The Roman's Road "Plan of Salvation"

The six BASIC points and scriptures used are these: 

"As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:..." (Romans 3:10) 

"For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;..." (Romans 3:23) 

"For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." (Romans 6:23)  

"But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8) 

"That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." (Romans 10:9-10) 

"For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." (Romans 10:13)

It is important to note however, that there are crucial elements left out from the Book of Romans that present quite a different story than the "confess it and speak it" method outlined by this 'Roman's Plan'.

Scriptures Omitted by the Roman's Road Plan

When reading through the book of Romans, we also find such scripture as: 

"To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life: But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath, Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile;" (Romans 2:7-9) 

"For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live." (Romans 8:13) 

"Thou wilt say then, The branches were broken off, that I might be graffed in. Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded, but fear: For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee. Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off. And they also, if they abide not still in unbelief, shall be graffed in: for God is able to graff them in again."  (Romans 11:19-23) 

Notice the "IF" clauses. Do you find it odd  how the Romans Road Plan doesn't mention that, nor does it mention the "cutting off" of anyone under any circumstances. 

Righteousness that is by faith is not mentioned at all in the Romans Road method, even though the book of Romans stresses this requirement above all other books of the Bible!    

Examine these other passages from the Book of Romans:

"Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved. For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth." (Romans 10:1-4)  

"But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:" (Romans 3:21-24)  

"Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them." (Romans 1:32) 

That scripture alone (Romans 1:32) reaffirms the fact that you MUST turn from Sin and MUST NOT EVEN allow it in any form or fashion. Read that last bit again..."have pleasure in them that do them".  God is against those who even allow others to sin! 

This same line of thinking and instruction goes with several other scriptures throughout the Bible: 

"And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them." (Ephesians 5:11)

"Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world." (1 John 2:15-16)  

 "And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you..." (2 Corinthians 6:16-17)   

The Romans Road says nothing of separating yourself from the world, yet even briefly turning to the Book of Romans, it is clear  from the pages of Scripture that we must do so.

The Roman's Road Lacks Critical Instruction Concerning Sin

Examine the following Romans passages:

Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof." (Romans 6:12)  Doesn't this scripture command you to do something? Sure it does ... It says 'DON'T YOU LET SIN REIGN IN YOUR MORTAL BODY'.  The scriptures is telling you to REFRAIN from sin. Why?   Because once you are truly saved, you have the ability  to do just that! 

"Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?" (Romans 6:16) 

"And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God." (Romans 12:2) 

"But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof." (Romans 13:14) 

These additional Romans scriptures would have presented a clearer picture of the Gospel wouldn't they? Doesn't even the Book of Romans itself say that you CANNOT CONTINUE IN SIN? Of course it does (Romans 6:1-2, Romans 6:15)!

Tragically, you'll never find THAT concept taught or even mentioned in the Romans Road plan as it is presented to multitudes of people today. 

The Main Problems with Today's "Roman's Road Salvation"

1.  There is too little emphasis upon the conviction and drawing of the Holy Ghost. Whether you realize it or not, YOU don't choose the day nor the time you get saved, GOD DOES. 

Jesus said in John 6:44 "No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day."  

2. There is absolutely no mention of repentance at all, yet we are SURE that repentance is a part of salvation and we know that without repentance, THERE IS NO SALVATION.  "I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish." (Luke 13:3) 

3. There is no explicit mention of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ in this 'Romans Road' yet according to the complete written Word of God, In every single instance of the preaching of the Gospel, the resurrection is mentioned! Look it up for yourself. The Resurrection is recorded in every instance of the preaching of the Gospel in the Book of Acts! 

4. There is a tendency to teach that prayer is a condition for salvation. The teaching of the Romans Road is that only a sinner's "prayer" is necessary. (Usually, this is some blanket form generic impersonal prayer.) Prayer is only a beginning, a starting place. 

5. There is a great likelihood of producing spurious, spur-of-the-moment decisions rather than lasting, genuine conversions since there is no real understanding of what is happening, no repentance of the heart and no desire to change.  

6. There is a tendency to rush people through this plan without giving them a thorough presentation of the true, saving gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.  

To hear some of the 'mega ministries' today, they're like the McDonald's signs you see --- BILLIONS served.  Of course they can only claim this by counting the number of people they've been able to coax into reading some pre-formulated sinner's prayer.

The Problems with a "Sinner's Prayer"

The Bible itself says man believes unto righteousness (Romans 10:10); not that man "says a prayer unto righteousness".

 It is quite possible to pray the sinner’s prayer while still trusting in other things and/or other gods besides or in addition to the Lord Jesus Christ since the real gospel is not being presented.  

What comes out of the heart flows through the mouth, not the other way around!  With today's modern "sinner's" prayers, it is commonly taught that whatever the mouth speaks, the heart is forced to believe it.  That teaching and belief is completely and totally unscriptural and contradictory to the Bible!

What comes out of the mouth does not flow into the heart!  

Romans 10:13 refers back to Romans 10:12 and to Joel 2:32 and deals with Christians "calling upon the name of the Lord" for deliverance, not necessarily for salvation.  

"Saved" in those passages deal with DELIVERANCE FROM UNBELIEF, not with an obedience to the SALVATION PLAN FROM THE LORD. 

Praying a generic prayer does not lead to salvation. Praying some generic sinner's prayer is in fact, the equivalent of "Works" for salvation.   Salvation by works is the very thing that many of the churches who use the "Romans Road" teach against!

We are not saved by works of any kind!  Ever!  Repentance and believing on the Lord Jesus Christ with all your heart leads to salvation and THAT is by grace.  

"The sinner’s prayer" concept is not consistent with Acts 16:30-35 or other instances of Salvation in the New Testament.    

No Real Gospel Preached = No Real Converts!

Without the preaching of the gospel to cause conviction in the heart of a sinner, the end result is sinners who have been deceived into thinking they are now saved yet are, in actuality, further from being saved than when they began. 

THE WORD OF GOD MUST BE THE FINAL AUTHORITY and MUST BE FOLLOWED! 

If you are one of those who at some point repeated one of those little "sinner's prayers" and were duped into thinking that because of the repetition of a generic prayer, you are now saved, I plead with you:   if you're truly sincere:   get down on your knees and pour your whole heart out to God. Seek a REAL, GENUINE CLEANSING of your soul. You need to be CLEAN in your Spirit, not whitewashed in your mind. 

I urge you, while there is still breath in you. Find a REAL Genuine Conversion Experience with the Lord Jesus Christ. 

 "For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death."
2 Corinthians 7:10