A Simple Gospel Promise (Ro. 10:13)

Introduction: A Shared Privilege and a Personal Conversion

0:00 Now, as I look out and see again so many of the children and the young people with their faces already turned up toward this pulpit, I'm sure there are many of you kids, if I can call you kids, and many of you young men and women that look up here at a 64-year-old man and say, well, you know, I don't think I have very much in common with that old man in the pulpit. And you know what? In a lot of ways, you're right. You don't have a receding hairline yet, yet, and you don't have gray hairs, and you don't have scars from surgery, and you don't have the aches and pains that come with the passing of the years. I see you bouncing around a campus here as free as a bird if birds bounce around campuses. But you know, many of you kids, and young people, do have something very much in common with me. You say, really? Mm-hmm.

1:10 And you know what that is? You've had the same unspeakable privilege that I had of being born into a home with a mummy and daddy that dearly loved the Lord Jesus, and who, from the time they knew that I was on the way, had as their highest ambition for me, the highest ambition for me, not that I would be brilliant, or wealthy, or famous, or anything else. You know what their highest ambition was? You know what they prayed for me before I ever came out of mummy's tummy? They prayed that I would come to know and love the Lord Jesus, that they had come to know and to love. And I can never remember a time growing up in my home where heads were not bowed and God was not thanked for me. I can never remember a time growing up in my home where heads were not bowed and God was not thanked for me. I can never remember a time growing up in my home where heads were not bowed and God was not thanked for me.

2:09 Where I was not taught that there was right and wrong, and that God's Word determined what was right and what was wrong. And I can never remember a time when I did not know and believe that when this life was over, whether at the end of five years, or ten years, or twenty, or forty, or sixty, or a hundred, I would be in heaven forever, or I would be in hell forever.

2:39 What a privilege! Privilege you have. What a privilege I have. That's something many of us have in common. But you know, though I was surrounded with all of that gospel light and all of that gospel privilege, I did not become a child of God and I did not come to know the Lord Jesus as my own Savior until I was a senior in high school.

3:05 All of that light and all of that privilege had no power in themselves to make me everything that mom and dad prayed I would become. But God in mercy heard their prayers. God answered those prayers when I was a senior in high school in what for some of you, in terms of world history, is very, very close to the dark ages, way back in 1952. Many of you weren't even a twinkle in your daddy's eye.

3:36 Back in 1952.

Learning to Preach the Simple Gospel on the Street Corner

3:40 But the God who was pleased to save me was very kind to me very early in my Christian life. And you know what he did? He surrounded me and a few other young bucks who had a real love and zeal to serve and please the Lord Jesus with several white haired old men, men in their mid 70s, who knew God and loved God and had been praying for years that God would do a work in the lives of young people. Up there in Stamford, Connecticut, where I was reared and they took us under their wing and they gave us much, very helpful counsel and one of the most helpful bits of counsel they gave us, they said, you know what you young men need to do?

4:23 You need to get out on the street corner and preach and so in the winter of 1951, early 52, January of 1952 in February, a few of us gathered out in front of the Liggett's drugstore in Stamford, Connecticut. On a Thursday night, the night when all of my former buddies that played football with me in high school would hang out. That was the night the stores were open and we would get on that street corner and while someone played the accordion and I had a flashback when I heard the hymn that our sister played. What can wash away my sin?

5:02 Nothing but the blood of Jesus. What can make me pure within? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

5:09 Nothing but the blood of Jesus. Nothing but the blood of Jesus. Oh, precious is the flow that makes me white as snow. We would sing that at the top of our lungs and people would gather around and then we'd begin to preach.

5:20 And you know, you learn a lot about preaching when you start preaching on the street corner. You learn a lot of things that you can't do in preaching on the street corner. You learn that there's no place for a closely reasoned, logical argument where you build on this building block and this one and this one. By the time you try to put block number one.

5:40 By the time you try to put block number one on block number two, the crowd is dispersed or maybe the buses that are coming by, the noise of their engines would drown out point number two. And you learn that in street preaching, you couldn't have a closely reasoned argument. You know what else you learned? You learned you couldn't stand there as a very laid back, cool dude and just be a nice little Bible talker.

6:03 You learned that if you weren't gripped and excited about what you were saying, no one was going to bother to stop. And even listen for two minutes. And then there's something else you learned. You learned that some people would only be passing by and stop and almost embarrassed that anyone would see them standing there long enough to listen to too much.

6:25 And so they would kind of half shuffle, slow down their walk a little bit and listen for just a minute or two. And then they'd go on their way. And when your heart was yearning that you might put into their ears something that the spirit of God might use. Even in a little two or three minute exposure to the gospel.

6:46 You know what else you learned? You learned that there were certain verses in the Bible that you said, if I can only quote that verse two or three times and get it into the outer ear, perhaps the Holy Spirit will bring it down into the chambers of the heart. And when they go home at night, maybe the spirit of God will bring it back and it will come over and over and over and over. No!

7:11 No word from God shall be void of power, the scripture says. And so as a young Christian, I began to memorize some of those texts which have a pointed laser-like concentration on the central issues of the biblical doctrines of sin and of grace. And many, many times those texts would be quoted on the street corner and a brief word of explanation and application and then quoted again. And one of those texts.

Romans 10:13 - A Simple Gospel Promise

7:41 And one of those texts is the text I want us to look at together tonight. If last night's message on Isaiah 53.6 could be called a succinct gospel proclamation, the text we're going to look at tonight can rightly be called a simple gospel promise. A simple gospel promise.

8:06 And that text is found in Romans chapter 10 and verse 3. Romans chapter 10 and verse 13. In a chapter in which the Apostle Paul begins by speaking of his deep burden for his fellow Israelites, a burden that has been intensified because they want nothing to do, by and large, with the gospel that he loves and that he preaches. In a chapter that in many ways begins on a sad note and ends, we have this simple yet glorious gospel promise in the middle of the chapter.

