What does it mean to call on the name of the Lord?

Is it enough to ask Jesus for help and say that I trust in Him? To call on His name? Will I be saved — is it really that simple?

Such questions come to us, or are told to us, after reading the following verse or similar ones to the one below.

porque todo aquel que invocare el nombre del Señor, será salvo.

( Romanos 10:13 )

The meaning for the above verse is a bit different and can be misinterpreted if taken out of context. This verse is written by the apostle Paul to emphasize that salvation is available to anyone — Jew or Gentile — who sincerely calls on Jesus Christ for help and trusts in Him.

There is a warning to avoid empty words which are not coming from the beliefs of your hearts.

No todo el que me dice: Señor, Señor, entrará en el reino de los cielos, sino el que hace la voluntad de mi Padre que está en los cielos. Muchos me dirán en aquel día: Señor, Señor, ¿no profetizamos en tu nombre, y en tu nombre echamos fuera demonios, y en tu nombre hicimos muchos milagros? Y entonces les declararé: Nunca os conocí; apartaos de mí, hacedores de maldad.

( Mateo 7:21-23 )

We may live our whole lives as ‘Christians’ and still be rejected by Jesus. So what does it truly mean to believe in Him and not be rejected? what does it actually mean to love, follow, or trust in Jesus? In everyday life, we’re unlikely to fully trust someone if we know only their name and nothing more.

Let's start with truly understanding who Jesus is, what it means to believe He is the Messiah, and what it means to follow Him in a real, living way.

Many of us have our own personal image of Jesus — shaped by what we’ve heard, seen, or imagined. Some picture a graceful, almost otherworldly figure from church icons; others think of a vague or abstract person simply named Jesus; still others envision the man nailed to the cross — or something else entirely.

For Jewish people, recognizing Jesus as the Messiah carries deep meaning because they know the history, the prophecies, and the expectations surrounding the Messiah’s role in their lives and in the world. For someone who isn’t strong in theology, however, saying “I believe in Jesus” or “I believe He is the Messiah” can sometimes become little more than empty words — said without grasping what those words truly mean.

It’s easy to claim belief without understanding, but real faith calls us to go deeper — to know Jesus as He truly is, not just as an image or idea.

Jesus Himself tells us what it truly means to follow Him and to serve Him. We are called to recognize that Jesus is love — and to see His presence in our daily lives, even at this very moment. We are invited to see Jesus in the people around us, to love them as we would love Him, and to help them as we would desire to help Him.

Un mandamiento nuevo os doy: Que os améis unos a otros; como yo os he amado, que también os améis unos a otros. En esto conocerán todos que sois mis discípulos, si tuviereis amor los unos con los otros.

( Juan 13:34-35 )

Como el Padre me ha amado, así también yo os he amado; permaneced en mi amor.

( Juan 15:9 )

Following Jesus means thinking less of ourselves and more of others and their needs. It’s not about outward appearances — not even about attending Sunday church services alone. Jesus warns us against offering mere lip service to God, honoring Him with our words while our hearts remain far away.

Porque tuve hambre, y me disteis de comer; tuve sed, y me disteis de beber; fui forastero, y me recogisteis; estuve desnudo, y me cubristeis; enfermo, y me visitasteis; en la cárcel, y vinisteis a mí. Entonces los justos le responderán diciendo: Señor, ¿cuándo te vimos hambriento, y te sustentamos, o sediento, y te dimos de beber? ¿Y cuándo te vimos forastero, y te recogimos, o desnudo, y te cubrimos? ¿O cuándo te vimos enfermo, o en la cárcel, y vinimos a ti? Y respondiendo el Rey, les dirá: De cierto os digo que en cuanto lo hicisteis a uno de estos mis hermanos más pequeños, a mí lo hicisteis.

( Mateo 25:35-40 )

Let us not be like those who crucified Jesus. They knew the Scriptures far better than most of us do; they studied them deeply. Yet they missed the heart of it all — they did not understand that eternal life does not come simply from knowing the Scriptures, but from knowing the One to whom the Scriptures point: Jesus, the Messiah.

Escudriñad las Escrituras; porque a vosotros os parece que en ellas tenéis la vida eterna; y ellas son las que dan testimonio de mí; y no queréis venir a mí para que tengáis vida.

