Salvation For Whoever

February 5th, 2025
by Dr. D. Lance Waldie

Romans 10:11-13 For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed.” 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him; 13 for “Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

The Apostle Paul is attempting to show that salvation has always been by faith, dating all the way back to Abel. And it has never been solely for Israel, a nation that emerged 2000 years after creation! Truth is, God makes no distinction between Jews and Gentiles, men and women, or slave and free in relation to salvation (cf. Rom. 3:22-23; Gal. 3:28-29; Eph. 2:11-13; 3:4-6). God is the same Lord over the Gentiles as He is over the Jews, and He bestows His gifts and riches upon all who call on Him for salvation (v. 12). Of course Paul could not have said a more offensive thing in the minds of the Jews, both then and now. To be reminded that God does not uphold them any higher than Gentiles is to slap their pride, for they hold to their superiority over all other nations and races. Since the first century Jews have been particularly ardent in their resistance to Christianity as being “against [their] people, and the Law” (Acts 21:28).

Now following the simple understanding of how one can be saved in Romans 10:9-10, namely by believing in Christ with the heart and by verbally confessing that He is Lord, Paul cites OT references to prove that by faith alone one can be saved, no matter one’s race. Quoting from Isaiah 28:16, Paul says, speaking of Christ, “Everyone who believes in Him will not be put to shame.” Note this first use of “whoever” in v. 11 (used again in v. 13), for it proves that salvation is not simply for the Jews but for all. Note also that “whoever” believes in Christ will not be “disappointed,” that is put to shame, embarrassed, or humiliated. There will be no disappointment for believers! They are guaranteed the antithesis of such: honor and exaltation.

Sadly, many today are ashamed of Jesus Christ. Some receive Him externally but later reject Him, putting Jesus to open shame. But note: “For in the case of those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God, and put Him to open shame” (Heb. 6:4-6; cf. 10:26-28, italics mine).

In v. 13 Paul turns to the prophet Joel who said, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (2:32). Again, Paul points to OT Scriptures to prove to Jews that salvation is not simply for them but for all, for God’s choosing of Israel was for the purpose of working through one nation to save all nations. Note the phrase “call on the name of the Lord,” for it was associated with the worship of God in the OT (Pss. 105:1; 116:4-5). The antithesis of the phrase is noted by the psalmist who said, “How long, O Lord? Will You be angry forever? Will Your jealousy burn like fire? Pour out Your wrath upon the nations which do not know You, and upon the kingdoms which do not call upon Your name (Ps. 79:5-6, emphasis mine).

Food for Thought

When we see Lord in our Bibles, the Hebrew term behind it is Yahweh, God’s covenant name. So, to “call upon the name of the Lord” is a cry to the one true God, the Maker of all things. It is by the confession of “Jesus as Lord” and belief in one’s “heart that God raised Him from the dead” that any person “shall be saved” (Rom. 10:9). He is the one true Lord on whom all the faithful from every generation have always called upon for salvation and worship. To call upon the name of Jesus as Lord is to recognize and submit to Him as God, to His authority over our lives, His sovereignty over the universe, His words that guide our submission, and His grace that saves us. All we must do is confess Him as Lord and believe God raised Him from the dead.