SPEAKER_00: Hello everyone, I'm Dr.
SPEAKER_00: Steve Holt.
SPEAKER_00: I want to welcome you to the Road Church podcast.
SPEAKER_00: Each week we go into God's Word.
SPEAKER_00: We teach chapter by chapter and verse by verse.
SPEAKER_00: We are here to build the Kingdom of God revolution through empowering people to change the world.
SPEAKER_00: So we pray this will minister to you at your heart level and change your life.
SPEAKER_00: Today, be encouraged by our guest speaker.
SPEAKER_02: Welcome to the road.
SPEAKER_02: My name is Marcus.
SPEAKER_02: I'm one of the pastors on staff here.
SPEAKER_02: And for those of you who don't know, I love Jesus.
SPEAKER_02: Amen.
SPEAKER_02: Well, this morning we're gonna be looking in the book of Romans.
SPEAKER_02: We're gonna be taking a break for just this Sunday from the book of Acts.
SPEAKER_02: We're gonna be looking in the book of Romans, and we're gonna be studying a well-known evangelistic style called the Roman's Road.
SPEAKER_02: How many of you have ever heard of this method before?
SPEAKER_02: Awesome.
SPEAKER_02: How many of you, this is your first time hearing this?
SPEAKER_02: Awesome, great.
SPEAKER_02: Well, for those of you who haven't heard of it yet, I am here to tell you, you may be asking the question, what is the Romans Road?
SPEAKER_02: And I'm here to tell you that it is not a street name in Rome.
SPEAKER_02: Um the Romans Road is actually an evangelistic tool based upon five verses.
SPEAKER_02: Some people say six verses, but it's based on specific verses in Paul's letter to Romans and used together in order.
SPEAKER_02: These verses walk people through the good news of the gospel in its entirety.
SPEAKER_02: They would learn about the dilemma and the consequences of sin.
SPEAKER_02: They would learn what it means about the eternal separation from God.
SPEAKER_02: They would learn about Jesus' free offer of salvation.
SPEAKER_02: And the Romans Road is something that became popular and it was cultivated in the 1970s.
SPEAKER_02: And it has been the foundation of sharing the gospel to many believers in many different congregations and many different denominations.
SPEAKER_02: They use, a lot of them use this as the blueprint on how to share the gospel.
SPEAKER_02: And yet, for some reason, today, many believers today do not evangelize.
SPEAKER_02: They simply don't know how to share their faith, or maybe they don't feel confident enough to have a gospel conversation with someone.
SPEAKER_02: Perhaps some feel that what happens if we start sharing our faith and they ask me a question I don't know how to answer.
SPEAKER_02: Perhaps some don't share because they don't know what their faith really is.
SPEAKER_02: They know that they're saved, but they don't know what all that entails.
SPEAKER_02: And the modern church also has caused a great bit of confusion on this topic as well.
SPEAKER_02: We've taken this idea of evangelizing to lost souls, and then we've taken the idea of praying with people, and we've fused them together as one and the same.
SPEAKER_02: We have churches all across America sending out outreach teams and trying to reach their cities, and even though the intention is beautiful, it's a beautiful intention, and there's a mark that it's still missed, because they are sending people out to pray with people to walk up and say something like, Hey, my name is Marcus.
SPEAKER_02: I'm with this specific church in this city, and we're out here doing evangelism.
SPEAKER_02: Do you mind if I pray with you?
SPEAKER_02: And then they continue on.
SPEAKER_02: Lord, I thank you for Debbie.
SPEAKER_02: I don't know if there's a Debbie in here.
SPEAKER_02: Debbie, we're praying for you.
SPEAKER_02: But Lord, I thank you for Debbie.
SPEAKER_02: I ask, will you let her have a great day?
SPEAKER_02: Bless her, God, let her know that you love her and speak to her in Jesus' name.
SPEAKER_02: Amen.
SPEAKER_02: And then they go back and then they start telling everyone, man, we did just we just did an amazing outreach.
SPEAKER_02: We we witnessed to so many people.
SPEAKER_02: We witnessed to so many people.
SPEAKER_02: And my question is, well, who did you witness to?
SPEAKER_02: Because it wasn't Debbie.
SPEAKER_02: Who did you witness to?
SPEAKER_02: Who did you who did you sit down and be able to walk through the entire gospel with?
SPEAKER_02: Now please hear me.
SPEAKER_02: Today is not a day, and this word is not a word to condemn you.
SPEAKER_02: It is not a word to sound and make you feel like you're being judged.
SPEAKER_02: I I need to be honest and open with you guys.
SPEAKER_02: This is something I struggle with.
SPEAKER_02: There are many times, and I'm the outreach pastor.
SPEAKER_02: And there are many times when I go out and I'm like, oh, like, I don't want to talk to that person.
SPEAKER_02: He's like six foot eight, he's like built like a linebacker, he has a beard and he's driving a Harley.
SPEAKER_02: Like everything that I'm insecure about, like he has.
