THE ROAD TO SALVATION image
Once when I was young, my dad told me, “Son, if you don’t know where you want to go, any road will do.”  This advice came at a time when my dad was trying to give me some direction and get me to stop and think about my behaviors and the decisions I was making.  It was a great truth for me to consider at that point in my life.  I find that it is also a great truth for all of us to consider in our spiritual lives.  Spiritually speaking, if you don’t know where you want to go, any road will do.  If you don’t care where you wind up in the afterlife, it doesn’t matter what road you take in this life.  But if your hopes and dreams include someday making it into Heaven and into the glorious presence of our Heavenly Father, only one road will do.  That road is The Romans Road.  It is God’s plan of salvation and it is clearly given to us in the New Testament book of Romans.
 
 In Romans 3:23 the bible says “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.”  This verse means that none of us measure up to God’s standard of holiness.  We all have done things that are wrong and outside of God’s will for our lives.  The bible calls these actions “sin”.  Any sin, no matter how small in our eyes is a big sin and separates us from God and prevents us from enjoying fellowship with Him.
 
 In Romans 6:23 the bible says “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” The penalty for the sin in our lives is death.   Our sin has already separated us from enjoying God’s fellowship.  If we die in our sin, we will face eternal separation from God the Father.  Jesus paid the penalty for sin so that we don’t have to.  If we accept Christ as our Savior, we receive eternal life!  Our fellowship with God the Father is restored!
 
 In Romans 10:9-10 the bible says “that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved; for with the heart man believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.”  All one has to do is believe in one’s heart that God raised Jesus from the dead and confess with their mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord and they will be saved!  God no longer looks at us and sees our sin, He looks at us and sees the righteousness of His Son Jesus Christ.
 
 The bible clarifies the simplicity of the gospel again in Romans 10:13 by saying, "WHOEVER WILL CALL UPON THE NAME OF THE LORD will be saved."  Salvation is easy if you follow the Romans Road because the Romans Road takes you to Jesus Christ! 
 
 Jesus said in John 14:6, “I am the way, the Truth and the Life.  No man comes to the Father, but by Me.”  You can receive Him today as your Savior by sincerely offering a simple prayer.  It does not have to be word for word from the Romans Road, it only needs to address your need for forgiveness and belief that Jesus died for your sins and rose from the grave in victory.  You can confess Jesus as Lord by praying like this:
 
"Dear God, I confess that I have done wrong things and sinned in my life. I am sorry and I want to turn away from those things and turn to you. I believe that Jesus died for my sins and that He rose from the dead and that He lives today. I want Him to be my Lord and my Savior. Jesus, I invite you into my heart today. I ask you to guide me and lead me from this day forward. Amen."
 
If you decided to ask for forgiveness of your sin and ask Jesus Christ to be your Lord and Savior, congratulations! You have made an awesome decision and it is one that you need to share with someone today! Tell someone so that they can rejoice with you about this glorious news! It will also be important for you to fellowship with other followers of Jesus Christ. Find a good bible-believing church where you can learn about God’s word. Learn about all of the blessings and promises that God has for you. Share your decision with the pastor and speak with him about your new found faith, the ordinance of baptism and how the church can support your growth as a Christian. May God continue to bless you!