Transcription downloaded from https://archives.bafreechurch.org.uk/sermons/29662/the-romans-road/.

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[0:00] Okay, well, we've already heard the verses of the Roman road, and I thought it might be quite good to just think about those verses and travel along that road.

[0:22] So, really, you guys know the verses already, and so lots of things I'll say, you'll be thinking, well, I know that already, but maybe we could teach everybody else, because there's lots of people here who haven't been to Sunday school, and maybe they don't know the verses, and they don't know the way along the Roman road that you've been learning over these past weeks.

[0:46] So, I thought we might just do that this morning. It's always fun to travel and to go along a road, and it's exciting, wondering what the destination will be.

[0:57] And sometimes it's not just the destination that's exciting, but all the things we can do along the way. And that's a little bit like what we're going to do this morning, because we're going to travel along the Roman road, and we're going to make stops along the way.

[1:10] And the stops, of course, are going to be these verses that you've been learning. But we're going to do something else. What we're going to do is, at every stop and for every verse, we're going to think of one word that kind of sums up that verse, okay?

[1:27] And each of these words is going to begin with the letter P, okay? So, as we go along, sometimes I'll tell you what the word is, and sometimes I might try and get you to work it out from the verse what the word might be.

[1:43] So, it's a bit of a puzzle as well as an adventure, okay? And we'll pick up along the way. I think it's six words. Now, let me give you a wee job for those of you who are very clever, okay?

[1:57] Which is all of you, of course. What I'm going to do is, there's one or two verses I'm not going to use. And if somebody at the end can tell me which ones I didn't use, well, that would be very clever.

[2:08] There's no prize, but I'd be very impressed. I hope I remember at the end to ask. It might probably, the two of you who said the verse that I'm not going to use, you might have a wee advantage because you'll think, he didn't say my verse.

[2:22] So, don't be upset when I don't say your verse because I'm not using all of the verses. So, are we ready? Are we set to go on our journey along the Roman road? Yes? Good. Okay, why don't we pray and ask God to guide us along the road that we're going to travel.

[2:37] Let's just pray a moment. Heavenly Father, we thank you that you are indeed the God who guides us and who directs us in our lives as we walk along the road that you have set out for us.

[2:47] We thank you for the gospel way. We thank you for that highway of holiness that the Bible speaks of, that you set us on, that we might walk in a way that is pleasing to you towards your Son, to know Him and to trust in Him as our own Savior.

[3:04] We thank you for the wonderful truths that we find in the verses in Paul's letter to the Christians in Rome that the children have spoken for us and reminded us of already this morning.

[3:18] And we pray that as we think about these verses now, that you would be the one who would be helping us to understand them and their significance for each of our lives. And we pray in Jesus' name. Amen.

[3:28] Amen. Right. So let's start our journey. I'm not very good at drawing, so you'll have to forgive me. But this is, it says the Roman road, okay? And this is the start line, right?

[3:39] This is the road and this is the start, okay? No, we're not going to have any questions about my drawing because that could be embarrassing, okay? But if anybody wants to give an opinion about my drawing at the end, you can do that.

[3:51] So take a wee note. Right. So that's the start of the journey, okay? Now, the first stop on the journey is, well, I'll tell you what the word that I've used for it is.

[4:06] And then maybe you can tell me what the verse is, okay? The word that I've come up with that really sums up the first verse on the road is problem. Problem. Now, what's the verse that tells us about a big problem?

[4:21] Do you remember? It's the very first verse on the Roman road. What is it? For all sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

[4:37] For all have sinned. So that's the first stop on the road and it's a big problem. We've all sinned. Now, what's sin? Well, sin is disobedience and it's disobeying God.

[4:48] God in the Bible has told us how we should live and He's done that for our good because He loves us and He wants to protect us and He wants us to live happy lives. And so in order for that to happen, He's told us things that we shouldn't do and He's also told us things that we should do.

[5:05] And when we don't do what we should do, that's sin. And when we do do the things we shouldn't do, well, that's sin as well. And that's a big problem. Now, the verse.

