Calling upon the name of the Lord

1) Anyone has the least interest amount of interest in Christianity has probably heard an expression like:

2) “Call upon the name of the Lord.” Calling upon Jesus is sometimes associated with salvation.

3) A person who believes in Jesus might say to someone who does not, “You need to call upon the Lord.”

4) This expression has also been used by Christians; they “call upon God” in times of distress.

5) What does it mean to “call upon the Lord”? The Bible tells us.

6) There is a word in the New Testament that specifically means “call upon.”

7) This word is basically a compound word (it is formed by two separate parts)..

8) The first part of this word (epi) is a preposition meaning things like “at” or “upon.”

9) The remaining part of the word “kaleo” is the word for “call.”

10) When everything is put together in this compound word it literally means “to call upon.”

11) Few would disagree that the New Testament teaches people can and are supposed to call upon God.

12) What does calling upon God mean or involve? Who is to do it?

13) In studying this word we can go back into history.

a) Most know that the majority of the Old Testament was written in Hebrew.

b) In the third and second century before Christ, a new translation was introduced.

c) The Hebrew Old Testament was translated into Greek. This new translation was the Septuagint.

d) One of the words used in the Septuagint is the term translated “call upon.”

e) We want to look at some of the places where the Septuagint translators used this word.

f) We start with Gen. 4:26.

g) By this time Adam and Eve had lost a son; God allowed a new son to come to the first family.

h) Gen. 4:25 says this son was named “Seth.”

i) Here is Gen. 4:26 – READ.

j) Fairly early in the history of man people were “calling upon the name of Jehovah” (the Lord, KJV).

k) In Gen. 12:8 a different Bible character is introduced (Abraham).

l) The writer said Abraham “called upon” Jehovah (the same word).

m) Later in Abraham’s life (Gen. 21:33) he again “calls upon” God.

n) We know that Abraham “called upon” God and we know that Abraham fathered Isaac.

o) Guess what? Isaac also “called upon” God (same word, Gen. 26:25).

THIS OLD TESTAMENT BACKGROUND IS HELPFUL IN DETERMINING WHAT CALLING UPON THE NAME OF GOD MEANS IN THE NEW TESTAMENT.

a) In the Old Testament, calling upon the name of God meant someone was seeking God.

b) In fact, this expression actually teaches a point taught throughout the Bible.

c) Accountable people are either seeking God (calling upon His name) or they are not.

d) The Bible refers to the saved and the lost, the good and the bad, the just and the unjust.

e) Calling on the name of God is just another reference to the saved and the just.

2) Few would have any difficulty understanding the expression, “calling upon the police.”

a) We would also understand “calling upon the auto club.”

b) In these situations we are seeking help or assistance from someone or some organization.

c) Such is the very same thing when this word is applied to God.

3) We can demonstrate that our definition for calling upon God is right by using the Bible.

4) In Acts 2:21 we have Peter telling people to “call upon the Lord.”

5) Peter said if this were done the people would be “saved.”

a) There is some uncertainty as to what the people would be saved from.

b) There are those who believe Peter was talking about salvation from sin.

c) Others think he had in mind the coming destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D.

d) Whatever the apostle had in mind, there was some type of threat that required deliverance.

e) Peter said the people could “call upon God” and find that divine aid.

6) Many see the words “call upon God” and put their own interpretation on the words.

7) As we have seen, “call upon” means to “seek.” This is precisely what Peter was telling the people to do.

8) How do we seek God? Do we not find the answer to this question in Acts 2?

9) Peter spoke about “seeking God.” Before and after saying call upon God he preached the gospel.

10) In verse 38 he told his listeners what they needed to obey the gospel.

11) We call upon God by learning what His word says and then obeying it.

12) In Acts 7:59 we find another New Testament reference about calling upon God.

a) By this time in Luke’s account the church was well established.

b) Stephen was preaching and those in his midst did not like this message.

c) The Bible says a crowd decided to stone him.

d) Stephen died calling upon the name of God.

e) Stephen is pictured as seeking God with the last few minutes of life and breath he had.

f) Several points emerge from this verse.

g) First, calling upon God (seeking Him) is not limited to the lost.

h) Those who are not Christians need to hear and obey (call upon God’s name).

i) Christians also may and must call upon the name of God.

j) Was this was Stephen did? It was.

k) Consider too what Jesus said in Mt. 6:33 – seek first the Kingdom of God.

l) Seeking first the kingdom is just another way of saying we are to call upon the name of the Lord.

m) This is an obligation for Christians.

n) A final thought is this: Stephen’s final minutes of life were spent calling upon the name of God.

o) If someone had only 3 more minutes to live, how might he or she use that 180 seconds?

