share.  But if you’ll pray for God to open doors for you to share your faith, He’ll open your eyes to those who need to hear His good news today.  Pray for opportunities to share, and trust that God will help you share as He opens up those opportunities to you!

And third, a practical way to get into a spiritual conversation with someone is to ask if you can pray for them, perhaps for their health or a situation in their life where they might need God’s intervention.  As they share with you their need, you can pray for that need specifically, and afterwards share how God may have helped you or someone you know with a similar need.  You can let them know that we can trust God for all of our needs because of what He has already done for us through Jesus.  This can lead naturally into a conversation about the needs we all have in life, and the way that Jesus can meet those needs.

Having said that, let’s take a look at “The Roman Road,” a way of walking people through a few passages in the book of Romans, like walking them down a road and pointing out highlights along the way.

While there are many Scriptures that are included in the various versions of “The Roman Road,” I’d like to give you just four to make it as easy as possible for you to remember.  Since we’re in this series on renewing your mind, I think it’s helpful to commit these verses to memory so you can have them at the forefront of your mind, for your own sake, as well as for the sake of those people that God brings your way.

The Roman Road starts with Romans, chapter 3, verse 23:

“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…” (Romans 3:23).

We’ve all sinned.  None of us has a perfect moral scorecard.  Unfortunately, sin has consequences.  The consequences of sin are stated clearly in Romans chapter 6, verse 23:

“For the wages of sin is death…” (Romans 6:23).

The wages, or what we’ve earned for our sins, is death.  Death is a natural outcome of what happens when we go against God’s will for our lives.  God wants us to have an abundant life, but when we go against His plan for us, we head in the opposite direction and head down a path that leads to death instead.

The good news is that Jesus came to put us back on track and to save us from the penalty of death, as described in Romans chapter 5, verse 8:

“But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).

God loves us so much that He doesn’t want us to die, so He made a way for us to be free from sin and free from facing an eternity of death and separation from Him.  When Christ died on the cross, He took our sins upon Him to pay the penalty for us with His own life.

Although God makes this offer available freely to anyone, He doesn’t force it on anyone.  He wants us to come to Him of our own free will, confessing with our mouth that ‘Jesus is Lord’ and believing in our heart that God raised Him from the dead.  When we do that, God will save us, as described in Romans 10:9:

“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” (Romans 10:9).

When you put your faith in Christ, you’ll be saved and given a new life, both here on earth and on into heaven forever.

While there are many other passages from the book of Romans that you could use to share God’s good news with people, these four verses make up the core of the gospel:  addressing the fact that we’ve all sinned (Romans 3:23), that the penalty for sin is death (Romans 6:23), that God loved us so much that He made a way for us to be freed from our sins (Romans 5:8), and that by putting our faith in Jesus we can be saved from our sins and given eternal life (Romans 10:9).

While it may sound simple, don’t underestimate what God can do in someone’s life through a few verses from the book of Romans.

It was while reading the book of Romans that a man named Augustine put his faith in Christ, back in 386 A.D.  He was sitting in the garden of a friend, weeping as he thought about the wickedness of his life.  Some children nearby were singing “Tolle, lege.  Tolle, lege.” which means “Take up and read.  Take up and read.”  A scroll of the book of Romans was laying open next to Augustine, so he “took up and read”.  The first few verses he saw, in Romans 13:13-14, described the condition of his life―and what to do about it:

“Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature” (Romans 13:13-14).

Augustine put his faith in Christ that day, and became one of the greatest theologians and leaders in the history of the church.

It was while reading the book of Romans that another man named Martin Luther put his faith in Christ, about 1,000 years after Saint Augustine.  Luther was an Augustinian monk who was burdened by the weight of trying to do enough good works to get into heaven.  But that burden was finally lifted when he read a verse from the book of Romans.  Romans 1:17 showed him that he wouldn’t be declared righteous by his good works, but by his faith in Christ:

“For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: ‘The righteous will live by faith’” (Romans 1:17).

Martin Luther put his faith in Christ that day, and went on to lead a reformation that has impacted lives all over the world.

It was while listening to someone reading Luther’s notes on the book of Romans that John Wesley put his faith in Christ, several hundred years later.  As Wesley listened to Luther’s introductory comments about Romans, Wesley’s heart was “strangely warmed,” as he described it, and he committed his life entirely to Christ.  John Wesley, and his brother Charles, went on to found the Methodist movement, also contributing many of the great hymns of the faith that we still sing today.

And Paul’s words to the Romans are still affecting people today, almost 2,000 years after they were written, as it was while reading the book of Romans that I put my faith in Christ, too.  As I was reading Romans 1:18-32, I realized that I was a sinner, too, and needed a Savior.  Now here I am today encouraging you from what I’ve learned from the book of Romans so you can share it with others.

These are just a few of the lives that have been touched by reading just a few verses from the book of Romans!  So don’t underestimate the power of a few verses from this book to change lives.  If you’ve been redeemed by Jesus, tell others about it, using the Roman Road if you want as a way to help them understand the good news of Christ.  And if you haven’t yet been redeemed by Jesus, I’d encourage you to keep reading the Bible so you can put your faith in Him today.

If you’re up for a challenge, I’d also encourage you to commit to memory these four simple verses from Romans: 3:23, 6:23, 5:8 and 10:9.  Memorizing scripture is a great way to renew your mind, and as you keep these particular verses at the forefront of your mind, they’ll also help you as you talk with others about how they can be redeemed by Jesus, too.

Perhaps you’re reading this today and you’re like Augustine, or Luther, or Wesley, or me, and these verses that I’ve been sharing from the book of Romans have somehow sparked your thinking and moved your heart in a way that you, too want to commit your life to Christ.  If so, put your faith in Him today for everything in your life.  Ask Him to forgive you of your sins and invite Him to be your Lord and Savior.  Do what Paul encouraged the Romans to do and you’ll be saved, too:

“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” (Romans 10:9).

Will you pray with me?

Father, thank You for sending Jesus to redeem us from our sins.  Help us to share that life-changing message with those around us.  Open our eyes today to those who need to hear this message, and open their hearts to be receptive as we share it, so they can put their faith in You as well.  In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Questions for Reflection

1. Read Romans 3:21-31.  What do you think about Paul’s claim that “all have sinned” in verse 23?  What evidence do you see in your life or the lives of those around you that argue either for or against this claim?

2. How does Paul say we can be justified in God’s eyes and redeemed from this situation, as stated in verses 24-26?

3. What place does boasting have in the life of a Christian, according to verses 27-28?

4. Why not take some time today to write down the four verses mentioned in this message and commit them to memory as a way to keep them at the forefront of your mind?  The verses are:  Romans 3:23, Romans 6:23, Romans 5:8, and Romans 10:9.  After you’ve memorized them, consider sharing these verses with a friend who has already put their faith in Christ as a way to practice what you’ve learned, then pray for God to give you opportunities with someone else who still needs to hear this good news!