Many of us are familiar with the Romans Road style of evangelism, as displayed here.
With supporting Bible verses, this evangelistic technique attempts to show a way to receive the gospel of Christ. There’s nothing incorrect about it, and I know it’s often been blessed by God, resulting in the salvation of thousands.
But notice the second step. After we’re convinced we’re sinners deserving death, the corresponding solution according to the usual presentation of the Romans Road is to accept eternal life as a gift.
Now, in one sense this is a true. Romans 6:23 says “the free gift of God is eternal life.” But in another sense we must tread carefully here, or else we could miss the emphasis of the verse, only use Jesus, and misunderstand the gospel itself.
Why We Must Tread Carefully
The reason to tread carefully is that we may lead people in the wrong direction if we tell them that the main gift of God is eternal life. We may misdirect them if we make the gospel mainly about receiving eternal life.
Why? Because everyone wants to live forever. No one wants to be afraid about what happens to them after they die. And so, an offer to live forever may only appeal to their natural desire to never die or to have peace in death.
An invitation to eternal life alone won’t change someone’s heart. It especially won’t show them the unique glory of Christ.
“In Christ Jesus Our Lord”
If we make eternal life the goal, Christ may become just a means to the goal of eternal life. People may think the main point of the Romans Road is that we’re sinners who deserve death, but we can have the sin dealt with and have eternal life. And then—oh so subtly—people might care less about how this salvation happens or who accomplishes it.
Of course, we’ll answer that all this comes through Jesus. We’ll try to emphasize him. But by so emphasizing eternal life, we may hurt our cause: because of how we’ve presented salvation, Jesus may not be seen as central, he may not be sought as the climax of the glory of the gospel (2 Corinthians 4:4-6)—at this point along the Road, he may merely be seen as a means.
So, we must make clear that the appeal of the gospel is Christ, not living forever. Christ first, the living forever is a result. Christ first—who he is and what he’s done in the gospel—and then the benefits we receive in the gospel. He is the goal, not a means. Knowing him is the goodness of the gospel (John 6:35).
We can even see this is true even within the verse about the free gift of eternal life. The infamous Romans 6:23 climaxes not with eternal life, but with Christ: “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23). “In Christ Jesus our Lord” is not a throwaway phrase. The Christian life is summed up as being in Christ. The goal of salvation is knowing Christ, not merely having eternal life.
A Blockade We’re Too Familiar With
So, as we evangelize—whether in a one on one conversation, in a Bible study, from the pulpit, or on social media—it’s good for us to recognize that our gospel will hit a spiritual blockade if we focus mainly on eternal life. If we do, many people will “receive” the offered eternal life (remember, everyone wants to live forever!), but we’ve blocked them from true conversion, sending them driving down a different path.
Our evangelistic conversation or preaching may seem successful—as did many of the altar calls in the past century—but in reality people won’t have changed hearts that love Christ if they only want to live forever, not Christ. Again, as we’ve said, everyone wants to live forever, and so a free opportunity to do so is no small incentive. But over time, we’ll see the lack of fruit. For they were always missing the climax of the gospel that, when seen, changes the heart: Christ himself.
And let’s be honest: With altar calls, conversion statistics, and appeals to forgiveness and eternal life in which Christ is only tertiary, can’t we all admit this has sadly happened far too frequently in modern evangelicalism? Are we surprised that so many “converts” fall away? It’s not that they were ever genuinely saved (1 John 2:19); it’s that they never truly accepted Christ—they only wanted his benefits. They received the gospel with a certain excitement (“with joy,” Luke 8:13, the Parable of the Sower is frighteningly accurate here), but not an excitement for Christ Jesus, merely for eternal life.
With this foundation in place, the next post will discuss two assumptions we should therefore carry with us as we navigate sharing the gospel.
