The Two Calls of Salvation --- Romans 10:11–15 October 13, 2019

For the Scripture says, “WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED.” 12For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him; 13for “WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.”

14How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher? 15How will they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, “HOW BEAUTIFUL ARE THE FEET OF THOSE WHO BRING GOOD NEWS OF GOOD THINGS!”

Introduction

Our text this morning is a foundational text articulating one of the main purposes of why we exist as the Church, namely to speak the truth of the Gospel to the world. God is a sending God who sent His Son to save ungodly men. He sends you and me as His ambassadors every week to speak this truth of the Gospel of Christ to those around us.

Recorded in Acts 10 is a prime example of God sending a preacher to speak the Gospel. I'm going to paraphrase this passage. God sent Peter to proclaim the Gospel to individuals outside of the Jewish nation—namely to the Roman centurion, Cornelius and those who were with him. Cornelius was a devout man to whom God had given a vision of an angel who told him to send to Joppa to bring back a man named Simon Peter who would bring him a message from God.

Cornelius sent two of his servants and a soldier and, while they were on their way, God gave a corresponding vision to Peter to prepare him for their visit. Peter saw heaven opened and something like a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners. In it were many animals that were unclean according to Jewish dietary laws. Then Peter heard a voice saying, “Get up, Peter, kill and eat.”

Peter replied as any devout Jew would, “Surely not, Lord. I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.” Then God said, “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.” This happened three times because Peter was a hard headed man, but once you got something in that head to stuck. At the end of Peter's vision, the men sent by Cornelius arrived and Peter understood that the vision was in reference to their request. Normally a Jew of Peter's standing would not have entered the house of an “unclean” Gentile. But being prepared by God, Peter went with them and arrived the following day to find a large gathering of people who Cornelius had called together. Peter began to speak, “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts men from every nation who fear Him and do what is right.”

That is the exact point that Paul makes in our passage this morning in Romans 10:12, “For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him . . . . ”

As a result of Peter's explanation, Cornelius and the others believed on as their savior. Their salvation was proof to Peter and to all the Jews that the Gospel was not limited to Jews only, but that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

We find ourselves today in a time of church history that began in Acts 2 and expanded to this account in Acts 10 where the Gospel goes to all of the world. It is our task to speak the truth of the Gospel to all in our circles. I want to point your attention to what Paul writes concerning this great purpose that we have as Christ's church.

Review

Last week we finished our study of two of the most vital passages in all of Scripture—Romans 10:9-10 “ . . . that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.”

We considered that there are people in every church that are only outwardly attached to the Church but do not know the inward transformation that the Gospel brings. They are like Judas who was part of the twelve disciples of Christ. Judas is an example of a person who is attached to Jesus yet is not a true disciple. He had joined with the inner circle, followed Jesus, and agreed to all that Jesus had said. He even went out preaching when the twelve were sent out.

We saw that Jesus teaches very plainly that there will be tares among the wheat. There are Judas’ in the Church today that go undetected. The truths involved in Romans 10:9-10 are at the heart of the issue concerning people like Judas in the Church. They are attached but have no true spiritual life. There is no heart belief, and there is no Lordship of Christ in their lives.

Confession of Jesus as Lord and Master of life and heart belief in the Gospel go hand-in-hand. You cannot have one without the other. Christ as Savior and Lord are two sides of the same coin just as repentance and faith are two sides of the same coin. You cannot have one without the other. Furthermore, you cannot be a secret disciple of Christ; this means that you cannot accept Jesus as Savior and not be a follower of Christ that shows itself on the outside. J.C Ryle wrote, “Either the secrecy kills the discipleship, or else the discipleship kills the secrecy.”

We saw that “heart belief” involves a wholeheartedness. This is the way that the uses the word when it commands us to “love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.” I read for you what John Calvin said about this heart belief, “I am not going to argue about the part of the body in which faith is located, but since the word “heart” generally means a serious and sincere affection, I maintain that faith is a firm and effectual confidence, and not just a bare idea.” Calvin affirms that faith is more than just mental assent.

Furthermore, we considered the issue of Christ's lordship. We saw that many times we can identify a person by how they talk. The same should be true for the believer. People should be able to tell by your speech, actions and attitude that your citizenship is in heaven. You are a pilgrim passing through. A major part of our speech should center around the truths of Scripture. We speak the truth of Christ to those around us. This is a main priority of the Church. Jesus left His last instructions to the Church telling her to make disciples and to teach others to live according to all that Christ has taught.

We considered some practical application of Christ's lordship in our lives, so I would encourage you to go back and listen to last weeks sermon if you were not here. I want to make an additional comment concerning verse 11 before we move on.