8:48 Romans 10 and verse 13. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. A simple gospel promise. Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

9:10 And I want us to remember that. And I want us to look at this promise under two very simple heads. First of all, we want to look at the extent of this gospel promise. Who is it for? Who has a right to it?

9:25 What is the extent of this gospel promise? And then we're going to look, secondly, at the substance of this gospel promise. What precisely does the promise hold before us? And I trust that those two headings are so simple that those of you that ordinarily take notes won't even have to take notes.

9:46 You can take your notes when you go home tonight. A simple gospel promise. That's the title of the sermon. Two very easy-to-remember heads.

9:56 The extent of the gospel promise and the substance. E.S. The extent and the substance.

The Extent of the Gospel Promise: 'Whosoever'

10:03 First of all, then, the extent of this gospel promise. And I want to focus. upon the words of this text for this very simple reason. I want every single one of you in this building to be deeply interested in this gospel promise.

10:22 But I know I can't get you interested in a promise that you aren't convinced has something to say to you. For example, suppose I should say tonight that I'm going to make a wonderful, amazing, astounding, almost unbelievable promise. But the promise is only for those in this building who are at least six feet, six inches, tall. And who weigh a minimum of 275 pounds.

11:01 Now what have I done? I've described the average physical stature of an interior lineman in the NFL. In another couple of years, it'll be AAA-Cardeal. college interior lineman. Six foot six, 275 pounds. Well, you see, if I say I have a wonderful, amazing, an astounding promise, and it's for everyone in this place who's at least six foot six, 275 pounds, you can all afford the luxury of going to sleep. It has nothing to say to you. Or if I should say I have another amazing, astounding, almost unbelievable promise, but it's for everyone in this building who makes at least $250,000 a year, and who has a personal checking account with a balance minimum $50,000. You say, count me out. Young

11:56 and old alike, count me out. And you see, our interest in any of the promises of God will be in direct proportion to our conviction that the promises have something to say to us. And here in the Bible, we have a promise of God. And here in the Bible, we have a promise of God. And here in the Bible, we have a promise of God.

12:11 And here in this text, the extent of this gospel promise could not be more forcefully underscored by God the Holy Spirit through the pen of the Apostle Paul. Look at the language of the text. For whosoever, now you have that word in the well-known gospel text, John 3.16, God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believes in him.

12:41 But you see, the whosoever believes in him, he believes in him. And he believes in him whosoever of John 3.16, the English translation, that's a translation of one little Greek word. But here the Holy Spirit is underscoring with even greater emphasis the absolute limitlessness of this promise. For along with that word that is the same as the whosoever in John 3.16 are two little words that we could render that everyone who ever hears the word of the Holy Spirit, we may be. We say any and all, or all and any, or all and everyone is invited. You see, that's redundant. Yes, but when you're trying to get the message across that your

13:28 invitation, that your promise has no restrictions, you will pile up words to make the point. And God comes to every one of us in this place tonight. And he says the extent of this gospel promise is to all and to everyone, to everyone, whoever he or she may be. Now the context clearly indicates that this promise comes to each and every one to whom the gospel comes. For if you look at the verses before and after, everything indicates that Paul speaks or writes these words in a certain way. And that's what we're talking about. And that's what we're talking about. And that's what we're talking about. And that's what we're talking about. And that's what we're talking about.

14:13 So in that setting, assuming that people have heard the gospel, look at verse eight. But what does it say? The word is near you in your mouth and in your heart. That is the word of faith which we preach. Because if you will confess with your mouth, Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God is raised from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart man believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. Verse 14, how shall they call on him in the name of the Lord? And the word of faith is made unto salvation. And the word of whom they have not believed? How shall they believe in Him whom they have not heard? How shall they hear without a preacher? You see, the whole setting assumes that the whosoever are people who have heard the gospel. They cannot call upon the Lord of whom they've

15:02 not heard, whom they have not heard. They cannot call in the sense that we'll see what it means to call if they have not heard the word or the message of faith which is proclaimed, a message which sets forth the glory of Christ's person, the sufficiency of Christ's work, the fact of His death, His burial, His resurrection, His exaltation. All of the stuff of the heart of the gospel is assumed in this very setting. That's what we call, kids, the context. That's the surrounding flow of faith. So that the extent of this gracious gospel promise, very simply stated, is this. It is a promise to every single man, woman, boy, or girl who is ever confronted with the basic facts of the gospel of the grace of God. And wherever that gospel comes, this promise comes with it, whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. And throughout

16:18 this entire letter to the Romans, Paul again and again underscores whatever things there are that make us different from one another. In the things that really count, he underscores again and again, there is no difference. There is no distinction. He does that with the matter of human sinfulness. He proves, as we saw last night, the various categories of humanity, that they are all sinners. And then he summarizes at the end and says, as it is written, there is none righteous, no, not one, no difference between Jew and Greek. They are all under condemnation. Whatsoever things the law says, it says to them that are under the law, that every man...

17:09 The mouth may be stopped and all the world come under the judgment of God. No distinction in our sinfulness. And then Paul goes on in chapter 3 and says, there is no distinction with regard to God's provision for sin. God in Jesus Christ has made propitiation, that is a big word to say, He has turned away His wrath by pouring out His wrath upon His Son.

17:39 There is no distinction, Paul says, for all sin. All have the same need. And God has made the provision, the only provision, in His dear Son. So there is no distinction in human sinfulness. No distinction in gracious gospel provision. And now he says, there is no distinction in the promise, whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Now let me say by way of application, and I trust this may be helpful to some of you, especially some of you reared, not only in Christian homes, but in churches where there is faithfulness in the preaching of the word, where you are not just given little gospel ditties, you are taught solid hymns, and you are catechized, and you are instructed in the great doctrines, the teachings of the Bible. And among those teachings you have learned that God is on His throne. God is a God enthroned.

