"For whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved" (Romans 10:13).
In most religious literature, and at the end of most sermons (in most churches), there is an invitation to pray the "sinner's prayer." This is a prayer that an unsaved person utters in order to obtain salvation. And the verse above in Romans is often used to justify this practice.
Anyone who believes the Bible to be the word of God must agree that whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. That's what the verse says!
The question is: how do we call on the name of the Lord?
Most people interpret this to mean the sinner's prayer - praying for salvation. That is an understandable interpretation for obvious reasons, but the fact is, the greater context of the New Testament demands a different interpretation.
That same phrase is used two other times in the New Testament.
In Acts 2, Peter begins his sermon on Pentecost by quoting a prophecy from Joel. "Whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved," he says in verse 21. At the conclusion of the sermon, the people ask, "Men and brethren, what shall we do?" What does Peter say in response? "I already told you what to do you nitwits! Call on the Lord; pray for salvation!!!" No! He tells them to "repent, and...be baptized...for the remission of sins." Does Peter contradict himself? Of course not. If he tells us to call on the name of the Lord to be saved and then tells us a little later to repent and be baptized for the remission of our sins, we must conclude that these two commands are harmonious. In short, we call on the name of the Lord when we obey Him, and obedience includes baptism.
Also read Acts 22:16. Ananias tells Paul, "And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord." Again, how and when do we call on God? When we're baptized.
In short, when we're baptized (in response to God's command), we're calling on Him to do what He promised He would do - forgive us, save us, acknowledge us. In neither of these verses is the act of calling on God equated with prayer.
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