SPEAKER_02: Like, I don't know if I want to go and talk to this guy.
SPEAKER_02: Let me just walk up and say, hey, uh, your vest says Chuck.
SPEAKER_02: Hey, Chuck.
SPEAKER_02: Um, I see the back of your vest says hell's angel.
SPEAKER_02: Well, have you heard about heaven's angel?
SPEAKER_02: And uh, can I pray for you?
SPEAKER_02: And then I pray, then what so this is something that I struggle with.
SPEAKER_02: This is something that majority of American Christians today struggle with.
SPEAKER_02: Now, please hear my heart again.
SPEAKER_02: I am not saying that we don't need to do prayer walks.
SPEAKER_02: Prayer walks are amazing.
SPEAKER_02: I'm not knocking on them.
SPEAKER_02: Jericho Walls fell because of a prayer walk.
SPEAKER_02: Prayer walks are great, but and we need to do more of them, but we also need to make sure that we're not confusing walking around and asking people to pray for them, and we're not confusing that with evangelism.
SPEAKER_02: There are also many believers today who refuse to share their faith.
SPEAKER_02: Because in the Western church, sharing your faith and evangelizing has been chalked up to a spiritual gift.
SPEAKER_02: It's been chalked up to a responsibility given solely to pastors and to extreme Christians.
SPEAKER_02: Listen very closely.
SPEAKER_02: There is no difference between an extreme Christian and a normal Christian.
SPEAKER_02: There are no levels of Christianity.
SPEAKER_02: There are no levels like it's some type of anime show.
SPEAKER_02: There's no normal Christian, Super Saiyan Christian one, Super Saiyan Christian two.
SPEAKER_02: There's none of that.
SPEAKER_02: There is no radical Christian and normal Christian.
SPEAKER_02: There is just Christian.
SPEAKER_02: Matthew 28, 19 says, Go therefore and make all disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
SPEAKER_02: Jesus is speaking to his disciples.
SPEAKER_02: He says, Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
SPEAKER_02: He did not say, pastors do this.
SPEAKER_02: He did not say, hey, three of the twelve disciples do this.
SPEAKER_02: He did not say those who have a deep theological understanding do this.
SPEAKER_02: Those who can translate the Greek and the Hebrew do this.
SPEAKER_02: Those who have the spiritual gifting do this.
SPEAKER_02: No, Jesus is speaking to all his disciples.
SPEAKER_02: My question for you today is what are we?
SPEAKER_02: We are his disciples.
SPEAKER_02: And we are called to go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
SPEAKER_02: Before we continue, and we look at the Romans road, I do want to open in prayer.
SPEAKER_02: Would you bow your heads with me?
SPEAKER_02: Well, Father God, I just ask first and foremost, Lord, would you would you be the one speaking today?
SPEAKER_02: Lord, would you move me out of the way and would you let the only voice that we hear today be the voice of Jesus?
SPEAKER_02: Lord, would you give me words to be able to speak this well?
SPEAKER_02: Lord, anything in here that I've added on my own out of pride or anything that I've added here on my own uh out out of my own out of my own uh cleverness, God, would you cast it as far as the east is from the west?
SPEAKER_02: And Father, would you let the only wisdom that we hear not be wisdom that that man tried to put into this word, but would you let it be wisdom from heaven?
SPEAKER_02: Lord, I thank you for this day.
SPEAKER_02: I thank you for this congregation.
SPEAKER_02: We just thank you for your presence.
SPEAKER_02: We pray this in your name.
SPEAKER_02: Amen.
SPEAKER_02: All right.
SPEAKER_02: Well, let's look at the Romans Road.
SPEAKER_02: Romans Road, I believe, we'll have five verses that are gonna be coming up, and we're gonna be looking at these, we're gonna be going through them.
SPEAKER_02: So before we uh before we break every single one down, I just want to take you guys through that real quick.
SPEAKER_02: So the Romans Road starts out in Romans 3.23.
SPEAKER_02: It says this, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
SPEAKER_02: Romans 5.8 says, but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
SPEAKER_02: Romans 6.23 says, For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
SPEAKER_02: Romans 10, 9 through 10 says, Because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
SPEAKER_02: For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.
SPEAKER_02: And Romans 10, 13 says, For everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved.
SPEAKER_02: Now you may be sitting here today and you may be asking yourself, Why are we preaching on this today?
SPEAKER_02: I I already know it.
SPEAKER_02: I've been taught this already.
SPEAKER_02: Well, as I was asked to preach on this topic from Pastor Steve when we talked about it around his fire pit, I originally and at first thought to myself, why on earth would I would I be teaching this to believers?
SPEAKER_02: This is something for non-believers.
SPEAKER_02: This is something that you would have in an evangelistic class, not on the pulpit on Sunday morning.
SPEAKER_02: Like, I've gone through this so many times when we're out there evangelizing, but is he asking me to preach on this because the method changed?
SPEAKER_02: Has the method changed?
SPEAKER_02: Surely it can't be that the method's changed.