( Juan 5:39-40 )

What It Means to Follow and Love Jesus

To follow Jesus is not just to admire Him from a distance; it is to walk the path He walked, with a heart shaped by His own. To love Jesus is to mirror His spirit — to be humble, to serve others, and to love even when it costs us.

Jesus humbled Himself beyond imagination. Though He is the King of kings, He knelt to wash His disciples’ feet. He showed us that greatness in the Kingdom of God is not about being exalted, but about lowering ourselves to lift others up.

To follow Him means to lay down pride and selfish ambition, and to pick up the towel of service, just as He did.

Pues si yo, el Señor y el Maestro, he lavado vuestros pies, vosotros también debéis lavaros los pies los unos a los otros. Porque ejemplo os he dado, para que como yo os he hecho, vosotros también hagáis.

( Juan 13:14-15 )

Mas entre vosotros no será así, sino que el que quiera hacerse grande entre vosotros será vuestro servidor, y el que quiera ser el primero entre vosotros será vuestro siervo; como el Hijo del Hombre no vino para ser servido, sino para servir, y para dar su vida en rescate por muchos.

( Mateo 20:26-28 )

To love Jesus also means to love others — not only those who are easy to love, but also those who hurt, betray, or misunderstand us. Jesus forgave those who crucified Him, asking his Father to forgive them. If we truly love Him, we must extend that same mercy and forgiveness to those around us.

Y Jesús decía: Padre, perdónalos, porque no saben lo que hacen. Y repartieron entre sí sus vestidos, echando suertes.

( Lucas 23:34 )

Un mandamiento nuevo os doy: Que os améis unos a otros; como yo os he amado, que también os améis unos a otros.

( Juan 13:34 )

Understanding who Jesus is

Believing in Jesus is not merely believing that He once lived on Earth. It is recognizing the full glory of who He is:

• Jesus existed before the world began. He is the eternal Word of God, through whom all things were created.
• The world was made through Him. Every mountain, every ocean, every breath we take bears His fingerprints.
• He came down from heaven, clothed Himself in human flesh, and lived among us — fully God and fully man — to walk with us, to teach us, and ultimately to rescue us.

En el principio era el Verbo, y el Verbo era con Dios, y el Verbo era Dios. Este era en el principio con Dios. Todas las cosas por él fueron hechas, y sin él nada de lo que ha sido hecho, fue hecho.

( Juan 1:1-3 )

Porque en él fueron creadas todas las cosas, las que hay en los cielos y las que hay en la tierra, visibles e invisibles; sean tronos, sean dominios, sean principados, sean potestades; todo fue creado por medio de él y para él. Y él es antes de todas las cosas, y todas las cosas en él subsisten;

( Colosenses 1:16-17 )

Y aquel Verbo fue hecho carne, y habitó entre nosotros (y vimos su gloria, gloria como del unigénito del Padre), lleno de gracia y de verdad.

( Juan 1:14 )

Though Jesus never sinned, He willingly went to the cross to bear the punishment for our sins. He suffered and died in our place, so that we, who are guilty, could be forgiven and have eternal life with Him.

Al que no conoció pecado, por nosotros lo hizo pecado, para que nosotros fuésemos hechos justicia de Dios en él.

( 2 Corintios 5:21 )

Porque primeramente os he enseñado lo que asimismo recibí: Que Cristo murió por nuestros pecados, conforme a las Escrituras; y que fue sepultado, y que resucitó al tercer día, conforme a las Escrituras;

( 1 Corintios 15:3-4 )

But death could not hold Him. Jesus rose again, not as a spirit or a memory, but in His physical, glorified body. His resurrection shattered the chains of death and crushed the power of Satan.

y el que vivo, y estuve muerto; mas he aquí que vivo por los siglos de los siglos, amén. Y tengo las llaves de la muerte y del Hades.

( Apocalipsis 1:18 )

Así que, por cuanto los hijos participaron de carne y sangre, él también participó de lo mismo, para destruir por medio de la muerte al que tenía el imperio de la muerte, esto es, al diablo,

( Hebreos 2:14 )

Because He lives, we too will live. His victory is now our hope, our inheritance, and our future. To follow Jesus is to believe this with all your heart — and to live in the light of it every day.