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The Roman Road
One particular strain of tare has risen to the top in our generation. It permeates the base camps. The success of this doctrine far out-paces Islam, as hundreds of millions of souls embrace it. We fondly call it the Roman Road to salvation, from Paul’s epistle to the saints at Rome. This doctrine is mainly based upon one or more of the following scriptures:
That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt
believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead,
thou shalt be saved.
For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
And brought them out and said, sirs, what must I do to be saved?
And they said, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved,
and thy house.
For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that
whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting
life.
These and similar verses have been homogenized into the popular “sinners prayer”. With some variation, this prayer says: “Lord, I acknowledge that I am a sinner, and I’m sorry for my sins. I believe that Jesus died for my sins, and I now accept Him into my heart as my personal Lord and saviour.” Those who adopt this doctrine are nearly unreachable. In their case, the serpent’s bite is usually fatal. Why? Because nobody likes to admit they’re wrong…that’s just human nature. Unlike Apollos, who eagerly embraced more truth, these folks see it as an attack on their faith. “Are you saying that I’m not saved?” “Are you saying that grandma wasn’t saved?” All too familiar responses. They are entrenched at the base camps.
There are several problems with the Roman Road. Some are no-brainers, while others take a little effort. First, it ignores New Testament chronology. Nevermind my belief that God had a hand in the order of the New Testament. I have no proof of that. Still, you have to agree with placing Revelation at the end of the book. I mean, it is, after all, the end of the story. Then, the advent of Christ would seem to justify putting the four gospels at the beginning. Sure, we could argue the order of the four gospels. But when we’re done arguing, they all four still belong at the beginning. Next, the book of Acts seems the likely candidate to follow the four gospels. Acts is the church birth certificate, history book, and the natural continuation of the gospel story. After these; from Romans to Jude, it’s easily open for debate. Put them in any order you like.
To embrace the Roman Road salvation message, you have to purposely skip over the four gospels and the book of Acts. That’s kind of like skipping addition and subtraction, to start your schooling in calculus. Here’s what makes doing this so wrong. In the gospels, the Author of salvation gives marching orders to his twelve apostles. They will be tasked with ushering in a brand new covenant agreement with God. In the book of Acts, we learn how those orders were interpreted by the twelve. Acts is the only New Testament book, that gives historic details of the new salvation experience. None were born again in the gospels. No new birth experiences are recorded in the epistles. The new birth…this 2,000 year old strait gate, began at Pentecost in the book of Acts. Why would anyone skip over these five books, and reach for a verse in Romans for salvation? That’s very poor hermeneutics. That’s a mockery of rightly dividing the Word of God. That’s a no brainer.
Furthermore, you have to ignore the author’s personal salvation experience. Paul, who wrote the book of Romans, does not share the Roman Road experience that today’s millions do. His own new birth is well documented in the 9th, and the 22nd chapters, of the book of Acts. Do we really think that the author of Romans, would teach a salvation experience different from his own? Again, another no brainer.
Next, there is the nature of the book of Romans itself. This is not a book directed at the lost souls of the world. Romans and Hebrews are considered the college books of the New Testament. The author of Romans is Jewish…the most noted Jewish convert in history. The letter is clearly addressed to: … all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints …. Paul defines this group even further: First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world. This letter, is a Christian writing to Christians. These are folks, who already share a common salvation experience. His audience has been born again…they’re already saved. So why would we skip the gospels and Acts, to look for New Testament salvation here? Another no brainer.
These no brainers are pretty easy to see. The Roman Road to salvation makes little sense in light of them. The more compelling reasons take a little study…a little effort. Given the times, this presents a problem. The whole reason that millions and millions are even on this Roman Road, is apathy and laziness. It’s an easy road: lots of company, little resistance, non-intrusive…the proverbial having your cake and eating it too. These folks’ bible vocabulary about God is simply love, peace, grace, forgiveness, and faith. While these are all true enough, it’s still a lopsided view. These have a single image stamped in their minds, of a gowned, barefoot savior, cradling the one lost sheep in his arms, as he returns him to the ninety and nine. They can’t fathom balancing that image with the first chapter of Revelation. Hence, there’s little hope that these would look at a more compelling reason…one that takes a little study and effort…for why the Roman Road might be the wrong road. If the no brainers don’t wake us, then nothing will. But for that one in 300 million spiritual champ, let’s throw it out there anyway.
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