BIBLE VERSES EXPLAINED
Romans 10:13—“Call Upon the Name of the Lord”
“Everyone who calls on the name of Jehovah will be saved.”—Romans 10:13, New World Translation.
“Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”—Romans 10:13, King James Version.
Meaning of Romans 10:13
God is impartial, and he extends to all people the opportunity to be saved and gain everlasting life, regardless of their nationality, race, or social status. To benefit, however, we must call on the name of Jehovah, which is the personal name of Almighty God.a—Psalm 83:18.
In the Bible, the expression “call on the name of Jehovah” means more than just knowing God’s name and using it in worship. (Psalm 116:12-14) It includes trusting God and looking to him for help.—Psalm 20:7; 99:6.
God’s name was important to Jesus Christ. The very first words in his model prayer were: “Our Father in the heavens, let your name be sanctified,” or made holy. (Matthew 6:9) Jesus also showed that we must come to know, obey, and love the Person behind that name if we are to gain everlasting life.—John 17:3, 6, 26.
Why can we conclude that Jehovah is “the Lord” mentioned at Romans 10:13 in the King James Version? Because the verse quotes from Joel 2:32, where God’s name, not the title “Lord,” occurs in the original Hebrew.b
Context of Romans 10:13
In Romans chapter 10, the Bible shows that a person’s good standing with God is dependent on his faith in Jesus Christ. (Romans 10:9) This reasoning is supported by several quotes from what is known as the Old Testament. A person demonstrates faith by “public declaration,” which includes proclaiming the good news about salvation to unbelievers. As a result, others are given the opportunity to develop the faith that leads to life.—Romans 10:10, 14, 15, 17.
Read Romans chapter 10 along with the explanatory footnotes and cross-references.
a God’s name appears some 7,000 times in ancient Bible manuscripts. In Hebrew, the divine name appears as four letters, known as the Tetragrammaton. The name is commonly rendered “Jehovah” in English; however, some scholars prefer the rendering “Yahweh.”
b It is likely that Christian Bible writers used God’s name when they quoted “Old Testament” texts containing that name. The Anchor Bible Dictionary states: “There is some evidence that the Tetragrammaton, the Divine Name, Yahweh, appeared in some or all of the O[ld] T[estament] quotations in the N[ew] T[estament] when the NT documents were first penned.” (Volume 6, page 392) For further information, see “The Divine Name in the Christian Greek Scriptures” in Appendix A5 of the study edition of the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures. Appendix C2 has a list of Bible translations that use the divine name at Romans 10:13.