Q: In Matthew 7:21, Jesus says, Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. But in Acts 2:21, Peter -- quoting Joel 2:32 -- says, Whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved." And in Romans 10:13, Paul writes the same thing. Isnt this a contradiction?
A: No. The concepts being used are not the same. To Peter and Paul, calling on the name of the Lord is a phrase deeply imbued with theological meaning. It refers to the act of sincerely surrendering oneself to God, and expressing ones heartfelt desire to serve Him. This is why, in Acts 2, when Peters audience interrupts him to ask what to do, he does not simply say, Call on Gods name; he tells them to repent and be baptized. And, this is also why, in Romans 10:9-10, Paul describes conversion as an experience which is internal -- concerning what one believes in the heart -- besides being externally expressed. Neither Peter nor Paul proposed, or imagined that their audiences/readers would imagine that they proposed, that a simple verbal confession of faith, without any internal reality of faith propelling it, would guarantee salvation to anyone.
And thats in sync with Matthew 7:21. Counterfeit faith is counterfeit; its not faith at all. Even if a person says, Jesus is Lord! Jesus is Lord! a hundred times, and performs (or appears to some observers to perform) miracles and exorcisms and healings, if he has no genuine faith in his heart, then he has not called on the name of the Lord, and has no right to expect to be saved.
False prophets -- thats who Jesus is talking about in Matthew 7 here -- may say that they are Jesus servants, but His followers should not assume that everyone who says Jesus is my Lord is a genuine Christian. If a person says with his mouth one thing, and says with his actions another thing, which should be believed? Talk is cheap. Thats the point here in Matthew, and neither Acts 2:21 nor Romans 10:13 detracts from it.
Yours in Christ,
Waterrock
A: No. The concepts being used are not the same. To Peter and Paul, calling on the name of the Lord is a phrase deeply imbued with theological meaning. It refers to the act of sincerely surrendering oneself to God, and expressing ones heartfelt desire to serve Him. This is why, in Acts 2, when Peters audience interrupts him to ask what to do, he does not simply say, Call on Gods name; he tells them to repent and be baptized. And, this is also why, in Romans 10:9-10, Paul describes conversion as an experience which is internal -- concerning what one believes in the heart -- besides being externally expressed. Neither Peter nor Paul proposed, or imagined that their audiences/readers would imagine that they proposed, that a simple verbal confession of faith, without any internal reality of faith propelling it, would guarantee salvation to anyone.
And thats in sync with Matthew 7:21. Counterfeit faith is counterfeit; its not faith at all. Even if a person says, Jesus is Lord! Jesus is Lord! a hundred times, and performs (or appears to some observers to perform) miracles and exorcisms and healings, if he has no genuine faith in his heart, then he has not called on the name of the Lord, and has no right to expect to be saved.
False prophets -- thats who Jesus is talking about in Matthew 7 here -- may say that they are Jesus servants, but His followers should not assume that everyone who says Jesus is my Lord is a genuine Christian. If a person says with his mouth one thing, and says with his actions another thing, which should be believed? Talk is cheap. Thats the point here in Matthew, and neither Acts 2:21 nor Romans 10:13 detracts from it.
Yours in Christ,
Waterrock