SPEAKER_02: Well, I can tell you with full confidence that scripture has not changed, but I can also tell you with full confidence, my fellow Christians, that I have changed and you have changed, and we have changed.
SPEAKER_02: The same teaching that you may have heard on any portion of scripture last month, last year, even yesterday, has an entirely new basket of understandings and mercies for today.
SPEAKER_02: So today we're going to be looking at the Romans Road method for evangelism, and my hope is that each one of you will walk away with a confidence and a burden to evangelize to your neighbors, with a confidence and a burden to evangelize to your co-workers, to your family, and to your friends.
SPEAKER_02: My goal today is to equip you in an easy form of evangelism with a clear understanding and a desire to fulfill the Great Commission.
SPEAKER_02: The second, however, just as important goal for this morning is to change how we view the Romans Road.
SPEAKER_02: I believe and I am convicted to share with you that we as believers can look at these scriptures and still take away deeper understandings for us today.
SPEAKER_02: Knowing that they are not simply a guide for how to witness to non-believers, but we as now believers can draw from them still.
SPEAKER_02: Whether you've been saved for 50 seconds or for 50 years, there is still power in these verses because it is drawn from the living word of God.
SPEAKER_02: So over the last couple weeks, Pastor Steve and some of the other pastors have shared what we've been doing in the outreach department over the last year.
SPEAKER_02: We've served our city, we've fed families, we've loved single moms, we've partnered with schools, we've ministered in prison, we've loved and discipled fatherless boys, we've gone downtown or in coffee shops to pray with people.
SPEAKER_02: And while all those things matter, none of them are the gospel.
SPEAKER_02: You see, the gospel is not feeding somebody.
SPEAKER_02: The gospel is not giving someone a backpack or giving someone a diaper bag.
SPEAKER_02: The gospel is not helping someone pay a bill.
SPEAKER_02: The gospel is not even bringing someone to church.
SPEAKER_02: Now, those things are great and those things are avenues that can open doors, but those things cannot save.
SPEAKER_02: Only the gospel saves.
SPEAKER_02: Amen.
SPEAKER_02: And if we lose the gospel, we've lost the very thing that makes the church the church.
SPEAKER_02: If I handed you a microphone today and I gave you 60 seconds and asked you to explain the gospel, could you?
SPEAKER_02: Most people think they can, yet the sad truth is that many believers can't.
SPEAKER_02: So what we're gonna do is we're gonna break these verses down, but we're not gonna treat them as a proverb, we're not gonna treat them as a one-off verse, and we're not gonna treat them as just a piece of advice.
SPEAKER_02: We're gonna look at each one in context, and we're gonna start with the first one.
SPEAKER_02: So Romans 3.23, it says this for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
SPEAKER_02: For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
SPEAKER_02: Now, Paul is not giving a statistic here.
SPEAKER_02: He is not saying that everyone has some bad in them, and as long as when you die, your good outweighs the bad, then you're fine.
SPEAKER_02: He isn't saying that the really evil people, the murderers, the rapists, the adulterers, and the dictators are the ones who are unable to reach the glory of God.
SPEAKER_02: He is saying that all people have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
SPEAKER_02: That means every man, every woman, every pastor, every church member, every missionary, every atheist, every Mother Teresa, Adolf Hitler, or Marcus Vihill, every single one has sinned and has fallen short of the glory of God.
SPEAKER_02: Now, this is paradoxical to normal human thinking because we in modern Western culture have done a really, really good job at building ourselves up and making us look polished and put together and making our failures and our shortcomings and our sin really, really small.
SPEAKER_02: One of the greatest lies we tell ourselves is, well, I'm not that bad.
SPEAKER_02: Husbands, you know exactly what I'm talking about.
SPEAKER_02: I'm not that bad.
SPEAKER_02: Well, compared to whom?
SPEAKER_02: Compared to Hitler?
SPEAKER_02: Oh, well, I'm not I'm not that bad.
SPEAKER_02: Compared to who?
SPEAKER_02: Compared to a murderer?
SPEAKER_02: Compared to a drug addict?
SPEAKER_02: Compared to that pastor that the media is talking about because of embezzlement or sexual immorality or abuse of power or whatever it is this month?
SPEAKER_02: Paul isn't comparing us with other sinners, he's comparing us to God.
SPEAKER_02: And so the issue isn't whether you are better or more behaved or more put together than another sinner.
SPEAKER_02: The issue is, get this, the issue is, are you holy like God is holy?
SPEAKER_02: The problem of sin in any gospel conversation, the problem of sin is where we have to start.
SPEAKER_02: So whenever we're evangelizing to people, a lot of times in the modern church today, we like to leave this part out.
SPEAKER_02: But the problem of sin is where we have to start in any gospel conversation.
SPEAKER_02: You see, unless a person can be honest about their sin and how rampant and destructive it is in their lives, they will not see the need for a savior.
SPEAKER_02: This is where the modern Western church has flinched away from.
