Augustine of Hippo

But whether he or some partners of his error are with you—for they are too numerous to make it possible for us to hope they are not, and when they are not refuted they mislead others into their sect and increase so much that I do not know where they will break out next—we would rather see them cured in the body of the church than cut off from the body as rotten members, if necessity allows even that. We have to fear that others will be infected, if we spare their infection. But the mercy of our Lord is able rather to free them from disease, and no doubt he will do it if they note and hold faithfully to what is written: “Whoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

When the holy apostle wished to show that the prophets had foretold the coming of those times when it should come to pass that all nations would believe in God, he cited the testimony that reads, “And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” For the name of God who has made heaven and earth used to be invoked among the Israelites only. The rest of the nations used to call upon deaf and dumb idols and were not heard by them; or they invoked demons and were heard to their own harm. “But when the fullness of time had come,” then was fulfilled what had been foretold. “And it shall come to pass, that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Hence the Jews—even those of them who believed in Christ—begrudged the gospel of the Gentiles and maintained that the gospel of Christ ought not to be preached to the uncircumcised.