The Roman Road
A Simple Message
For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
– Romans 10:10-13
While this column normally focuses on the daily walk of a believer in Christ in day-to-day life, I believe it is important for us to look back from time to time and remember where our journeys began.
So, this week, I would like us to travel down “The Roman Road,” as it’s called, to reflect on how a life in Christ begins and what this means for the believer and unbeliever alike.
The above passage, as previously stated, is known as “The Roman Road to Salvation,” and is often used as a simple and concise set of instructions on how one becomes a born-again believer in Christ Jesus.
The steps laid out are astonishingly simple. First, we are told we must believe with our hearts, and then we must confess with our mouths.
What we are to believe is that Christ, as Son of God, died for our sins and rose again granting us forgiveness of sin, victory over spiritual death, and new life. This is elaborated on in passages such as Acts 8:37. The confession with the mouth is a prayer for forgiveness, as stated in 1st John 1:9, and I feel it worth noting that this does not necessarily have to be a vocal prayer. A mute person is just as capable of praying in the heart as anyone else is, for example.
These simple steps are all that are required to be saved, born-again, joined into the family of Christ, or whatever term one wants to use for the miracle of spiritual rebirth. Following this, the passage goes on to offer emphasis on the journey of becoming a believer.
It’s encouraging that those who have been born again will not be put to shame, or one day shown that their belief was wrong or insufficient.
The salvation freely given to us will never be taken away; Romans 6:9-11 affirms this. No matter how rich, poor, holy, or unworthy we may think we are, Christ’s grace is sufficient always.
The passage ends with final affirmation that any who ask Christ for salvation will be saved.
For the unbeliever who may have pondered accepting Christ and experiencing the miracle of forgiveness and rebirth, I hope the above can be a help to you in seeing how unfailing God’s love for you is, and how unerringly simple Christ’s grace is to receive.
For the believers reading this, I hope that this reminds you of the gifts you carry with you every day — God’s love and Christ’s grace; and that no matter who you are or what you’ve done, God loves you just the same and Christ’s grace is always sufficient