[5:18] We've already heard it twice, but see if I get this right. Does the verse say, for really bad people have sinned and fall short of the glory of God?

[5:29] Is that what the verse says? Really bad people have sinned. That's not the verse, is it? No. Or does it say, for some have sinned and fall short of the glory of God? Is that the verse? Is that what it says?

[5:39] For some have sinned. That's a bit closer, but it's not right, is it? No. The verse says, for all have sinned. So that means you and me. It means everybody here today.

[5:50] We've all sinned. And that is a big problem. So that's our first stop on the journey. And we're starting off with a problem. Journeys are sometimes like that.

[6:02] They start off with problems. But anyway, let's carry on on our journey. And the next stop, it doesn't get much better, actually. It seems like a bit of a miserable journey, because the next stop in the journey is this word that begins with P.

[6:18] It's a big word. Do you want to just shout it out? You don't need to put your hand up. Just if you can read it, just shout it out. Punishment. Oh, dear. We start off with a problem, and now we've got punishment.

[6:29] Now, what verse on the Roman road tells us about punishment? Yes, Ryan, which one do you think it is? The wages of sin is death. That's right.

[6:39] Or we might put it like that. The punishment of sin is death. And that's what the Bible tells us. That's what the Bible teaches us. And punishment, though we don't like punishment, punishment is necessary.

[6:51] It's also to protect us. You know, our parents will punish us when we behave badly. We don't like it, but it's necessary. Maybe we'll be sent to our room to think very carefully about what we did, or maybe we won't be allowed to watch a TV program, or maybe we'll get a little smack.

[7:10] Different ways in which our parents might punish us. And though we don't like it, it's right and necessary. It is a good thing, even though it's not a pleasant thing.

[7:21] And that's the next stop on our journey. The wages of sin is death. And now that's a really serious punishment. And when the Bible says that, it's not just talking about physical death, that our bodies will die.

[7:33] That's true. We will all die. But it's talking about spiritual death. When we lose friendship with God, God created us. He created you to be His friend.

[7:45] That's why He created you. And when we sin, we lose that. And that's like dying. Because we don't have that friendship with God that He wants for us.

[7:56] So that's the next stop on the journey. Now, it's been a bit of a miserable journey so far. Maybe we want to turn back and start again. But we're not going to do that. We're going to carry on. We're going to plod on and see what the next stop on the journey is.

[8:09] Now, I'll just tell you the verse. And it's actually the same verse. It's the second part of the verse we just did.

[8:20] So see if you can finish it off for me. The wages of sin is death. But the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

[8:37] Right. So it begins talking about punishment. But then it talks about a gift. Now, for the ones who are thinking very carefully, every word that I'm using that sums up the verses or part of the verse is with the letter P.

[8:53] So can you think of a word that means the same as gift but that starts with the letter P? Yes. What do you think? Yeah. Yeah. Present.

[9:04] Well done. That's right. Present. So that's the next stop on our journey. Now, things are getting a bit cheerier, aren't they? Present. Present. Yes. Now, let's think about presents, okay?

[9:15] Who gives you a present? If somebody really hates you, that's a horrible thing to say about anybody, but if somebody really doesn't like you, do you think they'd give you a present? No, that's silly, isn't it?

[9:25] They're not going to give you a present. But if somebody loves you, do you think they might give you a present? Now, there's other ways of showing that you love somebody, not just giving presents, but that's one way of showing that you love somebody.

[9:37] And so that verse tells us about a present that God wants to give you, that He wants to give me. And that tells us that He loves us, that there's a gift. There's a present that He wants to give us.

[9:51] And the present is eternal life. So just like the punishment is death, well, the present is the opposite. It's saying, yes, we deserve to die because we've all sinned, but God so loves us that He wants to give us a present.

[10:10] He wants to give us this gift or present of eternal life, of knowing Him and of being in friendship with Him. So that's the next stop in our journey, our next word, present.

[10:23] Now, some people, maybe some of you, and it's good to be honest about what we think and what we believe. Some people say, well, you're saying that God loves us and He wants to give us a present, but how can we really know that God loves us?

