Acts 2:21
"And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."
It seems so very simple.
In terms of its understandability, it is simple. But it also seems as if it should be simple and obvious to do.
We all face the problem of sin. Some deny its existence. Others ignore it as best they can. But it hangs over us all and we are powerless to avoid it.
We have turned from God, rejecting Him, his Word and His commands. We deserve the just punishment of our wrongs. The wage of sin is death, eternal separation from God.
Yet here in all of its simple and potent beauty is the Gospel. Jesus paid the penalty of sins and all we need to do is call upon his name and we shall be saved.
Simple to understand. Not so simple to do.
To call upon the name of the Lord, we must acknowledge our great need for a savior. This is to, in humility, admit before God that we have broken His commands and are earnestly sorry. It is to acknowledge that we are powerless to fix it ourselves and therefore need His intervention.
To call upon the name of the Lord is to acknowledge that we have a Lord for whom we live and to whom we fully surrender. We don't very much like the idea of a Lord who, within rights, might tell us what to eat and when, what time to go to bed, how to spend our time, who to marry, what job to pursue, what we must give up, to what we must cling and how to follow him.
Yet those who do shall be saved. May we be humble enough to acknowledge our great need and call upon the name of He can meet it.
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