THE ROMAN ROAD TO ETERNAL LIFE

    A sad fact is that good people (humanly speaking) who die without Jesus live eternally in a place the Bible calls HELL. Another sad fact is that bad people (humanly speaking) who die without Jesus, live eternally in a place the Bible calls HELL. Surprisingly, even in the Bible Belt, most people do not know for certain that they will go to Heaven when they die. I include church people, people who have stopped going to church, and people who do not go to church. Why is this? II Corinthians 4:4 tells us the God (Satan) of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not.

    If asked of the general public, “What must I do to go to Heaven?”, some of the answers sincerely given would be as follows:

1. Keep the Golden Rule.
2. Be a good neighbor.
3. Pray regularly.
4. Help others.
5. Be baptized.
6. Go to church regularly.
7. Be a good person.
8. Read your Bible

    All of the above are good and noble things to do, but are foreign to God’s Plan of Salvation.     If Satan blinds the minds of people to salvation, then salvation must begin in the mind. A clear understanding of the Gospel (Good News) is necessary for personal salvation.     The following is an attempt to do this using the Book of Romans with some comments to make the meaning clear. This will be a four point outline.

    Romans 3:10    As it is written, there is none righteous, no, not one.   This simply means that no one by himself is right with God.
    Romans 3:23     For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.   God declares that all are sinners. Some people are better than others morally. God’s standard is JESUS. Are you as good as Jesus? God says that all have come short (missed the mark). Sin is transgression of God’s Laws. Sin is not doing what God says. Sin is unbelief. If you say you have not sinned you call God a liar. God Cannot lie! All are sinners--you, I, the Preacher, the Priest, all.

    Point 2. THE PRICE OF SIN.

    Romans 5:12     Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.    We all know the story of Adam and Eve. Adam is the one man by which sin entered into the world. We are sinners by virtue of our natural birth. Why do we have to train little children to do right? Little children will do things wrong, naturally. The price of sin is death. Since Adam, all who are born die a physical death. The Bible defines death in two ways: physical death and spiritual death. Spiritual death is eternal separation from God in a place the Bible calls Hell. (Revelations 20:14) This is the reason Jesus told Nicodemus, “You must be born again.” Simply put, if we are born only once (physically), we will die twice. If we are born twice (once physically and once spiritually), we will only die once (physically). What does a person have to do to suffer spiritual death? Nothing, we are spiritually dead by virtue of our natural birth; we must be born again. Thus, the price of sin is death, both physical and spiritual.

    Point 3. THE PRICE OF SIN (DEATH) MUST BE PAID.

    Romans 5:8    But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 6:23      For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.    These verses mean that a person will pay the price of sin himself (eternal separation from God) or accept the payment Jesus paid on the Cross. For whom did Christ die? Sinners! Jesus came to this world for one purpose and that was to save sinners. Only sinners can be saved. How can this be? Remember when Jesus was dying on the Cross, He said, “My God, My God, why has thou forsaken Me?’ Why did He say that? II Corinthians 5:21 For he (God) hath made him (Jesus) to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. This means Jesus became sin for us. Fellowship between God and Jesus was broken because Jesus became sin. God could not look upon sin. Sin had to be punished. Jesus paid the price of sin. Jesus suffered our spiritual death for us; He suffered Hell for us. Only one who had not sinned could do this, and that one is Jesus. In the early days of the west,you could see a prairie fire miles away. The strong wind would not allow the early settlers to outrun the fire. What would they do? They would start a fire where they were. After the fire had burned, they would place themselves in the area the fire had already burned. Fire will not burn where it has already burned. The prairie fire could not harm them. The fire of God’s Judgment has already burned on Jesus on the Cross. If you accept Jesus’ death as payment for your sins, the fire of God’s judgment can never burn you because Jesus paid the price of sin. You may say, “What do I have to do to receive the gift of eternal life?”

    Point 4. RECEIVING THE GIFT OF ETERNAL LIFE.

    Romans 10:9    That if thou shalt confess with they mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him form the dead, thou shalt be saved.     To confess with the mouth means to agree that Jesus is who He claims to be. Jesus claims to be the Son of God, Who came into this world in the form of human flesh, died on the cross for your sins, was buried, and rose again from the dead. Do you believe Jesus is who He claims to be? If so, you have confessed Him with your mouth. To believe in the heart is to commit your life to that which you confessed with your mouth. A way to do this is to pray this prayer to God, meaning every word of it. Dear Lord, I know that I am a sinner, I believe You died for me. I accept your death as payment for my sin. Come into my heart, right now, Lord Jesus. From this moment on, my life is Yours. Thank you for saving me.

    If you prayed the above prayer and meant it from the depths of your heart, this is God’s promise to you: Romans 10:13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Who does whosoever mean? Does it mean you? YES. Who did you call upon? The LORD. Why did you not call on our Pastor, he is a good man? Only the Lord died for you and only the Lord can save you. Did God say He might save you? No, He said if you would call upon the name of the Lord He would save you. Did the Lord save you? Would the Lord lie to you? People are saved when they believe on the Lord Jesus. When they believe the Holy Spirit will make them a Child of God, they will know Heaven is their home.

    If you have prayed the above prayer and believed God has saved you, then Jesus says the following to you: Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven. Matthew 10:32-33.

     A simple way to make a confession of faith is this: After the pastor preaches the message and gives an invitation, then step from the pew, walk to the front, and tell the pastor or counselor that you have accepted Christ and want to follow the Lord. You won’t have to make a speech; however, the pastor will tell the people about your decision, and they will rejoice with you. People will generally want to shake your hand after the service because they are happy you accepted Christ.

     After you have made your decision to accept Christ public, you have begun a new life. Enroll in a Bible study class so you can grow in Christ. If you like to share your decision with Westlawn Baptist, click on the email link at the end of this page. Thanks for sharing with us.

Presentation of the Good News for the Deaf
The FAITH Presentation of the Good News