Have you ever shared the gospel with someone and realized it just wasn’t connecting?

We trust that God’s Word has the power to save (James 1:21) and that someone’s response to the gospel is based on the Holy Spirit’s work (1 John 2:20–27). Yet while we know that only the Spirit changes hearts, we can seek to make our gospel presentation one that engages the hearer’s comprehension and understanding as far as it depends on us. Our approach to sharing the good news of Jesus can thus significantly influence how it’s received, especially in today’s post-Christian cultural landscape.

While there’s no one-size-fits-all approach that will always work, I want to recommend a framework that presents two powerful evangelistic pathways—the Romans Road and the Ephesians Road—and demonstrates how this combination can work together to create a more complete and compelling gospel presentation.

The Romans Road has guided countless people to salvation through its clear explanation of sin, judgment, and redemption. Its straightforward approach has proven effective for generations. Yet many people today search for more than personal salvation; they long for meaning, identity, and purpose in a fragmented world.

By thoughtfully combining approaches, we can present a gospel that both saves individuals and invites them into God’s story of cosmic renewal.

This is where the Ephesians Road approach comes in. Developed by The Gospel Coalition columnist Trevin Wax, the Ephesians Road builds on the solid foundation of personal salvation by expanding our vision to see salvation within God’s grand cosmic plan. Wax’s approach addresses contemporary questions about identity, community, and justice while maintaining the biblical truths of grace and redemption.

By thoughtfully combining these two approaches, we can present a gospel that both saves individuals and invites them into God’s story of cosmic renewal. This hybrid framework offers practical guidance for sharing this holistic gospel in ways that resonate deeply with modern listeners while remaining firmly rooted in biblical truth.

What follows is a roadmap for evangelism that honors the gospel’s personal and cosmic dimensions—a presentation that speaks to head and heart, to individual and community, to present salvation and future hope.

2 Evangelistic ‘Roads’

To understand the “two roads” approach, we need to know what the individual “roads” are.

The Classic Romans Road

Let’s first look at the Romans Road, an approach supposedly invented by Jack Hyles sometime around 1970. It has four steps and relies on four verses from Paul’s letter to the Romans.

This four-step outline has introduced millions to the gospel. Yet by relying on a handful of decontextualized verses, it can shrink Paul’s sweeping argument to a me-centered transaction: “I sinned; Jesus paid; I decide.” This approach underrepresents the Bible’s corporate, cosmic, and kingdom dimensions.

Trevin Wax’s Ephesians Road

In his book Holy Subversion, Wax points out that while the Romans Road approach can be helpful (he’s used it himself), it’s lacking in certain areas.

The deficiency of the Romans Road isn’t in the Scripture verses but in the disappearance of the framework in which these verses make sense. When the people around us no longer hold to a biblical framework from which to comprehend these truths, the Romans Road turns into a series of cobbled-together propositions disconnected from the story of Scripture.

As Wax notes, “The presentation assumes that people know who God is, what God demands, who we are, what our problem is, and how God has acted in history to bring restoration.”

In his book, Wax suggests walking people through the opening chapters of Ephesians instead:

This approach recenters the gospel on Christ’s victory and the church’s participation in God’s renewing mission, rather than merely on personal life-after-death security.

Why the Ephesians Road Resonates Today

The Ephesians Road is more likely to connect with modern hearers:

Think of the Romans Road like a straight path to salvation. It’s direct and clear about our need for forgiveness and shows you how to be saved from sin through the work of Jesus.

The Ephesians Road is more like looking through a big picture window that shows the whole landscape of God’s plan. It still teaches that Jesus died to save us from our sins, but it places this truth within a broader context, including God’s bigger plan for the entire universe, our belonging to God’s family (not just being saved as individuals), and our purpose to participate in God’s work in the world.

This bigger picture speaks powerfully to people today who feel disconnected and want to belong somewhere. Many younger people also care deeply about making the world better and more just and have a hunger for meaningful stories that explain life, rather than simply finding a ticket to heaven.

While both approaches teach the same gospel, the Ephesians Road helps people see how salvation connects to the bigger questions of “Who am I?” “Why am I here?” and “How can I make a difference?”

As Wax says, “It’s not so much that God has a wonderful plan for your life; it’s that God has a wonderful plan—and invites you into it.”

Combine the Romans Road and Ephesians Road

Both approaches can be beneficial in presenting the gospel. But they can be even more powerful when combined, with the Ephesians Road providing the meaning and broader context and the Romans Road providing the clear path to personal salvation. Here’s how they complement each other.

1. Begin with God’s Grand Design (Ephesians): Share how God had a beautiful plan from before creation—to bring everything in heaven and earth together under Christ (Eph. 1:9–10). Explain that we were chosen and loved before time began, designed for relationship with God and to reflect his glory in creation. Also, explain how this plan worked through God’s specific covenant with Abraham and his descendants, promising that through this chosen family all nations would be blessed—a promise fulfilled in Christ.

2. Explain the Universal Problem (Romans): Help people understand that all humanity has rejected God’s design (Rom. 3:23), resulting in broken relationships, suffering, and separation from God. The consequence of this rebellion is spiritual death (6:23) and eternal separation from our Creator.

3. Reveal Christ’s Complete Solution (Both): Show how Jesus’s death paid the penalty for our sin (Rom. 5:8) while also fulfilling God’s cosmic purpose to restore all creation (Eph. 1:7–10). His sacrifice addresses both our personal guilt and the entire broken world system. Through the cross, Jesus reconciles us to God and begins healing all the divisions in humanity.

