THE 'ROMANS ROAD' OF SALVATION

#alphamegaradio #christianity #salvation #romansroad

SALVATION IN NO OTHER
(Ref: Scriptures embedded in this blog)

One of the most profound realities that God has given to humanity through His Word, the Scriptures that make up the books of The Holy Bible, is found in the Christian faith; which is framed by the contents of the The Holy Bible.

And that is God's plan of eternal salvation and redemption through the completed victorious work of His Son, Jesus Christ — via His willful death on the cross to atone for all of humanity's sins, as well as His bodily resurrection and ascension back to God the Father, that establishes Him as conqueror over sin, death, and the "world" itself.

Not only was He innocent of any sin or crime when He willingly went to the cross to pay a criminal's penalty of death (for you and I), but He did so bodily; in obedience to God the Father in accordance to His will.

Additionally, Scripture accurately proclaims the truth that the human "condition" of sin is not only out of our hands to fix, but that God and only God has already dealt with our sin, by the atoning sacrifice of His Son.

As we'll read in a moment, the reality is that sin brings death to all humans. It's ultimately why entropy and decay are present, which ultimately bring about physical death...

But what about sins committed by we humans, while alive in the body? How will those get dealt with? After all, we can only die once, right?

The truth is, God reveals very directly in Scripture that there is / will be an eternal existence, outside of time and space, just as God Himself exists. All of the heavenly host, all of the fallen angels and demons, as well as each one of us — will likewise continue to exist in such an eternal state.

Humans are different from the rest of creation, in that we're made in God's own image, and we have a unique eternal spirit within these bodies — that animals do not. The question is: Where is our destination after we leave these bodies?

You see, we have a problem, Houston. After we die and stand before God at the judgment, all of us will have at least some sin that we've committed in this life. We will be judged by those sins, as well as our good works. But "wages of sin" is death. Wait...

We can't die a second time, can we? Yes, and it's an eternal form of death and torment, from which there's no escape, no remission, and no end; ultimately separating a person from God forever. And that is precisely the reason that God Himself had to do something, or none of us would qualify by our "good works" to dwell in eternal existence with Him in Heaven. God cannot be in the presence of sin; it has to be dealt with, first.

No human being is qualified to meet God's standard of holiness, righteousness, and perfection. Sin has tainted us all. But there is also eternal life, instead...

For the sake of this blog's length, I can't expound on all of the facets of the what's called the "Gospel" message or "good news" of Jesus Christ. So I'll briefly elaborate, then let the Scriptures do the explaining from then on.

If you've ever been curious about God, the Christian faith, and how to "be saved" and reconciled back to the one true living God, these collections of Scriptures make it easy to understand and to apply what's stated.

But faith and belief, my friend — is ultimately going to be your choice. God has allowed us to have free will. And while God desires and loves us all more than we can ever imagine, He will not force us to believe in Him or seek Him out.

God the Son was before creation itself. All of creation (which even includes time) was created for Him, and through Him; creation's molecules themselves are held together by Him. He is eternal as God the Father and God the Holy Spirit are.

He's referred to by such telling titles as "the Word," "the Word made flesh," "the Light of the world," "the resurrection and the life," "the image of the Father," "God With Us," et. al.

And He will return a second time, at the close of this age (very soon) to usher in His eternal Kingdom, judge the nations, and rule and reign in an eternal new heaven and earth that is to come, forever and ever.

Let's note that when we speak of "Jesus Christ," we're not speaking of His literal names. His last name isn't "Christ." These are titles given to Him by direct instruction of God the Father.

"Jesus" translates to "Savior; the One who delivers." "Christ" translates to "the Anointed One; the Chosen One of God." He is alive today and forevermore.

He was both God and human in His first advent, over 2,000 years ago. Fully God. Fully human. It was important for God to send Him into the world this way, because as God, He would show humanity the very essence, likeness, and power of God Almighty — fulfilling more than 300 specific prophecies written in Scripture about Him, before His birth.

As a human, He could also live a sinless life, qualifying as the only "righteous, holy" human that has ever lived or ever will live... making His human body the sacrifice that God would place the sins of the whole world in — paying the "wages" for them via His body's death on the cross.

I felt it essential to at least touch on some key aspects of what makes Jesus the crux of God's free gift of salvation to all who might choose Him as both their Lord and Savior. We need to know HOW Jesus meets that criteria.