18:45 You have heard the word, the sovereignty of God, from your infancy. And you know that when God is determined to save, He doesn't step off His throne. And you have heard the words election and predestination, and at times those words trouble you. For you know God saves whom He wills to save. And you know you have no power to save yourself.

19:08 And there are times you are troubled with that truth. And the devil, as we were reminded in the sessions here this morning, in the adult sessions, the devil who quotes the word of God to the Son of God, don't you think he'll use the Bible to try to quote Bible truth to you to keep you from Christ? Sure he will. And he'll even quote verses on election to keep you from Christ.

19:37 He'll quote verses on the fact that we can do nothing to give ourselves a new heart. God gives the gift of faith. And he'll even quote verses that teach that to keep you from coming to Christ. But you see, dear children and young people, and those of you reared in that setting, listen to what God has said. He is saying, whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

20:09 He calls upon Him not as an elect or a non-elect sinner. That's not in the text. It doesn't say whosoever is an elect sinner shall call upon the Lord shall be saved. It doesn't say that. It doesn't say whosoever as an awakened, disturbed, seeking, earnest, sincere seeker.

20:29 No such qualifications are given. It simply says whosoever. Plain, old, ordinary, unadorned,

20:40 born, sinners. whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. So wherever and whenever the Gospel comes, there comes with that Gospel, that good news set against the backdrop of the bad news, the good news that Christ died for our sins. He was buried, He was raised again from the dead on the third day.

21:10 He was seen. The resurrection is a reality. And as a living Savior, He offers Himself and His almighty salvation. Wherever that gospel comes, with it comes this gracious, simple gospel promise.

The Substance of the Gospel Promise: Activity and Result

21:31 Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. That's the extent of this gospel promise. Now let's consider secondly, what is the substance of this gospel promise? We've answered the question, who has a right to this promise?

21:52 May I say it referently? Every one of you who has heard the gospel has a right of access to this promise. Not because you deserve it, but because God has conferred that right of access. For whom is the promise?

22:10 Whosoever. Well, what is the promise? What is the substance of this promise? Well, I think we can understand it if we look at it in terms of two things that our text tells us.

22:22 First of all, there is an activity described, and there is a result pledged. An activity described, whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord. That's the activity described. And there is a result pledged, shall be saved.

22:42 Simple words, most of them one syllable. Shall be saved. Call upon the name of the Lord. You see how God has come to us in simple, straightforward words.

23:00 You see why I love to preach that text on the street corner. And if the bricks on the walls outside that old Liggett's drum store, could echo back, I am sure they would echo back that text. Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord, shall be saved. Let's look then for a few moments at the activity described.

23:21 What does it mean to call upon the name of the Lord? Well, if you were to take your concordance, and look up that phrase, call upon the name of the Lord, you would find that it's a phrase found throughout the entirety of the Bible, the Old and the New Testaments. You'd find its first usage way back in the book of Genesis, when it says, Then began men to call upon the name of the Lord. You'll find concerning Abraham in Genesis chapter 12, that he built an altar and called upon the name of the Lord.

23:57 And whenever you find the terminology used that way, it's a synonym for true worship of God. And all that that involves, to call upon the name of the Lord, is to enter into true worship of the living and the true God. In other settings, you will find that to call upon the Lord is a synonym for a Christian or the whole Christian community. In 1 Corinthians chapter 1, Paul addresses the church of God at Corinth, and he says he does so with all those that call upon the Lord in every place.

24:33 Who are the community of God's people? There are people who call upon the name of the Lord. There are people who call upon the name of the Lord. There are people who call upon the name of the Lord.

24:38 There are people who call upon the name of the Lord. There are people who call upon the name of the Lord. It becomes a synonym for true and vital Christianity. In Acts chapter 9, the term is used as well.

24:48 Paul is the man that has a reputation that he picks on God's people. And when he comes to Jerusalem, they don't want him to become a church member. Because they have heard that he persecutes the saints. But in the next verse, it says that he persecutes those that call on the name of the Lord.

25:06 The saints are those who call on the Lord. And that's a lesson you kids need to learn. Often, God uses a phrase that in one place means one thing. In another place, it means something else, a little different.

25:19 And we must be very careful about saying, well, this will always mean that. But we've got to look at every usage in its context, in its other usages. But here in this passage, it's used in a more limited way. It is not saying whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord, that is, become a true worshipper.

25:38 Whosoever shall become part of the community of the true saints. But in this passage, it is clear that whatever it means, it's something very close to what everywhere else is spoken of as believing on the Lord Jesus Christ. How do we know that? Well, let's look in our Bibles.

26:00 And you'll see, beginning again with verse 9, if you shall confess with your mouth Jesus is Lord. And believe in your heart that God is raised him from the dead, you shall be saved. There's the same promise, the same pledge. You shall be saved.

26:19 What must I do to be saved according to this verse? I must confess Jesus to be Lord, and I must believe in my heart that God is raised him from the dead. Well, here in verse 13, Paul says, for whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Are there two different ways of salvation?

26:38 You confess him as Lord, believe he has been raised from the dead, he has accomplished redemption. That's one way to be saved. Another way to be saved is to call on the name of the Lord. We know better than that.

26:51 There's one Savior. There's one way of salvation. But God uses different terms to describe what it is to lay hold of the Savior and the offered salvation in him. So when he says here that the activity...

27:07 The activity described is calling upon the name of the Lord, he is saying whoever believes upon Christ, whoever trusts in Christ, whoever goes out in his heart from his own sense of sin and need and throws the full weight of his soul upon Christ as he's offered in the gospel, that's the activity described. And one of the things that may perplex some of you who reared in Christianity, and you're reared in Christian homes and sit under good teaching, somewhere along the line you're going to ask the question, if believing on the Lord Jesus is so vital and believing upon Christ is necessary for salvation, why doesn't God give us a nice little succinct, accurate, pocket-sized definition of what it means to believe? But you see, God doesn't do that. What he does instead is he gives us a whole new definition of what it means to believe. What he does instead is he gives us a whole new definition of what it means to believe.

