And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.  Joel 2:32a

     The book of Joel repeats several times the phrase, “The day of the Lord.” You must always remember that every day belongs to the Lord, for He is working out His plans according to His schedule, accomplishing all He said He will do. This gives us hope in the turbulent times of our day. The  turbulent times in the book of Joel were caused by the sins of the people, and the turbulent times of OUR day are caused by the same. God always judges sin, and there is and will always be a consequence. For the wages of sin is death. Romans 6:23a. Not only do we see God judging sin in the book of Joel, but He does so throughout the whole Bible. God set the standard of the law by which we are to live, and He has never compromised this standard. Honestly, with our sin nature, we could never keep the law of God perfectly. One thing the human race seems to do very well is sin. We don’t even need to try because it comes very naturally. As the old hymn says, “Prone to wander Lord I feel it.” So, if we can never keep the law of God, and God is going to judge based upon this standard, then we are all doomed- Except for the fact that God has a plan to solve that dilemma as well….. JESUS, our only hope.

 
And it shall come to pass:
     Always remember that whatever God has said will come to pass. The most important events that have come to pass are Jesus’s birth, death, and resurrection. These events made it possible for everyone to be able to accomplish, in Jesus, the requirements of all the law. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. Romans 8:3-4 ESV  Remember this very important point…. it is a walk we walk, not just a talk we talk. The old adage “Actions always speak louder than words” is very important in the Christian walk.

 
That everyone who calls on the name of the Lord:
     Jesus…. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. Act 4:12 ESV  This is the standard by which one day all will be evaluated by God. The standard ….. accepting Jesus by calling on the only one who could ever save us from the consequence of being lawbreakers. The name, which describes the lawbreakers of God, is sinner. When you break laws of the land and are prosecuted, you are called criminals. To receive all the rights you once had, you would need a pardon. Before sin, man walked with God and had a relationship/fellowship with Him. Sin separated us from that fellowship, but a pardon was granted through Jesus, God’s only Son, who restores that fellowship. To call upon the name of the Lord is to realize your absolute need of an advocate on your behalf because of sin. There is power in that  name…the power to save.

 
Shall be saved:
     You must realize that you are in need before you can ever be saved. The person who believes that one day they will go to heaven because they are a good person is saying that they have lived up to God’s perfect standard. Jesus is the perfect standard, so unless you live better than Jesus, you have fallen short. To think you are good enough is to say you don’t need Jesus, which, in essence, is denying him. So where does that put us if we are honest with ourselves? None is righteous, no, not one Romans 3:10 ESV ….. For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin. Romans 3:20 ESV …… For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Romans 3:23 ESV  Just as stated at the beginning, “The wages of sin is death” Romans 6:23a ESV, the last part of that verse states, “but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 6:23b ESV  Understand there is no special formula by which a person is saved, but the Bible makes clear where to start. It happens in the heart, and not just because words are spoken from the lips; actions prove the reality in life what a person believes in his heart. The greatest work or action you could ever do is to believe. Jesus said, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent,” John 6:29 ESV  What you believe in your heart will come out in your speech. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. Romans 10:10 ESV When you have come to grips with the fact that salvation comes only by Jesus, and the standard of his life, and your inability to ever live such a life, IT SHOULD LEAD YOU TO REPENTANCE. For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret. 2 Corinthians 7:10 ESV  Which brings us back to—For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. Romans 10:13 ESV Jesus IS our only HOPE!!

Because of His Grace ~ Pastor David