Acts 2:21 - And it shall come to pass that whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.
This truth about calling on the name of the Lord can either be easy or difficult to understand. First it is the power of God! But it also is an act of our will. It’s an easy thing to do but often our will gets in the way. Oh, that pride that so strongly dwells within each of us.
To be truly saved and called children of God, we must do exactly as the Bible suggests...
Then Peter said to them, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." (Acts 2:38) Repenting of sin can only be done by calling on the name of the Lord...only on the name of the Lord. Jesus Himself said that He is the only way, truth and life. No one else saves. We cannot save ourselves by good works or by knowing someone who is saved or going to church. I’m sure by now this sounds quite repetitive (and will continue to be) but there’s only one truth and one way by which we can receive forgiveness of sin and life everlasting. How many ways can it be explained? Only one way...the same way!
Let’s go one verse further, Acts 2:39, For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call. This is telling us the promise of the remission of sin is for all people. This is not saying that because of one being saved, it passes on to others. Each must call on the name of the Lord. In some way, shape or form, He is extending the invitation to repent. It is up to us to respond. And a bonus when we do is the gift of the Holy Spirit who will teach us the truth. Jesus is the way to life and is the truth. He will open our understanding to the writings in the Bible.
You will note baptism comes after repentance. As a commentary I read explains: for several reasons be baptized should not be joined with for the remission of sins to teach baptismal regeneration. First, the context of this passage demonstrates that the repentance is only connected with the removal of sin at salvation: “whosoever shall call… shall be saved.” A baby can’t repent; it has no understanding of sin; so baptism for the remission of sin does not work and yet that is the way of most churches, including the one I was part of as a child. How could it be that so many churches are, sadly, mistaken? Two articles on baptism:
We must be able to understand we have a sinful nature and need for a Savior.
Acts 4:12 - Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.
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