Do all who call on the name of the Lord get saved? Or only the ones who do his will? I am thinking of passages like Romans 10:13, Joel 2:32, Acts 2:21, and Matthew 7:21. -- Tom Fonseca

My response to the question would be to ask, How does one call on the name of the Lord? Consider Acts 22:16 -- calling on the name in baptism. Or Acts 10:43 -- which is as far as Peter got in his message in Caesarea before the divine interruption. Notice how he then resumes in 10:47... and commands Cornelius and crew to be baptized in the name of Jesus.

If we want to go a little deeper, we should ask, "Who are the all who call on the Lord's name?" It is clear from a study of Romans 10 that Gentiles, not Jews, are included in the number of those who may be saved. In other words, salvation is no longer the special privilege of the Jew, the follower of the old covenant. The doors have swung wide open to embrace all of mankind.

This article is copyrighted and is for private use and study only. © 2004. Reprints or public distribution is prohibited without the express consent of Douglas Jacoby.