Whosoever shall be saved
God's saving grace is only a call away
How is a person saved from a road that would have led to eternal damnation, and put on the road that leads to eternity with God? The first New Testament example comes from the book of Acts, where Peter, the same one who denied Jesus, but was transformed through the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, explained that:
21And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved. – Acts 2:21
For the first time, people heard that they were not excluded from salvation which many believed was only available to the Jews. Peter explains this, based on Joel’s prophesy:
32And 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. – Joel 2:32
Later, Paul picks up on the same idea and explains it very well in his letter to the church in Rome:
13For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. – Romans 10:13
It sounds so simple, and it is, yet there are so many who never get to the point that they call on the name of the Lord, are not saved, and die in their sins, forever damned.
When we look at the tenth chapter, we see how Paul yearns for the nation of Israel to be saved (Romans 10:1). They claim to serve Him, but do not know how to (Romans 10:2). This is because they have not submitted themselves to Him (Romans 10:3). Just a little further on, Paul gives the solution. In all this time, Israel has tried to serve God as someone who they do not really have any connection with. There is no relationship. How then, should the relationship be? He gives the answer, but extends it beyond the nation of Israel:
9That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 10For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. – Romans 10:9-10
Thus, there are two things the unbeliever must do:
- He must confess with his mouth that Jesus is the Lord and Saviour of the world; and
- He must believe in his heart that God has raised Him from the dead.
Salvation then, is the act of speaking (confess) that Jesus is Lord and accepting (believe) that God raised Him from the dead. The entire gospel of salvation is anchored in the fact that Jesus was raised from the dead. If you cannot, or will not believe this, then you cannot, and will not, be saved.
In this chapter, Paul addresses mostly Israel, but we should be careful to think that this only applies to God’s chosen people. One word makes it clear that it applies also to you and me, and everyone else who needs to be saved: whosoever. I like this word and have highlighted it wherever it appears in references I have quoted so far. It includes everyone and excludes no one. The word appears 183 times in the King James Version Bible and after scanning most of the examples I concluded that in each case, it includes everyone and excludes no one to whom some condition applies. It started way back in the Old Testament where Joel quoted it, and it continues to this day. If fact, just five verses short of the end of the Bible, we have the word used again, for the last time, as a final warning:
17And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely. – Revelation 22:17
One last time, we are invited to come and taste the living water (John 4:10), which is Jesus and the eternal life that He gives. Everybody who wants to experience living water can do so, and none is excluded, irrespective of what they may have done in their lives.
Coming back to Paul’s letter, we see that after he states that whoever responds to the message of the gospel must hear it first. He then states the case for himself as a preacher of the good news, along with everyone else after him, right up to you today, to tell people about it! He makes it clear, through rhetorical questions:
- How can anyone call on the name of someone in whom they have not previously believed? This implies that they have never heard the gospel message before.
- How can they believe if they have not heard the truth?
- How can those who need to share the good news, do so if they have not been sent?
Paul then states that faith comes because of hearing the gospel, and hearing by the word of God. In short, we need to hear the truth. Nothing else and nothing less. (Romans 10:17). If you are reading this today, and you have not yet placed your faith in Jesus, do not let the devil deceive you by making you think that reading is not hearing, and you are therefore excluded. The Word of God, the Bible, is a living, breathing, and spoken Word. While you are reading here, God is speaking his Word to you! The problem comes when you refuse to accept the invitation or keep yourself deaf to the message. In this case, the word whosoever still applies, but unfortunately in a bad way:
15And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. – Revelation 20:15
Conclusion
The world is racing towards its own destruction. Mankind seems bent on doing things his own way, and the number of people that are turning their backs on faith in Jesus as Lord and Saviour is alarming. Until the time that the voice rings out like a trumpet to call us home, in heaven, there is still time for whosoever hears the gospel to call on the name of the Lord and be saved from eternal damnation. John understood this, and noted down Jesus’ instruction:
22He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. – Revelation 3:22