Call on the Name of the Lord to be Saved

[james1523]

The bare minimum and sufficient requirement to be a Christian is this:
Rom 10:9 If you declare with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

This was enough to satisfy the apostles Paul, Peter and others.. a group of believers who satisfied this criteria were called "the church".

Every man-made church and teaching adds to this bare minimum as a necessity to be a Christian or to be saved.

This is in contrast to the way of the law which is to live by a set of commandments and rules:
Rom 10:5 For Moses writes about the righteousness that is from the law: The one who does these things will live by them.

Some even redefine and add to the simple belief and confession such as complicated altar calls, pledge cards, lengthy baptismal courses, sincere/genuine signs of repentance etc.

If we think that believing and confession is too hard, the good news is that it is even simpler than that:

Rom 10:12-13
For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile--the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."

Believing in the heart and confessing with the mouth, itself is not a complicated process , it is the simple act of calling upon the name of the Lord.

Anyone who calls on the name of the Lord with a heart of belief is qualified to participate in fellowship with the Body of Christ. As soon as a person calls on the name of the Lord they are regenerated and become a member of Christ's Body.

This is not a complicated matter. It does not require us to strive in our own self efforts to believe, to have enough faith, to grunt and groan in lengthy prayers and tearful repentance, nor does it require a theology degree or understanding of the Bible. Even children can do it. It is as easy as breathing in the air. God, like the air, is all around us and not far from us (Acts 17:27-19). As soon as we open our mouth and call upon His name, we breath Him in and are saved.

Religion is about man ascending to reach God high in the Heavens, or to bring God and the Heavens down to us (Rom 10:6). But Christianity is about an intimate, personal relationship with a God who is very close to us.

For this reason all of the rituals and manners observed in religions, whether Catholicism with much chest crossing, knee bowing and reverence... or Pentecostalism with much groaning and striving, song and shouting to "bring the Heavens to Earth" or "bring the Spirit down".. is pretense and vanity.

The reality is that God is very close to us and He answers and responds to us immediately when we call His name, just like if we call the name of our husband or wife or child or mother, they will come to us (though not always instantly lol). God loves us much more than our closest family member, spouse or friend, and is not reluctant or unwilling to come to us or save us when we call. He is more than eager and is just waiting for us to open ourselves to Him by calling upon Him.

 

[sintheticg]

a big hearty AMEN! my brother :shade:

 

[Davy]

Hi James 1523, I think your interpretation of this scripture is an example of how one verse can be taken out of context and be completely misunderstood.

When Paul said in Romans 10:9, (NASB): "If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved." The Greek word for confess is "homologeo" which means to declare openly by way of speaking out freely as a demonstration on one's deep conviction. But this is not talking about one's personal testimony, because Paul made it clear in the preceding verse he was talking about evangelizing. As Romans 10:8, (NASB) says: "that is, the word of faith which we are preaching."

Furthermore, if all one had to do is say they believe in Jesus Christ and that was it, they are eternally saved, that would undermine the whole New Testament. Because The New Testament repeatedly talks about transforming your mind and heart to think and feel like Christ, (Romans 12:1, 2) and to cultivate the fruitage of the spirit and shun the works of the flesh. (Galatians 5:16-25) In fact, if one does not change their life, they will not enter into the kingdom of God, as 1 Corinthians 6:9-11, (NASB) says: "Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate , nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God."

 

[james1523]

Furthermore, if all one had to do is say they believe in Jesus Christ and that was it, they are eternally saved, that would undermine the whole New Testament. Because The New Testament repeatedly talks about transforming your mind and heart to think and feel like Christ, (Romans 12:1, 2) and to cultivate the fruitage of the spirit and shun the works of the flesh. (Galatians 5:16-25) In fact, if one does not change their life, they will not enter into the kingdom of God, as 1 Corinthians 6:9-11, (NASB) says: "Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate , nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God."

At the most basic level, a person who has the Holy Spirit, confesses that Christ has come in the flesh:
1 John 4:1-6 "Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God"

Such a person is of God and is saved.

Just as God is Trinity - Father, Son, Spirit.. God created us in His image as tripartite beings - body, soul, spirit.

The bible speaks of a 3-fold salvation: salvation of the spirit, then the soul, then the body.

1.Salvation of the spirit is when the Holy Spirit joins Himself to our spirit.
2.Salvation of the soul is when the Spirit spreads into our mind, emotions and will.
3.Salvation of the body is when the Spirit will resurrect or change our mortal bodies into glorified bodies.

The spirit is the part of us that makes us alive and living. Even if scientists could recreate the brain, mind, electrical system, and the body.. they could not make it living because they need to give it a spirit. Only God the eternal living one can be that Spirit that makes alive.

The soul is who we are, it is the 'I, me, us'. Our mind, emotions, will, contains all our life experiences, and receives input from the outside world, our environment, and from within, our genetics, chemistry, hormones etc, and from our spirit.

The body is our physical part.

Confession with the mouth and belief in the heart will satisfy step 1., justification. Step 2. is sanctification, When we are first saved we are not perfect vessels, but vessels that God molds and shapes over time to look more like Christ.

I believe you are speaking of salvation of the spirit and soul as a single salvation step. But really only confession with the mouth and believe that Jesus is Lord is all that is required to be saved in spirit, the first and most basic step. This will get the spirit saved from destruction in hellfire but will not guarantee inheriting the kingdom.