From the sermon preached on August 30, 2026
The Romans Road to salvation is a simple path through five verses in the book of Romans that walks a person from their need for God to the confident assurance of new life in Jesus. Pastor Rich Romero introduced this road in the opening message of a new fourteen week series through the book of Romans, tracing how the apostle Paul’s confidence became the pattern for every believer who wants to live unashamed of the gospel. It begins with our need, moves through the consequence of sin, and ends at the promise that whoever calls on Jesus will be saved.
Paul wrote this letter from the city of Corinth near the end of his third missionary journey, penning what theologians and pastors alike have called the most complete presentation of the gospel in all of Scripture. Martin Luther called Romans his gateway into heaven. Augustine’s own life changed the moment he picked up a scroll in his friend’s backyard and read its words.
This post unpacks the three convictions Pastor Rich preached from Romans chapter 1: that the gospel is God’s truth, that gospel power transforms everything it touches, and that it leads every believer to stand unashamed. Whether you grew up reciting these verses or you are hearing them for the first time, the Romans Road was built with you in mind.
Why Is the Gospel Called God's Truth?
Paul opens Romans by identifying himself as a servant set apart for the gospel of God, and that phrase carries weight (Romans 1:1-2). He does not call it his own idea, his church’s teaching, or a philosophy he developed over twenty years of ministry. He calls it gospel truth that belongs to God alone, promised beforehand through the prophets in the Holy Scripture.
That distinction matters for how we approach the Bible every day. It is easy to read Scripture like a consumer, flipping until we land on something we already agree with and skipping past whatever feels hard to hear. Pastor Rich called this reading our own opinions into the text, and said gospel truth does not bend to our preferences; it shapes them instead.
When you approach the Bible looking for what God says rather than confirming what you already think, Scripture starts to feel less like a mirror and more like a window. The gospel truth Paul describes was never meant to be a private opinion. It was meant to be received, examined, and lived out in community with other believers.
A small, honest step for today: before you open your Bible this week, ask God one honest question first, and let Him answer before you decide what the passage means.
How Does Gospel Power Actually Transform a Life?
Paul’s own life is the clearest proof of gospel power. In Acts 14, he was stoned in the city of Lystra, dragged out of the gates, and left for dead, yet he got up, dusted himself off, and walked back into that same city to keep preaching. That is not motivation; that is gospel power working in a man who had nothing left to prove and nothing left to fear.
Pastor Rich pointed to the city of Ephesus as another example of gospel power at work. It was a port city soaked in idols and false religion, yet the same gospel power that raised Paul off the ground in Lystra tore down strongholds there as well (Ephesians 6). The gospel does not just inform us; it changes how we see God, how we see ourselves, how we understand sin, and how we live inside our closest relationships.
This is the real difference between religion and gospel power. Religion asks you to perform your way toward acceptance. The gospel tells you what has already been finished for you through Jesus, and then invites you to live from that finished work rather than toward it.
A small, honest step for today: name one area of your life you have been trying to fix through willpower alone, and hand it to God in a single honest sentence of prayer.
What Does It Mean to Live Unashamed of the Gospel?
By the time Paul writes that he is not ashamed of the gospel in Romans 1:16, he has already survived beatings, a shipwreck, and a snake bite on the island of Malta that should have killed him. He was not writing a slogan. He was writing from twenty years of watching gospel power hold him together when everything else fell apart.
Living unashamed of the gospel does not mean loud or combative. Pastor Rich described it as refusing to live for the approval of people who will never be fully pleased anyway. Paul was not trying to make Rome sound more moral or more religious; he was pointing people to Jesus, trusting that the message itself carries the power to save.
That kind of confidence is available to you too, not because you have everything figured out, but because the same gospel that reached Paul in a Roman prison reaches you wherever you are today. Choosing to live unashamed of the gospel starts small, in one honest conversation at a time.
A small, honest step for today: think of one person you have been afraid to talk to about your faith, and ask God for one sentence of courage to say to them this week.
What Does Romans Chapter 1 Teach Through the Romans Road?
Paul spends the rest of Romans chapter 1 building the case that every person, Jew or Gentile, needs the same gospel (Romans 1:16). Later in the message, Pastor Rich walked through the Romans Road, a five stop path through the book of Romans that has helped believers explain the gospel simply for generations.
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Step on the Romans Road |
What Scripture Says |
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Our need |
Romans 3:23: everyone has fallen short of God’s standard |
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The consequence |
Romans 6:23: sin leads to death, but God offers life through Jesus |
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God’s love |
Romans 5:8: Jesus came for us while we were still sinners |
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Our response |
Romans 10:9: salvation comes through faith and confessing Jesus as Lord |
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The promise |
Romans 10:13: everyone who calls on Jesus will be saved |
This is not a formula to memorize and forget. It is the same road Paul walked from a Roman prison toward Rome, and it is the same road Augustine, Martin Luther, and John Wesley each found themselves on, centuries apart, each changed by the same book of Romans. Nearly two thousand years later, the book of Romans is still doing exactly what it did for them.
Is There a Place for This Kind of Faith Near You?
Being unashamed of your faith can feel lonely when you are not sure anyone around you understands what you are wrestling with. Maybe you grew up around church language but never felt like gospel truth was something you could actually live out loud. Maybe you have never opened a Bible in your life, and the idea of a Romans Road sounds like a foreign language.
Wherever you are starting from, you do not have to figure this out on your own. Generation Church gathers in Coral Gables, and neighbors from Brickell to Coconut Grove and out to South Kendall are welcome to pull up a chair, whether that is on a Sunday morning or around a Small Group table this week. The invitation is simple: come as you are, and bring your honest questions with you.
Where Do You Go From Here?
Paul’s confidence never came from having every answer. It came from knowing the gospel he carried was not his own; it was God’s truth, it carried real power, and it was worth staying unashamed of no matter the cost. Nearly two thousand years later, that same gospel is still changing lives, one honest step at a time.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Romans Road to salvation?
The Romans Road is a five-verse path through the book of Romans (Romans 3:23, 6:23, 5:8, 10:9, and 10:13) that walks someone from their need for God to the assurance of salvation through faith in Jesus. It has been used for generations to explain the gospel simply and clearly.
What is the gospel of Jesus Christ?
The gospel is the good news that Jesus lived a sinless life, died on the cross, and rose from the dead so that anyone who trusts in Him can be forgiven and receive new life. Paul described it in Romans as the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes.
How do I stop being ashamed of my Christian faith publicly?
Confidence to speak about your faith grows the same way Paul’s did, through experiencing the gospel’s power personally rather than trying to work up courage on your own. Start small with one honest conversation, and let your own story of what God has done be the starting point.
Who wrote the book of Romans, and why?
The apostle Paul wrote Romans from the city of Corinth near the end of his third missionary journey, around AD 56 to 58. He wrote to introduce himself to a church he had not yet visited and to lay out the fullest explanation of the gospel found anywhere in his letters.
What is the difference between reading the Bible with an open heart versus reading it to confirm your own opinions?
Reading Scripture to discover what God actually said means asking honest questions and letting the text shape your beliefs. Reading it only to confirm what you already think means the Bible never gets the chance to change you.
