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.

「因為無論誰呼求主的名﹑都必得救」。

( 羅馬書 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.

「凡稱呼我『主阿﹐主阿』的人﹐不能都進天國﹐惟獨實行我天上之父的旨意的﹐纔能進入。 當那日﹐必有許多人要對我說『主阿﹐主阿﹐我們不是奉你的名傳講過神言﹐奉你的名趕過鬼﹐奉你的名行過許多異能麼？』 那時我必公然對他們說：『我從來不認識你們；你們這些行不法事的人哪﹐離開我去吧！』

( 馬太福音 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.

「我把一條新的誡命給予你們﹐叫你們彼此相愛；我怎樣愛了你們﹐你們也要怎樣彼此相愛。 你們若有彼此相愛的心：於此眾人就認識你們是我的門徒了。」

( 約翰福音 13:34-35 )

父怎樣愛了我﹐我也怎樣愛了你們。你們要住在我的愛裡。

( 約翰福音 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.

因為我餓了﹐你們給我喫；我渴了﹐你們給我喝；我做旅客﹐你們款接我； 我赤著身子﹐你們給我穿；我病了﹐你們看望我；我在監裡﹐你們來看我。』 那時義人必回答他說：『主阿﹐我們甚麼時候見你餓了供養你？或渴了給你喝？ 甚麼時候見你做旅客款接你？或赤著身子給你穿？ 又甚麼時候見你病了或在監裡來看你呢？』 王必回答他們說：『我實在告訴你們﹐這些事你們既作在我這些弟兄中最小之一個的身上﹐就是作在我身上了。』

( 馬太福音 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.

你們探索經典﹐因為以為在其中可以得到永生；而那為我作見證的正是這些經； 你們卻不情願來找我得生命！

( 約翰福音 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.

那麼我做主做老師的尚且洗你們的腳﹐你們呢﹑也應該彼此洗腳阿。 我將模範給了你們﹐是要叫你們照我所向你們作的去作。

( 約翰福音 13:14-15 )

你們中間並不是這樣：不﹐你們中間凡想要做大的﹐就該做你們的僕役； 你們中間凡想要為首的﹐就該做你們的奴僕； 正如人子來﹐並不是要受服事﹐乃是要服事人﹐並跟將性命獻出﹐替許多人做贖價。」

( 馬太福音 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.

耶穌說：「父阿﹐赦免他們﹐因為他們所作的﹑他們不曉得。」【有古卷無34上半節】他們分了耶穌的衣裳﹐拈了鬮。

( 路加福音 23:34 )

「我把一條新的誡命給予你們﹐叫你們彼此相愛；我怎樣愛了你們﹐你們也要怎樣彼此相愛。

( 約翰福音 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.

起初有道﹐道與上帝同在﹐道是上帝之真體。 這道起初與上帝同在； 萬物藉著他而被造；凡被造的﹑沒有一物在他以外而被造。

( 約翰福音 1:1-3 )

因為萬有﹑在天上的和在地上的﹑人能見的和不能見的﹑或是『眾王位』﹑或『眾主治』﹑或『眾執政的』﹑或『眾掌權的』﹑都是本著他而被創造的：萬有都藉著他﹐又是為要歸於他而被創造的。 他在萬有之先﹐萬有也本著他而一同立住；

( 歌羅西書 1:16-17 )

道成了肉身﹐住在我們中間〈我們見過他的榮光﹐正是個獨生者由父而來的榮光〉﹐豐豐滿滿地有恩典有『真實』。

( 約翰福音 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.

他叫那不認識罪的替我們成了罪﹐好叫我們在他裡面成為上帝之義。

( 哥林多後書 5:21 )

首要的﹐我曾經把我所領受的傳給你們﹐就是：基督怎樣依照經典為我們的罪死了； 怎樣埋葬了；又怎樣依照經典第三天得甦活了起來；

( 哥林多前書 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.

永活的；我曾經死﹐如今你看﹐我是永遠活著﹑世世無窮的；我並且執有死亡和陰間的鑰匙。

( 啟示錄 1:18 )

這樣﹐孩子們既有分於血與肉﹐他自己也同樣與分於血與肉﹐這是要讓他藉著死叫那掌有死權的---就是魔鬼---無能為力﹐

( 希伯來書 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.