Scripture Reading: Romans 10:6-17
Call on the Name of the Lord
Intro.
1. What does it mean to call on the name of the Lord? Is it prayer? Is it only prayer? It is always prayer? Are other things involved?
2. Important questions because salvation is at stake, Rom. 10:13.
3. Many believe the “sinner’s prayer” saves the lost. They think prayer is how the lost call on the name of the Lord to be saved.
a. “An eight-year-old can understand Romans 10:13.” (Baptist preacher) Perhaps, yet many adults do not understand it.
b. What does the Scripture say it means to call on the name of the Lord? We want to teach and persuade the lost.
I. DEFINITIONS.
A. Men Began to Call on the Name of the Lord, Gen. 4:26.
1. Call (Heb): To encounter, to call out to, to address (H7121).
a. “To cry out for help, hence, to pray” (Easton).
b. To supplicate, implore, appeal to God.
2. On the name of the Lord: Yahweh worship (Seth and descendants, Gen. 6:2) in contrast to Cain and descendants who “went out from the presence of the Lord” (Gen. 4:16).
a. Faithful remnant, Zeph. 3:9.
b. Disciples of Jesus, Acts 9:14.
II. WHY CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD? Deut. 4:7
A. Seek God’s Blessings (presence, guidance, etc.), Gen. 4:26.
B. Acts of Reverence and Thankful Worship, Gen. 12:8; 13:4; 21:33; 26:25; Ps. 105:1; 116:16-17.
C. Implore/Petition God for Help (aid, assistance), Ps. 99:6.
1. Elijah at Mount Carmel, 1 Kings 18:24, 26, 36-37.
2. Hezekiah when death was near, Isa. 38:1-5; (Ps. 116:1-4).
D. Cry to God for Deliverance from Enemies and Distress, Ps. 18:1-3; 118:5-6 (trust in Lord, 118:8-9). Expression of faith in Lord.
E. For the Salvation of Our Souls, Joel 2:32; Acts 2:21; Rom. 10:13.
III. HOW DO THE LOST CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD FOR SALVATION? Rom. 10:13
A. Not by Prayer Alone (cf. Saul), Acts 9:11; 22:16.
1. Blood of Christ necessary for salvation, Heb. 9:22.
2. Baptized into death of Christ, Rom. 6:3.
3. Therefore, baptism, not prayer, contacts blood of Jesus. (cf. Acts 19:5).
B. Not by Faith Alone, Acts 26:14-16.
1. Saul believed Jesus is Lord on the road, but not yet saved.
2. Scriptures do not contain a prayer to ask Jesus into your heart as your Lord and Savior (or a command to do so).
3. Belief in Jesus does not contact the blood of Jesus.
C. By Obeying the Lord’s Command to Repent and Be Baptized (for the remission of sins), Acts 2:21, 37, 38-41.
1. This is the sinner's appeal to God in Christ.
2. When faith obeys the gospel, Rom. 10:9-10, 14-16, 17; Acts 26:17-20
IV. CHRISTIANS CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD, 1 Cor. 1:2.
A. Prayerful Appeals to the Lord for Favor and Relief, Acts 7:59-60.
B. Obedient Faith Compels Persistent, Prayerful Appeals to the Lord, Phil. 4:4-7 (1 Thess. 5:17-18).
C. Living in Fellowship with the Lord, 1 John 1:6-7 (Col. 3:17).
-"Serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear," Heb. 12:28.
Conclusion
1. Calling on the name of the Lord is essential; without doing so we remain lost in our sins.
2. Praise God He has taught us what we must do to call on Him for salvation (Acts 2:37, 40).
3. Call on His name now and be saved (Acts 22:16; 8:22).
By: Joe R. Price
Posted August 10, 2021