It was a prophecy spoken by Joel,
“And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered….”
– Joel 2:32 KJV
It was proclaimed by Peter on the Day of Pentecost,
“And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
– Acts 2:21 KJV
It is a promise of God for whomsoever,
“For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
– Romans 10:13 KJV
But there are prerequisites for one to rightfully call upon His name to be saved, as William Barclay penned,
“… So, then, if a man called Jesus kurios (G2962) he was ranking him with the Emperor and with God; he was giving him the supreme place in his life; he was pledging him implicit obedience and reverent worship. To call Jesus kurios (G2962) was to count him unique. First, then, a man to be a Christian must have a sense of the utter uniqueness of Jesus Christ.
“A man must believe that Jesus is risen from the dead. The resurrection was an essential of Christian belief. The Christian must believe not only that Jesus lived, but also that he lives. He must not only know about Christ: he must know him. He is not studying an historical personage, however great; he is living with a real presence. He must know not only Christ the martyr: he must know Christ the victor, too.
“But a man must not only believe in his heart; he must confess with his lips. Christianity is belief plus confession; it involves witness before men. Not only God, but also our fellow men, must know what side we are on.”[1]
I believe these three points are well-versed to many today; however, the backdrop for calling on His Name, rooted in Joel’s prophecy and spoken in Simon Peter’s sermon, has been lost in Western Christianity.
That backcloth? The Day of the Lord.
“The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the LORD hath said, and in the remnant whom the LORD shall call.”
– Joel 2:31-32 KJV
“And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke: The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come: And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
– Acts 2:19-21 KJV
It is the future wrath and terror of that Day I think has become mute in much of today’s understanding. There is still a Hell to shun and a Heaven to gain; God has a wrath just as He is love. God will avenge just as He will deliver.
There is a lake of fire reserved for whosoever is not written in the Book of Life.
Yet, in His mercy and through His grace,
“… whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
