Articles
"Calling on the Name of the Lord"
The apostle Paul wrote, “For whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Romans 10:13). There is no doubt that calling on God’s name is necessary to be saved. But, what does it mean to “call on the name of the Lord”? When Ananias came to Saul of Tarsus, he told Saul to “rise and be baptized and wash your sins, calling on the name of the Lord” (Acts 22:16). We learn from Saul that one does not call on the name of the Lord by simply praying. Saul had already been praying when Ananias came to him but he had not yet called on the name of the Lord (Acts 9:11).
One does not call on the name of the Lord by simply believing on him. Saul believed on the Lord on the road to Damascus, but he had not yet called on the name of the Lord. According to Ananias, we call on the name of the Lord when we are baptized in accordance with his command. This agrees with what Peter said on the day of Pentecost. Peter said that the crowd was witnessing the fulfillment of Joel’s prophesy which stated, “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Acts 2:21). When the crowd asks what they needed to do, Peter answered, “Repent and let everyone of you be baptized in the name of Jesus for the remission of sins (Acts 2:38). When they were baptized they were calling on the name of the Lord.
