Romans Road – The Finish Line

We have been exploring the “Romans Road,” which is God’s plan of salvation as described in the Book of Romans. The final step on the Road describes our destination. “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1).

Faith is defined as the actions we take based on what we believe. The earlier steps of the Romans Road describe what we must believe in order to have peace with God. The Romans Road instructs us to believe: 1. God created us to be in relationship with Him (Romans 1:20). The Bible describes this as the love between a father and his children.

2. All have sinned, breaking our relationship with God (Romans 3:23). 3. The wages of sin is death - eternal separation from God (Romans 6:23). There is no way for us to be reconciled to God through our human efforts. Therefore, God demonstrated His infinite love through the ultimate demonstration of His grace.

4. Jesus died for sinners; He paid the penalty for our sins (Romans 5:8). 5. We respond to His grace by repenting of our sins (Romans 2:4). 6. We are saved by confessing Jesus as our Lord and believing that God raised Him from the dead (Romans 10:9-10). The act of confessing Jesus as our Lord is a demonstration of our faith in Him.

The poet T.S. Elliott wrote, “We shall not cease from exploration. And the end of all our exploring, will be to arrive where we started. And know the place for the first time.” We explore the Bible to know God. We have explored the Book of Romans to know God’s plan of salvation. The Bible begins with man living in perfect relationship with God. Our exploration ends with that broken relationship being restored. So, we have returned to where we “started.”

Our journey started in the Garden of Eden, where we fell (Genesis 3). The problem of our reconciling us to God was resolved in the Garden of Gethsemane (Matthew 26:36-46). Our final destination includes an eternal garden which again contains the Tree of Life” (Revelation 22:1-2).

God promises to care for His children as we await the “new heavens and the new earth” (Revelation 21:1). Because we are His children “we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us” (Romans 5:3-5).

Our current “tribulations” are opportunities for us to show our trust and reliance on Him and for His to demonstrate His love towards us. “Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?” (Romans 8:35). Paul reassures us that nothing will “separate us from the love of God” (Romans 8:39).

Walk the road and be reconciled with your God.