Author : Keith Sharp
For “whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Romans 10:13)
The Scriptures contain “exceedingly great and precious promises” (2 Peter 1:4) but none greater or more precious than this. It is great in scope – inclusive of all mankind, regardless of race, sex, tongue, nationality, or social or economic status; it is precious in application, for you and I are included. “Whosoever surely meaneth me.”
If you have not called on the name of the Lord, you must do so in order to be saved. Thus, we inquire, how is the alien sinner to call upon the name of the Lord?
Despite the widely held assumption that calling on the name of the Lord is simply asking God in prayer for salvation, the Master declared this is not the case.
“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven (Matthew 7:21).
The Old Testament prophet Joel looked far into the future from his day to foretell a time when “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Joel 2:28-32)
If we simply examine the three New Testament passages where this promise is quoted and applied, we will find all the alien sinner must do to call on the name Lord.
On the first Pentecost after the resurrection of the Lord from the dead, the apostle Peter quoted this passage (Acts 2:16-21) and applied it to the people and events of that very day. The apostle then proceeded to prove that Jesus of Nazareth is the Lord upon Whom we must call (Acts 2:22-36). He concluded:
Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ (Acts 2:36).
When the people urgently inquired what to do, Peter replied:
Repent, and let everyone of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38).
How does one call on the name of the Lord? Repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins.
How is baptism calling on the name of the Lord? It is “an appeal to God for a good conscience.” (1 Peter 3:21, New American Standard Bible)
When Ananias was sent to Saul of Tarsus to tell him what he “must do” (Acts 9:1-16), the inspired evangelist commanded the penitent believer:
And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord. (Acts 22:16)
When Paul discussed salvation in Christ by calling on the name of the Lord, he taught we must hear the word, believe Christ, and confess Him (Romans 10:8-17).
How does the alien sinner call on the name of the Lord? Hear the gospel, believe Jesus Christ is the Son of God, repent of one’s sins, confess one’s faith in Christ, and be baptized for the remission of sins. Have you done this? “And now why are you waiting?”
