Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved
I thought over time I might collect some of God’s promises. Today, I am reflecting on the promise, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
Originally this promise was given by the prophet Joel to the Jewish people, who were the only people on earth who knew God and who had received the scriptures of God.
In those days, the name of the Lord that was revealed to the Jewish people was Yahweh, given to Moses in Exodus chapter 3. His name was written in Hebrew without vowels as YHWH, and means “I am that I am”. What the vowels actually were in YHWH is a mystery, that some have claimed to have solved; I am not certain of any of those explanations.
“Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” is an interesting promise in regard to the Jewish people of today: out of an excess of caution regarding the name of God, Jewish people today do not cry out to Yahweh – they call God Adonai, which means “Lord” – but they avoid using God’s personal name; I believe it is out of an abundance of caution because they are worried about breaking the third of the Ten Commandments, “You shall not take the name of YHWH your God in vain, for YHWH will not leave anyone unpunished who takes His name in vain.” Exodus 20:7
But it seems to me from this Biblical passage that God actually wants His people to receive His Spirit and cry out to him, in His name, and be saved.
Joel 2:28-32
And afterward, I will pour out My Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
your old men will dream dreams,
your young men will see visions.
Even on My menservants and maidservants,
I will pour out My Spirit in those days.
I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth,
blood and fire and columns of smoke.
The sun will be turned to darkness
and the moon to blood
before the coming of the great and awesome Day of YHWH.
And everyone who calls on the name of YHWH
will be saved;
for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem
there will be deliverance, as YHWH has promised,
among the remnant called by YHWH. (BSB translation, adapted)
IN THE NEW TESTAMENT
In the New Testament this Bible verse is applied to Jesus in two places. One of them is Romans 10, the other is Acts 2:21.
Jesus’ name, in Hebrew and Aramaic is Yeshua ישוע, in Greek Ἰησοῦς Iésous.
Yeshua, or Iésous, means “YHWH saves” and is a shortening of the name Joshua יְהוֹשֻׁעַ Yehoshua in Hebrew.
So, strangely enough, I think the early Jewish believers in Jesus as Messiah would have seen calling on Jesus as identical, really, to calling on YHWH. I read a lengthy explanation somewhere that the vowels in Jesus’ name in Hebrew are the same vowels as were used in YHWH – I can’t presently find it – but that’s not the point of this post.
The point is that anyone who cries out to Jesus will be saved – this is one of God’s promises – and since even in Biblical times Jesus’ name had at least two versions (Yeshua ישוע and Ἰησοῦς Iésous) it surely doesn’t matter which language in which you cry out to Jesus, or which version of His name you say when you are calling out to Him – He is God and He is Lord, He is seated on heaven’s throne and will hear us in any language.
Romans 10:5-13
For concerning the righteousness that is by the law, Moses writes: “The man who does these things will live by them.” But the righteousness that is by faith says: “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’ (that is, to bring Christ down) or, ‘Who will descend into the Abyss?’ (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead).”
But what does it say? “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming: that if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with your heart you believe and are justified, and with your mouth you confess and are saved.
It is just as the Scripture says: “Anyone who believes in Him will never be put to shame.” For there is no difference between Jew and Greek: The same Lord is Lord of all, and gives richly to all who call on Him, for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”