When the Roll is Called Down Here!
Romans 16:1-16
When the Roll Is Called Down Here!
I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a servant of the church in Cenchrea. I ask you to receive her in the Lord in a way worthy of the saints and to give her any help she may need from you, for she has been a great help to many people, including me. Greet Priscilla and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus. They risked their lives for me. Not only I but all the churches of the Gentiles are grateful to them. Greet also the church that meets at their house. Greet my dear friend Epenetus, who was the first convert to Christ in the province of Asia. Greet Mary, who worked very hard for you. Greet Andronicus and Junias, my relatives who have been in prison with me. They are outstanding among the apostles, and they were in Christ before I was. Greet Ampliatus, whom I love in the Lord. Greet Urbanus, our fellow worker in Christ, and my dear friend Stachys. Greet Apelles, tested and approved in Christ. Greet those who belong to the household of Aristobulus. Greet Herodion, my relative. Greet those in the household of Narcissus who are in the Lord. Greet Tryphena and Tryphosa, those women who work hard in the Lord. Greet my dear friend Persis, another woman who has worked very hard in the Lord. Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord, and his mother, who has been a mother to me, too. Greet Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas and the brothers with them. Greet Philologus, Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas and all the saints with them. Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ send greetings. [Romans 16:1-16]
His name was Charlie Greer. I doubt that many people outside of his family remember him. Perhaps his parents are still alive, their hearts yet raw despite the passage of over thirty years. He had an older brother and two younger sisters who I am certain still think of him and no doubt value the few ageing photographs in family albums or hanging in cherished places on the walls. Every Veterans Day and each Memorial Day they probably go to the cemetery and place flowers on the grave, shed a few tears and think of Charlie. I can’t forget Charlie.
The last time I saw Charlie is vividly etched in my memory. We had joined forces in Fredonia, the county seat of Wilson County Kansas. From Fredonia we rode a Continental Trailways bus to Cherryvale. In Cherryvale we caught the Missouri Pacific passenger train to Kansas City. By unspoken consent Charlie had hidden a couple of bottles of peach brandy in his luggage and I smuggled a couple of bottles of “Old Sour Breath,” and so we spent the hours tippling. We were two teenage boys on our way to war and with teenage bravado trying vainly to forget the threat arising from our journeys. By the time we got to Kansas City neither of us were able to form a sound opinion on much of anything; but we were still teenagers and life was sweet and we were about to enter into the service of our country and we would live forever. What would one more night matter? Who could possibly object to us having a little fun?
So we two boys from a small town in Kansas wandered the streets of the big city until well into the morning hours. I had a ticket to stay at the YMCA courtesy of the United States Marine Corps and so I invited Charlie to sleep on the floor for the remainder of the night—all three hours of it. We would then get up and report to the induction centre across the street.
Those few hours swiftly fled and we were soon entering the imposing looking building where we asked a few questions and discovered where we were supposed to go. Pausing before a stern looking United States Army sergeant, Charlie gave his name and stated that he was to report for induction. Looking down a rather long list the sergeant looked up and said, “You were supposed to be here last night. Where were you?”
Charlie stammered some reply which made no great imprint on my memory, but the rejoinder of that old sergeant is stamped indelibly on my memory: “Son, you just bought a one-way ticket to Vietnam.” In retrospect it was more a prophecy than a statement, and the words are chilling in their impact to this day.
Charlie grinned and waved good-bye to me and disappeared through the door behind that old sergeant while I continued on my way to the Marine Corps induction centre. Two years later, in April of 1967, Charlie came home from Vietnam. For his last trip Charlie lay in a metal coffin carried by six men and accompanied by Lance Corporal Jack Fail. Two weeks before rotating home he was shot in the head by a sniper as he walked about secure in his own camp.
Charlie Greer—it’s just a name to most people; but when viewed on line #4 of panel #17E, together with fifty-eight thousand one hundred ninety other names engraved on the Vietnam Memorial, that name evokes some of the most powerful memories imaginable for me. What memories flood visitors as they approach the wall laughing and chattering! Nearing the wall a strange phenomenon will be observed as voices are first muted and then silenced. Other than quiet sobbing or the occasional whisper as a visitor speaks the name of a departed friend or family member, there is no sound. Those 58,191 names of dead and missing men and women are a powerful reminder of the cost of freedom and the folly of unrestrained government.