13) Some would want to smoke another cigarette or drink one more bottle of booze.

14) Others may choose a sin that is especially near and dear to them and spend their last 3 minutes doing it.

15) More than a few might say “goodbye” to those they love.

16) Stephen spent his final moments calling upon the name of God.

17) The end of this Christian’s life sounds a lot like what the Lord went through on the Cross.

18) Jesus called upon the name of God.

19) We do not find the specific word for call being used, but He is described as calling upon God.

20) In Acts 9:14 the word translated “call” is used again.

a) A preacher had heard how Saul had authority to bind those who “called” upon the name of Christ.

b) This is a passage that we need to commit to memory.

c) Throughout the denominational world people act like “calling on the name of God” is unique.

d) They treat it like something that was invented within the last 50 years.

e) Calling on the name of God (seeking God) is not new.

f) Furthermore, there is this point from Acts 9:14: this was something Christians did.

g) God’s people called upon heaven for a variety of things.

21) Today we still call upon God. When we read His word, we are calling upon Him for guidance.

22) We call upon God when we pray.

23) Acts 9:21 goes right along with Acts 9:14. Christians in Jerusalem “called upon” God’s name.

24) When we pray as a group or individually, we are calling on the name of God.

25) When thinking about calling on the name of God Acts 22:16 certainly comes to mind.

a) Saul was told, “arise, be baptized, and wash away thy sins calling on his name.”

b) Some have tried to say his sins were washed away by “calling on his name.”

c) I have no objection to that statement if we understand what the Bible means by calling upon God..

d) What many do is provide their own definition for this “calling.”

e) More than a few have said this “calling” was saying something like, “Jesus save me.”

f) Or, “I accept Jesus as my personal savior.” This was not what Saul did.

g) Calling on the name means to seeking the Lord’s help for salvation or something else.

h) Earlier we noted how “call” is just another way to describe things like “saved,” “just,” “believer.”

i) People are either calling on the name of Christ or they are not.

j) Saul had not formerly called on the name of Christ. He had been opposed to the name of Jesus.

k) A preacher said it was time for him to “call” on the Lord Jesus Christ (turn to Jesus.

l) What did this calling, seeking and turning involve? First, he had to “arise.”

m) If the religious world is right in how they define calling (just accept Jesus into the heart), here is my ?:

n) Why did Paul have to stand? Could he not have said the words without getting up?

o) Yes. Saul had to arise so he could fully call on the name of the Lord.

p) His calling involved baptism in the water for the forgiveness of sins and this is specifically mentioned.

26) We see the word for call being used in Rom. 10:13; we must call upon the Lord to be saved.

27) Lots of people run to this verse and say, “Here it is. Confess Christ and be saved.

28) “Accept Jesus into the heart and nothing else is required.”

29) In the book of Romans Paul has a major theme: justification (being right with God).

30) Again and again Paul says we are not justified by works of merit.

31) If works of merit do not justify us, what does? We must “call upon the Lord.”

32) We must seek Jesus, and not good works. How do we seek Jesus?

33) Just like the people in Acts 2: we hear the gospel and then we obey it.

34) After these things we continue to call upon God like the Christians in Acts 9.

35) This information is very clear, but many seem to have somehow missed it.

a) Almost all the teaching that is done regarding calling upon the name of the Lord is joined with the unsaved.

b) The Bible says in the most explicit way that Christians are to call upon the Lord.

c) Listen to 1 Cor. 1:2 – READ. Christians “called upon” the Lord.

d) Christians in “every place” called upon God.

e) This is a basic part of Christianity.

f) God wants us to call upon Him, and He wants us to do it within some parameters.

36) Parents with young children sometimes ask a question before mealtime: did you wash your hands?

37) Hands before mealtime are never perfect, but there is a reasonable standard for cleanliness.

38) God tells us that a similar thing is true in the spiritual realm.

39) God knows that we will not be perfect, but He does expect a basically good Christian life.

40) In 2 Tim. 2:22 Paul said we are to call upon the Lord out of a pure heart.

a) When we call upon God, heaven is looking at our heart.

b) If we call out to God in filth and corruption, we ought to first look at our life.

c) God wants those calling on Him to be working on their heart.

d) Every single person who is a Christian calls upon God when they pray.

e) Peter used the word studied tonight (1 Pet. 1:17) to say we “call upon” the Father.

41) We cannot be saved unless we call upon God.

42) We cannot be saved unless our calling on God means seeking and obeying what the Word of God says.

43) We cannot be saved as a Christian unless we continue to call upon (and this means seeking) God.

44) Have we called upon God in the past, and are we still calling upon Him day by day?