“The Roman Road to Salvation” is a popular way of explaining the steps necessary to receive salvation. Paul’s epistle to the church in Rome is an in depth treatment of the subject of God’s scheme of redemption. An honest study of the text will reveal God’s will for man, and by submitting to His will, men are saved. However, “The Roman Road to Salvation” has been abused by those in the denominations. Instead of taking the epistle as a whole, verses are taken out of context, and others are left completely out of the equation. This is an effort to justify the “Faith Only” doctrine espoused by denominational creeds.

The apostle Paul wrote with his inspired pen that, “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (3:23). This should be of utmost concern for men. “For the wages of sin is death” (6:23). Such a truth elicited these words from Paul as he spoke of himself as a Jew under the Old Law without Christ – “O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? I thank God – through Jesus Christ our Lord” (7:24)! Without Christ all are without hope, “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (5:8). This is cause to rejoice. However, what must we do to receive “the gift of God [which] is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (6:23)? Paul also wrote, “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” (10:9). “For ‘whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved’” (10:13). It is at this point the denominations exit “The Roman Road to Salvation.” However, in order to receive salvation, we must travel the entire road.

A consideration of the bookends of the epistle to the Romans will show that a mere belief and verbal confession of the Christ will not suffice. In his introductory remarks, Paul stated the reason for his apostleship. “Through Him we have received grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith among all nations for His name” (1:5). Paul was commissioned to preach, not simply to provoke men to belief, but to draw out such faith that led to obedience to the gospel he preached – “obedience to the faith,” or “obedience of faith” (NASB). It is with this concept Paul began, and ended the epistle – “Now to Him who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery kept secret since the world began but now made manifest, and by the prophetic Scriptures made known to all nations, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, for obedience to the faith – to God, alone wise, be glory through Jesus Christ forever. Amen” (16:25-27). Certainly, we must believe, but our belief must be to such a degree that we obey the command of God. What does He command us to do to be saved?

Along with the belief and confession of Jesus’ resurrection (10:9), we must understand “that the goodness of God leads you to repentance” (2:4). “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not” (6:1-2)! We must repent of our sins in order to be forgiven of them. When we do not repent, but “present [our] members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin” (6:13), we become slaves of “sin leading to death” (6:16). “But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered” (6:17). To be freed from the shackles of sin, one must obey the teaching of Christ. The great commission given by Jesus requires belief and baptism to receive remission of sins (cf. Mark 16:16; Matthew 28:18-20). “Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised form the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life” (6:4). One must be baptized in order to enjoy the “newness of life” that is a life free from sin, and alive to righteousness. This is what it means to call on the name of the Lord (cf. 10:13; Acts 2:21, 38; 22:16). Upon receiving such forgiveness due to the riches of God’s mercy in His scheme of redemption, one must continue to live a life of sacrificial obedience to God – “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service” (12:1).

“The Roman Road to Salvation” in its entirety will save a man from eternal death. However, one cannot expect to get to heaven by leaving out any facets of this gospel plan. One needs only to look to the bookends of Paul’s epistle to the Romans to see that God requires more than mere belief to be saved.