Whosoever
Shall Call
“Call”
In a Brief Survey
of the Epistle of Paul to the Romans
Based on sermons
preached in PCC Worship Services, July 2003 to Sep 2005
Part 49c of 83
“For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Romans 10:13).
[We have
begun a careful study of this famous verse by looking at the three most
significant words it contains: whosoever, call and saved. In our previous
instalment, we saw that Paul uses the word ‘whosoever’ not so much to emphasise
universality as to stress that there is now neither Jews nor Gentiles. All man,
regardless of race may find Salvation by faith alone in Christ alone. In the
second instalment, we considered the word ‘saved’ and saw that we are not just
saved hell, but from sin and from the wrath of God.
In this final
instalment, we shall consider the word ‘call’.—JJL]
3. Call
The word ‘call’ appears not only in verse
13—“For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
It appears also in verse 12—“the same Lord over all is rich unto all that
call upon him.”
Now, the phrase “Call on the name of the
Lord,” is frequently used in the Scriptures. Usually it means to worship the
Lord.
Thus when we are told that Abraham built an
altar in Bethel and there He called on the name of the LORD (Gen 12:8; Gen
13:4), we must realise that this means He worshiped the LORD there. However, the phrase means something more
specific in our text. In verse 13, Paul is quoting from the Prophecy of Joel.
In the context in Joel, the day of the Lord was at hand. It was a day of terror
and destruction. But Joel says:
“And it shall come to pass, that whosoever
shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered…” (Joel 2:32).
What is Joel saying? Joel is saying that
anyone who recognises the trouble that would come upon him, and cries out unto
the Lord for help, will be delivered.
Paul is using this verse to show that anyone
who is troubled by sin, guilt and the wrath of God can call upon the Lord; and
he will be saved.
What does this teach us? It teaches us, —does
it not, —something about those who are saved. We have seen that whosoever
believes and confesses in the Lord Jesus Christ would be saved. But who are
these who would confess and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ?
They are not merely those who prefer heaven
to hell. No one in this world in his right mind will prefer to go to hell
rather than to heaven. So it is foolish to think that a person who prays to
receive Christ just because he wants to go to heaven rather than to hell is a
true believer.
Who then are those who truly believe and
confess Christ? They are those who call
upon the name of the Lord. Who are those who call upon the name of the Lord?
They are not merely those who take the name of the Lord in their lips.
Some years ago I heard a pastor say that he
went to visit a man who was dying in the hospital. He said the man could hardly
talk. So he told the man, just say ‘Jesus’, and when the man said it, he said
“Amen! He is saved!” Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be
saved! But this cannot be what Paul mean! It borders on superstition to think
that a man who has been living a life of sin all his life can at his death bed
simply say ‘Jesus’ and he is saved. I am, of course, not saying that God could
not save him, but I am saying that to be so sure on the basis of Romans 10:13
that a man who enunciates the name of Jesus is saved borders on superstition.
Who then are those who call upon the name of
the Lord? They are those who know that they are without hope without Christ!
They are those who know that they are sinful, guilty and worthy of the wrath of
God.
These are those whom Christ came to save.
Christ himself said:
“They that are whole have no need of the
physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but
sinners to repentance” (Mk 2:17).
The Lord Jesus did not come to save the proud
scribes and Pharisees. These considered themselves to be righteous. They would
never confess Jesus as Lord. Christ came to save sinners. He came to save those
who know that they are in trouble because of their sin.
Paul is affirming this doctrine when he says:
“This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all
acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I
am chief” (1Tm 1:15).
Christ came to save sinners. He did not come
to save the righteous.
He came to save the poor. He is rich unto the
poor who call upon Him. He is not rich to those who consider themselves already
rich.
He did not come to save those who use to
think themselves as sinners needing salvation, but are no more sinners today.
He came to save those who know that are
sinners and continue to be sinners who cry out continually to Him.
So if you are a sinner in your own eyes and
you cry out unto the Lord to save you, you must not doubt your salvation at
all.
Do not say: “But I have sinned too
grievously.” It is not about how sinful or righteous you are. Christ saves all
sinners who call upon Him.
Do not say: “But I can’t forgive myself, how
can God forgive me.” It is not about forgiving yourself. Nowhere in the Bible
will you hear about the need to forgive yourself.
It is about the forgiveness of God for all
who call upon Christ. If God has forgiven you, why do you reproach yourself and
say you cannot forgive yourself. Turn to the Lord and say:
“Lord, I am a great sinner. You have said you
came to save sinners. And you have invited sinners who are weary and heavy
laden to cast their burdens upon you. Lord I am doing so. Save me I pray.”
Do not say: “But my faith is so weak.” Faith
is a gift of God. Salvation is not only for those who have strong faith. That
is not the question. The question is whether you recognise that you deserve
nothing but the wrath of God. If you trust in the Lord and call upon Him for
salvation, you will be saved!
Do not say: “But I keep falling into sin.”
That makes no difference to the Gospel. Indeed, anyone who thinks that he does
not fall into sin is simply fooling himself. So the question is not whether you
keep falling into sin or not. The question is whether you call upon the name of
the Lord and depend upon Him for righteousness.
Call, therefore, upon the Lord, dear reader.
Call upon Him to save you. Call upon Him to work in you to will and to do
according to His good pleasure.
Conclusion
The apostle Paul says:
13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of
the Lord shall be saved.
With the Lord’s help, we have studied what
Paul really means by looking at three much misunderstood terms.
We saw that Paul is not saying that God wants
to save everyone. Rather, he is saying that today salvation is extended not
only to the Jews but also to the Gentiles. Anyone who is burden by sin, and
guilt, and God’s wrath, who calls and continues to call upon Christ, will be
saved. Such a person has been saved, is being saved and shall be saved.
I trust that in the process of our study you
have been able to disabuse your minds of any false notions of the Gospel and
salvation that you might have entertained, —for it would be terrible if at the
Last Day you should discover that all these while you have been believing in a
caricature of Christianity rather than the Christianity of the Scriptures.
But as we conclude I must ask you “Are you
saved?”
Paul says: “whosoever shall call upon the
name of the Lord shall be saved.” Amen.
—JJ Lim