SPEAKER_02: Out of not wanting to offend, not wanting to sound judgmental, not wanting to risk the relationship of whoever they're talking to, the modern Western church has grotesquely belittled sin and in doing so has belittled the need for Christ.
SPEAKER_02: Not only in evangelism, but in the day-to-day life of the believer.
SPEAKER_02: You see, we have become so fearful of talking about sin that we have lost the understanding of the horrors of sin.
SPEAKER_02: The deepest tragedy of sin is not that it destroys marriages, though it does.
SPEAKER_02: It is not that it ruins families, though it does.
SPEAKER_02: Not that it leads into addiction, though it does.
SPEAKER_02: The deepest tragedy of sin is that it blinds us from the beauty of God.
SPEAKER_02: Today we want God to save us from hell, yet leave us untouched in our affections for the world.
SPEAKER_02: We want mercy without repentance, we want grace without awareness, but nobody treasures grace until they see the horror of their sin.
SPEAKER_02: And nobody sees the horror of their sin until they see the holiness of God.
SPEAKER_02: I hear all the time we're praying for revival.
SPEAKER_02: I hear all the time we want we want to see revival, we want revival, revival, revival, revival.
SPEAKER_02: We can hear whispers of revival, we want revival.
SPEAKER_02: You want revival?
SPEAKER_02: Revival happens when people stop comparing themselves to each other and start seeing themselves in front of a holy God.
SPEAKER_02: Paul wants us to feel that the weight of our sin, not to crush us, not not to condemn us, not to judge us, not to make us feel insecure and inferior and like we're trash, but Paul wants us to feel the weight of our sin to prepare us.
SPEAKER_02: You see, this is the method of the Romans' road.
SPEAKER_02: Romans 3.23 is the diagnosis.
SPEAKER_02: But Romans 5.8 is the cure.
SPEAKER_02: So Romans 5.8 says this but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
SPEAKER_02: But God shows his love for us, and that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
SPEAKER_02: But God.
SPEAKER_02: I don't know about you, but these two words are the most hopeful words in all of Scripture.
SPEAKER_02: But God.
SPEAKER_02: See, Romans 3 shows us the horror of our sins, it shows us the consequence of our sins, it shows us the hopelessness of our sins, but God.
SPEAKER_02: You see, the gospel begins not with us reaching for God, but with God reaching for us.
SPEAKER_02: Paul is wanting us to stand in awe of this.
SPEAKER_02: He's wanting us to see the truth in this.
SPEAKER_02: He's not showing us, he's not merely showing us that Christ died, not merely that God is loved, but that God loved us when there was absolutely nothing in us to attract his love.
SPEAKER_02: But God.
SPEAKER_02: God planned salvation, God initiated salvation, God accomplished salvation, God applies salvation, and God gets the glory for salvation.
SPEAKER_02: But God.
SPEAKER_02: You see, the Bible never portrays salvation as man discovering God, but the Bible does portray God pursuing rebels.
SPEAKER_02: And that's me, and that's you.
SPEAKER_02: You see, the hero of the story is not the sinner who finally came home.
SPEAKER_02: The hero of the story of the gospel is the father who came looking.
SPEAKER_02: But God says, But God shows his love for us, and that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
SPEAKER_02: Some translations say that God demonstrates his love for us.
SPEAKER_02: God demonstrates, God shows.
SPEAKER_02: Paul does not say God might love you.
SPEAKER_02: He's not saying that God hopes that you know that he loves you.
SPEAKER_02: The text says that God demonstrates it.
SPEAKER_02: He puts it on display for all to see.
SPEAKER_02: He puts it on display for you to see.
SPEAKER_02: He proves and he shows his love by Christ's work on the cross.
SPEAKER_02: I don't know if you know this, but Christ died.
SPEAKER_02: Jesus died.
SPEAKER_02: The God of the universe died for you and for me.
SPEAKER_02: His death on the cross was the greatest act of love, and it is the ultimate payment for the debt that we wrapped up with sin.
SPEAKER_02: For the non-believer and for the now believer.
SPEAKER_02: If you ever doubt the love of God, don't begin to look at your circumstances.
SPEAKER_02: If you ever wonder, does God love me?
SPEAKER_02: Don't look at your circumstances.
SPEAKER_02: Because circumstances they change so often.
SPEAKER_02: Circumstances are like a winding stream.
SPEAKER_02: And the current can be calm at times and it can be rough at times.
SPEAKER_02: And sometimes they change sporadically.
SPEAKER_02: If you've ever been in a circumstance, you know how quick it could change.
SPEAKER_02: So if you're wondering if God loves you, don't look at your circumstances, instead, look at Calvary.
SPEAKER_02: Does God love me?
SPEAKER_02: Like, I don't care if you woke up on the Monday after tax day and you forgot to file your taxes and you're like, oh man, I don't know how I'm gonna get through this.
SPEAKER_02: Like, like, God, you're gonna have to perform a miracle, but I haven't heard from God in a while.
SPEAKER_02: Does he still love me?
