Call on the Name of the Lord!

For whoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

Romans 10:13

This is an awesome promise of the Word! Here Paul is debunking the thought that salvation was only for the Jews. He says whoever, whether Jew or Gentile, calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved! But to truly understand this verse we must ask ourselves two questions:

1) What does it mean to be saved? 

The Greek word here is the word Sozo. According to Strong's Concordance the word means "save, heal, preserve, rescue". HELPS Word studies further defines it "deliver out of danger and into safety". You can refer to Bible Hub as a further resource.

Of course, this ultimately is referring to salvation from sin and from hell. We know from other scriptures in Romans that "All have sinned..." (3:23) and that "...the wages of sin is death..." (6:23). So Paul is referring to salvation from this death, eternal separation from God in hell, to the safety of eternal life.

If you have not made the decision to call on the name of the Lord then please visit my page What is the Gospel. However I believe that the significance of this verse and this promise doesn't stop the moment we accept salvation. Let us ask one more question.

2) What is the name of the Lord?

The term 'Lord' is Kurios which denotes "a person exercising complete ownership rights". This means that by saying we are calling on the Lord we are giving up ownership over ourselves. From that point on we no longer belong to ourselves but to the Lord. However 'Lord' is not a name, it is a title. So what is the name of the Lord?

God announces His name to Moses when talking to him from the burning bush. God proclaims His name as simply "I AM" (Exodus 3:14). The English transliteration of this name is Yahweh or Jehovah. This names denotes the never changing nature of God. He is who He is and that will never change! The Bible says "I am the Lord, I change not" (Malachi 3:6).

Then throughout the Old Testament we see various attributes to this name:

Jehovah Jireh - Genesis 22:14 - The Lord will provide
Jehovah Rapha - Exodus 15:26 - The Lord that heals
Jehovah Nissi - Exodus 17:15 - The Lord my banner (victory)
Jehovah Mekoddishkem - Exodus 31:13 - The Lord who makes holy
Jehovah Shalom - Judges 6:24 - The Lord is peace
Jehovah Shammah - Ezekiel 48:35 - The Lord is there

(For a more complete list of the names of God go here)

This is just a small sampling of the names that God, Jehovah, has revealed Himself as. Already we can get a sense of the all encompassing nature of the above verse! Think about it, 

Whoever calls on Jehovah Jireh, Rapha, Nissi, Mekoddiskem, Shalom, Shammah shall be saved! Are you in need of provision, healing, victory, sanctification, peace, or simply the presence of the Almighty? Just call on His name! You shall be saved from your situation!