But now, how do we come to know this Jesus... to receive this free gift of eternal salvation and reconciliation to God... what the Bible calls "the new birth, being born again"... to know for sure that we will live eternally in Heaven with Christ?

The Romans Road to Salvation Meaning:
1. All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23).
2. The wages of sin is [eternal] death (Romans 6:23).
3. The free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 6:23b).
4. Confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead (Romans 10:9).

REALIZE AND ADMIT THAT YOU'VE SINNED:

"For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (ROMANS 3:23)

"As it is written: “There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one." (ROMANS 3:10-12)

"Have mercy on me O God, according to Your lovingkindness;  according to the multitude of Your tender mercies, blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin! For I acknowledge my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against You, You only have I sinned and done this evil in Your sight … For You do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it; You do not delight in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, A broken and a contrite heart... These, O God, You will not despise." (PSALM 51:1-4, 16-17)

YOU'LL STAND BEFORE GOD AFTER THIS LIFE, AND THE PRICE OF ANY SIN IS ETERNAL DEATH:

"For the wages of sin is death" (ROMANS 6:23)

"But now He has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of Himself. Just as man is appointed to die once, and after that to face judgment, so also Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many; and He will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who eagerly await Him." HEBREWS 9:26b-28

GOD OFFERS YOU HIS FREE GIFT OF SALVATION THROUGH THE PERSON OF JESUS CHRIST, WHOSE BODILY DEATH AND RESURRECTION PAID YOUR SIN-DEBT IN FULL, AND ALLOWS FOR YOU TO LIKEWISE BE RESURRECTED INTO ETERNAL LIFE WITH HIM:

"[But] the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." (ROMANS 6:23)

"For it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not from yourselves; it is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast." (EPHESIANS 2:8-9)

"He has saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works, but by His own purpose and by the grace He granted us in Christ Jesus before time began." (2 TIMOTHY 1:9)

“Come now, let us reason together,” says the LORD. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they will be as white as snow; though they are as red as crimson, they will become like wool." (ISAIAH 1:18)

"For I will forgive their iniquities and will remember their sins no more." (HEBREWS 8:12)

WHY? GOD'S LOVE FOR YOU IS IMMEASURABLE, ISN'T BASED ON HOW GOOD OR BAD YOU ARE, AND IS WHY HE WISHES THAT NOT A SINGLE PERSON BE LOST ETERNALLY, BUT INSTEAD THAT ALL WOULD CHOOSE JESUS AND BE SAVED:

"But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (ROMANS 5:8)

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." (JOHN 3:16)

"The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise as some understand slowness, but is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish but everyone to come to repentance." (1 PETER 3:9)

“Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?" (MARK 8:34-36)

BECAUSE JESUS AND ONLY JESUS COMPLETED GOD'S PLAN OF SALVATION FOR YOU, IT'S LIKEWISE ONLY THROUGH HIM THAT YOU OR ANYONE CAN BE SAVED:

"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." (ROMANS 10:9)

"For, 'Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.'" (ROMANS 10:13)

"Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name above all names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." (PHILIPPIANS 2:9-11)

"All the prophets testify about Him that everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins through His name." (ACTS 10:43)

"This Jesus is ‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone.’ Salvation exists in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.” (ACTS 4:11-12)

"Jesus answered, 'I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.'" (JOHN 14:6)

GOD'S GUARANTEE OF SALVATION THROUGH JESUS CHRIST IS PERMANENT AND IRREVOCABLE:

"Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, for in Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set you free from the law of sin and death." (ROMANS 8:1-2)

"So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed." (JOHN 8:36)

"For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor principalities, neither the 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." (ROMANS 8:38-39)

"My sheep listen to My voice; I know them, and they follow Me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them out of My hand. My Father who has given them to Me is greater than all. No one can snatch them out of My Father’s hand." (JOHN 10:27-29)

As we reflect on what's been discussed here, and on the Scriptures that make up what's called the "Romans Road to Salvation," it's my prayer that you will consider following what the Scriptures say and be born-again in Christ Jesus today, if you haven't already. If you're born-again and have stumbled away, repent and come back into fellowship with God in Christ.

Maybe you've never heard of the "Romans Road" passages. If that's you, please jot them down or share with a friend or family member?

Have thoughts, tips, or suggestions? Let us know in the comments below!

Thanks, and have a blessed day!