SPEAKER_02: Is he still answering my prayers?
SPEAKER_02: Don't look at the taxes you didn't do, instead, look to Calvary.
SPEAKER_02: And the answer every single time is yes, he loves you.
SPEAKER_02: Yes, he still loves you, and yes, he will still keep loving you.
SPEAKER_02: So Romans 3.23 tells us who we are, Romans 5.8 shows us who God is.
SPEAKER_02: But if if Christ had to die for us, and that raises another question, why was it necessary?
SPEAKER_02: Romans 6.23 answers that.
SPEAKER_02: Romans 6.23 says this for the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
SPEAKER_02: Notice the language Paul is using here.
SPEAKER_02: He's saying wages, he's saying gift.
SPEAKER_02: And so we see two types of payments, we see two different types of currency, and we see two different types of employers, if you will.
SPEAKER_02: One being sin and the other being God.
SPEAKER_02: You see, sin pays like an employer.
SPEAKER_02: Sin pays what is earned.
SPEAKER_02: The term wages is key here because a wage is something that is earned and it's something that is given out based on the work done.
SPEAKER_02: Now, most of us in your we receive a paycheck every week or every other week, and with that paycheck comes a pay stub.
SPEAKER_02: Now, when payday comes around and our pay stub reflects less pay than the hours that we worked, we would be upset.
SPEAKER_02: We would call our boss or we would call the accounting department and we would try to get to the bottom of it, right?
SPEAKER_02: But what if they came back and they were like, Well, I just feel like you didn't put as much effort in this pay period than you did in the last one, so we paid you what we felt fair.
SPEAKER_02: Oh, some of you would have a heyday.
SPEAKER_02: What kind of place are you running here?
SPEAKER_02: I'm not putting in the hours, you're not putting in the hours.
SPEAKER_02: That deadline you gave me for that project was ridiculous and it was it was unachievable, but yet you're saying I'm not putting in the hours?
SPEAKER_02: You're not even in every day, Hank.
unknown: If you're
SPEAKER_02: Here and your name's Hank, and you're a boss.
SPEAKER_02: I apologize.
SPEAKER_02: But you're not even in every day, Hank.
SPEAKER_02: You're in way less than our part-time employees, but you're gonna you're gonna dock my pay.
SPEAKER_02: You know exactly who you are, too, when I say that.
SPEAKER_02: You're like, I've had that conversation.
SPEAKER_02: So that leads to another question.
SPEAKER_02: Why don't we do that with creditors?
SPEAKER_02: How many of you actually answer the phone when they call?
SPEAKER_02: Not a single hand went up.
SPEAKER_02: Mine didn't go up either, man.
SPEAKER_02: They call and I'm like, nope, that's on a do not answer.
SPEAKER_02: And let me ask you this.
SPEAKER_02: And if they're asking for less than what we actually owe, are we like, actually, Clarice?
SPEAKER_02: I owe uh Clarice, Clarice works here too.
SPEAKER_02: Actually, Clarice, I owe you guys more than that.
SPEAKER_02: Let me just pay that as well.
SPEAKER_02: No, as Christians, we're like, what a blessing.
SPEAKER_02: They made a mistake.
SPEAKER_02: God blessed me.
SPEAKER_02: I don't have to pay all of that.
SPEAKER_02: They made a mistake.
SPEAKER_02: And I know they made a mistake because I know I owed more, because the last creditor that called me about this same thing that I've been ignoring for years said I owed more and that there was gonna be an interest, but they're saying I owe less.
SPEAKER_02: What a blessing! I don't know what I'm doing in this area right now.
SPEAKER_02: So, in the same vein, the wages of sin is death.
SPEAKER_02: Even if it's not full-time sin, the payment is still death.
SPEAKER_02: So we can read the text and have a better understanding of it if we read it this way.
SPEAKER_02: The payment of sin is death.
SPEAKER_02: Sin is our employer, and the paycheck at the end of our time with this company is death.
SPEAKER_02: And to make matters even worse, there is no PTO and there's no 401k matching.
SPEAKER_02: So it's not really a dream job.
SPEAKER_02: You see, sin is a cruel employer.
SPEAKER_02: It promises pleasure and it pays with misery and it promises freedom, but it pays with chains.
SPEAKER_02: It promises that you can enjoy life now, but it doesn't tell you that the debt you're racking up, you're gonna have to pay with death later.
SPEAKER_02: God, however, does not give payment based on performance or work.
SPEAKER_02: His currency is a gift.
SPEAKER_02: Something that we did not earn, but was given to us anyways.
SPEAKER_02: See, here's the thing with the gospel that I love.
SPEAKER_02: Everyone's like, well, it's not a works-based religion.
SPEAKER_02: And I'm like, technically you're right, but also you're wrong.
SPEAKER_02: It is a works-based religion religion.
SPEAKER_02: It's based on the finished work of Jesus Christ.
SPEAKER_02: Like this gift is free to us, but it is not a free gift.
SPEAKER_02: It took the death of Jesus Christ for this to be paid in full.
