HOW DO WE CALL UPON THE LORD TO SAVE US?THROUGH BAPTISM INTO CHRIST

Verses Taken Out of Context

Part 2- Romans 10:13     How do we call upon the name of the Lord?

Hello sisters in Christ and friends!! I’ve been wanting to write some articles on some verses that have been on my mind lately. They are verses that are easily taken out of context and misunderstood. Many of you will already understand what I’m talking about in this article, but I’m hoping it will reach someone who needs to hear it. I’m hoping that it will encourage someone to look in the Bible and make sure that they are right with God, not right according to what a person says or what a billboard says or anything else……but only according to God’s word. 

In Romans 10:13 Paul says these words,  “For whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” So that is self-explanatory, right? We just have to call to God and ask Him to save us and that’s it, right? Nothing else is required of us, right? Have you ever seen this verse on a billboard or a commercial all by itself with no other explanation? I’ve seen this verse on a few billboards when driving down the interstate and heard it countless times from some television evangelists. I love that someone would put a Bible verse up on a billboard for everyone to see as they drive down the highway. But, sometimes just one verse taken out of context from the entire Bible can mislead and confuse people.This verse is where people get the idea that they can ask Jesus to come into their heart to be saved. That is what a lot of people think calling on the name of the Lord means. And I understand how you might think that by reading that one verse. But reading one verse does not give us the full picture of God’s word. We have to study it all to understand it completely. We can’t go to the middle of any other book and pick out a sentence that tells us the entire contents of the book. One chapter of a math book will not teach us all the math we need. So what is Paul saying in Romans 10:13? Is he telling us how to be saved in that verse?

Let’s build a bridge before we discuss this verse. The bridge that I am talking about is between the four gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) and the book Romans from which our key verse comes. It is the book of Acts. The reason that I think of Acts as a bridge is because we can’t fully understand our key verse or any other of the New Testament books without reading Acts. The Lord’s church, singular, was established in Acts 2. This is when Peter preached the first gospel sermon. The people were pricked in their hearts because they realized that they had crucified God’s son and asked, “What shall we do?”. (Acts 2:37) That is when Peter told them exactly what they had to do. He told them to repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins. (Acts 2:38). The church began that day with 3000 souls being baptized and added to the Lord’s church. They didn’t join a church of their choice. God added them to the church after they were baptized. (Acts 2:47)  After this, the entire book of Acts is devoted to the conversion of the Jews and Gentiles, and Paul’s conversion and missionary journeys. It is a book of the history of the early church. Throughout this book, there are ten conversion stories. In every single conversion story, baptism is there. The first one was of course in Acts 2 when the church first began. After that they are as follows: the Samaritans (Acts 8:5-12), Simon the sorcerer (Acts 8:13), the Ethiopian eunuch (Acts 8:35-39), Saul of Tarsus, later known as the apostle Paul (Acts 9:1-18, Acts 22:6-16), Cornelius (Acts 10:47-48), Lydia (Acts 16:13-15), the Philippian jailer (Acts 16:30-33), the Corinthians (Acts 18:8), and the men at Ephesus (Acts 19:1-5). If baptism isn’t necessary for salvation, then why is it in every conversion story in the book of Acts? Why would Peter tell the people on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2 to be baptized for the remission of their sins if it wasn’t necessary? 

