Roman Road

Romans 6:19-23, 8:28; Ephesians 6:13

Stop #2

CIT: We are all sinners

CIS: First step in the Roman Road to Salvation

SO: The hearer will know how to witness

Follow along at d1.church/notes.

Intro: The Roman Road is an evangelistic tool to share the Gospel using five scriptures in the book of Romans. The Gospel means “Good news,” sharing that Christ has come and the Kingdom of God is on earth. 

As Christians, we are not supposed to enjoy the benefits of a relationship with God, but always be willing to share it with others. There should be a difference in your life that others notice when you serve God. 

The Men’s ministry had a movie night a few months ago, and we watched The Forge. This movie is about a young man who has been through tremendous hardship and is coasting through the day playing video games. Finally, his mom had had enough, which made him get a job. His job hunt leads him to a man who owns a business. This man knows he is trouble but offers him a job under one condition that he meet with him an hour before work. He doesn’t just help him with his immediate need, but begins to educate him in biblical principles. He disciples the young man who sees something different in the older man. He wants to know more and more, the more he finds out about himself. The movie helped me see how easy it is to execute the Gospel if you live a life for God. With the mindset to honor God. Others will notice, and you will get to answer their questions with Jesus’ principles and practices.

I have always told people that if you work with someone every day and they do not know you are a Christian, you are doing it wrong.

Stop #1:  For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 

let’s look at Stop Two.

1. Stop #2 (Romans 6:23).

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

EXP: Stop #2 requires a choice. Stop #1 gave us some knowledge that maybe we did not possess. We learned that sin is a corrupting force and affects us all. Stop #2 declares that sin leads to death, but Jesus Christ leads to eternal life. Not just life (opposite of death), but everlasting life. A life that does not end. These two things could not be more opposite. 

ILL:

The point of Stop #2 is to present two options for the person who has just realized this. If you know that there is a God and we are separated from him, what do you do with that information? Well, there is a “Fork in the Road.” This is a saying that means one road will split into two separate options. These two roads will not meet again; one will head in one direction and the other in the opposite direction. 

1. Taking the sin route will only lead to death (every time).
2. If you choose to have a relationship with God, this is eternal life (every time).

ILL: We have to make this decision a lot. Every decision we make in today’s world feels like it is life or death. I use this fork in the road analogy when I counsel people in my office about decisions. They are now standing in front of the fork, trying to make the best decision, and listening for God to speak to them or an audible voice to force them to do something. Some of these choices are hard. I usually say, “God wants you to choose a path.” He gains nothing from your standing still. God loves you enough that even if you make the wrong choice, he will direct you back to the right way. Or he will do what he says in Romans 8:28, And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. He will use your choice for his purposes. 

*** To be fair, the pushback I get is that the bible tells you to stand still. Ephesians 6:13 Therefore, put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. We miss the part where he says to do everything we can do. A decision is something you can do. 

APP: At no point should we stop at the fork in the road of death or life. This is where we are on the Roman Road. First, we got on the road, and now we have come to a decision point. 

T.S.: Paul, the writer of Romans, knows that if it were that simple for us, we would have already chosen to follow Jesus.

2. Everyday example (Romans 6:19-26).

I am using an example from everyday life because of your human limitations. Just as you used to offer yourselves as slaves to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer yourselves as slaves to righteousness leading to holiness. When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death! But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

EXP: The issue with Stop 2 is that it seems more like a sentence than a choice. “You have been sentenced to death by God, who was trying to give you eternal life, and you messed it up.” So, if we back up a bit for some full context, we can see that Paul is reasoning with the Romans. The bible is a book of reason, more than judgment. God understands our condition and our mindset. 

Paul says you were wicked and lived wicked lives. God did not intervene in your free will decisions, and what benefit did that bring you? But now you are free of sin and servants of God, and the reward is unimaginable. You did not earn it; you simply chose Jesus. 

ILL: Dr. Phil is a TV personality famous for his no-nonsense approach to life’s problems. He is a psychiatrist and consulted in the legal world on large cases before becoming a TV personality. He became famous when Oprah Winfrey swore off meat, became a vegetarian, and talked about it on live TV. The Cattle Ranchers were suing her due to the sharp decline in beef sales. A law firm in Texas was defending her in this defamation case; she was adamant that this was a money grab, and she did nothing wrong. They brought in Dr. Phil McGraw to speak to her personally. She told him she was not the cause of the beef sales, and he asked her a question. “So when you recommend a book from your book club, it automatically becomes a #1 best seller?” She said, “Yes, that is true.” He said, “So you believe that telling America not to eat meat will have no impact on beef sales?” Phil cut through the emotions and self-righteousness, and they settled the next day. She brought him on his show, and he started his show, which ran for 21 years. He has a famous saying that Paul is using here: “How is that working out for you?” 

You chose sin: How is that working out for you? Paul says it led to ever-increasing wickedness. You became a slave to sin.

ILL: God created humans with a purpose built into our DNA: to worship God. As a matter of fact, I believe we have to worship something. Sometimes it is us. Other times, it is money or stuff. It can also be found in addiction. When we serve our sins, it leads to more sin. But more than that, it affects our whole body. Physiologically, Biologically, and physically, it affects our brain chemistry and blood system. Everything about us begins to lean into what we worship. That is why Paul knows the answer. How is that working for you? Sin is affecting our finances, our health, our relationships, and our marriage. Sin begins to enslave us fully. 

When we do what we are designed to do, we worship God. It affects us physiologically. It starts to affect our health, brain, finances, relationships, marriage, etc..

APP: When we accept that God made us worship him, he also allows us to choose what we will worship. He also made us see the consequences of our choice. Why is it we see the effects of addiction and blame it on the thing (drug, sex, etc), but when we see the impact of following Jesus, we always take the credit for ourselves?

T.S.: Sin leads to death, Christ leads to eternal life. Make a move.

I want to pray for three groups today:

1. Some of you are standing at the fork in the road and are not making a decision.
2. I pray that you move and trust God.
3. Some of you thought the bible is just a book of rules or commandments, but today, you understand it is a book of reason.
4. I pray today that you will have a fresh understanding of God’s word.
5. Some have reacted when I asked, “How is that working out for you?” and you are ready to try something different.
6. I pray for salvation.