http://apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=11&article=775
"Calling on the Name of the Lord"
Considering how many people within “Christendom” teach that an
individual can be saved merely by professing a belief in Christ, it is
not surprising that skeptics claim that the Bible contradicts itself in
this regard. Although Peter and Paul declared, “Whoever calls on the
name of the Lord shall be saved” (Acts 2:21; Romans 10:13; cf. Joel
2:32), skeptics quickly remind their readers that Jesus once stated:
“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;
cf. Luke 6:46). Allegedly, Matthew 7:21 clashes with such passages as
Acts 2:21 and Romans 10:13 (see Morgan, 2003; Wells, 2001). Since many
professed Christians seem to equate “calling on the name of the Lord”
with the idea of saying to Jesus, “Lord, save me,” Bible critics feel
even more justified in their pronouncement of “conflicting testimonies.”
How can certain professed followers of Christ claim that they were
saved by simply “calling out to Christ,” when Christ Himself proclaimed
that a mere calling upon Him would not save a person?
The key to correctly understanding the phrase “calling on the name of
the Lord” is to recognize that more is involved in this action than a
mere verbal petition directed toward God. The “call” mentioned in Acts
2:21, Romans 10:13, and Acts 22:16 (where Paul was “calling on the name
of the Lord”), is not equated with the “call” (“Lord, Lord”) Jesus spoke
of in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 7:21).
First, it is appropriate to mention that even in modern times, to “call
on” someone frequently means more than simply making a request for
something. When a doctor goes to the hospital to “call on” some of his
patients, he does not merely walk into the room and say, “I just wanted
to come by and say, ‘Hello.’ I wish you the best. Now pay me.” On the
contrary, he involves himself in a service. He examines the patient,
listens to the patient’s concerns, gives further instructions regarding
the patient’s hopeful recovery, and then often times prescribes
medication. All of these elements may be involved in a doctor “calling
upon” a patient. In the mid-twentieth century, it was common for young
men to “call on” young ladies. Again, this expression meant something
different than just “making a request” (Brown, 1976, p. 5).
Second, when an individual takes the time to study how the expression
“calling on God” is used throughout Scripture, the only reasonable
conclusion to draw is that, just as similar phrases sometimes have a
deeper meaning in modern America, the expression “calling on God” often
had a deeper meaning in Bible times. Take, for instance, Paul’s
statement recorded in Acts 25:11: “I appeal unto Caesar.” The word
“appeal” (
epikaloumai) is the same word translated “call” (or
“calling”) in Acts 2:21, 22:16, and Romans 10:13. But, Paul was not
simply saying, “I’m calling on Caesar to save me.” As James Bales noted:
Paul, in appealing to Caesar, was claiming the right of a Roman
citizen to have his case judged by Caesar. He was asking that his case
be transferred to Caesar’s court and that Caesar hear and pass judgment
on his case. In so doing, he indicated that he was resting his case on
Caesar’s judgment. In order for this to be done Paul had to submit to whatever was necessary in order for his case to be brought before Caesar.
He had to submit to the Roman soldiers who conveyed him to Rome. He had
to submit to whatever formalities or procedure Caesar demanded of those
who came before him. All of this was involved in his appeal to Caesar
(1960, pp. 81-82, emp. added).
Paul’s “calling” to Caesar involved his submission to him. “That, in a
nutshell,” wrote T. Pierce Brown, “is what ‘calling on the Lord’
involves”—obedience (1976, p. 5). It is not a mere verbal recognition of
God, or a verbal petition to Him. Those whom Paul (before his
conversion to Christ) sought to bind in Damascus—Christians who were
described as people “who call on Your [Jehovah’s] name”—were not people
who only prayed to God, but those who were serving the Lord, and who, by
their obedience, were submitting themselves to His authority (cf.
Matthew 28:18). Interestingly, Zephaniah 3:9 links one’s “calling” with
his “service”: “For then I will restore to the peoples a pure language,
that they all may call on the name of the Lord, to serve Him with one accord”
(emp. added). When a person submits to the will of God, he accurately
can be described as “calling on the Lord.” Acts 2:21 and Romans 10:13
(among other passages) do not contradict Matthew 7:21, because to “call
on the Lord” entails more than just pleading for salvation; it involves
submitting to God’s will. According to Colossians 3:17, every single act
a Christian performs (in word or deed) should be carried out by
Christ’s authority. For a non-Christian receiving salvation, this is no
different. In order to obtain salvation, a person must submit to the
Lord’s authority. This is what the passages in Acts 2:21 and Romans
10:13 are teaching; it is up to us to go elsewhere in the New Testament
to learn
how to call upon the name of the Lord.
