I am a debtor both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to wise and to unwise. So, as much as is in me, I am ready to preach the Gospel…. For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes…. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed…. For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness…. (Romans 1:14–18—NKJV)

The challenge of being a willing witness is daunting to most believers. The thought of sharing the Gospel comes fraught with fears of inadequacy. No man on this earth knows all there is to know about salvation and we also know that without God’s gracious quickening the heart of our hearer he cannot come to a saving knowledge of Christ. Even our culture is against witnessing. Almost all judgment is perceived as loathsome and real self-judgment is shunned almost universally. Discernment has become unpracticed, and motivation toward self-improvement is severely stunted. We are lacking in general inner wisdom and outer usefulness. Witnessing is a challenge!

In order to be an obedient witness we must fully understand the message we are to share to the lost souls around us. One of the great Bible tools for sharing the whole Gospel message is what has been referred to as “the Roman’s Road.” It is a collection of handpicked verses sprinkled throughout the book of Romans which explains God’s plan of salvation in an orderly fashion.

As with any road, the Roman’s Road takes you on a journey to a destination. It is a journey from ignorance to knowledge and from lostness to salvation. Our passage quoted above is certainly an introduction to the book of Romans, but it is also a survey of the “mile markers” of the Roman’s Road of Salvation. Paul declares he is a debtor, not only because he was uniquely called to be the Apostle to the Gentiles but, in common with the rest of us, he is a debtor because of the magnitude of the gift of salvation—a gift so generously given to every one of us undeserving sinners.

Notice the emphatic words he uses. The Gospel is the Good News to lost souls; the Power of God is the grace that is exerted upon the lost to bring them to Christ; the Righteousness of God is what makes this salvation definitively a gift; and the Wrath of God is what drives the lost to accept the gift by faith. The mile markers of the Roman’s Road have just been outlined! The Roman’s Road mile markers are labeled:

• “All Are Lost” (Romans 3:10ff, 23, 5:12)
• “It Is All of Grace” (Romans 5:8)
• “It Is All a Gift” (Romans 6:23)
• “It Is All About Faith” (Romans 10:9–10, 13).

The destination where the road ends is the glory of fellowship with the Lord (Romans 5:1ff, 8:1, 38–39). All lost, all grace, all gift, all faith!

If you can get those way points fixed in your mind you will have a mental roadmap of where you are taking someone when you are granted the privilege to witness. In order to be “found,” a person must first be powerless and “lost.” In order to understand the rescue from lostness, a person must grasp the idea of the grace of a Savior. In order to appreciate his debt, a person must accept salvation solely as a gift. In order to be saved from wrath and born again, a man must believe.

In the Roman world the word Gospel denoted the act of the town crier announcing some really great, good news concerning the emperor, like the birth of a son. Christians utilized the word to announce the Good News that came from the Creator, the Emperor of Heaven, that He had provided the way of salvation through His Son.

This Gospel good news is the Power of God (dunamis—dynamite) for only God-like power can rescue a condemned man. Unregenerate man is confirmed in his sinful, recidivistic nature and his overt acts bring offense to his holy Creator. It is only the might of God that forges peace between God and the sinner, ransoms, rescues, converts and forms Christ in a formerly condemned man. Nothing but the omnipotence of God can do all this for the believing sinner.

The Gospel good news reveals the Righteousness of God, His perfect, holy standard that can only be met by God Himself, yet in accordance with His righteousness He sent His sinless Son to take the form of sinful man (Philippians 2) so that He might die in the condemned man’s place, the Just for the unjust. Only through the application of His righteousness may a man be declared just in God’s sight.

Finally Gospel good news reveals the Wrath of God in all its horror so that an awakened sinner by the grace of God may fly to the refuge only found in trusting in the redemptive work of Christ—in His death, burial, and resurrection. By faith, that believing sinner will declare his allegiance to the Savior who has saved his immortal soul and joyfully serve Him. Learn to follow the Roman’s Road and share the Gospel good news so that others may know the glory of being redeemed! Trust and obey.