28:06 A whole new definition. A whole new definition. A whole new definition. A whole panorama, a whole beautiful showcase of various pictures of what faith is.

28:18 Faith is likened in some places to drinking. Jesus said, if any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink, as the scripture says, he that believes on me. What do I do when I drink? There's water in this cup.

28:34 You can't see it, but I can and I'm thirsty and it's given me a good chance to drink. There's water in this cup. You can't see it, but I can and I'm thirsty and it's given me a good chance to drink. to take a much needed drink. Now what do I do? Do I say there's water in the cup? The water is clear. The water is refreshing. The water will quench my thirst. I believe it with all my heart. What's the problem? I have drunk no water. I might take it out again and I might compose a poem on the wonderful refreshing qualities of water. I might compose a sonnet. I might compose a song. I might even get up enough nerve to sing it before you all. But as long as the water stays in the cup, my mouth remains dry. On the other

29:24 hand, I may know little of the properties of water. I may not have an ounce of a poetic strain in me to write a poem about water. But if I'm a thirsty man and I put the water to my lips and I make the water my own. I've drunk of the refreshing provision that God has made. What's it mean to believe you drink of Jesus? In the thirst of your soul, you see in Christ the water of life and you say, oh God, I open the mouth of my soul and I drink of Him. In John 6, He said, it's like eating. He says, whoever eats my flesh.

30:14 and drinks my blood has eternal life what does he mean well if you read the passage in its entirety he's using another picture of faith faith with the mouth of the soul does not merely look at Christ and say he is bread and describe the properties of bread and how bread is taken into the body and assimilated and becomes part of your fingernails and your hair and your skin and your liver and your pantries no you open your mouth and eat and the bread which is out there external to you provided by another you take and make your own and it becomes a part of you faith is likened to those people who bitten with the serpents there in the book of numbers simply out of the awareness that the serpent's venom was going to destroy them and take them to their graves they looked they turned their heads and they lifted up their eyes and they fastened them upon that serpent of brass and they lived and God says that's like faith as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness even so must the son of man be lifted up that whosoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life and you see God gives us all of these pictures faith is like eating faith is like drinking

Illustration 1: Blind Bartimaeus - A Desperate Cry for Mercy

31:43 is like looking but then God does a second thing he gives us wonderful illustrations of faith in real live human beings and I want you as we consider this activity described what's it mean to call upon the name of the Lord what does that mean I want us to look at two of those examples not the pictures eating drinking looking but two examples and the first one and here if you have your Bibles with me to Mark chapter 10 Mark chapter 10 what does it mean to call upon the name of the Lord here is one of the wonderful pictures Mark 10 in verse 46 and they come to Jericho and as he went out from Jericho with his disciples and a great multitude the son of Timaeus Bartimaeus a blind beggar was sitting by the wayside now many of us

32:51 perhaps have not even seen a real live beggar let alone a blind beggar a picture of someone who had hit the bottom he's blind and he's a beggar and we read when he heard that it was Jesus the Nazarene he began to cry out and say Jesus thou son of David have mercy on me and then he rebuked him that he should hold his peace think of it he's heard word about Jesus of nazareth he's heard that he has power to open the eyes of the blind that he raises the dead that he straightens out crooked limbs and now there's a furor and he knows with his heightened sense of hearing that often is found in in those who are blind those who lose one faculty seem to cultivate their other faculties to a higher degree and he's conscious that there's some disturbance and he beginsager to realize that He has not sheeped out two

33:54 to ask and inquire, and they say, it's Jesus the Nazarene. And he believes them. He believes, though he cannot see him with his eyes, that Jesus of Nazareth is within the sound of his voice. Not knowing precisely where he is, he begins to cry out, Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me. Mercy is pity joined to action. Son of David, take pity upon me and act toward me in a way appropriate to my need. And you would think if people had but an ounce of common concern, they would have said, Bartimaeus, we'll go grab Jesus and see if we can get him to come and do something for you. But in their crass insensitivity, they say, shut up, you old blind man. Shut up! Enough of your hollering. The text says

34:53 many rebuked him that he should hold his peace. But what did he do? He said, I'm going to do. The more they tried to muzzle him, he just cranked up the volume. He just cranked up the volume. The text says that he cried out the more a great deal. And he didn't change his appeal. He cried out the more, greater intensity, perhaps with greater repetition.

35:18 He continues to cry out, thou Son of David, have mercy on me. Some of the most beautiful words in all of the Bible. See what the next words are? Then Jesus stood still. Stood still. What froze our blessed Lord in his tracks? The desperate cry of a blind beggar froze the Son of God in his tracks. Jesus stands still at the cry of a poor, blind beggar. And they call the blind man, saying to him, be of good cheer. Rise. He is calling you. Your call has stopped him in his tracks.

36:15 He is now calling for you. And so they assist this man into the presence of Jesus. Listen to what the text says. And he, casting away his garments, sprang up and came to Jesus.

36:30 And Jesus answering him and said, strange question to ask a blind beggar who's saying, have mercy on me. What do you want me to do for you? Oh, but do you think I want you to do for me? I don't want a weekend in the Bahamas. I don't want a new suit of clothes. I'm a blind man. Surely, Son of David, when I've said, have mercy upon me, show pity, join to appropriate action, you know what I need and what I desire. I want my sight. But you see, the Lord wanted him to acknowledge precisely what his need was. What do you want me to do?

37:10 What do you want me to do unto you? And the blind man said unto him, Rabboni, teacher, that I may receive my sight. And Jesus said unto him, go your way. Your faith literally has saved you. Your faith has saved you. Now, did he mean there was some power in this man's faith that reached out and upward and touched the optic nerves? No. What he's saying is, it is faith. You have been joined to the virtue and power that is in me. And your sight has been restored by me, Jesus, Son of David, as you have believed in me and upon me. And straightway, he received his sight and followed him in the way. What's it mean to call upon the name of the Lord? Here's a beautiful picture. And it's not stretching.

