John MacArthur and John Piper each spent eight years preaching through the book of Romans. With that much to exposit, how can you fit all of that into a single book, and a children’s at that? Thankfully, you don’t have to. You just have to follow the text itself.
Marty Machowski, executive pastor at Covenant Fellowship Church in Pennsylvania and author of many family devotionals, curricula, children’s books, and parenting titles, has written The Sword in order “to introduce grade-school children to Paul’s letter to the Romans… the clearest, most complete, explanation of the gospel in the New Testament” (viii).
The truths of Romans are so deep that top scholars find it difficult to plumb accurately. But if the gospel is an ocean, “the foamy inches of seawater that roll across the shore provide the same critical nutrients for life… The water of the gospel, though we step but ankle deep, has the power to transform the heart and provide life-transforming truth for the soul” (viii).
But how do you get kids interested in such a long, theologically-rich letter?
Fiction.
Machowski has weaved a fictional adventure in with studying Romans. This requires having a Bible. Each passage begins with a fictional story. After which, you will read the assigned Scripture verses and comments explaining key truths.
According to Machowski, the main goal with The Sword is “to help children understand the sobering bad news of sin so that they better understand the good news of our gospel rescue through the cross of Christ” (viii). However, not everything is covered. While Machowski writes about circumcision, he leaves it to parents to define and explain to their children. He does give enough information to let children know it was given by God as an outward sign of the Jew’s identity as his people (37).
Like many books in Scripture, Paul’s letter to the Romans carries several more mature themes. These topics, defining and explaining circumcision, for example, are left to parents.
How is The Sword?
The story begins with two siblings, Brant and Katana, find a book called The Gladiator’s Sword written by a mysterious man named Magnus. He gives his readers a quest is to examine Paul’s letter to the Romans and his notes in the journal. Upon the completion of their quest, they will unlock the mystery of the three swords that mark his life’s story.
The Sword is divided into eleven chapters, covering all of the letter to the Romans, plus a bit of Acts, Ephesians, and Hebrews.
The beginning of each chapter continues the fictional story of Magnus’ life. Afterwards comes a summary paragraph of the section of Romans that chapter covers. Chapter 4 covers Romans 5:1–7:25 and is titled “Hope, the Harvest of Faith.” It groups these three chapters into seven sections, which, after you read that specific section from Romans, you would read Machowski’s comments. Here Machowski explains difficult topics like how Jesus is the Second Adam (Rom 5:15–21) and our oneness with Jesus (6:1–14) with ease. Each chapter offers a sidebar called “The Old in the New,” highlighting how Paul brought the Old Testament into his letter.
A Little Carping
At the end of the book, Machowski explains the Romans Road. Even though I don’t think the Romans Road is the best mode of evangelism, it does give someone a good gospel skeleton on which they can put meat as they learn more about the Bible.
One quibble is that we are looking forward to the new creation. However, the new creation gets little air-time in The Sword, while heaven is referred to loads of times. While heaven is usually what everyone thinks of when they imagine the afterlife, it isn’t our final destination.
Recommended?
I always appreciate Machowski’s books, and the fact that he can so simply present deep subjects in Romans fascinates me. His illustrations that connect everyday life to the biblical text are excellent and easy to understand. This is one I hope to go through with my oldest son soon. I hope Machowski will make more books like this through other books of the Bible. This is sorely needed.
Buy it on Amazon or from New Growth Press
Lagniappe
- Author: Marty Machowski
- Age Range: 8–12 years
- Paperback: 176 pages
- Publisher: New Growth Press (September 2025)
Review Disclosure: I received this book free from New Growth Press. The opinions I have expressed are my own, and I was not required to write a positive review. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html.
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