This week’s memory verse is the first verse in five verses that are called the Roman Road or The Plan of Salvation in the book of Romans:
Romans 3:23 (NASB) for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
The last four blog verses (Genesis 1:1; John 1:1, 14, and 3:16) have given us the bare bones of biblical truth. The next five will provide a comprehensive outline for God’s plan of salvation.
The Bible is a big book—sixty-six books and more than thirty-one thousand verses—so the Lord placed a summary of it in the Scriptures, an abridgement, a prospectus. It’s called the book of Romans, and it’s a synopsis of the message of the entire Bible. Within Romans is a series of verses that give us an outline of God’s entire plan of salvation for humanity. These verses are often called the Roman Road—Romans 3:23; 6:23; 5:8; and 10:9-10, and 13.
I don’t know who first put these verses together and called them the Roman Road, but I know that I first became acquainted with them as a young boy in Tennessee. The first stop on this road is Romans 3:23. We have all sinned and fallen short of the perfect standards and holy expectations of the God of all glory. We are separated from Him by our sins. Before the good news of salvation, we must acknowledge the bad news of sin.
All humans are sinners. The word “sinned” is in the Greek aorist tense; that is, it is a once-for-all happening. It looks back to the historical entrance of sin into the world. This means that all…
- inherited the nature of their sinful fathers and mothers.
- have sinned and are sinners.
- cannot keep from sinning and will sin.
All “come short of God’s glory.” The tense is present: all are coming short, that is, continually coming short of God’s glory. We are in a state or condition of being short of God’s glory.
Only three people in the history of the world have been perfect and sinless, and the first two didn’t stay that way—Adam and Eve. That leaves only Jesus Himself. No one else can ever gain access into God’s presence or eternal life based on one’s own perfections or righteous efforts. We have all sinned and have fallen short of the requirements of God’s glory. We can never be reconciled to God by trying to live a good life, for we are inherently, internally sinful; and nothing sinful can exist in the intense holiness of God. Only when we realize this can we fully appreciate what Christ has done for us.
Memory Tip
Write the references of the Roman Road in the front of your Bible, repeat the verses frequently, practice them on a buddy, and then ask God to bring someone across your path with whom you can share this simple, effective route to salvation in Christ:
The Roman Road
Romans 3:23 • Romans 6:23 • Romans 5:8 • Romans 10:9-10, 13