{"id":55419,"date":"2022-11-03T21:50:08","date_gmt":"2022-11-04T02:50:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/?p=55419"},"modified":"2025-09-15T15:14:35","modified_gmt":"2025-09-15T20:14:35","slug":"calling-on-the-name-of-the-lord-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/calling-on-the-name-of-the-lord-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Calling on the Name of the Lord (Thetford)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\tby Richard Thetford\n

I am sure that our readers have heard people say words to the effect, “If you are not a Christian, all you need to do is call upon the name of the Lord, and you can be saved.” Some will tell you to say, “Lord be merciful to me a sinner,” or similar things. Their teaching is a misapplication of what is said in Romans 10:13. The apostle Paul wrote, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.<\/em>” What does it mean to call upon the name of the Lord? Let us read the context of Romans 10 and find out.<\/p>\n

“For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call upon 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, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things! But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report? So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God<\/em>” (Romans 10:13-17).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Please notice that after the apostle Paul says we must call upon the name of the Lord to be saved, he asks a series of questions that point out what it means to call upon the name of the Lord. To call upon the name of the Lord we must: 1) hear the gospel, 2) believe the gospel, and 3) obey the gospel! Therefore, calling upon the name of the Lord is a comprehensive thing, not simply saying the name, “Lord.” In Acts 2:21 we read the same phrase. Here, Peter quotes Joel 2:28-32. Peter shows that the events happening at this time on the day of Pentecost were a fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy (Acts 2:16), and said, “And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved<\/em>“.<\/p>\n

What did he mean? Were they commanded to simply say, “Lord”? No! They were told to “hear these words<\/em>” (Acts 2:22). Peter then proves that Jesus truly is the Son of God (Acts 2:23-35), and said, “Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ<\/em>” (Acts 2:36). To “know assuredly<\/em>” is to believe. When the people asked what they needed to do to be forgiven of murdering the Son of God, Peter said, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, …. Then they that gladly received his word were baptized…<\/em>” (Acts 2:38-41).<\/p>\n

Therefore, when one calls upon the name of the Lord, he is simply obeying God’s plan of salvation to hear God’s word, believe that Jesus is the Son of God, repent, and be baptized! Is this not simple? Of course, it is! Let us be about encouraging people to call upon the name of the Lord as the Bible directs us to do that all might be saved before it is too late (II Peter 3:9)!<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Richard Thetford I am sure that our readers have heard people say words to the effect, “If you are not a Christian, all you need to do is call upon the name of the Lord, and you can be saved.” Some will tell you to say, “Lord be merciful to me a sinner,” or…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27],"tags":[47],"class_list":["post-55419","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-salvation"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1423,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/should-we-call-on-jesus-or-jehovah-to-be-saved\/","url_meta":{"origin":55419,"position":0},"title":"Should we call on Jesus or Jehovah to be saved?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 4, 2004","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Should we call on Jesus or Jehovah to be saved? Answer: The question assumes that God the Father and God the Son have different desires for our salvation. Yet Jesus stated, \"I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":45648,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-can-all-who-call-on-the-lord-be-saved-when-jesus-said-that-not-all-who-call-his-name-will-be-saved\/","url_meta":{"origin":55419,"position":1},"title":"How can all who call on the Lord be saved when Jesus said that not all who call his name will be saved?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 28, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Recently someone said they found a contradiction in the New Testament. They said Acts 2:21 and Romans 10:13 say that all who call in the name of the Lord will be saved. Then Matthew 7:21 says that not all who call upon him will be saved. Then in Acts\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":10896,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/doesnt-john-316-prove-that-you-can-be-saved-without-baptism\/","url_meta":{"origin":55419,"position":2},"title":"Doesn’t John 3:16 prove that you can be saved without baptism?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 22, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hi. I was reading your article on \"Can a man be saved without baptism?\" and was wondering (as a young bible student) what about John 3:16? \"... Whosoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall not perish but have everlasting life.\" This does not indicate that baptism is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":25171,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-is-the-point-of-lamechs-statement-in-genesis-4-and-what-is-meant-that-people-began-calling-upon-the-name-of-the-lord\/","url_meta":{"origin":55419,"position":3},"title":"What is the point of Lamech’s statement in Genesis 4, and what is meant that people began calling upon the name of the Lord?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 9, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: In Genesis 4:23-24, Lamech said to his wives that \"If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold, truly Lamech seventy and sevenfold.\" What is the point of this message? It is what Lamech said, instead of being from God. So should we understand the statement in Genesis 4:24 as having no\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2512,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-do-you-teach-preteens-about-salvation\/","url_meta":{"origin":55419,"position":4},"title":"How do you teach preteens about salvation?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 10, 2005","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: How can I effectively teach preteens about the salvation plan? I would like some tips on activities in setting the mood so that when we do the calling they will truly understand what the sacrifice meant. Answer: The beauty of God's message is that it remains constant, no matter\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":95948,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/confession-is-made-unto-salvation\/","url_meta":{"origin":55419,"position":5},"title":"Confession Is Made Unto Salvation","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 4, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"by Hugh DeLong Paul writes: \"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 with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation\"\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55419","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=55419"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55419\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55419"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=55419"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=55419"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}