The Two Calls of Salvation

11For the Scripture says, “WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED.”

Most translations follow the NKJV concerning verse 11 which translates the word “disappointed” as “put to shame.” It reads, “Whoever believes in Him will not be put to shame.” This is a fair translation so that Paul would be saying that believers will not be disappointed or put to shame in terms of being let down because they followed an empty promise.

On one hand, Paul is making a contrast between unbelievers who have no shame in their sin in this life but will be put to shame when judgment comes. On the other hand, those who trust in Christ—even though they may endure ridicule, scorn and shame by unbelievers here and now—will have no same for eternity.

This is so vital to understand. I have mentioned before that when Christ returns and intersects this time/space continuum and all of mankind's activities are halted and all goes silent and all attention is pointed to One Person: Jesus Christ; then there will be no shame for believers. Christians will rejoice with inexpressible joy. The message on which they based their life will find its climax. Christ will be exalted and all who know Him as Savior and Lord will also be exalted. There will be no shame.

Conversely, if the Bible is wrong and Christ was just a man and He died like any other man and there is no Resurrection and is a lie, then we as believers have lived our lives for nothing and have followed a lie.

1 Corinthians 15:13, 17, 19, 20 “But if there is no resurrection of the dead, not even Christ has been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain . . . 17and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins . . . 19If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied. 20But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep.

God reassures us that we will not be disappointed or put to shame for having lost our lives for the sake of Christ. Having crystalized the Gospel in Romans 10:9-10, Paul now focuses on the need for the Church to disseminate the Gospel message into all the world. There is a two way call involved in the Gospel being preached to all of mankind. On one hand, the Gospel goes out to all of mankind as God calls all men to be saved. On the other hand, there is the call from an individual to Christ to be saved. So this morning, I want to consider these two calls that are alluded to in verses 11-15: first, God's Call to Man; and second, Man's Call to God.

One primary purpose of the Church is to proclaim the message of the Gospel to all of the world. The Church could exalt, praise and glorify God better in heaven apart from the sinful influence of this world and in glorified bodies. The Church would have no need for edification and sanctification in heaven because we would be made perfect. However, there is one thing the Church can do here on earth and cannot do in heaven, and that is make disciples.

Matthew 28:18-20 has rightly been called “The Great Commission.” Here, Jesus gives His last great charge to those whom He has left behind concerning what they are to be about doing. “And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."

The imperatives in this passage are: “go,” “make disciples,” “baptize,” and “teach.” There is no mistaking the clear purpose of the Church in regards to proclaiming the Gospel and discipleship. The job is not done with only an “evangelistic encounter.” We are to make disciples both corporately as the Church and individually as we come along side new believers and encourage them in their walk with God. God calls out to man through the Gospel message given by the church. He exhorts man to call out to Christ for salvation.

God's Call to Man For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him; for “WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.” Romans 10:12,13

Here is a great statement that focuses on the universal call of the Gospel to all of mankind and the response of those who call upon the Lord as a result. Paul writes further of this call to man in Romans 10:14-15, “How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher? How will they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, “HOW BEAUTIFUL ARE THE FEET OF THOSE WHO BRING GOOD NEWS OF GOOD THINGS!”

We have seen that the Bible makes a distinction between the general call of the Gospel that goes out to all of mankind and the effectual call to the elect. The general call of the Gospel to all men includes many that reject the Gospel. There are many who hear the general call of the Gospel but do not respond. But in the case of the elect, the Gospel call is effectual by the working of the Holy Spirit and they do respond and are transformed into new people. Jesus said in Matthew 22:14, “For many are called, but few are chosen.” The effectual call brings a response that is a voluntary and willing response in which the individual person repents and trusts in Christ. For example in Acts 16:14, Paul was preaching the Gospel, and the verse says, “And a certain woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple fabrics, a worshiper of God, was listening; and the Lord opened her heart to respond to the things spoken by Paul.” That is the effectual call of the Gospel that the Holy Spirit works and brings salvation.

The difference between the effectual call and the general call is that the general call of the Gospel goes out to all men, even those who do not accept it. At the same time, the general call is the means, that God has appointed, through which the effectual call comes. We will see that in our further study of Romans 10:14, “How then shall they call upon Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?”

We have learned in our study of Romans that from the beginning of time, God chose certain ones to be saved. His sovereignty works out in time and space by God calling His elect through the proclamation of the Gospel. Jesus said in John 10:27, "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.” Christ’s sheep will hear the truth with understanding.

2 Timothy 1:9 describes God, “ . . . who has saved us, and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity, . . . . ”

This calling is a kind of “summons” from Christ Himself that comes with power. This effectual calling guarantees a response. Paul says in that those who God calls, He justifies—period. This calling draws us to Christ. John 6:44 says, "No one can come to Me, unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day.” This calling is God drawing His elect children to Himself.

