Acts 7:59 And they stoned Stephen as he called upon the Lord and said, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit! Romans 10:13 For "whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."
[Part 4 of 4] The Greek word for "call upon" is epikaleo, composed of epi, upon, and kaleo, call by name, that is, to call out audibly, even loudly, as Stephen did. As we consider Acts 2:21 in its context, we see that the pouring out of the Holy Spirit upon all flesh, that is, upon all human beings, is for the purpose that people will call upon the name of the Lord and be saved. This is the reason Paul says that if one is to be saved, he needs to call on the name of the Lord. When we preach the gospel and help others to be saved, we need to encourage them to call on the name of the Lord and say, "O Lord Jesus!" From experience we know that the stronger a person calls on the name of the Lord Jesus, the stronger will be his experience of salvation. Let us suppose that someone who has heard the preaching of the gospel and who wants to be saved prays softly and weakly, "Lord Jesus, You love me, and You died for me. I believe in You." It may be difficult to recognize that one who prays in such a weak manner is saved. However, suppose someone strongly calls on the name of the Lord Jesus and says, "Lord Jesus! O Lord Jesus! I'm a sinner, Lord, but You died for me! O Lord Jesus, I love You!" No doubt, anyone who prays like this, calling strongly on the name of the Lord, is saved. He may even be beside himself with joy in the Lord for His salvation.
Bible verses are taken from the Recovery Version of the Bible and Words of Ministry from Witness Lee, Life-study of Acts, pp. 71-72. Both are published by Living Stream Ministry, Anaheim, CA. Please visit us at www.emanna.com. Send comments to: [email protected].
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