38:13 It's an illustration of faith. We have the words of Jesus. What does it mean for you, dear child, dear young person, adult, perhaps someone who for the first time has come into a place like this, where people are taking the Bible seriously and speaking of God and Christ and sin and the devil and heaven and hell and forgiveness? You're beginning to get the idea that whatever this is all about, it has to do with my relationship to God. That's all I have to do. That's all I have to do. That's all I have to do. That's all I have to do. That's all I have to do. That's all I have to do. That's all I have to do.

38:43 What this is, it's only then, that we're going to know that the choice right now, like Jesus Christ somehow, can only be what it ought to be, if Christ somehow is put into that equation. And however he fits in there, it has to do with my believing upon him and trusting in him. What does it all mean? Here's what it means.

39:01 It means that you acknowledge you are exactly what God says you are. You're a blind beggar. To use the imagery of Isaiah. You're part of that vast flock of sheep that has gone astray.

39:14 That's theancolyta. Coming, darling, holy ministry, holy ministry, holy message. That's what God says you are. You've turned to your own way.

39:20 You stand under the frown and under the displeasure of Almighty God as your Creator and Judge. But that same God in infinite love and mercy has sent His only begotten Son, the suffering servant of Jehovah, who bears away the sin of the world, the one upon whom God made to light and to strike our sins. And what does it mean to call upon Him in the light of this promise? Whoever calls upon Him shall be saved.

39:56 It means you take the posture of the blind beggar. You acknowledge that your problem is beyond your powers to solve. The answer to your need as a sinner is not in you. If there's any answer, the answer it must come from without and from someone without who brings to the problem of your sin the arm of omnipotence.

40:25 And that someone is Jesus. It is Jesus in the plenitude of His grace, of His compassion. The Jesus who could not be stopped when He set His face steadfastly to go to Jerusalem. His beloved friend and follower Peter, standing, stands in His way, He says, Get behind me, Satan.

40:50 All of the wrath of His enemies, all of their threat, they could not stop the Lord Jesus in His tracks. The cry of a blind beggar constrains Him to stand still. You want the Lord Jesus to stand still and say to you, What do you want me to do for you? Then you don't read out a litany to Jesus of all your virtues and all of your sins.

41:17 And all of your sins. And all of your sins. And all of your sins. And all of the ways that you're better than other people.

41:19 There was a man who tried that. Jesus described him. He came strutting into the temple. And he prayed thus with himself, O God, I find you.

41:28 I'm not like other men. I distance myself from that vast flock of sheep who've gone astray and turned to their own way. And then he starts bragging in the presence of God about what he is and what he isn't. What he's done and what he doesn't do.

41:46 No wonder Jesus, Jesus described him as praying thus with himself. He was just having a soliloquy of self-congratulation. He wasn't praying. And he didn't receive a gram of mercy.

42:00 But that beggar doesn't read out a litany of all the things he... He just says, I'm a blind beggar, son of David.

42:08 Have mercy on me. This is what I am. You know it, son of David. I know it.

42:14 And in the fullness of your pity and your mercy, do for me what I cannot do for myself. That's calling on the name of the Lord. And that's not very complicated, is it? For you dear children, for you young people to say, I know in my heart of hearts, I can't indulge in bragging rights before God.

42:38 I know my tongue has said mean things to my brother and sister. And if I denied it, they'd prove me a liar. I know I just don't jump with a big smile on my face every time dad tells me, to take out the garbage. And mom says, pick up my room.

42:53 And though I know better than to say no with my lips, I'd get my bottom warmed. I know what it is to say no in my heart. And though my feet go quickly to the room, the feet of my soul are still out in the backyard playing or reading my favorite book. You kids know that's sin.

43:12 That's rebellion. That's what you are. And we could multiply those things and move it up the scale into two. Teenage sins and into young adult sins and into mature life sins and into middle age sins and into old man and old women's sins.

43:31 You know that you're a sinner. That you cannot hold your head high and indulge in bragging rights in the presence of God. You know that in the language of this passage, you're a blind beggar. And here you have a promise.

43:48 Whosoever hearing that the son of David is passing by, passing by in the word and promise of the gospel, whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Whosoever calls upon him as he is revealed in the gospel to call upon the name of the Lord is to call upon the Lord himself. That means you take the place of Abartamas, son of David. Have mercy upon me.

Illustration 2: The Penitent Thief - A Simple Plea for Remembrance

44:23 Now let's look at just Luke chapter 23.

44:33 The Lord Jesus has been dragged out like a common criminal,

44:41 brutally treated,

44:43 placed upon a cross.

44:46 Two others are crucified with him. The scripture tells us one on the left, one on the right. Men who deserved capital punishment according to the Roman law of that day. And we read in Luke 23 in verse 39.

45:00 Verse 39. And one of the malefactors, one of the criminals that were hanged railed on him saying, Are not you the Christ? Save yourself and us. One of the other gospel writers tells us in the beginning both of them indulged in this cruelty.

45:20 Here they are a few hours from sinking into hell. Even society has marked their sins as worthy of capital punishment. And they are both taunting the pure and the ungodly. They are both calling out for the holy sinless son of God.

45:35 But now one of them experiences a change in his perspective. And we read in verse 40. But the other answered rebuking him said, Do you not even fear God seeing you are in the same condemnation? And we indeed justly for we receive the due reward of our deeds.

45:54 But this man has done nothing amiss. And he said, Jesus or Lord remember this. Remember me when you come into your kingdom. And he, that is Jesus, said unto him, Truly I say unto you, today you shall be with me in paradise.

46:18 What did this man do? Here's another beautiful picture of what it means to call on the name of the Lord. Here he hangs upon a cross. He knows in a few hours his life will ebb away and it's all over.