1 Corinthians 1:23-24 “. . . we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness, but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.”

There is an amazing term that provides insight into believers as “the called of Jesus Christ.” The term “Church” in the Greek is “eklassia.” It is a compound word consisting of ek meaning “out of” and kaleo meaning “called”, “the called out ones”. The Church consists of those who are called out by God. The Church is called out of the world to be separate from the world. We live different lives than the world.

So as we consider verses 11-15, we find that God calls out to all of mankind through the Church to be saved. That is the general call of the Gospel to the world. As you live your life among the world as a believer, God appoints you to speak the truth of the Gospel to those around you. You are God's mouthpiece to call to the world to be saved. So that is God's call to man.

Next, is man's call to God. There is an exhortation to those who hear the general call of the Gospel to respond by calling upon the Lord to be saved.

Man's Call to God For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him; for “WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.” Romans 10:12,13

Now before we consider what it means for a person to call upon the Lord Jesus Christ, I want to insert a rather lengthy footnote concerning man's responsibility in salvation that goes along with God's election. You see the term “whoever” in reference to those who call upon the Lord: “whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

This phrase declares an important corresponding truth concerning election, namely that man is responsible for calling and believing in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. “Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

We have spent many months, ever since the beginning of , considering the great doctrine of election. You remember that Paul, in teaching about election, pointed to two important choices that God made concerning the line through which the promises to would continue. God chose and not his half brother Ishmael; and God chose and not his twin brother . Romans 9:10-11 clearly speaks of this. “And not only this, but there was Rebekah also, when she had conceived twins by one man, our father Isaac; for though the twins were not yet born and had not done anything good or bad, so that God’s purpose according to His choice would stand, not because of works but because of Him who calls.” In this text, Paul points to God's sovereign call as the basis for salvation.

But now Paul writes “whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.” Paul highlights the responsibility of each individual to respond to the Gospel. This idea of the responsibility of man in salvation is taught in numerous other passages of Scripture. I want to highlight one in the Gospel of John.

John 3:16-21 For God so loved the world [God demonstrated His love in this way], that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. 17For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. 18He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. 20For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. 21But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.

Jesus said in verse 18, "He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” You see, the only way to escape judgment is to believe the good news about Jesus the Christ. Anyone who exercises faith in the Gospel is not condemned. But anyone who does not believe, who persists in unbelief, does not have to wait until Judgment Day. That person is already condemned. He who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. Man is responsible before God for his unbelief.

The world is already under judgment. Man’s position is like a man who is in prison being asked whether or not he will accept a pardon. The Gospel teaches that man is not on trial or going to trial for his sin. He is already condemned; the trial is over. Man is already in prison waiting for execution. But the Gospel tells him a pardon is offered him. The question is, “Will the sinner accept the pardon?”

When people do not trust in Christ, they further condemn themselves. His cross gives people the opportunity of salvation and challenges them to a decision. To refuse His good gift is to further solidify one's condition as being condemned.

This is why it is dangerous to come and listen to the message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and continue in a state of unbelief. As you continue on in a state of unbelief, you call down upon yourself further judgment from God. This is the meaning of Hebrews 6:7-8, “For ground that drinks the rain which often falls upon it and brings forth vegetation useful to those for whose sake it is also tilled, receives a blessing from God; 8but if it yields thorns and thistles, it is worthless and close to being cursed, and it ends up being burned.” If you come here and soak up truth and it yields fruit in your life, there is blessing for you from God. But if you soak up truth and continue to reject truth then you are in danger of being cursed by God. To refuse the person of Jesus Christ is to call down judgment upon yourself.

Man is responsible for believing or rejecting the truth. Re-read verse John 3:19 "And this is the judgment, that the light is come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the light; for their deeds were evil.” Here John explains the reason why one individual believes and another individual rejects the person of Jesus Christ. The fundamental nature of judgment is stated in terms of light and darkness. People choose the darkness and their condemnation. They shut themselves up in darkness; they choose to live in darkness and cut themselves off from the light.

Why? Because their deeds are evil. They are immersed in wrongdoing, and they have no wish to be disturbed. They refuse to be shaken out of their comfortable sinfulness. So they reject the light that comes to them, and they set their love on darkness.

Unbelievers are not ignorant; they willfully reject the truth. :18 says that unbelieving man suppresses the truth about God and as a result they condemn themselves. Everyone who turns down Christ does it because of his wicked heart which he does not want Jesus to change. Unbelievers hate the light, knowing it will reveal their sin.

