Salvation
The Radical Romans Road to Salvation
(All points are derived from the Holy Scriptures)
Remember the simple acrostic, S.A.V.E.D.:
1. SIN: All have sinned(Romans 3:23):
When God created Adam and placed him in the Garden, man’s nature was beautiful and upright in the sight of God. God looked upon the man he had made and said, Behold, it is very good (Genesis 1:31).
However, when tempted to eat of the forbidden fruit, man rejected God’s law to set himself up as his own law. Solomon explained this saddening event well, Behold, I have found only this, that God made men upright, but they have sought out many devices(Ecclesiastes 7:29).
Because Adam was the father of the human race, his sin was accounted as the sin of all humanity. So inevitably All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23, also 5:12). No one can exclude themselves from this group; we all now bear the curse of sin.
The greatest evidence of how widespread the epidemic of sin has become is death. Statistics tell us that 100 out of every 100 people die. Romans 5:12 tells us why, Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned. Yet, this physical death is only an omen of a greater spiritual death to come, and Revelation 21:8 describes this second death as Hell: But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.
2. ASLEEP: All are asleep and risk missing Christ(Romans 8:7-8):
Not only have we all sinned, but we were born with a sinful nature that has lulled us all into spiritual slumber. A slumber that prevents us from being able to respond obediently to God’s law, There is none who understands, there is none who seeks for God(Romans 3:11). We often hear people claim that they are seeking to find God, yet this verse tells us we are completely oblivious to God until He divinely intervenes; we are asleep.
For this reason it says, Awake, sleeper, And arise from the dead, And Christ will shine on you (Ephesians 5:14). Notice that this verse speaks of sleep as synonymous with death. To be spiritually dead means that we have no ability to please God, much less the ability to save ourselves: Because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so; and those who are in the flesh cannot please God(Romans 8:7-8). This passage tells us that we are in such a comatose state that none of us have the ability to rouse ourselves into the reality of God; we are hopelessly unable to respond to God in the same way that a dead man is hopelessly unable to respond to all our pleading to live.
Before we come to know Christ, we must first admit this inability to save ourselves, and confess that the only way for us to be saved is for God to resurrect us from the dead (Ephesians 2:1, Colossians 2:13, Romans 6:4).
3. VITALITY: All can receive vitality through Christ (Romans 6:23):
We have all been given the death sentence because of our sin, For the wages of sin is death . . . (Romans 6:23a). But thankfully, the verse doesn’t stop there. God offers us the free gift of life when we trust Jesus Christ as our Lord but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ as Lord (Romans 6:23b).
So what is eternal life? Once we understand that we are spiritually dead, we realize that even as a dead man cannot assist in his own resurrection, we have no hope of saving ourselves. Only when we come to this realization can we appreciate what is meant by the gift of eternal life. Jesus once said, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live(John 11:25).
When we believe on Jesus this promise stands true. He resurrects us from the dead and gives us a life so that we can live it for Him.
For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died; and He died for all, that they who live should no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf (II Corinthians 5:14-15).
4. EXCHANGE: You can exchange your sin for the righteousness of Christ(Romans 5:17):
The Cross of Christ is the supreme example of the fact that God could not overlook sin. Sin is such a big deal to God that He cannot simply forgive it, wipe it under the rug, and let bygones be bygones. The glory of His name is at stake and His name must be vindicated (Hebrews 10:29-30). Somebody has to suffer the punishment that for our disregard for His law
That is why Jesus died on the Cross. He paid the penalty for sin that we all deserved. Instead of us dying on a Cross, or in Hell, Christ died in our place, But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with His stripes we are healed (Isaiah 53:5).
The burden of sin is a weight that none of us can bear; we will inevitably be crushed and spend eternity in Hell if we insist on keeping it in our possession (Luke 20:18), especially since Christ bore that weight for us when He died on the Cross. When you believe on His name, your sins do not disappear; they instead nailed Christ to the Cross.
However, God does not simply take your sin. The exchange isn’t complete until He gives you His righteousness. Jesus lived on the earth for thirty three years and never sinned because He made it His joy to glorify the father (John 17:5). When you come to know Christ, He gives His perfect life to you as a free gift so that when God looks at you, He doesn’t see the shame of your nakedness, He doesn’t see the ugliness of your sin; He sees only the perfect righteousness of His son Jesus Christ. There is one person in the universe that God accepts; that is His son, Jesus. And when we are saved, God looks at us and sees the Son.
Romans 5:17 explains well this gift of righteousness. For if by the transgression of the one, death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ. Sin once reigned in all of our hearts, but sin is dethroned in our hearts and righteousness reigns when we receive His gift of life.
5. DECISION: All must decide (Romans 8:6):
You must decide who you will serve. Jesus said, No man can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will hold to one and despise the other . . .(Matthew 6:24). You cannot continue to cherish your sin and embrace Christ. When we come to Christ there is a cost, and that cost is everything. I any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me (Matthew 16:24). To deny yourself means that you are willing to give up everything to have a relationship with Him. It means we will view Christ and His kingdom as a treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has, and buys that field (Matthew 13:44).
All must decide; and the decision is between life and death. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace (Romans 8:6). If you continue to live a life of sin it will end in death, but if you through His power live your life for His glory alone, you shall have life, and life more abundantly(John 10:10).
No one said it more bluntly than Jesus Himself: Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish(Luke 13:3). It is not enough to say you believe God, the devils believe too, and tremble (James 2:19). Repent (turn) from your sins and lay hold of life.
Pray now and ask God to save you:
1. Admit that you’re a sinner.
2. Confess that you have been asleep/dead and unable to save yourself.
3. Ask God to give you new life and vitality just as He gave Christ new vitality when He raised Him from the dead.
4. Ask God to take away your sin in exchange for His righteousness.
5. Explain to God that you have decided to turn from your sin and to live the life He has given your for His glory.
