Walking Barefoot on the Romans Road

All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

THAT DOESN'T SOUND LIKE VERY GOOD NEWS, DOES IT? But, really, it is. You see, the Greek word for “sin” literally means to “miss the mark.” Its like an arrow that has been aimed at the bulls-eye, but has somehow been deflected so that if falls short of the target.

What's the good news in that? Well, it means that God created you for something very wonderful — His glory! He desires for you to share in the all greatness of His power and the goodness of His love. When you look at all the anger, hate, brokenness, destruction and death that is all around us—that doesn't come from God, and it is not why He made us. As the old Gospel song says, "Ain't that good news!"

Of course, the only problem is that, although God aimed us at the target of something very wonderful, every one of us has "missed the mark." But let's continue the journey, because the good news gets better.

The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

THAT SOUNDS EVEN WORSE, DOESN'T IT? The wages of sin is death! I mean, you've probably heard it before, perhaps bellowed by some grumpy old preacher waving a Bible behind an oversized pulpit. Or maybe you read it, crudely painted on a sign next to the highway, or on the side of an old barn beside some dusty rural road.

But there's good news even in that. It means that God has a plan to do something about all the depravity and ugliness — all the sin that is in the world. He's getting rid of it, and it won't be around any more to interfere with all that is good.

And there is a second half to this verse: "But the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." There are wages and there are gifts. A wage is something you earn. It is your pay, something you deserve. You have to do something to receive it. The Bible says the wages of sin is death. Every one of us has sinned, so every one of us is deserving of death.

A gift, on the other hand, is not something that you earn, but is something you receive freely. You don't work for a gift, you simply accept it. It is not something you pay for, nor is it something that is paid to you. It comes from the heart of the giver, no strings attached.

You can go the wage route if you wish, but that certainly would be a shame because God has such a wonderful gift for you: eternal life. That is not just length of life (forever, in fact), it is also a quality of life, enjoying all the good things of God. This life comes through Jesus Christ. It is the "abundant life" Jesus promised in John 10.10.

Ain't that good news!

But why would God do that for us? Let's go a little further down the Romans road and find out.

WHY DOES GOD OFFER YOU THIS GIFT OF ETERNAL LIFE? Because God loves you. In fact, God is love, and it is the nature of love to give. The Bible says that "God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life" (John 3.16).

The value of a thing is said to be judged by how much someone is willing to give for it. If that is so, then you and I must be very valuable to God, because look at what He was willing to give for us — His only Son!

Jesus carried our sins to the Cross, where He accepted the wages that rightfully belonged to us. There is no greater love than that in all the world. In fact, His love for us is so deep that He gave Himself for us even while we were trapped in sin, unable to free ourselves.

That is good news. So now we know why He offers this gift, but how do we receive it? We have one more stop to make.

That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

THE BIBLE SAYS THAT JESUS DIED FOR OUR SINS, that He was buried, and that He rose again from the dead on the third day (1 Corinthians 15.3, 4). The only thing that is left for us to do is to believe — truly believe it in our hearts.

Of course, to truly believe requires a work of the Holy Spirit in our hearts. But since you've read this far, I suspect that perhaps He might be doing that work in you, bringing you to the point of faith. Paul said, "Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God" (Romans 10.17), and what I have been presenting to you comes from the Word of God.

So if you sense faith stirring in your heart, and you find yourself ready to believe, or even just desiring to believe, that Jesus died on the Cross for you and that God raised Him from the dead, then confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord.

You see, confession is simply a way of exercising faith. It is agreeing with God, taking Him at His word — that is faith, from the bottom of your heart to the tip of your tongue. When you do that, the Bible says that you will be saved. You will receive the gift of God — eternal life through Jesus Christ. God also promises that He will give you the Holy Spirit, God Himself living inside you.

If you would like to exercise faith and receive this gift right now, here is a simple prayer you can use as a guide:

Dear God,
I confess that I am a sinner and have come short of Your glory. But I believe that You love me and that Jesus has died on the Cross for my sins. I confess that Jesus is Lord and believe in my heart that You have raised Him from the dead. I receive Your wonderful gift of salvation—eternal life through Jesus Christ my Lord, and I ask You to fill me with the Holy Spirit, as You have promised.

If you just prayed that prayer, and meant it in your heart, you have just entered into a new and exciting relationship with God. All His blessings and promises are for you now.

To help you grow in your relationship with God, and experience His presence and power in your life, we invite to you to study our faith building articles. You can also sign up to receive our monthly newsletter and faith-building articles here.

Also, if you have just made this decision to receive the Lord Jesus Christ, we would like to rejoice with you. We invite you to email us and tell us about it at testimony@walkingbarefoot.com.