A mother and a father look at a name and they see the faltering steps of a little child grow into the purposeful stride of young manhood. They see that young man proudly wearing the uniform of his country and they see their own dreams for him smashed by the black trimmed telegram which begins: “We regret to inform you that your son…”
A woman of fifty something stands before the wall and recalls the tender embraces with which her young husband comforted her as she sobbed at the thought of a thirteen-month separation. How could she make it on the money he would be able to send home? And the child which would be born in just seven months? That little one would be six months old before he or she ever saw Dad! The unknown gnawed at her and left her apprehensive. Yet he had stroked her hair, kissed her forehead and spoken just the words she needed to hear—words of purpose and resolve and a reaffirmation of his love and devotion for her, his childhood sweetheart. She still remembers the day the knock on the door startled her as she was busy with the affairs of the home and motherhood, and opening the door she saw the chaplain standing there with a captain she had never seen before. Before either could say a word she cried out, her voice rising to a scream: “No! Not him! No! No! No!”
The ageing man stands, head bowed and hand extended to the wall. A look of profound grief crosses his face and knits his brow. The insensitive observer would stare and see the tears streaming down his face as anguished screams for a medic echo in his mind and he again cradles his best friend in his arms as he watches his life blood drain out onto the jungle floor.
The young woman stands before the wall, and before laying a single rose at the base of the wall she wonders what her father would say about decisions she faces now. She longs to have a father tell her what to do, a dad to give her advice about her options. She never knew him, but she has often heard about him as she grew up. She has even been told that she looks a lot like him and that her mannerisms remind old friends and family members of him.
A piece of polished black granite inscribed with names of family, friends and neighbours has become for an entire nation one of the most powerful sources of emotion. Those names speak of acts of courage and of acts of cowardice. The names are those of men and women, citizens and aliens, young and old, all alike were engaged in a conflict they could not wish, each was swept up in a greater social upheaval. The names inscribed on that wall point to other unlisted names representing individuals who were equally courageous but who carried or still carry scars which will never heal—scars both visible and unseen. Always underlying the names listed is the knowledge of the hurt to millions of young Vietnamese who have no memorial.
Names can evoke powerful emotions and powerful memories, and when those names represent that which is considered precious, as do the names inscribed on this memorial, the power resident within those names can only be enhanced. There are other lists of names which quietly hold great significance for us as citizens of a nation. These other lists speak of privilege and responsibility.
Along with most of my neighbours I travel to a local school, church or community hall. We arrive individually and in little knots throughout the day. Arrive at the wrong time and your wait may be considerable. At other times you will be able to walk right in, march up to the table and obtain your materials. Seated behind the table is one of your neighbours who will ask your name and verify that you are listed on the master list. You may find it necessary to produce your registration card in the event the clerk seated before you is somewhat nervous or a novice. In a ritual as old as democracy itself the citizenry is participating in the selection of those who will direct the affairs of the municipality, of the province, or of the nation.
Not everyone living in the community may vote, but only those enrolled on the voters list. There are rules for being so listed. You must be a member of the community. You must be a citizen. You must be permitted this privilege. Though others are graciously permitted to live among us, even to benefit from the decisions our governments make, they are not permitted the great privilege of determining the direction government will proceed during the coming term.
From that voter’s list which speaks of the privilege of participating in the democratic process is drawn another vital list which speaks of responsibility. Privilege always leads to responsibility and the responsibility imposed on voters is that they must participate in administration of justice. In a procedure as old as British jurisprudence the names of voters are set down on a list and those so listed are subject to random selection as potential jurors. Gathered in a courtroom that large body of men and women listen to a sheriff’s detailed instructions. Then they hear the judge describe the cases which will be heard. He gives an indication of the length of time the participating lawyers estimate they will need to present their respective cases. Without further delay juries are empanelled from that list of citizens.
It is a privilege to vote, to participate in the selection of those directing affairs of state and matters of civic need. Only those meeting the requirements of citizenship may participate in that act. Balancing the privilege is the awesome responsibility of participating in the administration of justice through hearing legal arguments and making decisions based upon those arguments. Again, the responsibility is incumbent upon those who are members of the society and citizens of the community, of the province, of the nation.
Surely we are aware that names are significant. Names can evoke intense emotions of pride and sorrow and determination. Names remind us of privilege restricted to those meeting the requirements to be numbered among those listed. Likewise, names, when listed to remind us of privilege also speak of responsibility to be borne by those so privileged. Throughout the Word of God are found lists of names. Beginning in the Old Testament we read the lists giving us the names of the descendants of Cain, the descendants of Adam, the descendants of Shem, Ham and Japheth. Later we read the names of Esau’s descendants and a list of the rulers of Edom. Then we discover a list of the descendants of Israel. Each list is more vital then we dare imagine as they lay the foundation for events yet to be unfolded. The lists are only the beginning as they continue to appear and are expanded throughout the remainder of the books of the Old Testament, culminating in the list which gives the lineage of Jesus, who is the Christ.
