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CALLING ON THE NAME OF THE LORD
I) CALLING ON THE NAME OF THE LORD UNTO SALVATION
A) [Ro 10:11-14]:
[Verses 11, 13 & 14 of Romans 10, which follow reiterate that once an individual believes in Christ as Personal Savior - nothing else being done - he at once is saved unto eternal life]:
(v. 11) "For the Scripture says, 'Whoever believes in Him will never be put to shame.'
[i.e, 'Whoever believes in Christ will be saved unto eternal life, never to go to eternal shame in Hell. This continues the context to the next three verses of faith alone in Christ alone for all men unto eternal life]:
(v. 12) For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call upon Him;
[Notice that call upon Him is paralleled above with "Whoever believes in Him". The concept of confession is out of the picture, faith alone in Christ alone remains as always]:
(v. 13) for 'Whoever will call upon the name of the Lord will be saved.'
(v. 14a) How then shall they call upon Him in Whom they have not believed?"
["Whoever will call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." =
"pas ...........gar hos an ...epikalesEtai to ..onoma kuriou
"For everyone whoever may call on ..the name ..of the Lord
sOthEsetai"
shall be saved."
"epikalesEtai" = Strongs no. 1941, aorist, middle voice subjunctive mood = objective possibility = to call upon.
[The New Analytical Greek Lexicon, Perschbacher, Ed., Hendrickson, Peabody, Ma, 1990, p. 1262]:
"mid [in the middle voice]: to call upon, invoke, appeal to"
[Compare Thayers, Hendrickson, 1979, Peabody, Ma, p. 239]: Same meaning.
[Compare Vines, Fleming H. Revell, Old Tappan, NJ, 1971, p. 163]:
epikaleO = epi, upon and kaleO denote to call upon, invoke: in the Middle Voice, to call upon for oneself (i.e., on one's behalf). Making use of the Name of the Lord."
Note: there was no reference to actually speaking or calling out with one's voice in any of the Lexicons relative to this word.
Conclusion: "epikaleO" in this particular passage, being in the middle voice means to make use of the Name of the Lord, i.e., trusting in Him to save one unto eternal life. We are back in context to faith alone in Christ alone unto eternal life.
Therefore, in order to call upon the name of the Lord unto salvation one must believe in the name of the Lord, i.e., trust alone in Christ alone, as Savior, as it says in verses 13 & 14. So another way to explain salvation by faith alone in Christ alone is salvation by calling on, i.e., relying on, the name of the Lord. When you call upon someone to help you it is that you trust in him to come to your aid. Inherent in your calling upon someone is the faith that he can and will help you. So, in essence, to call on the name of the Lord unto salvation is to believe in Christ as Savior, that He alone will make provision for you to have eternal life with Him in heaven.
A cont.) [Ro 10:11-14 cont.]:
(v. 11) "For the Scripture says, 'WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NEVER BE PUT TO SHAME.'
["will never be put to shame" = saved unto eternal life. Compare the context of the previous 10 verses which speaks of a righteousness unto salvation by faith alone in Christ alone. So here the expression "never be put to shame" refers to NEVER receiving eternal condemnation. Notice that there is made no mention of being shamed to eternal condemnation if anyone does not confess Jesus as Lord - a serious omission if true - which evidently it is not]
(v. 12) For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call upon Him;
(v. 13) for 'WHOEVER WILL CALL UPON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.'
(v. 14a) How then shall they call upon Him in Whom they have not believed?
[Notice that in order to call upon the name of the Lord unto salvation one must believe in the gospel of salvation as it says in verse 14 above: So the key to understanding what Scripture means by the phrase "WHOEVER SHALL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD SHALL BE SAVED." is contained in verse 14a:
(v. 14a) How, then, can they call on the One they have not believed in ?"
[Calling on the name of the Lord unto salvation, therefore, is to believe in Him unto eternal life. We are back again to faith alone in Christ alone. Another way to explain salvation by faith alone in Christ alone is salvation by calling on, i.e., relying on, the name of the Lord. When you call upon someone to help you it is that you trust in him to come to your aid. Inherent in your calling upon that someone is the essential faith that he can and will help you. So, in essence, to call on the name of the Lord unto salvation is to believe in Christ as Savior, that He alone will make provision for you to have eternal life with Him in heaven. And that is the essential gospel message!]
II) CALLING ON THE NAME OF THE LORD IS NOT ALWAYS IN ORDER TO RECEIVE ETERNAL LIFE
Incidentally, calling on the name of the Lord does NOT always result in salvation:
A) [1 Kgs 18:24]:
"Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the Lord. The God who answers by fire - He is God"
[Elijah calls on the name of the Lord to bring fire down from heaven]
B) [2 Kgs 5:11]:
"But Naaman went away angry and said, 'I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, wave his hand over the spot and cure me of my leprosy."
[Calling on the name of the Lord to be healed]
C) [1 Ch 16:8-11, cp Ps 105:1]:
"Give thanks to the Lord, call on his name; make known among the nations what He has done. Sing to Him, sing praise to Him; tell of all His wonderful acts. Glory in His holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice. Look to the Lord and His strength; seek His face always."
[Call on the name of the Lord in order to give thanks and praise to Him]
D) [Ps 116:1-6]:
"I love the Lord, for He heard my voice; He heard my cry for mercy. Because He turned His ear to me. I will call on Him as long as I live. The cords of [physical] death entangled me, the anguish of the grave came upon me; I was overcome by trouble and sorrow. Then I called on the name of the Lord: 'O Lord, save me!' The Lord is gracious and righteous; our God is full of compassion. The Lord protects the simplehearted; when I was in great need, He saved me."
[Calling on the name of the Lord for deliverance from physical death, trouble or great need]
"Whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved." is not simply crying out to the Lord. This expression is explained in Romans chapter 10: The Apostle Paul sets the example for all to follow: preach the details of the gospel so that all who hear may understand and believe unto eternal life.