The Roman Road

 

The Roman Road

Every morning while driving my son to school it is customary to have the radio on to listen. The morning traffic updates, and weather report are essential information of daily living. There will be other topics for conversation by the DJ to invoke listeners to participate in call-ins or text-in messages. The DJ started to talk about an American celebrity who wanted to know his true existence and decided to walk across America in search for the answer. The intention of the DJ was to steer the listeners to the motivational pursuit of man and positive teachings of humanism. There is nothing wrong in the delivery and absolutely nothing wrong in the DJ’s attempt to steer the responding conversation to her worldview. But the truth is, there was “nothing” at all in the conservation. Man’s pursuit for the answer of his existence is not in any lateral world view but on an upward view.

The Roman road leads upward. Man’s existence starts with the question, “Who are we?”. What if we have gained all that we have in life and what has all the gains worth to us? Can our achievements define who we are? The pyramids still stand to testify the labour and sacrifices of the slaves used to build them and history recognizes the Egyptian’s advancement in building technology in ancient times, but the man (Pharaoh) is still dead who is buried in it. Man still dies and is dead in history. So, what about the guy who went for a walk to find answers to his life existence? The future holds the same eventuality for him as the dead pharaoh of Egypt, certain death. There is no glory for man except death. Thus, the first question a man should ask about his existence should be, why death?

When Adam who was created without sin there was no death. Adam and Eve were to enjoy eternal life with God in the Garden of Eden for eternity as designed by God. But when Adam fell to sin, death enter through Adam into humanity. “In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.” (Genesis 3:19) Here we have the word of God proclaiming death to all mankind. For dust you are, and to dust shall you return. The cause of death is sin. Sin is death.

The Roman road starts with this. For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; (Romans 3:23) The Egyptian Pharaoh failed and died because he sinned and came short of the glory of God. The future will not change to accommodate anyone to bypass death. The life changing event for all man is not in the future but it is in the past. The event that changed history for all mankind. God took on flesh to redeem man. “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 6:23)

How is this possible? Why are we given eternal life that eluded the Pharaohs of Egypt? Is there any other way to gain this great gift by our own selves? Can we achieve this by walking across a continent and thinking about our existence? And the answer is, “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8) God commended his love towards us when we were yet sinners so that we will not perish into eternal death. Christ died in obedience to that which was commended by Eternal God for us sinner who are undeserving and have come short of the glory of God. The love of God is the reason why the Roman road leads upward and is worth taking instead of all other roads to seek answers to man’s existence. And the upward road is easier than walking a thousand mile across a continent. How is it easier? What should we do? How much effort and labour are needed? Do we need to build a pyramid? The answer is, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Romans 10:13)

All we have to do is, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” (Romans 10:9-10)

The Roman road is open to all to seek Christ Jesus for eternal life. All we must do is open our mouth and confess the Lord Jesus is our Saviour and believe in our hearts that God raised him from death for us to be saved from returning to dust. And that confession is made unto our salvation.  

The Book of Romans, Chapter 1- 10. The Roman Road.


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