Having read Luke’s Gospel I might be tempted to think that the Bible is finished with lists, but as Paul concludes the letter to the Church in Rome he creates another list. The casual reader is tempted to consider such lists a nuisance to be endured or even skipped over as he or she reads through the Word of God. However, there is significance to the lists provided in the Word of God which exceeds any significance we may ascribe to all other lists developed by mankind. The list given in this Roman letter evokes powerful emotions, speaks of privilege beyond all expectation, and confers awesome responsibility upon those listed.
Priscilla, Aquila, Epenetus, Mary, Andronicus and Junias—mostly strange sounds in our ears, each name refers to a man or woman who was enrolled as a member of the saints in Rome. Few of these individuals were then recognised as having greater significance than fellow members, nor would they be known as people of importance now. Their names did not cause the powerful of that world to tremble or pause to reflect on who they were. Likewise, the names of the members of this church, or of any congregation of the faithful, are not likely to be recognised far beyond the immediate boundaries of the assembly. Neither will the names of the membership cause many to reflect on who they are. Yet each one evokes powerful emotion in Heaven itself.
When a child of God is born into the Kingdom of Heaven we are informed that there is more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety‑nine righteous persons who do not need to repent [Luke 15:7]. Those born from above are placed in the church and though the membership rolls of the churches of this world are not a perfect reflection of those united in the church of the firstborn [Hebrews 12:23] it is assuredly anticipated that among those so listed will be included the names of the members of that heavenly band.
The churches of this world are not perfect. Someone has observed that if you find a perfect church do not join it because it will no longer be perfect. We know from experience and from the teaching of Christ Himself that mixed with the good seed of the Kingdom are weeds planted by the enemy [Matthew 13:24-30]. Even were it not for the weeds sprouting along with the wheat, those members who are truly born from above are often immature. The members of a given church reflect a range of maturity from new-born to elders, and only with maturity do Christians cease from many of their childish ways. Consequently, length of membership is not the sole criterion for determining maturity. Some who have been professing believers for a long time are the most immature, and some who are relatively young in the Faith are the most mature.
Included in the roll of members of any church are names imbued with deep emotions. I somehow imagine that Paul stifled a sob from time-to-time as he dictated the closing greetings. Priscilla and Aquila were husband and wife who risked their lives for Paul. We don’t know the particular instance, but it must have occurred during the time he ministered in Corinth. Perhaps they had in some way placed their lives on the line when he was put out of the synagogue; perhaps Paul is referring to the peril of sea travel when they had journeyed with him to Ephesus. In some way they had risked all for the cause of Christ and for His servant. Could the Apostle remember them without feeling deepest gratitude for such loyal friendship?
Epenetus was the first convert to Christ in the province of Asia. Recalling his name, I imagine the aged Apostle held this saint in highest esteem. What pressures Epenetus must have known! How bold he must have proved again and again! What determination must have impelled him to continue faithful. Mary laboured for the saints in Rome, probably serving in Paul’s stead. He must have recalled her with fondness.
Andronicus and Junias had been imprisoned with Paul. Can we suppose that Paul had shared such hardship as imprisonment without discovering a great bonding? These two had distinguished themselves among the apostles, that dedicated band of servants of Christ who gave themselves to extend the Kingdom beyond safe boundaries and into all the world.
Ampliatus was lov[ed] in the Lord. Urbanus was a fellow worker in Christ and Stachys was given the title of a dear friend of the Apostle. Could the Apostle recall Apelles without being deeply moved at the knowledge that he had been tested and approved in Christ? The members of the household of Aristobulus were also known to the Apostle and must have been held in esteem. Herodion was Paul’s relative. He was probably one of those converted under Stephen’s preaching and drawn from the Synagogue of the Freedmen [Acts 6:9] which had enraged Saul so greatly that he approved of and engineered the murder of Stephen, the first martyr for Christ. How the Apostle must have felt gratitude that this relative still accepted him. How he must have felt with each memory deep sorrow at his participation in the death of that good man. How he must have regretted the rage which had driven him to act as a wild boar in the vineyard of the Lord.
Among the household of Narcissus were some in the Lord whom the Apostle knew and held dear. Tryphena and Tryphosa were women who work[ed] hard in the Lord. Therefore they were special to the hard-working Apostle. Persis was another woman who worked very hard in the Lord, and was thus dear to the aged Apostle. Rufus was said to be chosen in the Lord, and his mother had apparently treated Paul as though he were a son. How could he remember this mother and son without deep feelings of love and gratitude? Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas, Philologus, Julia, Nereus and his sister, Olympas—to us, simply more names, but each one known to Paul and held in sufficient esteem to merit personal greetings.