46:35 And here the king of the Jews, treated like a common felon, who is nonetheless God's anointed Messiah, while hanging on the cross, rides forth upon his white charger of gospel triumph and grace and brings as his first captive this man who hangs on the cross. And how does this man, so steeped in his sinful patterns that even society vomits him out and says, put him to death. How does he get forgiveness for all of his sins throughout the entirety of his life? For his sin in Adam?

47:20 For his sins of thought and word and deed and desire? How does he get forgiveness for all of those sins in time? He's only got a couple of hours to live. And what can he do to earn credit in the court of heaven?

47:39 Not only that his sins will be cancelled, but that he will have a righteous record that gives him a just title to enter into heaven. What in the world can he do? He's hanging on a cross. He's only got a couple of hours to live.

47:55 You know what he does? He calls on the name of the Lord. And he didn't do it in a fancy way. He didn't have a personal worker over his shoulder saying, now pray after me.

48:08 Oh God, oh God. No, no. Nobody was coaching him. He didn't have any time to learn the catechism.

48:15 He never sat under expository preaching. He knew nothing of the London Baptist Confession of Faith. But what did he do? God opened his eyes to own what he was as a sinner.

48:31 So much. So that he rebukes the man with whom a short while before he was in a duet of despicable mockery of Jesus. Now he rebukes his buddy in mockery. He rebukes him.

48:49 He says, don't you fear God? And what's he saying? He's saying right now, though I feel the horrible, searing pain of the nails in my hands and in my feet, and though I feel the horrible, searing pain of the nails in my hands and in my feet, and though I feel the horrible, searing pain of the nails in my hands and in my feet, I fear the horrible remaining hours and what they will bring to me. Something is broken into my awareness beyond the searing pain of the nails. The dehydration and all the other horrors of crucifixion. God filled this dish. The God who made me. The God who brought me from my mother's womb. The God who let me breathe his air. The God who let me live.

49:32 The God who upheld me while I broke his laws and defied the laws even in society until I've been brought here. Do you not fear God? Suddenly all that matters is his accountability to the God before whom he's going to stand in just a few hours. Secondly, he owns his own culpability in his sin. When I used to visit prisons on a more regular basis, when I was in South Carolina in South Carolina, I used to visit prisons on a more regular basis. When I was in South Carolina in South Carolina, I used to visit prisons on a more regular basis. When I was in school, it was amazing how few incarcerated people owned their guilt. Almost everyone had a story, how the system treated him unfairly. This

50:17 man experiencing a death that people say is perhaps the most cruel ever devised by falling human minds says we are here justly. We are getting what we want. deserve. And then thirdly, he sees what only the Spirit of God could have enabled him to see.

50:42 Think of the sight, a crown of thorns, blood streaming down his brow, undergoing the dehydration, the blood dripping upon the ground, all of the gore. And yet he says, Lord or Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom. He sees in an immolated, common, ordinary Galilean peasant, he sees a king, a king who has a kingdom and who can take the likes of him into that kingdom. And all he says is, remember me when you come into your kingdom. Just your remembrance. Remembrance will be all I need to be found in that kingdom with you. And you know what

51:39 the Lord Jesus does? May I say it reverently? He says, write on. Truly, truly, I say to you today, you will be with me in paradise. You'll not have to wait until my kingdom comes to its consummate glory and manifestation. When I return in power and glory and usher in with the entourage of angels and all of the saints, the new heavens and the new earth, you'll not have to wait. Today, today, today, you'll be with me in paradise. In that instant, the Lord Jesus saved him, blotted out all his sins, and gave him such a credit of righteousness. I say it reverently. God was

52:36 obligated by the work of His own grace to take him into paradise with Jesus. Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. You see, the devil loves to get us to complicate it. This guy was not complicated. He wasn't convoluted, saying, I'm not saying the right words. He didn't have time to think about whether he's saying the right words. If he got on the treadmill that some of you are on, he'd have met 어디PEDIT. But it's all your fault. P väm rîghabек arfordon facilitate a new еnv stream. Vielen o gw Tú treadmill that some of you are on. He'd have been dead before he cried out, Lord, remember me. Oh, dear children and young people, may I plead with you tonight. Don't trouble yourself about am I saying the right words in the right way. Own what you are, a guilty criminal.

53:29 When God says you deserve to be executed, not upon the cross, but in outer darkness, in the lake of fire, in the place that you heard about here in this room so solemnly and terrifyingly last year at this conference, say, oh God, if that were my portion tonight, I would be there in hell justly. That's what my sins deserve. If sin is against an infinite God, it is an infinite crime. And eternal suffering.

54:07 Eternal hell is a poor way of God's justice validating that reality. In inadequate, not a poor, an inadequate way. What does this activity mean? Call upon the name of the Lord?

The Result Pledged: 'Shall Be Saved' (A Prodigal Salvation)

54:27 It's to believe upon it. It is to, in those word pictures, eat of Christ, drink of Christ, look to Christ. In these beautiful little biographical snippets and vignettes, it's to take the place. In the face of blind Bartimaeus, son of David, have mercy. The thief upon the cross, crying Lord, remember me. Now then, very quickly, look at the result pledged. The result pledged. And God cannot lie. Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Shall

55:13 be saved. And this word saved, with its tap roots deeply embedded in the Old Testament, gathers around it the whole idea of being rescued from a place of danger. Being rescued and brought out of danger into a place of security and of blessing. Paul used it at the beginning of this chapter when he spoke of his broken heart for his fellow Israelites.

55:45 My heart's desire and my supplication to God is for them that they may be saved, that they may be rescued, that they may be delivered from their danger and into the place of safety and security. And what does that word saved mean? Well, here in this letter, Paul has been opening up the richness of that salvation. He says to be saved means, in the first place, to be just.