John is emphasizing the responsibility of man in the salvation call. Man is responsible for accepting or rejecting salvation as a gift. Here the emphasis is on men, who love darkness, choosing to reject God. Men choose their eternal judgment because they prefer darkness to light. It was not forced on them; they themselves chose darkness, and in that lies their condemnation.

Lastly, John clarifies this explanation in John 3:20, "For everyone who does evil hates the light, and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.” “Everyone who does evil” refers to those who continually practice that which is malicious and shameful. They are characterized by evil. Why do those who do evil not come to the light? Because all who make a practice of wrongdoing hate the light. John uses a very strong word here: “hate.” It is not that they just do not like the light or do not prefer the light. They hate the light. John sees men as hating God and hating Jesus.

Listen to this example. I recall reading a statement by Elton John. In the statement, he said that he thought religion should be outlawed, banned and basically made a crime. His reason was that religious people tend not to like homosexuals—which he is. What he really does not like is his immoral behavior to be exposed. He hates the light.

The conflict between good and evil is not some wimpy affair. One reason why there is such a strong clash is because, in order to come to the light, a person must see his sin for what it is as well have to have it reprimanded for what it is.

No one likes this uncomfortable process especially those who practice evil. The fear of reproof keeps sinful men away from the light. If you are here this morning without salvation, the truth is that one reason that you will not come to the light is because you do not want the darkness in your life to be seen.

So God calls out to man in the general call of the Gospel that goes out to all. God uses the general call to effectively call the elect; the Holy Spirit uses it to draw the elect to salvation. Alongside that is the responsibility of man. No man is judged because he is not the elect. Every person will be judged because he rejected the light of revelation, whatever level to which he was exposed. Now go back to Romans10:12-13.

12For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him; 13for “WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.”

The main thrust here is not to give a theological explanation of election in reference to the parallel truth of man's responsibility. The main thrust here is to extend the Gospel offer to all of mankind. This is clear because in the next section, there is an appeal for messengers to take the offer of salvation to all who will call upon Jesus as Lord and Savior throughout the whole world.

These verses make clear that it does not make any difference who you are or what you may or may not have done. You may be rich or poor, educated or uneducated, advantaged or disadvantaged. You may be passive or highly motivated. You may be religious or not religious at all. You may be outwardly moral or you may be outwardly immoral. You may have lived in sin a long time. You may have committed adultery or stolen money. You may even have murdered someone. It does not matter. The text says, “Whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek. As we have seen time and time again, this would have been especially hard for the Jew to accept. According to chapter 3, they thought that they had every advantage. But Paul shows that they were still as sinful as the complete pagan who only had general revelation and conscience to guide them. Paul makes clear in that Jesus did not only die for the Jews only, but also for the Gentiles. Romans 3:29-30 “Or is God the God of Jews only? Is He not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, since indeed God who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith is one.” for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him. Because there is only one God, Paul states that this God treats all His human creations on equal basis. 1 Timothy 2:3-5 parallels this truth. “This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.”

If you are here this morning and do not know Christ as your Savior and the Master of your life, God is calling you to call upon Christ. He says, “If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart (the Gospel which is contained in the fact) that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” There is no greater message.

Conclusion

The Edmund Fitzgerald was a Great Lakes freighter nearly a thousand feet long, almost a long as the Empire State Building in New York City is high. She had sailed to Duluth to pick up iron ore. And now, during the first week of November 1975, she was making her way across Lake Superior to the Soo Locks to bring the ore to cities in the South.

The first day out a terrible storm moved down out of Canada to the Lakes. This was a particularly bad storm with waves reaching twenty-five and thirty feet high. The captain of a freighter that was following the Edmund Fitzgerald was worried. We have his sworn testimony as to what he saw happened that day.

Somewhere along the way, the Fitzgerald began to take on water and developed an increasingly strong list to the starboard. She sank lowly in the water. The captain of the other ship kept in radio and radar contact, but the captain of the Fitzgerald kept reporting that everything was all right—it's OK. The last communication from the freighter was she sank was this tragic message: “We are holding our own. We are OK.”

Minutes later the ship headed into a wave that washed over her low-lying decks, and she never came up. They say that the motor kept going and drove the ship down. In less that 10 seconds, the Edmund Fitzgerald sank with the loss of all 27 people aboard. The captain of the ship that was following reported that she simply disappeared from the radar screen. One minute she was there, and the next minute she was gone forever.

If you have not called upon the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation, your state is like that of the Fitzgerald. You are headed into judgment and who can say how when that may be. You may be to the ultimate disaster. Do not say, “I am holding my own. I'm OK.” Only a fool would say that when he or she is sinking, and you are sinking.

This is a tremendous promise that we have looked at this morning, “Whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

10/13/19