The Roman Road 5 February 2006
Part 1 in a series on ?¨Tools for Sharing Christ?Æ Pastor Mark Nieting

How many of you remember Burma Shave signs? From 1925 to 1963, groups of 5 or 6 fairly small roadsigns advertising this particular brand of brushless shaving cream were found in 7,000 different spots around our country. Designed to be read in sequence as you drove by at 40 or 50 miles per hour, they ?¨worked!?Æ Here are a two of my favorites:
The whale put Jonah down the hatch
But coughed him up because he scratched. Burma Shave

And: Pity all the mighty Caesars They pulled their whiskers Out with tweezers. Burma Shave

Unfortunately, interstate highways and higher speeds put them out to pasture, but the idea can work for us Christians learning to share our faith with other people. Most of us think that faith sharing has to be tremendously complicated, with lots of Bible passages and hard sell messages. That??s not always the case. Sometimes, simple is best. Simple we can remember. Simple we can share.

I was watching the Comedy Channel on cable late one night this week. One of the hosts was lampooning politicians?ñone of them was his guest?ñ. because they talk so much and say so little. He asked for a Bible and when it was produced, he turned immediately to John 3: 16. (I was surprised?ñ.he knew right where it was!) He asked the politician to read it?ñ.OUT LOUD. When he was done, he said, ?¨Jesus Christ put the core meaning of the entire Christian faith into one verse of the Bible. If Jesus can do that, why can??t politicians??Æ

Our purpose here isn??t to poke fun at politicians. Our purpose is to learn how we can share the message of Jesus Christ with the world in a simple and straightforward, easy-to-grasp manner, and to do that today, we are going to use a short sequence of Bible verses, all from Romans, which is why we call this method, ?¨The Roman Road.?Æ 

Take our your bulletin insert?ñ.and grab a pen or pencil. And while you are doing that, let??s discuss Roman Roads for a minute. One of the main reasons that God chose the time He did for the birth of Christ had to do with Roman roads. The Romans built 53,000 miles of roads to maintain and defend their empire. Some of them still exist today. They were 8 feet wide in straight places and 16 feet on curves. From 20 BC on, mile-markers were set up along all Roman Roads, all beginning at ground zero, a large pillar near the temple of Saturn in Rome. 


The ?¨ground zero?Æ for our study today is the bottom passage on the study page. Let??s read it together. ?¨For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.?Æ Where is this passage found? JOHN 3: 16. 

Write that reference in the lowest ?¨signbox,?Æ the closest one to you on the road. I??m sure this is a verse that you already know by heart?ñ.but if you don??t, MEMORIZE IT!

Most people believe IN God, but most people also sense a separation FROM God. We know God must be good and holy. But we also have to know that we haven??t measured up to God??s desire for us to be holy and perfect. For God to be God?ñ..and for love to really mean something, God gives each of us a choice. We can choose to love ourselves and follow our own selfish and sinful pursuits, which is sin. In our sin, we cannot know God and cannot know His love for us. Therefore we are lost and separated from God?ñand it might be forever!

The Bible verse that backs this up is the next one ?¨up?Æ on the road. Read it with me: ?¨All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.?Æ The text to write in this box is Romans 3: 23. Do that now. 

Notice the first word. It??s easy to share because the playing field is level. ALL have sinned. Most folks, even if they think they are pretty good people, KNOW that they aren??t perfect?ñ.and in this verse, Paul simply reminds us of this fact. Turn to the person next to you and say these words, ?¨I am a sinner and so are you.?Æ Come on, you can do it. (Although I sense some of you are ENJOYING calling the person next to you a sinner! We have to do this gently!) 

Let??s move along the road. The next sign?ñthe next verse?ñ reads like this (let??s read it together) ?¨For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.?Æ The text to write in this box (the third one up) is Romans 6: 23. Do that now.

Wages are payment?ñit??s what we have coming to us because of the work we have done. The wages, the just payment for our sin, is death?ñeternal death. This is because God IS just and because God IS perfect and because a holy God cannot allow sin and evil into His perfect heaven. If we remain in our sin, and few people can argue that they aren??t sinners in SOME way, we have no life with God. We may be physically alive?ñ.for now?ñbut we are spiritually dead, and if we continue in that condition, we will be separated from God for all eternity.