[10:38] How can we know? Well, one of the verses, I think it's the next verse in the Roman road, gives us what we could call proof. Proof that God loves us.

[10:50] That's a little bit trickier, something to think about. I wonder what verse talks about God showing us, proving to us that He loves us.

[11:01] Does anybody know what verse that one is? Holly, what do you think that one is? That's right, God demonstrates His own love. That's a way of saying God shows us, He proves to us that He loves us.

[11:14] So He doesn't just say, oh, I love you and you better believe it. No, He shows us, He proves us that He loves us. And how does He do that? Well, the verse tells us. It's quite a big verse.

[11:25] I'm going to cheat. I'm going to read that bit. What does it say? And God demonstrates His own love for us in this. While we were still sinners, remember, that's the problem.

[11:36] That's why we deserve punishment. While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. And so God says, if you're not very sure if I love you, well, here's the proof.

[11:47] I've sent my own Son to die on the cross for you so that you could have the gift, the present of eternal life. That's wonderful news. That's amazing that God loves us so much that He would do that for us.

[12:03] Well, the road is getting a bit better, isn't it? It began with a big problem, and that problem meant that there was punishment that needs to be paid. But then we discovered that God loves us.

[12:15] He wants us to give us a present of eternal life. And if we're not very sure, well, does He really love us? Well, there's this wonderful proof that He has given by sending Jesus to die for us.

[12:28] Now, that takes us on to another verse on the Roman road. I think here we're probably skipping one. Somebody maybe will notice that. But we're going to skip to another verse.

[12:39] Now, what am I going to do with this one? I'll tell you what the verse is, and then I'll see if you can work out what the word is that sums it up. The verse that I'm jumping to is this one. It's from Romans 10, verse 13.

[12:51] For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. Now, can anybody work out what that is? God is saying, if you do this, you'll be saved.

[13:04] What is that? Yeah, what do you think that is? It's a promise. Well done. Excellent answer. And that's my word. That's my next word with a P. You see, in the Roman road, you've got the next verse.

[13:15] Well, we did jump one, actually, I think. And it starts with a P. It's a promise. And God gives us this promise that there's something that if we do, then He will save us.

[13:28] Now, let me give you an example of a promise. And then we'll see how God's promise is so much better. I remember when Joseph was small, I used to take him to football when he was in primary school.

[13:39] And sometimes I would say to him, well, Joseph, if you score a goal, I'll give you a pound. I'll give you a pound for every goal you score. Now, the other dads, this isn't really relevant, but I'm going to tell you anyway, the other dads thought I was a bit of a cheapskate, just giving him a pound.

[13:56] But I thought that was quite sufficient, especially when he scored a few. So anyway, so that was a promise. If you score a goal, I'll give you a pound. But what if he didn't score a goal?

[14:07] Would he get a pound? No, no, I was very strict on that one. No goal, no pound. But it was a promise. And he had to do something. Well, this is a promise as well.

[14:18] And there's something that we need to do. But the great thing is, it's something we can all do. If somebody said to me, I hardly ever play football. But if somebody said to me, I'll give you a pound for every goal you score, I'd die of hunger because I wouldn't make any money.

[14:33] Because I'm not very good at scoring goals. But God's promise is great because he asks us to do something that we can do. We have to call on him. We have to ask for help.

[14:43] That's all we need to do. Everybody who calls on his name, everybody who recognizes that there's a problem, that they're a sinner, that they deserve to be punished, what they need to do is call out to God for help.

[14:56] That's all we need to do. And if we do that, then the promise is that we'll be saved, that God will forgive us, and he'll welcome us into his family to be his friends.

[15:08] So that's a wonderful promise that we find on the Roman road. Now, that's taking us to the final stop on our journey. Okay? And I think it's two verses that we've jumped.

[15:21] But the final stop is what you sang. Okay? So I'm going to read that. That was a long, a long one, wasn't it? Two verses in Romans chapter 8.

[15:31] So I'm going to read it, the final stop on our journey, and then we're going to have one word that sums up what these verses say. So you listen to these verses. You know them very well already.