I wanted to build a bridge through the book of Acts up to the book of Romans before I tried to explain this verse. I want you to have some scriptures to refer to and study to see exactly what the Bible teaches on how to be saved. I don’t want anyone to be misled because they have read one verse out of context. If you go back up to our bridge, which is the book of Acts, you will see that none of the conversion stories from Acts include asking Jesus into your heart. It is just not there, friends. Now should we have Jesus in our heart (mind) if we are Christians? Absolutely! But we can’t ask Him to come into our heart to be saved. That is not in God’s plan. But what about Romans 10:13 you ask? Well, if you read the entire chapter of Romans 10, you will see that it is not a chapter that is telling us how to be saved. It is about who can be saved. The key word in the verse is “everyone”. If we look at the entire chapter of Romans 10 in context, it is addressing the problem of the Jews not wanting to accept the Gentiles as equals with them under God. The Jews are still under the impression that they have to keep the old law of Moses and they are trying to bind that law on the newly converted Gentile Christians. Right before verse 13 it says that all people whether Jew or Gentile have the right to be saved. You see, Paul wrote the book of Romans in a letter form to the Christians in Rome. It was written to people who had already obeyed the gospel which included being baptized for the remission of sins. (Acts 2:38) He was not telling them how to be saved in Romans 10. That was not the context of which he was writing. He was telling them that all people have the opportunity to be saved no matter what ethnic background they come from. You see, the people to whom Paul was writing already knew how to be saved from their sins because they had already done it. They were already Christians. If we go back to the book of Acts, which is our bridge, and read all the conversion stories that are listed, we will understand that calling on the name of the Lord includes more than just asking Jesus into your heart. Paul is the writer of Romans and he knows exactly how to “call on the name of the Lord”, because this exact phrase was said to him by Ananias on the day that he was converted to Christianity. In Acts 22, Paul is telling his conversion story and in verses 14-15, we read the words that Ananias said to Paul on that day, “The God of our fathers has chosen you that you should know his will, and see the Just One, and hear the voice of His mouth. For you will be His witness to all men of what you have seen and heard.” So Ananias tells Paul that he has been chosen by God, that he will be a witness for Christ, and that he is to tell all people about Christ. But, I ask you, is he saved yet in verse 15? Has Paul accepted his new role as a Christian yet? No, not yet! Paul was sent by Jesus Himself to Ananias to be told what to do next. (Acts 22:10, Acts 9:6)  Paul was not saved when he was on the road to Damascus. But, in Acts 22:16, we have one of the most important verses in the New Testament, because it refutes the idea that we can simply ask Jesus into our hearts. The verse explains to us how we are to call on the name of the Lord. In Acts 22:16, Ananias says to Paul, “And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord.” How did Paul call on the name of the Lord in that verse? He did this by being buried with Christ in baptism. Paul called on God with the obedient act of being baptized into Christ. God calls us to be saved through His word and we call out to God through baptism into Christ. The calling goes both ways. How did Paul receive forgiveness from sins? Again, by being baptized to have his sins washed away. So why did Paul write about calling on the name of the Lord in Romans 10:13? Why did he use that phrase? Because that is exactly what he did when he was baptized by Ananias!! And it makes sense that Paul would use that language when he was writing to the Christians in Rome, because that is the language he heard Ananias say to him on the day he was baptized into Christ. 

Friends, I hope this helps you understand the context of Romans 10:13, but more importantly, I hope it encourages you to look deeper into God’s word to make sure you know the truth about how to be saved. Please don’t listen to what people say or what a billboard says without looking in God’s word first to make sure that what you are being told is the truth. If you need help to find answers, please reach out. I can help you or put you in contact with someone who can. I would be happy to set up a Bible study with you or for you if you have questions. I hope and pray that everyone who reads this article will know that it is written out of love for God’s word, and love for all of you. Have a wonderful weekend and week ahead. Thank you for reading and supporting my blog!! 

God’s Plan of Salvation

If anyone ever needs help in learning the truth of the gospel, please reach out and I can help you or put you in contact with someone who can. Below is the plan that God has set forth in His word, for mankind to receive His grace that leads to salvation and an eternity with God in heaven. 

We have to hear His word. (Romans 10:17) 

Upon hearing the message of Jesus, we believe it. (Mark 16:16) 

Then, we confess Jesus’ name before men. (Matthew 10:32) 

Next, we repent of our sins. (Acts 2:38, Acts 3:19) 

Finally, we are baptized into Christ for the remission of our sins. (Acts 2:38, Matthew 28:18-20, Mark 16:16, Romans 6:3-4, Acts 22:16, 1 Corinthians 12:13, Galatians 3:26-27) After baptism, God adds us to His church. (Acts 2:47)

Then, we remain faithful in our commitment to Christ until death. (Revelation 2:10, 2 Peter 2:20-22)