4. Invite a Personal Response (Romans): Invite people to respond to this gift by believing in their heart and confessing with their mouth that Jesus is Lord (Rom. 10:9–10). Emphasize that salvation comes through faith. Be clear that our salvation depends on Christ’s work rather than on us earning God’s favor through good works.

5. Celebrate Our New Identity (Ephesians): Describe the transformation when someone trusts Christ. We’re made alive with him (Eph. 2:4–5), adopted into God’s family (1:5), and made part of a new humanity that transcends racial, social, and cultural divisions (2:14–16). We move from spiritual orphans to beloved children.

6. Embrace Our Kingdom Purpose (Ephesians): Show how salvation doesn’t just change our destination after death but gives us purpose now. We’re created in Christ for good works (2:10) and called to participate in God’s mission of reconciliation as his ambassadors. Our lives become part of the great story of God’s kingdom bringing healing to creation.

This combined approach addresses both the individual need for salvation and the deeper questions of identity, belonging, and purpose that resonate with contemporary seekers.

Power of a Holistic Gospel

The Two Roads Framework can help us express the biblical message more fully. By combining the personal salvation focus of the Romans Road with the cosmic vision of the Ephesians Road, we offer unbelievers rescue and purpose, forgiveness and belonging.

In our fragmented culture, where people struggle with questions of identity and meaning, this integrated approach addresses both the head and heart. It speaks to individual guilt while painting the grand picture of God’s kingdom coming to earth. It offers immediate peace with God while inviting people into the adventure of participating in his ongoing work.

The holistic gospel we share through this combined approach isn’t just about getting people to heaven. It’s about inviting them into the greatest story ever told, where their lives can find ultimate meaning as part of God’s plan to restore all things in Christ.

Addendum: Example Gospel Presentation

Creating an example for how to combine these two frameworks is difficult since evangelism tends to work best as a dialogue, rather than a monologue. Still, it might be helpful to show what a combination could look like.

This is intended as a presentation of the gospel for someone unfamiliar with the Bible (since he or she won’t know what “Romans” and “Ephesians” are, we can substitute “the Bible says” when referencing individual verses):

Can I share something that’s changed my life and how I see the world? This is the core of my belief system, what we Christians mean when we talk about the “gospel,” or good news. I also believe that what the Bible says about God is true, so I’m going to share some of what it says about life and our world.

Before anything existed, God had a beautiful plan. He created everything—including you and me—with purpose and love. His intention was for all creation to flourish in relationship with him and each other. God chose a specific people—Israel—through whom he would work out this plan. He made promises to Abraham that through his family, all the families of the earth would be blessed. The story of the Bible is largely the story of how God kept these promises. As the Bible tells us [in Eph. 1:10], God’s ultimate plan is to bring everything in heaven and earth together under Christ.

However, something is obviously wrong with our world. As children of Adam, we’ve all turned away from God’s design. We all choose to live however we want to live rather than as God wants us to. The Bible also tells us [Rom. 3:23] that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” This isn’t just about breaking rules; it’s about a broken relationship with our Creator. This is what Christians mean when we use the word “sin.” And the Bible goes on to add [Rom. 6:23] that the natural consequence of sin is death. Not just physical death but also spiritual death. Spiritual death is an eternal separation from the life-giving God.

But here’s why this is good news: God didn’t abandon his plan. While we were still living in rebellion, “Christ died for us” [Rom. 5:8]. What this means is that Jesus took the punishment we deserved and bridged the gap between us and God. That’s what the cross—the place of Jesus’s sacrifice—is all about. When Jesus died on the cross, he died in our place and paid the price that we couldn’t pay so we could be reconciled to God the Father. Jesus did this to save all those who put their faith in him. But he also died to restore God’s entire plan for creation.

This is what we Christians refer to as salvation. Jesus saved us by paying the price for us and then giving us the benefit for free. We can’t earn our salvation or do anything to add to it. Salvation is a free gift. But it’s a gift that requires a response. We must accept the gift.

The Bible [Rom. 10:9–10, NIV] explains how we do that: “If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” It’s not about being good enough to earn God’s love or earn our salvation. It’s about accepting what Jesus has already done on our behalf.

As Gentiles, when we trust in Jesus, we’re adopted into God’s covenant family—the same family he promised to Abraham. We become part of their story and inheritors of God’s promises to his chosen people in the Old Testament. When you put your trust in Jesus, something remarkable happens. According to the Bible [Eph. 2], God makes you “alive together with Christ” and adopts you into his family. You’re no longer defined by your past. You’re now defined by your new identity as God’s beloved child.

And with that identity comes a new purpose and mission. The Bible says [Eph. 2:10, NIV] we’re “created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” You’re invited into God’s ongoing work of healing and renewing this world. You become part of a new community that crosses all divisions—political, ethnic, ideological—and demonstrates God’s love to a broken world.

So this isn’t just about getting to heaven someday, though it does mean that. It’s about joining God’s kingdom work right now, finding your true identity, and participating in the reconciliation of all things in Jesus.

What’s stopping you from beginning this new life with God today? I’d be happy to pray with you or answer any questions you have about following Jesus.

This combined approach maintains the clarity of the Romans Road while embedding it within the broader, more compelling narrative of the Ephesians Road. It speaks to both personal salvation and cosmic purpose, addressing the intellectual and existential questions of our time while remaining faithful to the biblical gospel.