56:15 To be justified. No longer to have the court of heaven have any just complaint against me. To have all of my sins forgiven and to be credited with a perfect record in heaven so that it is right and just for God to take me into His presence. Romans 8 in verse 1, there is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. It means to have peace with God. To have peace with God. To have peace with God. To have peace with God. To have peace with God. To have peace with God. To have peace with God. To have peace with God. To have peace with God. To have peace with God. To have peace with God. To have peace with God. To have peace with God. To have peace with God. To have peace with God.

56:48 Romans 5, 1, being therefore justified by faith, we have peace with God. God no longer has a controversy against us. We no longer provoke the righteous judge of the universe. No longer does what we are and what we do cry to heaven that God would vent His righteous anger upon us. God is at peace with us and we are at peace with Him. It means furthermore to be given the status of sons and daughters of God. Sons and daughters, no longer disinherited sons, but in Romans 8, because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, enabling us to cry, Abba, Father. Not only are things settled in the court of heaven, that's wonder enough, but God the judge lays off his robes, lays aside his robes, and he enters into his own sitting room and says, I welcome you now, not simply as a pardoned criminal, but as a beloved son and daughter.

57:54 And then he gives the spirit of adoption, enabling us to draw near to him and to call our Creator and the judge of the universe, our Father, in the most intimate terms. Furthermore, to be saved means not only to be justified, to have peace with God, to be adopted, all of this within the compass of this one letter. It means also to have the dominion of sin broken, Romans chapter 6. He so unites us to his Son, that what happened to him when he died and rose again is repeated, not in terms of dying for sin before the judgment bar of God, but being so united to Christ in his death, in his burial, in his resurrection, that sin no longer can exercise a power of sin. We have a rightful Lordship over us, and we are freed from the tyranny of sin's dominion. Then to be saved means that we are put in a place of impregnable safety. The latter chapter of Romans 8, who shall separate us from the love of Christ?

59:06 And then Paul speaks of all of the possible things around us, within us, against us, above us, and he says, I am persuaded that nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing shall be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. And it means to be saved, that I have the sure and certain hope of the resurrection, and that I, with a resurrected body, will enter into the glory of a liberated creation, no longer under a curse, and God himself shall be with us and wipe away every tear from our eyes. Say it. Rescue us.

59:47 Rescued from the danger of God's judgment, rescued from the tyranny of sin, rescued from alienation, rescued from but into the safety and security of being justified, peace with God, adopted, the gift of the Spirit, the Lordship and reign of sin broken, the presence of sin ultimately removed, a new body, a glorified saint. Amen. In a glorified and a renewed earth. That's what it means to be saved.

60:24 Someone says, well, I'm just saved. Just saved? Just saved? And this is the result that God pledges to everyone and anyone who, in the context of hearing the gospel, calls upon the name of the Lord.

60:45 Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord. Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord. Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord. Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord.

60:48 Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. As I was reflecting on these things this afternoon and praying that God would give to my own heart a fresh sight of the lavishness of His grace, my mind went to the very parable that Pastor Lush referred to in his prayer. And when we read that parable in Luke 15 about that son that hopped on his Honda and took off. He said, I've had it with pop and mom and all of their rules and regulations and all of this straitjacket life.

61:27 I want to find life with a capital L. What do we call him? We call him the what? The prodigal son?

61:36 Prodigal means indulging. Overly indulgent. But as I reflected on that parable, I said, I want to rename it and at least give it a twin billing and call it the parable of the prodigal son. And the prodigal father, the father was a prodigal.

62:00 When that son comes back from the far country, the moment the father's eyes perceive the form of his son, he runs to his son. He throws his arm about his neck and he kisses him. And he says, bring forth the best robe, not any old robe. Bring forth the ring.

62:24 Get the fatted calf. Let's go. Let's eat and be merry. The father did far more than merely receive him with a handshake and say, all right, son, you're forgiven.

62:37 Let's have a fresh start. The father was a prodigal because his love was a prodigal love. Oh, dear children and dear young people, if God by the Holy Spirit would convince you that the God who beckons you in the gospel is a prodigal. God, how could you hold back from being embraced in his arms?

63:10 How could you go on thinking he's a mean spirited, narrow hearted, tight fisted? It's the devil who lies about him in your ears as he lied about him in the ears of Eve there in the garden. Eve. There's something to be had of personal fulfillment outside of that house.

63:28 He's a prodigal. He's a prodigal. He's a prodigal. Outside of that which God has allotted to you.

63:35 And she believed his lie. And you believe his lie. There's no other explanation as to why you cling to your sins. Why you persist in going on in your own way.

63:50 When there's a prodigal God waiting to receive prodigal sons. Whosoever, whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved with what kind of a salvation? A prodigal salvation that includes all of the things we've only sketched in briefly that are highlighted in this one epistle. And that's not the full spectrum of what God squeezes into the words shall be saved.

Historical Context of the Promise and Its Application to Christ

64:26 You see this is one of the unique blessings of living at the cross. At this point in human history, some of you will have already perhaps thought of this. You know where this promise is first given way back in the book of Joel and in a passage that speaks of what God will do at the end of the days after Messiah has come and he will pour out of his spirit upon all flesh. He says the mark of that day is this.

64:55 It shall come to pass that whoever shall call upon the name of Yahweh call upon the name of Jehovah. Jehovah shall be saved and on the day of Pentecost Peter stands up and says look these people haven't been tippling. No, no, it's only nine o'clock in the morning. They're not drunk with wine.

65:11 This is that which is spoken by the prophet and he quotes this verse in Acts chapter two. Though it is true in any age, any who truly called upon God as God revealed himself would be saved, but it is uniquely true now that that God is Jehovah incarnate. Jehovah, Jesus Jehovah Messiah and it shall come to pass that whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord call upon him as he has revealed in the history of the gospel records in Bethlehem's reality in the reality of Jordan in the reality of Golgotha and the garden, tomb and the part in heavens and the descending spirit. It shall come to pass. that whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Well, we've looked at the extent of this gospel promise.

Two Concluding Questions: Have You Called? If Not, Why Not?

