The Pothole to the Pit of Hell on the Romans Road

David Norczyk
5 min readNov 27, 2020

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Most Evangelicals are familiar with short-cut versions of the Gospel. They like to say that 1 Corinthians 15:3–4 is the Gospel. Is it enough information to really be the Gospel in its entirety, albeit the short form? The Apostle Paul certainly alludes to the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ being his Gospel message, but is he merely alluding to the centerpiece and calling it the name of the whole?

In like manner, the Romans Road is a familiar shortcut in the toolbox of evangelism. We certainly have no objection to the five Bible verses employed in this microwaved version of the Gospel, but Bible interpretation is often the bugaboo, the fly in the ointment. If you misinterpret one or more of the verses in Romans 3:23; 6:23; 5:8; 10:9–10, 13, you may have a very large pothole in your understanding.

Let us hit the road and see what we can on the way. First, all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Rom 3:23). This is the most easily agreed upon text on our journey. It is easy to see that everyone practices sin, but we must not forget the inherited sin from the first man, our first father, Adam (Rom 5:12–21). We also have a sin nature that serves the natural man, as his directing influence in life.

Sin reigns in the life of the sons of Adam (Rom 6:6), in the manner of a taskmaster and slave. The important part to remember is that there is no ability in our dead souls or weak flesh to escape the dominion of Satan and his domain of darkness. Man needs a Savior…from what?

Second, the wages of sin is death (Rom 6:23). Death of the soul and then of the body is the result of sin. All die because all sin, and again, it all begins with Adam (Rom 5:12–21).

We are all conceived in sin, in our mother’s womb (Ps 51:5), thus, our souls are dead in the womb. They must be made alive to God (Eph 2:5; Col 2:13). Before that may or may not happen, the dead soul is conjoined to a living body, prone to sinning. Eventually, the body joins the soul in death. It is appointed once for a man to die, and then comes the judgment (Heb 9:27).

When God judges man, it is done with perfect justice. Here is why most people fear death. They know, regardless of whether they confess it or not, they are guilty sinners. They fear they may be headed for something unpleasant if they die. So, they are ever in preservation mode. They eat healthy, exercise, and keep everything else in moderation. Then, they die.

Death is an inevitable reality for sinners, and yes, judgment should be expected. The question is whether it will be eternal death for each sinner, or whether he or she was appointed by God for eternal life (Acts 13:48)? This is the turning point in the Romans Road. Sinners sin. Sinners die. Sinners are judged by God. Eternal death is the just judgment upon sinners. Who can deliver us from the wrath of God to come (Mt 3:7; Lk 3:7)?

Third, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us (Rom 5:8). This is the precious blood atonement, whereby, elect sinners are forgiven, by way of covenant redemption (Mt 26:28; 1 Pet 1:19). Whereas the sins of God’s chosen people were imputed to Christ on the Cross, so Christ’s righteousness is imputed to His own, for whom He died.

My dear reader, did you rejoice in the last paragraph or did you bristle? Read it again. If that is not how Romans 5:8 was explained to you, then, there is some concern. Dead souls are made alive to God, only by the baptism of the Holy Spirit, who causes one to be born again of God (Jn 3:1–8; 1 Pet 1:3).

How does one receive the indescribable gift of Jesus Christ (2 Cor 9:15)? While he or she is dead in sin, God’s gift of the Spirit brings himself and the seed of the Word of God, to richly dwell in the hearts and minds of God’s elect, redeemed people. He who has the Son has the life (Jn 3:36; 1 Jn 5:12).

It is Jesus who gives eternal life (Jn 10:28; 17:2), to those whom the Father has given to Him (Jn 6:37; 17:2, 6, 24). Jesus along with God the Father, give the Holy Spirit, as a gift, to whoever was chosen by God the Father and predestined to adoption as a son (Eph 1:4–5).

Fourth, who is it that confesses with his mouth and believes in his heart, but the one who has already received the Word of faith, from the Spirit-filled preacher (Rom 10:9–10). If you think your decision to believe is the catalyst of salvation, then you are sorely mistaken. You have believed a lie. Unbelievers do not become believers because they are in the business of discerning the deep things of God (Rom 3:10–12; 1 Cor 2:14). Foolishness prevails for those who have chosen Jesus to be their Savior, but whom God has not chosen to be saved.

Finally, whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved (Joel 2:32; Rom 10:13). People who call upon God in Jesus’ name, in the Spirit, are called, “Christians.” They are not saved because they prayed a prayer; rather, calling upon God in Jesus’ name is the result of the indwelling Spirit, occupying their now living souls.

Stated another way, one’s prayer is not the catalyst for his being saved; but it is the manifestation of eternal salvation already come upon him. Having been given the Holy Spirit, hence, eternal life, the saved soul delights in praying to God in the Spirit of Christ, a wonderful indication of his pre-existing status of being saved.

The pothole to the pit of hell, on the Romans Road, is one thinking that his calling upon the name of the Lord (praying), is his way of deciding to accept the gift of eternal life, that is, Jesus Christ and the salvation he offers as one possibility for sinners. That view is a twisted misrepresentation of Romans 10:9–10, 13. My dear reader, beware of shortcuts for understanding the Gospel. You must consult the whole counsel of God, in the Bible.

Salvation is not offered to sinners to decide, as judges, whether Jesus is worthy or not. Salvation is life from the dead (Eph 2:5; Col 2:13). It begins with God’s regeneration of the soul, as a precursor to God’s future, bodily resurrection of His saints to life, on the last day (Jn 5:28–29). Those who were in Christ from the foundation of the world…lost in the world…and found by Jesus, who came to seek and to save them, were given to Him by the Father. This is His sure salvation, and we rejoice that He took no shortcuts on the narrow way.

David Norczyk

Coeur d’Alene, Idaho

November 27, 2020

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David Norczyk
David Norczyk

Written by David Norczyk

Some random theologian out West somewhere, Christian writer, preacher

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