Martin Luther takes “calling on the name of the Lord” as a condensed description of justifying faith in action: the sinner’s trusting invocation of Christ alone for forgiveness, grounded in the promise of Rom 10:13 and expressed especially in prayer. For him, to “call on God’s name” is simply to **pray** in faith to the God revealed in Christ, not to perform a meritorious work.[1][2][3]
## Justification and calling on Christ
– Luther explicitly ties forgiveness to calling on Christ’s name: “Sins are not forgiven because of application to works; they are forgiven when I call upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ because I believe that He is the expiation for our sins.” Here “calling upon” is the vocal expression of *fiducia*—resting on Christ’s person and work rather than any work of ours.[1]
– In preaching on Romans 10, he emphasizes Paul’s chain: “Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed?” and uses it to insist that salvation comes by hearing the gospel, believing it, and so calling upon Christ, not by law‑keeping.[4][5]
## Catechism: Second Commandment and prayer
– In the *Small Catechism* on the Second Commandment (“You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain”), Luther adds a positive gloss: “We should fear and love God, and so we should not use His name to curse, swear, practice magic, lie or deceive, but in every time of need call upon Him, pray to Him, praise Him, and give Him thanks.” Here “call upon Him” is the first and basic right use of the divine Name, and Luther treats it as identical with true prayer.[2][3]
– Later Lutherans summarize his point this way: “For to call upon the name of God is nothing else than to pray,” and God, as Father in Christ, “lovingly invites us… that we may more boldly call upon his name, even as we see children with a kind of confidence ask anything of their parents.” The childlike boldness of invocation is central: calling on the Lord is filial trust, not anxious appeasement.[3][6]
## “Calling on the name” as the essence of Christian life
– Luther’s linkage of the Second Commandment and the Lord’s Prayer means that the whole Christian life is framed by right use of the Name: not taking it in vain, but hallowing it and calling upon it in every need. In this sense, “calling on the name of the Lord” becomes shorthand for the continual, prayerful dependence that flows from justification by faith.[2][3]
– Later Lutheran expositors, following Luther’s line, stress that confessing “Jesus is Lord” with the mouth and believing in the heart (Rom 10:9–13) is the creed‑shaped content of this calling. To call on the Lord is therefore to confess the crucified and risen Jesus as true God and only Savior, with the confidence that “whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”[7][8][9][10]
Sources
[1] What Luther Says about How Sins Are Forgiven – CPH Blog https://blog.cph.org/study/
[2] Call on the name of the Lord – Qld District – lcaqd https://qld.lca.org.au/2019/
[3] Revisiting Our Father – 1517 https://www.1517.org/articles/
[4] Luther — the Method and Fruits of Justification – Bible Hub https://biblehub.com/library/
[5] Luther Sermon (Epistle) – Lectionary Central https://www.lectionarycentral.
[6] The Lord’s Prayer in Reformed Worship, Pt. 2 https://reformedforum.org/the-
[7] Luther And Peter And The Roman Catholic Church https://dtbm.org/interview-of-
[8] Romans 10:5-13 – The Need for A Creed – June 3, 2018 http://www.
[9] “3 times “how?”” Romans 10:8-13 https://pastorsblog.com.au/
[10] Commentary on Romans 10:8b-13 – Working Preacher https://www.workingpreacher.
[11] Whoever Calls on the Name of the Lord Will be Saved https://involutedgenealogies.
[12] Joel 2:32 Commentaries – Bible Hub https://biblehub.com/
[13] Translating Joel 2:32 – Bite-Sized Exegesis https://bitesizedexegesis.com/
[14] | Bible.org https://bible.org/series/
[15] Epistle: Romans 10: 8b-13 (Lent 1: Series C) – 1517 https://www.1517.org/articles/