John would write much later: Greet the friends there by name [3 John 14]. Among the reasons for such a statement is the fact that the membership of your church is comprised of men and women who are closer then we dare imagine. They are not simply individuals who work at various tasks and occasionally meet to participate in a liturgy; the members of the church are men and women who share the most intimate of all human experiences—worship.
These people are family and they thus speak of one another as brothers and sisters. The titles are neither superfluous nor affected, nor must we ever permit them to become trite. We accept one another as dearly loved children of a common Father through new birth in the Spirit. This does not mean that we have no differences nor that we have no conflicts; but it does mean that overarching every relationship is the knowledge that our Father is God and that He is in control of our lives individually and collectively. Friends and family are to be greeted by name because their name carries something of the knowledge of each as an individual.
Ask yourself, what do you know of your fellow worshipers? I don’t mean by that what do you know superficially about their likes or dislikes, their habits or their preferences; I mean, what do you know about their individual struggles and their personal victories? Can you name the greatest sorrow of the one sitting closest to you? Did you share in that grief, holding that brother or that sister in loving prayer before the Throne of the Great King? Can you name the greatest victory of any given member of the Body? Did you share in that victory?
How intimately has your life been affected by the life of each member of this congregation? What changes have taken place in your life because of each member of the assembly? It is only because we have been trained to cloister ourselves in straitened places of our own making, calling it rugged individualism, that we know so little about one another. What would happen if we actually began to pray for one another knowledgeably? How would our lives be changed if we dared strip away the masks hiding our true selves and began to live boldly for Christ’s sake? What would happen if we were to dare trust one another as children of the Living God, treating one another with dignity and refusing to take advantage of one another?
I am deeply concerned for the church in these the closing days of the Age of Grace. Increasingly I see the development of a strange, unbiblical, “lone ranger” type of Christianity. With our lips we Christians profess deepest love for one another, even as we isolate ourselves from one another and hide our lives through donning masks of our own making. Do you realise that such masks are the height of hypocrisy, for a hypocrite is but someone wearing a mask? When I hide from others I am an actor playing out a role which is not me.
Should a brother or sister be in distress we are silent, giving every appearance of unconcern for their welfare either physically or spiritually. Are we truly unaffected by their grief? Should our brothers or sisters be disgraced or shamed in some manner, fellow Christians seem to convey an attitude which fairly shouts a lack of concern, or worse still an attitude which indicates our conviction that they have only received just dues. Dear people, this should not be! The Word of God does not permit us to hold such laissez faire attitudes toward members of our spiritual family. Consider the teaching of the Word.
Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honour one another above yourselves... Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another [Romans 12:10,15]. Keep on loving each other as brothers [Hebrews 13:1]. Again note the admonition of God’s Word: Love one another deeply, from the heart [1 Peter 1:22]. My dear fellow saints, love is not passive; it is active, daring to intervene when necessary and for the sake of fellow saints and for the cause of Christ. Love is willing to get its hands dirty and love dares risk relationships because the one loved is valuable and dear.
Perhaps you will recall James’ searching query of those who claim this family relationship in Christ? What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, “Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? [James 2:14-16]. I urge you to love one another as members of the divine family, for that is what you are. You have confessed one Lord, embraced one faith, submitted to one baptism, and together you call on one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all [Ephesians 4:5, 6].
The names enrolled as members of this particular assembly of Christ are just names ... until we recall the love associated with each one. Members of this Body have laboured in prayer for each Pastor whom God sent to you, and though he may not have realised their toil he nevertheless benefited from it. You loved and prayed for your former pastor, just as you are praying for me as I assume my responsibilities. Whatever may have happened you loved him and you cannot retract the prayers presented before God in love, nor would he retract his prayers for you in your times of distress.
Members of this Body have grieved with one another in times of sorrow, and though we may not have always understood the depth of their sympathy we nevertheless were comforted by the shared mourning. Members of this Body have rejoiced with each other in times of victory, and though we may not have understood the importance of that act of sharing, our joy was enhanced. What is true for any one of us is true also for each of us. There is not a sorrow you have experienced but that others within the Body felt your grief. There is not a valley you have traversed but that others within the Body have walked with you in their spirit. There is not a joy you have felt but that others within the Body rejoiced with you and exulted in your victory. This is the Faith! This is the Body of Christ, and these names reflect what He has done.