After Peter quoted the prophecy of Joel and told those in Jerusalem on
Pentecost that “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved”
(Acts 2:21), he told them
how to go about “calling on the name of
the Lord.” The people in the audience in Acts 2 did not understand
Peter’s quotation of Joel to mean that an alien sinner must pray to God
for salvation. [Their question in Acts 2:37 (“Men and brethren, what
shall we do?”) indicates such.] Furthermore, when Peter responded to
their question and told them what to do to be saved, he did not say,
“I’ve already told you what to do. You can be saved by petitioning God
for salvation through prayer. Just call on His name.” On the contrary,
Peter had to explain to them what it meant to “call on the name of the
Lord.” Instead of repeating this statement when the crowd sought further
guidance from the apostles, Peter commanded them, saying, “Repent, and
let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the
remission of sins” (2:38). Notice the parallel between Acts 2:21 and
2:38:
|
Acts 2:21 |
Whoever |
Calls |
On the name of the Lord |
Shall be saved |
|
Acts 2:38 |
Everyone of you |
Repent and be baptized |
In the name of Jesus Christ |
For the remission of sins |
Peter’s non-Christian listeners learned that “calling on the name of
the Lord for salvation” was equal to obeying the Gospel, which
approximately 3,000 did that very day by repenting of their sins and
being baptized into Christ (2:38,41).
But what about Romans 10:13? What is the “call” mentioned in this verse? Notice Romans 10:11-15:
For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to
shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same
Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed?
And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how
shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless
they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those
who preach the gospel of peace, who bring glad tidings of good things!”
(emp. added).
Although this passage does not define precisely what is meant by one
“calling on the name of the Lord,” it does indicate that an alien sinner
cannot “call” until after he has heard the Word of God and believed it.
Such was meant by Paul’s rhetorical questions: “How then shall they
call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe
in Him of whom they have not heard?” Paul’s statements in this passage
are consistent with Peter’s proclamations in Acts 2. It was only
after
the crowd on Pentecost believed in the resurrected Christ Whom Peter
preached (as is evident by their being “cut to the heart” and their
subsequent question, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?”) that Peter
told them how to call on the name of the Lord and be saved (2:38).
Perhaps the clearest description of what it means for an alien sinner
to “call on the name of the Lord” is found in Acts 22. As the apostle
Paul addressed the mob in Jerusalem, he spoke of his encounter with the
Lord, Whom he asked, “What shall I do?” (22:10; cf. 9:6). The answer
Jesus gave Him at that time was not “call on the name of the Lord.”
Instead, Jesus instructed him to “arise and go into Damascus, and there
you will be told all things which are appointed for you to do” (22:10).
Paul (or Saul—Acts 13:9) demonstrated his belief in Jesus as he went
into the city and waited for further instructions. In Acts 9, we learn
that during the next three days, while waiting to meet with Ananias,
Paul fasted and prayed (vss. 9,11). Although some today might consider
what Paul was doing at this point as “calling on the name of the Lord,”
Ananias, God’s chosen messenger to Paul, did not think so. He did not
tell Paul, “I see you have already called on God. Your sins are
forgiven.” After three days of fasting and praying, Paul still was
lost in his sins. Even though he obviously
believed
at this point, and had prayed to God, he had yet to “call on the name
of the Lord” for salvation. When Ananias finally came to Paul, he told
him: “Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the
name of the Lord” (22:16). Ananias knew that Paul had not yet “called on
the name of the Lord,” just as Peter knew that those on Pentecost had
not done so before his command to “repent and be baptized.” Thus,
Ananias instructed Paul to “be baptized, and wash away your sins.” The
participle phrase, “calling on the name of the Lord,” describes what
Paul was doing when he was baptized for the remission of his sins. Every
non-Christian who desires to “call on the name of the Lord” to be
saved, does so, not simply by saying, “Lord, Lord” (cf. Matthew 7:21),
or just by wording a prayer to God (e.g., Paul—Acts 9; 22; cf. Romans
10:13-14), but by obeying God’s instructions to “repent and be
baptized…in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of your sins”
(Acts 2:38).
This is not to say that repentance and baptism have always been (or are
always today) synonymous with “calling on the name of the Lord.”
Abraham was not baptized when he “called upon the name of the Lord”
(Genesis 12:8; cf. 4:26), because baptism was not demanded of God before
New Testament times. And, as I mentioned earlier, when the New
Testament describes people who are already Christians as “calling on the
name of the Lord” (Acts 9:14,21; 1 Corinthians 1:2), it certainly does
not mean that Christians continually were being baptized for the
remission of their sins after having been baptized to become a Christian
(cf. 1 John 1:5-10). Depending on when and where the phrase is used,
“calling on the name of the Lord” includes: (1) obedience to the gospel
plan of salvation; (2) worshiping God; and (3) faithful service to the
Lord (Bates, 1979, p. 5). However, it never is used in the sense that
all the alien sinner must do in order to be saved is to cry out and say,
“Lord, Lord, save me.”
Thus, the skeptic’s allegation that Matthew 7:21 contradicts Acts 2:21
and Romans 10:13 is unsubstantiated. And, the professed Christian who
teaches that all one must do to be saved is just say the sinner’s
prayer, is in error.
REFERENCES
Bales, James (1960),
The Hub of the Bible—Or—Acts Two Analyzed (Shreveport, LA: Lambert Book House).
Bates, Bobby (1979), “Whosoever Shall Call Upon the Name of the Lord Shall be Saved,”
Firm Foundation, 96:5, March 20.
Brown, T. Pierce (1976), “Calling on His Name,”
Firm Foundation, 93:5, July 20.
Morgan, Donald (2003), “Biblical Inconsistencies,” [On-line],
URL: http://www.infidels.org/library/modern/donald_morgan/inconsistencies.shtml.
Wells, Steve (2001),
Skeptic’s Annotated Bible, [On-line],
URL: http://www.Skepticsannotatedbible.com.