But God is also LOVING. He created us and grieves over our sinful separation from Him. To make this right again, God is willing to give us something we HAVEN??T earned, a free gift with no strings attached. He has sent Jesus Christ, His Son, into the world?ñ.and Jesus paid the price of our sin.

Turn to the person next to you, the one you so gleefully called a sinner before and read them this verse. (Do this now). Now remind them?ñ.say this any way you want to?ñthat God sent Jesus to give them the gift of life. (Do this now)

Let??s pull off on a rest stop along the Roman Road and get a perspective on how we share Jesus Christ. The most important thing we CAN do is to share Jesus with people who don??t know him. It??s allowing the Holy Spirit to use US as a tool to save another soul. If each Christian would reach only ONE other person for Jesus this year, within a few years there would be NO unbelievers! Imagine!

Here??s a few hints on how to USE tools like the Roman Road. First, don??t preach it, talk it. Most people turn ?¨off?Æ if they feel we Christians are finger-pointing. Second, be realistic. Don??t infer that faith in Jesus makes life a bed of roses. Is your life always that? Be we CAN say that Jesus helps us through the tough times! Avoid saying negative things?ñ.whether it??s the world, other churches, other denominations. This doesn??t help at all. Use common ground with the person you are talking to. If they are lonely, talk about how you??ve been lonely. If they are insecure, share your insecurities and how Jesus has helped you. Keep what you say short and to the point?ñ..the Roman Road is only 5 steps! And do it in a loving and careful way. After all, God loves them! OK? 

Now let??s pull back on the road and look at the next verse, the 4th one up. Read it with me: ?¨But God demonstrated His love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.?Æ The reference for this box is Romans 5: 8. Write it in now. 

Through Jesus?ñand now the person you are sharing with has heard about Jesus in two verses?ñ.God has given us a way to be saved. Jesus went to the cross for us and paid the price for our sins. He did it out of love. He did it because it had to be done. God is loving, but God is also JUST. The price of sin had to be paid, and Jesus paid it. Turn to the person next to you and tell them right to their face?ñ..remember, look them in the eye when you say this, ?¨Jesus died on the cross for you!?Æ OK? Let??s practice that now. Do it!

Very good?ñit may take a lot of courage, because the devil doesn??t like people to hear this, but remember that you are empowered and blessed by the Holy Spirit when you share this good news with someone! 

Now we??re at the last sign?ñ.and almost at the end of the Roman Road. Let??s read that top verse together: ?¨If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved!?Æ This reference is Romans 10: 9-10?ñwrite it in the last (the top) box. Being saved isn??t about religious rituals, although God can certainly use them. Being saved is about what God wants to do for each and every person, having them know and trust Jesus Christ as their Savior. A person receives God??s free gift of love and life by placing their faith in Jesus Christ. To believe means to take God at His word?ñ.which you and I already do!

Turn ?¨that sinner?Æ next to you. Ask them if they understand that Jesus died for them and their sins on the cross. (Do it now) Ask them to tell you that they believe what Jesus did and if they would like to receive Jesus as their Savior. (Let??s practice that). 

In a ?¨real?Æ setting this might not happen right away?ñ.and that??s ok. God lets some of us ?¨plant?Æ and some of us ?¨water?Æ and some of us ?¨harvest,?Æ and we don??t know which we will be?ñ.we simply want to be agents of God??s love in the world to those around us, one person at a time.

Jesus said to His disciples that He would teach them to be ?¨fishers of men.?Æ That??s what we are learning?ñand practicing today. Ask God to give you ONE time this week to share Jesus with ONE person?ñand walk the Roman Road with them. Let??s list the verses one more time: John 3: 16, Romans 3: 23, Romans 6: 23, Romans 5: 8 and Romans 10: 9-10. Take the sheet home, learn it, and then use it! 


THE ROMAN ROAD?ñ.Tools for Sharing Christ, part 1

Start at the Bottom and work up to the top... Imagine you are driving down the road the seeing these verses coming at you like Burma Shave Signs!

Romans 10: 9-10 ?¨If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.?Æ


Romans 5: 8 ?¨But God demonstrated His love toward us, in that while we were
still sinners, Christ died for us.?Æ


Romans 6: 23 ?¨For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.?Æ


Romans 3: 23 ?¨All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.?Æ


John 3: 16 ?¨For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.?Æ

START HERE?ñ.and go ?¨up the road!?Æ