Never again must I take for granted the roll of names and the lives represented by each individual who shares this common Faith. Never again must I treat in a casual manner the individuals represented by the names enrolled within this congregation. Each one is precious to Christ—He gave His life for each and redeemed each, calling each one by His grace. Each one is precious to me because of Christ’s purchase and because of shared lives. How glorious is this roll call of fellow saints united in worship and united in service to the glory of our God and Saviour.
There is yet a final list of names significant beyond everything of which I have spoken to this point. I speak of the names written in the Lamb’s Book of life. John was granted the unique privilege of seeing the New Jerusalem, the Holy City, coming down out of Heaven. Writing of that city and of the inhabitants of those blessed precincts, the aged exile wrote: I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendour into it. On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. The glory and honour of the nations will be brought into it. Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life [Revelation 21:22-27]. Admission is restricted, for only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life shall enter into that blessed abode.
On this roll are listed the names of the saints of all the ages, the redeemed from many lands who spoke many languages and dialects and who lived in every conceivable condition while occupying every imaginable social situation. These are those of whom the author of the Hebrew letter wrote when he stated: you have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the judge of all men, to the spirits of righteous men made perfect, to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel [Hebrews 12:22-24]. Those listed here have an eternal inheritance which can never perish, spoil or fade since it is kept in heaven for you [1 Peter 1:4].
Together with the saints who have gone before, these enrolled on this heavenly list are those commended for their faith. This roll is the list of names of those who have been made perfect by the grace of and through the redeeming power of God our Saviour. The names listed in this heavenly roll may have had their names listed on a stele somewhere because they gave their lives in service to their country, or they may have been unknown to all save a few individuals. They may have been citizens entitled to vote in some country, or they may have lived out their time on this earth as slaves without privilege or rights. They were no doubt members of an assembly of believers somewhere during the days of their earthly labours and they likely invested their lives in service to God and to their fellow saints as they exercised the gifts He had entrusted to them. They are named in Heaven itself, however, on one basis only—the merits of Christ Jesus. Neither service to country, sacrifice even of life, nor membership in a church, would ever suffice to obtain an entry on the pages of this unique ledger.
When John wrote his apocalyptic vision, you will recall that he dedicated the letter to Jesus Christ ... who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father—to him be glory and power for ever and ever [Revelation 1:5,6]. Those loved by Jesus are those who have been freed from their sins by His shed blood. Those who have been freed by the blood of Christ are those who have been made into a kingdom and made to be priests to serve Him and His God forever. Those who have been made into a kingdom are those who are listed on the divine roll of the redeemed.
All mankind is divided into two categories—redeemed and lost. Revelation 22:14,15 reveals the division: Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city. Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood. Those enrolled on the divine register of the redeemed are those fitted for that fair city by the work of God through His indwelling Spirit. Purified, they have the right to enter the holy city. By implication, those not enrolled in the divine register of the redeemed are considered as being those who would spoil fair heaven itself, being those who love and practice what is contrary to the will of God.
The roll is being written even now; it is being revealed through the lives of men and women made whole by the grace of God and the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. Though not yet perfected, these who have believed are even now being conformed to the likeness of God’s Son. Known to God, they are recognised by the reflection of His glory in their lives, and one day the roll will be called down here. Paul wrote of that day on several occasions.
Perhaps one of the best known examples of Paul’s writing concerning that day is the passage which is recorded in 1 Thessalonians 4:14-17. We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. According to the Lord's own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.
Assembled before the Bema Seat of Christ, these shall be revealed for the beauty of God’s perfecting grace in their lives. They shall be rewarded for that which they have done to the glory of God. God shall be glorified in them, for they are His precious jewels, assembled to the praise of His glory. Then shall Christ receive honour and praise and glory and majesty forever and ever. Amen.
There is another roll from which I would spare you. I speak of the roll of the damned. The lost shall also one day stand before a throne, but it is not a throne from which God reveals His perfecting grace in them. Instead it is a throne before which they must stand to receive that awful sentence of eternal separation and damnation. John saw that throne and wrote of it in Revelation 20:11-15. I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. Earth and sky fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
Because this thought does not fit your theology is no reason to refuse to accept that God gives it as an expression of mercy. For if you will but heed the warning now, there is no need to be condemned. You may have your name enrolled on the register of the blessed through submission to the Risen Lord of Glory. This is what you must do: Confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. As the Scripture says, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame.” For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” [Romans 10:9-13]. I would that each one listening to this message would say today, “By God’s grace I take Jesus as my Saviour. I submit to Him as Master of my life. By the mercies of God I receive His salvation now.” May God bless you with faith as you heed the Gospel call now. Amen.