SPEAKER_02: It took the death of Jesus Christ for that debt that we racked up to be considered, uh, to be considered void, to be done and over with.
SPEAKER_02: So, so when people are like, well, it's not a work-based religion, it's a relationship.
SPEAKER_02: It's like, yes, that's only half right.
SPEAKER_02: It is a works-based religion based on the work of Jesus and Jesus alone.
SPEAKER_02: When I go out, when I go out and I evangelize, I always hope that I can get a person that says, if I sin, I'm gonna die.
SPEAKER_02: That's not fair.
SPEAKER_02: Because there's a pastor who has a saying that I love.
SPEAKER_02: And and I wish I can have this saying, like, he's so quick with his response.
SPEAKER_02: He says this, he says, Fairness will send everyone to hell.
SPEAKER_02: You don't want fair, you want mercy.
SPEAKER_02: And I think that's such a great response.
SPEAKER_02: And and it might be wrong for me to be like, oh God, give me these conversations for a person to say this so I can say that.
SPEAKER_02: That might be prideful, and like, Lord, if that's the case, don't let me have it.
SPEAKER_02: But like, I want to be able to tell someone because it's so true, fairness would send everyone to hell.
SPEAKER_02: How many times have you heard people say, Well, God's not fair?
SPEAKER_02: Like, I didn't ask to be born, I didn't ask for this life, I didn't ask for my parents, I didn't ask for this situation.
SPEAKER_02: That's not fair.
SPEAKER_02: And it's like, you're right, that's not fair, but you don't want fairness because fairness would send everyone to hell.
SPEAKER_02: You want mercy.
SPEAKER_02: The most glorious realities in the Christian life cannot be purchased, they cannot be earned, they cannot be deserved.
SPEAKER_02: God gives those out freely.
SPEAKER_02: What Christ purchased completely, that is mercy.
SPEAKER_02: And that gift is eternal life.
SPEAKER_02: Now, most people hear eternal life, and the first thing they think of is life that lasts forever.
SPEAKER_02: But that is merely a part of what eternal life is.
SPEAKER_02: The question is not whether you will live forever, but the question is how will you live?
SPEAKER_02: Jesus tells us in John 17, 3, this is eternal life, that you may, that they may know you, the one and only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.
SPEAKER_02: So eternal life is not merely a duration, but it is a beautiful relationship and fellowship with Jesus Christ Himself.
SPEAKER_02: It is delighting in God, it is enjoying God, it is treasuring God, it is being satisfied in God forever.
SPEAKER_02: It is not only freedom from hell, it is not only streets of gold, it is not only being reunited with loved ones.
SPEAKER_02: The gift is God Himself now.
SPEAKER_02: Not God Himself on the other side of eternity, not God Himself when we die, but God Himself now.
SPEAKER_02: See, here's the great part and the beautiful part of the gospel and the gift of eternal life is we have it now.
SPEAKER_02: Jesus Christ is a gift to you now.
SPEAKER_02: He is dwelling inside of you now.
SPEAKER_02: We have the Holy Spirit dwelling inside of us.
SPEAKER_02: We have we have Jesus Christ interceding for us on our behalf at the right hand of the Father, and we have God the Father who is sovereign over our lives and making all things work together for the good of those who love him according to his purpose.
SPEAKER_02: We have God now.
SPEAKER_02: Thank you.
SPEAKER_02: Some of you are excited.
SPEAKER_02: Praise God.
SPEAKER_02: I don't I don't think the rest of you understand the goodness of this gift.
SPEAKER_02: You give me all the riches in the world, you give me all the diamonds in the world, all the rubies in the world, all the gold in the world.
SPEAKER_02: Those are all insignificant compared to the beauty of God, the glory of God, the majesty of God.
SPEAKER_02: What is gold gonna buy me?
SPEAKER_02: Something temporary, something that's gonna break?
SPEAKER_02: Maybe a new truck?
SPEAKER_02: Maybe a truck that doesn't squeak when I start it?
SPEAKER_02: Forget that.
SPEAKER_02: When my time comes, that truck I can't take with me.
SPEAKER_02: When my time comes, that truck I probably can't even pass down.
SPEAKER_02: If it hasn't squeaked now, it ain't gonna be passed down later.
SPEAKER_02: But I have God Almighty as my gift now, saying, You're my son.
SPEAKER_02: Now let me give you now, let me give you promises, let me give you gifts, let me give you hope, let me give you joy that the world can't take away.
SPEAKER_02: I want that gift now.
SPEAKER_02: Sin is so deadly because it convinces us to settle for lesser joys and lesser satisfaction.
SPEAKER_02: It convinces us that the temporary is far better and more beautiful than the everlasting, eternal, and all-powerful God.
SPEAKER_02: That is why sin is so dangerous.
SPEAKER_02: But now we get to the question: well, how do I receive this gift of eternal life?
SPEAKER_02: Romans 10, 9 through 10 says this.
SPEAKER_02: Because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
SPEAKER_02: For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.