66:11 Everyone, whoever, the substance of the gospel promise, the activity described, calling on the name of the Lord, the result pledged shall be saved. And as we conclude our study, it leaves me with two very basic questions that I want to leave with each one of you. Question number one is this.

66:36 Have you, have you called on the name of the Lord?

66:45 Not do you intend someday to call on the name of the Lord. Not as your brother, as your sister, mom, have you, you, you, you, have you called upon the name of the Lord? Calling upon his name as we've tried to demonstrate what it means from the scriptures. Owning what you are as a sinner, no distinction between Jew and Greek, no distinction in God's gracious provision in the person and work of his son.

67:20 Have you called upon his name? Owning what you are as a sinner, taking your place as a blind beggar, taking your place as a convicted felon, standing under the judgment of God. Have you called upon the name of the Lord? Conscious of your sin and need, seeing Christ as the only answer to that need.

67:49 Have you called upon the name of the Lord? Simple question. Yes, no, yes, no. Well, maybe, no maybes.

68:05 Have you called? Have you called? If you have called, have you laid hold by faith of God's promise, shall be saved? God does not believe for you.

68:20 You must believe. When the jailer cried out, sirs, what must I do to be saved? Paul and his companion did not say. Mr. Jailerman, the fatal word in your question is do.

68:35 There's nothing you can do. There's nothing you can do. No, they said, believe upon the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved. They called upon him to believe and to believe immediately.

68:48 And they held out the promise that believing, he would be saved. Have you called upon the name of the Lord? My second question is, if not, why not? If not, why not?

69:05 Has it been that you wondered? Whether if you called, there was anyone there? Or if there was someone there, whether he would respond? Well, I hope from what you've heard tonight, you're convinced the problem is not that there is no one there to hear.

69:24 Or if there's someone there to hear, he'll not respond to your call. This is the Jesus of the Bartimaeus incident. He stops in his tracks when he hears people call. People call for mercy.

69:42 He is the Jesus who in his own dying agony says, Verily I say to you today, you will be with me in paradise. If you've not called upon him, why not? Do you not believe that he is there to be called upon? Paul here in this very chapter says, don't look for something extra.

70:07 He said, Don't attempt to bring Christ up from the depths or bring him down from heaven. He uses an amazing statement. He said, The word is near you in your mouth and in your heart. The word of faith which we preach.

70:22 Christ comes as near to you as your breath in the preaching of the gospel. He's not across the room. The word of faith is near you in your heart and in your mouth. The word of faith which we preach.

70:40 I don't understand all that that means, but I can quote the text. If you shall confess with that mouth, Jesus Lord, and believe God has raised him from the dead, you shall be saved. Could it be that you would never expect that God is going to send an angel in the middle of the night and announce to you the gospel story afresh? You may not be so presumptuous as to think there's got to be some dramatic extra revelation.

71:13 But could it be that some of you are stumbling over the very simplicity and the fact that you don't remember a time when you were not instructed that whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved? And it's the very blunt simplicity that is the stumbling block. Could it be, I only ask the question, with an effort to try to help you if God is pleased to bless the preaching of the word, to reflect on the question, if I've not called, why not? Am I waiting for something more?

71:47 Is it that I suspect he's not there to be called upon, or if I call upon him, he will not hear me? Don't question the sincerity of God's simple gospel promise. I want us to close by looking at the last words in this chapter. If he says, whosoever, in his sense of need and desperation, calls upon the name of the Lord, shall be saved, can I be sure that he will heed my cry?

God's Outstretched Hands to the Disobedient

72:24 Notice how this chapter that begins in sadness ends in sadness. But as to Israel, he says, all the day long did I spread out my hands to a disobedient and gainsaved. We don't use the word gainsaved. It means someone who speaks against another.

72:47 And here is the picture of God stretching out his hands, not his fist, to smash in judgment. That posture of God is yet to come. Kiss the son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way. He shall dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel.

73:15 Now, he says, all the day long, I've stretched out my hands. To whom? Not to a seeking, yearning, desperate, crying people, but to a disobedient and gainsaying people. God is stretching out his hand of mercy to those that slap, that spit upon the hand, and those that speak against the one who stretches out the hand.

73:48 And I reason with you, children and young people and adults, if God stretches out his hands to the disobedient and the gainsaying, what will his hands and his arms be to blind beggars and to guilty felons who call upon his name? Well, we know how he regards returning prodigals in the prodigality of his love and of his mercy. A very simple gospel. I began quoting it in 1952 on a street corner, and I've never once had to go to a soul and say, I'm sorry I got your hopes up with a promise that was not valid. Whosoever, whosoever shall call upon him, upon the name of the Lord, shall be saved. Let us pray. Our Father, we bow our heads and our hearts before you in all the prodigality of your love, and we confess from the depths of our hearts

Prayer for Effectual Grace and Zealous Proclamation

75:17 how ashamed we are that we entertain such unworthy, hard thoughts of you, many of us, for many years. But we thank you that your love and your grace in Christ has conquered us, and we have seen your glory reflected in the face of Christ, all of your tender compassion to hell-deserving sinners. And, O God, we ask for your glory and for the reward that your Son so richly deserves. Make your word effectual in many hearts this night.

76:00 Give to us your people who have called and who continue to call upon the name of the Lord. Give us renewed confidence in the sure and certain promise of gospel grace. Make us more zealous to speak it to others. Make us, we pray, more liberated from our fear of men's faces.

76:24 O God, come upon us with a fresh baptism of holy zeal, that we may say to a needy, confused world that whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Seal, then, your word to our hearts. May the enemy of our souls not be able to come like the fowls of the air behind the sower and pluck up that seed, but, O God, bind the strong man in spoilish goods. We pray that the weaponry of the proclamation of the word and the earnest prayers of your people will prove mighty to the pulling down of many strongholds of the enemy, even this night. Hear our cry and answer us, we plead, through our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.