Question

I believe what God says about salvation, but there are two verses in the Bible that confuse me.  The Bible in one place says that whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved, and in another place the Bible says that not everyone that says Lord, Lord shall enter into the kingdom of heaven. 

Answer

Paul is stating that "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved," with the implied understanding that this calling is to the one true Savior and Lord--Jesus Christ.  And it is not some mere cry of the mouth, but a cry from the heart, in accordance with the true Gospel message as outlined in other verses.  The person who cries out to the Lord must:

1.  Repent of their sins (a willingness in their heart to want to turn away from all their known sins)

2.  Believe in Jesus Christ--who He claimed to be (God, the only Savior, the only Mediator, the only source of salvation).

3.  Submission of their lives to the control and direction of Christ (commands and directions of the Word of God), again a submission of the heart.

When anyone truly does this, then they will indeed be saved.

Now, "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven."  Now, the  will of the Father is for us to believe in Jesus, but in the way God prescribes (as just outlined above).  There will be a lot of people who will claim Jesus as Lord of their lives, but either don't truly repent of their sins, or have false notions who Christ is, or don't submit to the commands of the Word of God in reference to the habit pattern of their lives.

The churches are full of these false believers, and they will be cast straight into hell on their death.  The secret is simply to read the Bible and adore Christ.  Jesus said, "Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him." [John 14:21]  Also, "If you love me, you will obey what I command." [John 14:15]

Added to Bible Bulletin Board's "Tony Capoccia's Questions and Answers" by:

Tony Capoccia
Bible Bulletin Board
Box 119
Columbus, New Jersey, USA, 08022
Websites: www.biblebb.com and www.gospelgems.com
Email: tony@biblebb.com
Online since 1986