Articles
Calling on the Name of the Lord
“…that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved…for ‘Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved’” (Romans 10:9, 13 NASB).
These verses are commonly used to teach that all one must do to be saved is believe and confess Jesus’ name, often by reciting a “sinner’s prayer.” On the surface this interpretation may seem to be true, but as with everything in the Bible (and in real life), we must interpret these words in the greater context of Scripture. In 1966 Robert Turner described his experience concerning “calling on Jesus’ name” in this way: As a young man in central Kentucky, I attended many "brush-arbor" meetings where shouting and rolling in the aisle were common. When someone shouted "Jesus, Jesus!!" or, "Oh, Jesus, save me!" this was said to be "calling on the name of the Lord.” Well, it does sound like it -- but it isn't.
The question hinges on how the Bible defines “believe in your heart” and “calling on the name of the Lord,” not what we think they mean. When the Bible uses those terms it is speaking of far more than verbal acknowledgment or even mental acceptance of Jesus as your savior. To call on God’s name means to entrust yourself to Him entirely to the point of absolute obedience. In Genesis 12:8 Abraham “built an altar to God and called upon the name of the LORD.” Notice that this follows verse 4 which describes Abraham’s faithful obedience to God’s command to leave his country and family for a far-away country entirely unknown to him. “So Abram went forth as the LORD has spoken to him.”
Ancient cultures closely corresponded someone’s name to the person’s character and all their unique attributes much more so than we do today. Thus, to call on God’s name was to call upon God Himself. When we call on God’s name we cannot pick and choose which of God’s commands we want to obey; we are calling upon Him entirely, not in part. Can you imagine Abraham calling on the name of the Lord, then explaining why he didn’t have to follow God’s directions?
Observe a New Testament example. Peter quoted Joel 2:32 in his first sermon, “And it shall be that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Acts 2:21). As he concluded the message Peter commanded his audience to “repent and…be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ” (Acts 2:38). The three thousand souls who did so were saved, thus fulfilling the prophecy in Joel. To call on Jesus’ name for salvation requires absolute faith in the message of Christ (belief in your heart), repentance of sins, and baptism in Jesus’ name. It’s not as shallow as some would have us think. In fact, there is no such thing as a “sinner’s prayer” spoken of in the Bible by which someone is converted to Jesus.
The connection between baptism and calling on Jesus’ name is made explicit when Ananias (by the command of the Holy Spirit) told Saul to “be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on His name” (Acts 22:16). When Saul obeyed he was fully relying on God’s salvation, entrusting himself to His ways and commands. Calling on God’s name includes full obedience. Or, in Robert Turner’s words, it means “trusting Him to the extent that we do His bidding and leave the results to Him.”
But it doesn’t stop with baptism. The fact that Christians are those who “name the name of the Lord” (2 Tim. 2:19) and “call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Cor. 1:2) has implications that reach farther than initial conversion. In other words, we must continue to obey our Lord in everything. Notice that in the two verses quoted above the verbs are in the present tense, not past. Saints are those who have and continue to call on the name of the Lord by entrusting themselves to Him in obedience.
Calling on Jesus’ name is easier said than done. To be more exact, it cannot be something that is merely said; it must be done. That’s why Jesus said, “Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord!’ and do not do what I say?” (Luke 6:46).
