The Romans Road
(To a false conversion)
It
is quite likely that everyone has heard about the
"Romans Road to Salvation". It is a very interesting
thing, that the Romans Road "path to salvation" does
not present the completeness of the scriptures on
the plan of salvation.
As
we study, you'll see that the Romans Road doesn't
even give the plan of salvation at all.
If
there is one obvious truth found on virtually every
page of the New Testament it is that no one, even a
child of God can rebel against God and continue to
receive His approval.
We
read in 1 John 1:7; "If we walk in the
light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one
with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son
cleanseth us from all sin."
One
of the favorite proof-text verses for those who
believe in "once-saved-always-saved" is John
10:27-28: "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them,
and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal
life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any
man pluck them out of my hand."
This
is a beautiful passage, filled with the security a
Christian needs. But it is not without some
conditions!
Which sheep are being referred to in these passages?
Is it not those who "hear my voice" and "follow me"?
Certainly it IS the ones who hear and follow.
In
order for that particular passage to mean that one
cannot lose their salvation, there must be a verse
somewhere that states something along the lines of
"Though my sheep no longer listen to me or follow
me, I will save them anyway." Personally, I've never
found such a verse, nor has anyone else.
It
is true that no man can "pluck them out of God's
hand," but a sheep can choose to quit hearing the
voice of the shepherd and can subsequently choose to
cease to follow the shepherd.
Let's get back to that "Romans Road" again
For
those of you who may not have ever been introduced
to this "Romans Road", let me cover it very
briefly:
What
is important to note, however, is that there
are CRUCIAL elements left out, apparently by
design, from the Book of Romans that present great
problems to this "Romans Road".
When
reading through the book of Romans, we also find
such scripture as:
"To
them who by patient continuance in well doing
seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal
life: But unto them that are contentious, and do not
obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness,
indignation and wrath, Tribulation and anguish, upon
every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first,
and also of the Gentile;" (Romans 2:7-9)
"For
if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but
if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of
the body, ye shall live." (Romans 8:13)
"Thou wilt say then, The branches were broken off,
that I might be graffed in. Well; because of
unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by
faith. Be not highminded, but fear: For if God
spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he
also spare not thee. Behold therefore the
goodness and severity of God: on them which fell,
severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou
continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also
shalt be cut off. And they also, if they abide not
still in unbelief, shall be graffed in: for God is
able to graff them in again." (Romans 11:19-23)
Notice the "IF" clauses. Funny how the
Romans Road Plan doesn't mention that, nor does it
mention the "cutting off" of anyone under any
circumstances.
Righteousness that is by faith is not mentioned at
all in the Romans Road method, even though the book
of Romans stresses this requirement above all other
books!
Look
at these Romans Scriptures:
"Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for
Israel is, that they might be saved. For I
bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but
not according to knowledge. For they being
ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about
to establish their own righteousness, have not
submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.
For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness
to every one that believeth." (Romans 10:1-4)
"But
now the righteousness of God without the law is
manifested, being witnessed by the law and the
prophets; Even the righteousness of God which is
by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all
them that believe: for there is no difference: For
all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
Being justified freely by his grace through the
redemption that is in Christ Jesus:" (Romans
3:21-24)
"Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication,
wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of
envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers,
Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud,
boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to
parents, Without understanding, covenantbreakers,
without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful:
Who knowing the judgment of God, that they
which commit such things are worthy of death, not
only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do
them." (Romans 1:32)
That
scripture alone reaffirms the fact that you MUST
turn from Sin and MUST NOT EVEN allow it in any form
or fashion. Read that last bit again..."have
pleasure in them that do them".
God
is against those who even allow others to
sin! This goes with several other scriptures:
"And
have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of
darkness, but rather reprove them." (Ephesians
5:11)
"Love not the world, neither the things that
are in the world. If any man love the world, the
love of the Father is not in him. For all that
is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust
of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the
Father, but is of the world." (1 John 2:15-16)
"And
what agreement hath the temple of God with idols?
for ye are the temple of the living God; as
God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in
them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my
people. Wherefore come out from among them, and
be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not
the unclean thing; and I will receive you..." (2
Corinthians 6:16-17)
The
Romans Road says nothing of separating yourself from
the world, yet even turning to the Book of Romans,
it is clear from the Book of Romans that we must do
so. Look at these passages also found in the Book
of Romans:
"Let
not sin therefore reign in your mortal body,
that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof."
(Romans 6:12)
Doesn't this scripture command you to do something?
