All the Way Down Romans Road

Road and Rainbow

“Romans Road” is a way of teaching the scheme of redemption by going through verses in the book of Romans. It is an invention of the denominational world and is used by many today. In this article, we are going to examine this “Romans Road” – what it is, how it is useful, and how those who teach it do not go far enough.

The “Stops” Presented on the “Romans Road” to Salvation

There are five “stops” that are presented by one who is teaching a prospect using the “Romans Road” method:

  • Stop #1 – “As it is written, ‘There is none righteous, not even one; there is none who understands, there is none who seeks for God; all have turned aside, together they have become useless; there is none who does good, there is not even one” (Romans 3:10-12). “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). These verses are used to show that everyone needs salvation.
  • Stop #2 – “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23). This passage is cited to show that because all have sinned, we are deserving of death.
  • Stop #3 – “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). This verse is used to show that Jesus died for our sins.
  • Stop #4 – “That if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation” (Romans 10:9-10). “For ‘Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved’” (Romans 10:13). These verses are used to make the point that salvation is through faith in Christ.
  • Stop #5 – “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1). “Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1). “For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39). These passages are cited to make the point that we enjoy peace with God through Christ.

What Is Presented as the “Romans Road” Plan of Salvation

After going through the five “stops” listed above, the following “plan of salvation” is presented:

  • First, admit you are a sinner.
  • Second, understand that as a sinner you deserve death.
  • Third, believe that Jesus died on the cross for your sins.
  • Fourth, accept Jesus by faith.
  • Fifth, receive salvation from God.

Unfortunately, while the plan presented above sounds simple enough, it does not accurately represent the plan that is presented in the Scriptures. Therefore, following the “Romans Road” as listed above will not lead one to salvation.

How We Can Use the Book of Romans to Teach the Plan of Salvation

The “Romans Road” method of explaining the scheme of redemption is not all wrong. There are some good things about it, but there are some passages that are misinterpreted and other passages that are ignored. The main problem with it is that it is incomplete.

It might be helpful when teaching others to stay within a single book of the Bible. For those who are teaching, this will help in remembering where the passages are located. For those who are being taught, this will help them find the passages when they may not be very familiar with the Bible as a whole. But if we are going to take someone down the “Romans Road” to show them how to be saved, we need to take them all the way.

So how can we teach the scheme of redemption and plan of salvation using the book of Romans? We can borrow the “stops” arranged by the denominational world, but with a couple of additions.

  • Stop #1 – “As it is written, ‘There is none righteous, not even one; there is none who understands, there is none who seeks for God; all have turned aside, together they have become useless; there is none who does good, there is not even one” (Romans 3:10-12). “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). Sin is a universal problem. No one is exempt from it (cf. 1 John 1:8, 10).
  • Stop #2 – “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23). The punishment for sin is not physical death – this is just a consequence – but spiritual death – separation from God that ultimately leads to eternal punishment (cf. Isaiah 59:2; Revelation 20:14-15).
  • Stop #3 – “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). Jesus’ death on the cross was a demonstration of God’s love (cf. John 3:16). We were “helpless” and “enemies” due to sin (Romans 5:6, 10), yet Jesus sacrificed His life for us.
  • Stop #4 – “That if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation” (Romans 10:9-10). “For ‘Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved’” (Romans 10:13). These are conditions that we must meet in order to be saved – belief, confession, and calling on the name of the Lord. We are not saved unconditionally. But we need to be sure we understand what the Bible means when it talks about calling on the name of the Lord (cf. Acts 22:16). The next “stop” goes into that.
  • Stop #5 – “Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin” (Romans 6:3-6). “Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts, and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. for sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace” (Romans 6:11-14). This shows us how we get into Christ – through baptism. This is missing from the standard “Romans Road” plan; therefore, the “Romans Road” plan as it is commonly taught does not show anyone how to get into Christ. These verses show that we must repent of our sins and be baptized into Christ (cf. Acts 2:38).
  • Stop #6 – “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1). “Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1). “For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39). Being “justified by faith” we can stand before God. There is “no condemnation” because we are “in Christ.” No outside influence can separate us from Him.
  • Stop #7 – “Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect” (Romans 12:1-2). There is no “once saved, always saved” doctrine taught in the Bible. After obeying the gospel, we must continue to live for Him (cf. Revelation 2:10).

The difference between the standard “Romans Road” plan and the complete plan is that there are two “stops” missing on the commonly used version – repentance and baptism (Romans 6:3-6, 11-14) and a life of faithful obedience (Romans 12:1-2). If we leave these out, we do not end up with salvation in the end.

Objections

There are a few potential objections that will arise from the proponents of the standard “Romans Road” plan to the additional “stops” that emphasize repentance, baptism, and continued obedience.

  • This is denying justification by faith – Not at all, but it does deny justification by faith alone. Many read that word (alone) into the text when it is not there. James specifically addressed this error: “You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone” (James 2:24). We are justified by faith, but not by faith alone. This is true because “faith without works is dead” (James 2:26). Real faith necessarily includes obedience (cf. Romans 1:5; 16:26).
  • This is an attempt to “earn” salvation – Not at all. We cannot “earn” salvation. Paul said it is a “free gift of God” (Romans 6:23). However, that does not mean that obedience is unnecessary. Jesus said, “So you too, when you do all the things which are commanded you, say, ‘We are unworthy slaves; we have done only that which we ought to have done’” (Luke 17:10). Obedience is what God expects of us, not something that is optional – just as a servant’s obedience to his master is not optional.
  • This makes baptism necessary for salvation – Yes it does, and no apology is made for that. This must be taught because that is what Jesus and the apostles taught. Jesus said, “He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved” (Mark 16:16). On the day of Pentecost, Peter taught the crowd, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38). Later he wrote, “Baptism now saves you” (1 Peter 3:21).

Conclusion

Paul presented the message of the gospel in the book of Romans. He explained why one needs to be saved, showed what God did to make salvation possible, and taught what one must do to be saved. If we want to be saved, we need to do all that God has said and follow His plan of salvation.


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Comments

  1. Allen malone says

    Good article, Andy. I like the idea of pretty-much staying within the context of a single book of the Bible in teaching. Also, the emphasis is more likely to be consistent with the NT than most “topical” approaches to evangelism. It can also be done in a single session, but can then be expanded upon, as is often needed. I’m excited to use this approach. I can’t say enough good about it.
    I do have one observation: Your #4 suggests that Paul’s comments about believing and confessing were addressed to people who were not yet Christians. Wouldn’t Paul’s use of 2nd person pronouns (‘you’ and ‘your’) in 10:5-13 suggest that he was actually saying that, whether Jews or Gentiles, the saints in Rome who maintained their faith in Christ and confession of Him would be saved as they continued calling on Him? (In contrast to most of the people of Israel who refused to turn to Christ in obedient faith – the ‘they’ & ‘them’ of 10:1-2 and 10:14-21). If my observation is valid, the simple response to Protestants who point out that 10:9-10 says nothing about baptism would be, “Of course not. Paul was writing to Christians, ‘saints’ (1:7), who had already been baptized (6:3-4).”

  2. Good observation, Allen. Confession is something that Christians must continue to do (Matthew 10:32-33). And we must continue to “call on the name of the Lord” in the sense of recognizing Him and obeying Him as our Lord. I brought up the connection with Acts 22:16 simply because of how the denominational world uses the phrase in explaining how to become a Christian. In the context of becoming a Christian, Paul’s example shows that calling on the name of the Lord means being baptized. But your point regarding those who are already Christians is certainly valid.