SPEAKER_02: Paul is not saying here to join a church.
SPEAKER_02: Paul is not saying here to be baptized.
SPEAKER_02: Paul is not saying here to raise your hands and worship.
SPEAKER_02: No, see, those things are great and they're fantastic and they're needed in the life of a believer, but those things come out as fruit of receiving this gift.
SPEAKER_02: He simply says, believe.
SPEAKER_02: You see, this is the very heart of Christianity.
SPEAKER_02: Not simply believing in facts about Jesus, not simply believing that he existed, not just believing in his teachings, but believing that Jesus Christ is who he says he is.
SPEAKER_02: And if you believe it, then confess it.
SPEAKER_02: Say it out loud.
SPEAKER_02: My allegiance is to Jesus, he is my King, He is my Lord, He is my master, He is my God.
SPEAKER_02: Now the problem is this for now, believers, this is not a one and done belief and confession.
SPEAKER_02: It must be a daily belief and confession.
SPEAKER_02: Now, when I say a daily belief and confession, I am in no way saying that we need to do this continually to secure our salvation.
SPEAKER_02: That is not what I am saying.
SPEAKER_02: Jesus has already secured it.
SPEAKER_02: We are saved by his life, his death, and his resurrection.
SPEAKER_02: We are not saved by our merits or words or continual practices.
SPEAKER_02: So I need to make that very clear before I continue.
SPEAKER_02: What I am saying is that we glance over this scripture so quickly that so many times when we are in times of crises or heartache, we forget who we said was the Lord of our life.
SPEAKER_02: Or we forget that this is the same God who can raise the dead to life.
SPEAKER_02: In the Western church, we have done a terrible disservice to believers by simply allowing them to believe that this was a one and done prayer.
SPEAKER_02: You prayed it, you said it, great job, you're saved.
SPEAKER_02: Let's move forward now.
SPEAKER_02: Like, let's get you signed up for small groups now.
SPEAKER_02: Let's let's get you signed up in serving now.
SPEAKER_02: Let's get you signed up to go on our mission trips now.
SPEAKER_02: You said it, you did it, awesome.
SPEAKER_02: Now you have to meet me at 4 a.m.
SPEAKER_02: every day for coffee so we can talk about Jesus and we can figure out how to fix your marriage now.
SPEAKER_02: And there's no more mention of this truth.
SPEAKER_02: Here's what I think.
SPEAKER_02: Many today forget what they were saved from and who it is that saved them.
SPEAKER_02: I cannot go a week without reminding myself of who Jesus is and why I believe and worship him.
SPEAKER_02: I can't go a week without telling and reminding myself that, nor would I want to.
SPEAKER_02: Seasons of doubt and hardship come.
SPEAKER_02: How many of you have ever been in a season of doubt and hardship since you've been saved?
SPEAKER_02: Awesome.
SPEAKER_02: Every hand in this room should go up because if you're like, I've never been in a season of doubt and hardship since I've been saved.
SPEAKER_02: Well, either you're a liar or you haven't been saved long enough.
SPEAKER_02: But seasons of doubt and hardship come, and in those seasons, we need to practice this over and over again.
SPEAKER_02: Believe in your heart who Jesus is and confess it to your sin, confess it to your shame, confess it to your trials, confess it to your doubts, confess it to your fears, confess to them, Jesus is my savior and my Lord.
SPEAKER_02: I may have failed him now, but he has not failed me yet, nor will he ever fail me.
SPEAKER_02: I may doubt who he is in his goodness now, but he has never doubted in me, and I am not doubting in the promise that he has given me.
SPEAKER_02: I may have a hard time seeing his goodness now, but when I read my word, I see his goodness through and through because I am trusting and believing that he is good.
SPEAKER_02: Say it to your besetting sin.
SPEAKER_02: Look, I don't know how to break you off of me right now.
SPEAKER_02: I am angry all the time because of you, or I am I am hiding all the time because of you, or I am lying all the time because of you.
SPEAKER_02: Whatever that besetting sin is, tell your besetting sin, you know what?
SPEAKER_02: Like, you may feel like you have power over me, but Jesus is the Lord of my life, and he is gonna cut you off, and he's gonna cast you as far as the east is from the west.
SPEAKER_02: You just wait, that time's coming.
SPEAKER_02: Confess it to your trials, confess it to your doubts and your fears.
SPEAKER_02: Confess to them, Jesus is my savior and my Lord.
SPEAKER_02: Situations seem impossible.
SPEAKER_02: My trust is not in whatever the situation is, and my trust is not in how it plays out.
SPEAKER_02: My trust is in the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
SPEAKER_02: Because even if the situation kills me reputationally, financially, mentally, even if it kills me physically, I trust and I survey God who raises the dead.
SPEAKER_02: I'm not gonna back down from this trial.
SPEAKER_02: I'm not gonna question him in this trial, I'm not gonna, I'm not gonna abandon him and what I said in this trial, because I survey God who raises the dead.