Sure it does ... It says 'DON'T YOU LET SIN REIGN
IN YOUR MORTAL BODY'. It is telling you to
REFRAIN from sin. Why?
Because you have the ability once you are
truly saved to do just that....!
"Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves
servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye
obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience
unto righteousness?" (Romans 6:16)
"And
be not conformed to this world: but be ye
transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye
may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and
perfect, will of God." (Romans 12:2)
"But
put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not
provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts
thereof." (Romans 13:14)
These additional Romans scriptures would have
presented a clearer picture of the Gospel wouldn't
they? Doesn't even the Book of Romans itself say
that you CANNOT CONTINUE IN SIN? Of course it does,
(Romans 6:1-2, Romans 6:15) but you'll never find
THAT concept taught or even mentioned in the Romans
Road plan as being taught today.
The Main Problems with the Romans Road way as taught
by many today are:
1. There is too little emphasis upon the
conviction and drawing of the Holy Ghost. You
don't choose the day nor the time you get saved,
GOD DOES.
Jesus said in John 6:44 "No man can come to me,
except the Father which hath sent me draw him:
and I will raise him up at the last day."
2. There is absolutely no mention of repentance
at all, yet we are SURE that repentance is a
part of salvation and we know that without
repentance, THERE IS NO SALVATION.
"I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye
shall all likewise perish." (Luke 13:3)
3. There is no explicit mention of the
resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ in this
'Romans Road' yet according to the complete
written Word of God, In every single instance of
the preaching of the Gospel, the resurrection is
mentioned! Look it up for yourself. The
Resurrection is recorded in every instance of
the preaching of the Gospel in the Book of
Acts!
4. There is a tendency to teach that prayer is a
condition for salvation. The teaching of the
Romans Road is that only a sinner's "prayer" is
necessary. (Usually, this is some blanket form
generic impersonal prayer.) Prayer is only a
beginning, a starting place.
5. There is a great likelihood of producing
spurious, spur-of-the-moment decisions rather
than lasting, genuine conversions since there is
no real understanding of what is happening, no
repentance of the heart and no desire to change.
6. There is a tendency to rush people through
this plan without giving them a thorough
presentation of the true, saving gospel of the
Lord Jesus Christ.
That's how some of the Mega Ministries get the
"hundreds of thousands saved" numbers, much like
McDonald's "Billions served" signs.
There are still other problems With "The Sinner’s
Prayer" Concept
The
Bible itself says man believes unto righteousness
(Romans 10:10); he does not man "says a prayer unto
righteousness".
It
is quite possible to pray the sinner’s prayer while
still trusting in other things and/or other gods
besides or in addition to the Lord Jesus Christ
since the real gospel is not being presented.
What
comes out of the heart flows through the mouth,
not the other way around!
In
the sinner's prayer, it is quite opposite. The
belief is that if the mouth speaks it, then the
heart is forced to believe it. This is totally
unscriptural.
What
comes out of the mouth does not flow into the heart.
Romans 10:13 refers back to Romans 10:12 and to Joel
2:32 and deals with Christians "calling upon the
name of the Lord" for deliverance, not necessarily
for salvation.
"Saved" in those passages deal with DELIVERANCE FROM
UNBELIEF, not an obedience to the SALVATION
PLAN FROM THE LORD.
Praying a generic prayer does not lead to salvation
(which is in effect ... works). THAT is teaching and
propagating the very thing that many of the churches
who use the "Romans Road" teach against! We are
NOT SAVED BY WORKS!
Repentance and believing on the Lord
Jesus Christ with all your heart leads to salvation
and THAT is by grace.
"The
sinner’s prayer" concept is not consistent
with Acts 16:30-35 or other instances of Salvation
in the New Testament.
NO REAL GOSPEL PREACHED = NO REAL CONVERTS
It
only results in sinners who have been deceived into
thinking they are now saved and are further from
being saved than when they began.
THE WORD OF GOD MUST BE THE FINAL AUTHORITY and MUST
BE FOLLOWED!
If
you are one of those who at some point repeated one
of those little "sinner's prayers" and were duped
into thinking that because of the repetition of a
generic prayer, you are now saved, I plead with
you:
IF
YOU ARE TRULY SINCERE; get down on your knees and
pour your whole heart out to God. Seek a REAL,
GENUINE CLEANSING of your soul. You need to be CLEAN
in your Spirit, not whitewashed in your mind.
I
urge you, while there is still breath in you. Find a
REAL Genuine Conversion Experience with the Lord
Jesus Christ.
"For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation
not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world
worketh death."
2 Corinthians 7:10