[15:42] But this is what Paul says, talking about what he's discovered, having received the gift that God gives, the present that he gives to those who call on him.

[15:54] And Paul says this, Well, I'll be honest with you.

[16:15] I was struggling a bit to find a word that began with P. I did have one, but I thought it might be a bit of a tricky one. So I came up with this one, which I think sums it up. See if you agree.

[16:26] And the word is peace. Peace with God. Friendship with God. And what Paul is saying is, So many things could happen. So many things that I don't know about. So many things that could be really difficult.

[16:38] But none of these things, none of these things can separate me from the love of God in Christ Jesus. And that gives me a great peace to know that his love is sure and stable and will always be there for me.

[16:55] And that is the wonderful thing that as Christians we enjoy, that peace in the midst of all kinds of things. You know, some of you have been hearing the news in this past week, and lots of people are very worried about the future.

[17:09] But as Christians, though we are interested in these things and we can have opinions about them, at the end of the day we know that God is in control and that nothing can separate us from his love.

[17:20] And so that gives us this wonderful experience and presence of his peace. And that's the end of the Roman road, or the way I've kind of traced it out for you.

[17:32] So, why don't we just go through again, see if you remember the words, okay? We'll just see how well you've been listening, right? So we'll start at the beginning, and let's see.

[17:45] How will we do this? So we go, I know what we'll do. We'll do the verse, and then you tell me what the word was, okay? We'll do it that way. So the first verse that we were thinking about was, all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

[17:56] And that is what? That is a, what is it? Just shout it out. It's a problem. That's right. And then the next verse we were thinking about is the first part of the verse that says that the wages, or the wages of sin is death.

[18:11] And what does that talk about? A punishment. That's right. Okay. Now the next stop on the road is just the second half of that verse, which says, but the gift of God, what is it?

[18:25] Is eternal life. The reason I said, what is it? It wasn't because I wanted you to do it. It's because I'd forgotten for a wee moment. It is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord. And that, in one word, what's that I'm talking about?

[18:36] A present. Good job. Ah, now, let me, I'm going to cheat a wee bit. Right. Now, some people aren't very sure if God really loves us, but God demonstrates His love that while we're still sinners, Christ died for us.

[18:51] And He's given us what? He's given us, just shout it out, proof. Well done. Proof. And then one of the verses tells us what we need to do.

[19:03] We're hearing about what God's done for us, and that's great. There's something we need to do, and we need to call on the name of the Lord to be saved. And that is what? That is a promise that God gives us.

[19:14] And then the final verses are telling us about how nothing can separate us from the love of God, and that gives us a great and a deep what?

[19:25] Peace. Well done. Excellent. Now, I did say at the beginning, so I should try and be true to my word. Does anybody want to tell me the two verses I didn't use? That's quite a tricky question, really.

[19:40] Right, yeah. Which ones didn't I use? But that is it. That's the one.

[19:52] That's the one. And there was another one as well. Another one with them. I don't know who said that one. About, I think there's one that's got the word condemnation in it.

[20:04] Yeah? There's no condemnation. That's good. It's good that the teacher also remembers. But she is reading it from a bit of paper.

[20:15] But anyway. But nonetheless. Yes, these are the two ones we didn't use. So, thank you for listening so well. What we're going to do now is we're going to pray. Okay? We're going to pray that God would help us to just remember all of these things.

[20:28] All of these things we've learned on this journey along the Roman road. So, let's pray. Heavenly Father, we do thank you that you are a God who loves us. You are a God who has demonstrated your great love for us in the giving of your Son, Jesus, to die for us.

[20:44] That while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. We thank you for the gift of eternal life that you willingly give to all who call on your name.

[20:57] And we pray that we would know what it is day by day to call to you for help. As we recognize that we are sinners, that we do those things that we ought not to do, that we don't do those things that we should do.

[21:11] And as we recognize that to be so, that we would call to you, that you would be the God who would forgive us and give us this wonderful gift of eternal life. That we would know and experience your love and your friendship and discover that nothing can separate us from that love that we know and experience in your Son, Jesus Christ.

[21:33]  And all of these things we pray in his name. Amen.