SPEAKER_02: So even if it kills me, I'm gonna choose to believe in him.
SPEAKER_02: Because either one of two things is gonna happen.
SPEAKER_02: I get I get a I get to enter into his beautiful presence, not knowing pain or sickness anymore, walking side by side with the one whom my soul craves and chases after.
SPEAKER_02: Or I'm gonna be resurrected.
SPEAKER_02: Mentally, physically, emotionally, financially, reputationally, whatever.
SPEAKER_02: I am going to be resurrected.
SPEAKER_02: Those are the only two options that we get as Christians, and those are the two best options you can get anywhere.
SPEAKER_02: I trust and serve the God who raises the dead.
SPEAKER_02: Romans 10:13.
SPEAKER_02: For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.
SPEAKER_02: Well, this is where we come full circle.
SPEAKER_02: This is where we come full circle for this.
SPEAKER_02: Who qualifies?
SPEAKER_02: Who qualifies for this?
SPEAKER_02: Each and every single one of you.
SPEAKER_02: Each and every single one of you is called and is qualified to go out and preach the word, to go out and make disciples.
SPEAKER_02: Well, who do we preach to?
SPEAKER_02: Everyone.
SPEAKER_02: Not the worthy, not the ones who have their lives together, everyone.
SPEAKER_02: This is the gospel.
SPEAKER_02: And if the gospel was powerful enough to save you, then it is powerful enough to save your neighbor.
SPEAKER_02: It is powerful enough to save your son or your daughter who is wayward.
SPEAKER_02: It is powerful enough to change the heart of your hearted father.
SPEAKER_02: It is powerful enough to change the heart of your harsh mother.
SPEAKER_02: It is powerful enough to save that friend that you've been praying for month after month, year after year.
SPEAKER_02: The gospel is powerful enough to save.
SPEAKER_02: And the question remains, the only question that remains is this Isaiah 6 8 says, God says, Who shall I send?
SPEAKER_02: And who will go for us?
SPEAKER_02: And my prayer is that our response here at the road will be Isaiah's.
SPEAKER_02: Here I am, Lord.
SPEAKER_02: Send me.
SPEAKER_02: Send me to the broken, send me to the outcast, send me to the forgotten, send me to my family, send me to my coworkers, send me to my friends.
SPEAKER_02: The eyes of the Lord are darting to and fro over the whole earth, looking for a person, looking for a man or a woman who will take him for his word.
SPEAKER_02: Whom shall we send?
SPEAKER_02: Who will go for us?
SPEAKER_02: Here I am, Lord, send me.
SPEAKER_02: One of the reasons we must continually return to the gospel is because the gospel is not merely the doorway into the Christian life, it is the foundation beneath every step of the Christian life.
SPEAKER_02: Romans 3.23 reminds us that apart from Christ, we have nothing to boast in.
SPEAKER_02: Romans 5.8 reminds us that our salvation began in the heart of God, not in the worthiness of our efforts.
SPEAKER_02: Romans 6.23 reminds us that eternal life is not earned but given.
SPEAKER_02: And Romans 10 reminds us that salvation is received through Christ in Christ alone.
SPEAKER_02: And what is the greatest gift of all?
SPEAKER_02: It is God Himself.
SPEAKER_02: It is not merely forgiveness, it is not merely heaven, it is not merely an escape from judgment, but it is God Himself.
SPEAKER_02: The greatest gift of the gospel is that sinners who once ran from God can now enjoy God forever.
SPEAKER_02: So the reason why today I wanted us to look at the Romans row differently and to show us that it's not just for non-believers, but it is for us as now believers, is that don't move beyond these truths.
SPEAKER_02: Don't go, you don't don't feel like you're done and you can move on now.
SPEAKER_02: See, go deeper into them, meditate on them, treasure them.
SPEAKER_02: Because the Christian life is not about getting past the gospel to something greater, because there is no greater.
SPEAKER_02: For all eternity, we will never reach the bottom of God's love displayed in Jesus Christ.
SPEAKER_02: And if that is true, then let us spend the rest of our lives doing what we will do forever, and that is loving Him, that is that is in fellowship with Him, that is trusting in Him, that is living in His presence.
SPEAKER_02: Marveling at Christ, delighting in Christ, treasuring Christ, and making much of Christ.
SPEAKER_02: That's what we're gonna be doing forever.
SPEAKER_02: May we never recover from the grace of God and may we never forget what we were.
SPEAKER_02: May we never forget what Christ has done for us and who we now belong to.
SPEAKER_02: And may that truth fuel every day of our lives until we see him face to face.
SPEAKER_02: That is what the Romans road is.
SPEAKER_02: It is a guide to the wayward soul, and it is a reminder to the safe soul that is struggling.
SPEAKER_01: Thank you for listening to the Road Church Podcast.
SPEAKER_01: We pray today's message has empowered you to make a difference in your world.
SPEAKER_01: For more information about the Road Church and to find more content like this, go to theroad.org.
SPEAKER_01: That's therode.org.