Acts 22:16 and Calling On The Name of the Lord

Two of our recent posts proved from Acts 22:16 that Saul/Paul was not saved at the point of his faith (which occurred at least three days earlier) and that water baptism is necessary to the washing away of sins by the blood of Christ. Let's continue our study of Acts 22:16."Calling on the name of the Lord" is required for salvation (Acts 2:21, Rom 10:13, etc.). Many assume this means to call upon God in prayer. But not necessarily; we can call upon (ask for) something to happen with an action. For example, a football team can call upon (ask) the scorekeeper to add 3 points to the scoreboard by kicking a field goal. My employer tells me repeatedly that the way to ask for my paycheck is to fill out my electronic timecard and sign it. In our Biblical case, an action is indeed how we call upon God to forgive us of our sins based upon the death/blood of Christ. Acts 22:16 inasmuch says so as it reads, "... arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord." Notice that the way Saul was to call on the Lord is by being baptized. Acts chapter 2 confirms the same thing. In verse 21, Peter tells his audience that "whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved." But Peter goes on to in verse 38 to detail what it means to call upon God for salvation - "Repent, and be baptized ... for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost." God has told us that if you want to be saved, you must believe and be baptized (Mark 16:16). So the way you call upon God to save you from your sins is by doing just that.