Calling On The Name Of The Lord Is Necessary And Comes After Faith

Usually when I debate the essentiality of water baptism to salvation issue, the second night the opposing apologist affirms a proposition something like “The scriptures teach a sinner is saved at the point of faith in Christ before and without water baptism.” Besides using the passages that talk about the purpose of baptism in my response, there are some other passages that don’t mention baptism specifically, but yet show conclusively salvation does not come at the point of faith or by faith only.

A very important one that first comes to mind is Rom 10:13-15 which starts by saying “whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved,” and therefore teaches a sinner isn’t saved until he calls upon the name of the Lord. Every Baptist I have ever talked to agreed this is the proper understanding of verse 13.

Yet calling on the name of the Lord comes after one believes according to verse 14 – “How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed?” ("have believed" is past tense in the Greek). Every Baptist debater I’ve ever gotten to comment on verse 14 has admitted one can’t honestly call on the name of the Lord until he believes on the Lord first. That only makes sense.

So since salvation comes when one "calls on the name of the Lord" and since "calling on the name of the Lord" comes after belief, then salvation must come after belief. My opponent’s proposition that salvation comes at the point of faith / by faith only is clearly disproven! It is disproven by the Bible, and by my opponents’ own admissions. I have never understood how Baptist type apologists can make such admissions and still hold on to their position, but they always do.

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