Before His ascension to Heaven to sit at the right hand of the Father, Christ gave a charge to the disciples (and the church as a whole). We are to go into the world and make disciples, teach them all that Christ commands and baptize them into the church (Matthew 28:19). As believers in Christ, we have one mission: to make more Christians.
Through the years, there have been many handy tools to help us share the gospel. There’s the bridge illustration, tracts (both good and terrifying!), the G.O.S.P.E.L. method, and more. One of the more common tools is called “The Romans Road.” It walks you and your friend through four verses in Romans explaining our need for salvation, God’s plan, and our response. Over the next few weeks, we will look at each verse to understand its meaning and how it fits into an overall gospel conversation.
Step 1 – Understanding that we are sinners
“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”
Romans 3:23
A few months ago, my wife had surgery to remove a brain tumor. It had been growing for years and we had no idea. If we hadn’t learned about it when we did, it would have eventually caused major issues: dizziness, loss of vision, paralysis, even stroke. By God’s grace, doctors learned of its existence when an MRI was ordered for a different problem. They were able to remove it successfully and my wife is on the road back to normal. Thankfully, it was not cancerous, but sin is and it infects all of us.
The problem comes when we don’t know about our sin infection. If we don’t know it exists, we won’t know what the cost will be (we will get to that next time). Step one in our gospel conversation is helping our neighbor to identify their illness. The good news is it’s the same illness for everyone. We “ALL have sinned and fall short of God’s glory.” The bad news is it’s the same illness for everyone. We all have SINNED and FALL SHORT of God’s glory.
What is Sin?
All of the words in the Bible translated as ‘sin’ all mean roughly the same thing: breaking an established rule, incurring guilt, particularly against God. Sin is any thought or action that is in violation of God’s will and commands. And according to Romans 3:23, we are all guilty of it.
There are no degrees of sin, either, when it comes to our ability to reach the glory of God. Sure, you may be “better than” the next person, but that just means you have fewer reasons to incur God’s wrath. The problem is it only takes one sin, one time, to fall short of God’s glory. And I can say with 100% complete certainty that every person, except for one, has sinned at least once. “Better than” doesn’t matter when any sin is enough to keep us from experiencing God’s glory.
Paul puts it another way a few verses earlier in the chapter:
“as it is written: ‘None is righteous, no, not one;’”
Romans 3:10
And just so you know that this is a theme about humanity throughout the Bible, Paul actually quotes a Psalm in Romans 3:10:
“They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt;
there is none who does good,
not even one.”
Psalm 14:3
How does sin keep us from God’s glory?
The opposite of sinfulness is righteousness. Righteousness is an attribute of God, He is incapable of sin and therefore is righteous. It’s also a requirement of anyone who wants a relationship with God. To be near the righteous God, we must also be righteous. If we are sinful, even a little, then we are by definition not righteous. Paul says it like this in his letter to the Galatians:
“For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, ‘Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them’”
Galatians 3:10
In other words, those who try to be righteous on their own, by following God’s law or just by trying to be a good person, will be cursed. There is no path that we can take on our own power that leads us to God’s glory because we are incapable of righteousness on our own.
What is the result of our sin?
That’s for next week. Step two of the Romans Road is the consequence of our sin. The good news is the sentence has a “but …” in it. Come back for the good news!
By Rob Trahan
