To Call part 1
I want to spend a couple of days looking at Romans 10:13, "For whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved." Because I think this verse can be a little confusing. I think this verse has kind of been used to build a doctrine of, "If you jump through this hoop you can get into heaven and avoid hell." Because that's what we generally think of when it comes to "salvation." Right? But hopefully we've at least somewhat dispelled that notion. Jesus came to save us from our sins. And it had nothing to do with our actions. So what are we talking about, "whosoever shall call on the Lord shall be saved"? That makes it sound like if you call on Him--or "accept Him as your personal Savior," or whatever religious catchphrase we use--you're saved... and if you don't, you're not. But If you back up a little bit to verse 12 you see this, "For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him." What Paul was talking about was the universalism (ut-oh... gotta be careful with THAT word, right?) of salvation. Saying it's for everybody. And look at what the word "saved" in Romans 10:13 means. It is number 4982 in Strong's Greek Concordance and it means, "to save, that is, deliver or protect (literally or figuratively): - heal, perserve, save (self), do well, be (make) whole." So instead of a "get out of hell free" card, what I think we're really talking about is that regeneration. That renewal. All things being made new. Newness of life. Abundance of life. My grandma kind of explains it like this: While salvation is already true, in order to experience it you need to receive it. We have been made whole. We are complete in Him. But in order to BE what we are... in order to BE transformed (into what we've already been transformed into) we need a renewing of our mind. And notice I didn't say WE need to renew our minds. That's not something we're expected to do, because it's not something we CAN do. Which is what the next verse in Romans chapter 10 says. Verse 14, "How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?" See, the good news of the gospel is not, "Get right or get left." That's not good news. That's a hoop to jump through. The good news of the gospel is, "We have been reconciled to God through His Son's finished work on the cross." The good news is that there's all this stuff available to us. He did it all so we could get it all, right? And now we have it all. But if we don't KNOW we have it, we can't enjoy it. "Calling on the Lord" and "being saved" is not about a deathbed confession that saves you from a fiery afterlife. It's about acknowledging something that is already true--something that has been true since the foundation of the world--and seeing it manifest in your life. Why beg God for healing when He already gave us divine health? Why beg God for scraps when He already prepared a table for us in the presence of our enemies? Why try to "get more of Him" when He already gave His life for us, and to us? Calling on His name is--to me--just opening the door that He is already knocking on. Not trying to transform, but BEING transformed. Not GETTING saved--because He already sought us out and saved us--but BEING saved. It's hearing the gospel, and then believing it. Letting what is already true... be true for you!