That’s my life line, said the taxi driver as we passed the notice board of the church in the east end of Toronto It was displaying “For whosoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Rom 10 13 NKJV) Like so many nominal Christians, he had minimal knowledge of the scriptures and dismissed understanding, belief, and obedience in baptism as unnecessary.
All without distinction
Baptism is clearly necessary for we read “Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord” (Acts 22 16 NKJV) It is easier, however, to ignore all commands of conduct and simply think, “I will call upon Jesus and he will be my savior”
Few examine the Romans passage in context, which shows salvation is achieved by faith in Christ and the resurrection, not by striving to keep the law of Moses The promises to Abraham have been extended to all those who understand their implications and demonstrate Abraham’s faith “For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon him” (Rom 10 12 NKJV)
In his Letter to the Romans, Bro John Carter gives a succinct explanation of Romans 10:13, as follows:
“The appositeness of this quotation is seen when each word is considered ‘Whoever’ means for all, ‘calls’ implies an invocation of aid, which requires faith, ‘the name of the Lord’ refers to the purpose of redemption, memorialized in God’s name, as announced to Moses at the bush, and which is embodied in Jesus, ‘saved’ tells the end to be reached by all who answer to the description of the verse”
Thus there is universality, all may turn to God for help, but the supplicant must approach on His terms
Men begin to call on God
The first incident of men calling upon the name of the Lord is found m Genesis 4 25, 26 (NKJV) “And Adam knew his wife again, and she bore a son and named him Seth For God has appointed another seed for me instead of Abel, whom Cain killed” Eve believed righteous Abel to be the promised seed She was overjoyed at the birth of Seth, think-mg that this replacement son would be the one God had appointed to restore “paradise” The family waited in eager anticipation, but it was not to be Their disappointment and resignation are apparent m the naming of their grandson, Enosh (Heb “man or mortal”) Realizing that the deliverer was not imminent, they petitioned God to send him,” then men began to call upon the name of the LORD” (Gen 426 NKJV) They were calling upon Yahweh the Savior to redeem them from death This would be the cry of all future men and women of faith
Abraham called on the name of the Lord
Abraham received the promises in faith After the second promise, he built an altar at Bethel and” called upon the name of the Lord” (Gen 12 8), importuning the Lord to fulfill His promise and provide the one in whom the world would be blessed.
Following the seizure of his well by the servants of the Philistine king, Abraham again called upon God Abimelech’s reassurance that there would not be a further occurrence was confirmed by a covenant between them However, the patriarch did not put his trust in princes “It is better to trust m the Lord than to put confidence m man” (Psa 118:8) Rather, he established a place of worship and turned to the one whose promises never fail “Then Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba, and there called upon the name of the Lord, the Everlasting God” (Gen 21:33)
It was to this site m Beersheba, 80 years later, that Isaac came Like his father, he had experienced Philistine opposition in obtaining water God reaffirmed the promises to him, and there Isaac “called upon the name of the LORD” Both father and son invoked the one whose covenants are sure, anticipating the one whose well water would “springing up into everlasting life” (John 4 14 NKJV)
Elijah calls on God
Interestingly, water (or the lack of it) is the context of the next recorded importuning of God by man.
By the time of Elijah, the cult of Baal worship was rampant m Israel Baal was regarded as the lord of sun and storm In the devastating drought initiated by Elijah’s prayer, the priests of Baal cried to him in vain Whereas Elijah petitioned Yahweh, Lord of heaven and earth, and received the life-giving blessing of heaven “You call on the name of your gods, and I will call on the name of the Lord” Under duress, Elijah didn’t waver In faith, he cried to God and the Lord answered with torrents of rain.
Years later, the people had again to be reminded of the futility of depending on idols for their needs Jeremiah asks, “Are there any among the idols of the nations that can cause rain? Or can the heavens give showers? Are you not he, O LORD our God? Therefore we will wait for you, since you have made all these” (Jer 14 22 NKJV)
Messiah called on the Lord
In Psalm 116, there is a foreshadowing of the Lord Jesus Christ crying to his Father for aid “The pains of death surrounded me and the pangs of Sheol laid hold of me, I found trouble and sorrow Then I called upon the name of the Lord O Lord, I implore you, deliver my soul For you have delivered my soul from death” (Psa 116 3,4,8 NKJV)
The anguished pleading for deliverance and the triumphant cry upon resurrection echoed down through the ages The deliverer promised to Eve had crushed the head of the serpent.
The death of the one who came in his Father’s name ratified the covenant of promise Our life line is secured to the hope of Israel, not vague ideas created by man’s desires.
Having come to an understanding of our nature from the word of God, we recognize our helplessness We call upon the name of the Lord seeking for aid, confident that, “The Lord is near to all who call upon him, to all who call on him in truth” (Psa 145:18 NKJV )
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One