Does calling on the name of the Lord mean verbalizing the proper name Jesus by the baptizer to effectuate remission/forgiveness/aphesis of sins? Or in other words is the blood applied in a properly administered baptism using the right formula?
Using Greek terms to explain biblical principles from the Hebraic minds who were writing in their second language can be a tricky thing if you work backwards as many of my 3 stepping friends have ...
Calling on the name of the Lord is not a NEW TESTAMENT THING ....
in the Jewish tradition .... the baptizee did the confession of faith ... some have confused what being baptized into the name, or authority of Jesus Christ w/ the biblical principle of CALLING UPON THE NAME OF THE LORD .... which was more that the incantation of a name. You won't see this practice in scripture that salvation or a covenant somehow hangs on a third party officiator getting it right.
Calling upon the name of the Lord in the OT and NT have a distinct meaning to what many of my OP brethren have twisted it to mean w/ their Water and Spirit rose colored glasses on.
One of the gravest errors we make in rightly dividing the word is our failure to understand idiomatic expressions of the Hebraic language.
In the OT ... to call upon the name of the Lord, the word upon is the particle preposition b or beth. There is no Strong's number that corresponds. Only the use of this Hebrew preposition separates to call the LORD or to call to the LORD from to call upon the LORD or to call upon the name of the LORD.
Almost every use of to call on the name of the LORD involves the construction of an altar and the offering of a sacrifice (
Genesis 12:8, 13:4, 21:33--implied, 26:25;
1 Kings 18:24).
All of the Old Testament sacrifices were only as effective as the believing of the one offering them.All of these sacrifices entailed acknowledging God's lamb who would be revealed in the future. To call “upon the name of the LORD” was to formally enter into a covenant by coming into His presence.
Notice that it was between the believer and God ... not the officiator of a baptismal ceremony invoking it on someone else.
CrazyHomie once stated:
If we are going to be called "Apostolic" and a "new testament church", obviously one would think we would want to be biblically based in our baptism. Baptism was a ritual cleansing incorportated into the mosaic law. If a woman was on her monthly, she would go and "cleanse" herself. If you were healed of leprosy, etc. one would obey the law and cleanse themselves. These baptism pools were all over the holy land and were called "Mikvahs". When Peter preached in
Acts 2, he told them to go wash according to the "new covenant" which was Christ. They were no longer to cleanse themselves according to the "old covenant" which was the law. Also, it was a public confession as to their new found faith in this messiah called Jesus Christ. In those days to public confess ones faith away from the law to follow Jesus, was inviting persecution if not death from the religious community. Three thousand obeyed Peter and went and washed themselves. I am not saying an individual is not saved by invocation, rather biblically speaking, it is always up to the believer to call on Christ for salvation.
Entering this new covenant is through our confession of faith in the Lamb ... my friend ... as it was for Abraham, Jacob, Moses (See
Hebrews 11)
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Paul in Romans 10 is echoing a biblical truth and a promise from OT scripture .. and surely understood this when he was instructed to call on the name of the Lord ... not the baptizer ...
These too are the words of the prophet Joel and Peter ... and others also ... there is witness in Scripture .... and calling upon the name has alway fell upon the believer as it relates to salvation ... not the utterances of third party ... i.e. baptizer.
The name is undoubtedly attached to the person and His authority and his entire nature as Savior and God.
A sinner, Jew or Gentile, who has sincerely believed and calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved ....
John says
And his commandment is this: we should believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another just as he commanded us
I write these things to you so that you may know that you have eternal life, you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.
As does Joel:
Quote:
32 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the LORD hath said, and in the remnant whom the LORD shall call.
As does the Psalmist:
Quote:
Psalm 116:4, "Then called I upon the name of the LORD [YHWH] ; O LORD [YHWH], I beseech thee, deliver my soul."
As does Paul:
Quote:
13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
As does Ananias, in Acts:
Quote:
"And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord."
As does Peter, in the book of Acts on the day of Pentecost:
Quote:
21 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.
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