3-18-14. Acts 4:1-22. SALVATION IS FOUND IN NO ONE ELSE-my devotional

 Acts 4:1-22                                                                         Kevin E. Jesmer

Key verse 4:12,                                                                   March 18, 2014

“And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

 Dear Lord Jesus, thank you for missions Sunday at church. Thank you for making KBC a sending church and a church concerned with world mission command of Jesus Christ. I pray that you may work through us to make the name of Jesus known to the ends of the earth. May your kingdom come in the hearts of countless people. Please grant me your word in my heart today. I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen!

Part 1: Persecution for Jesus’ Name (1-7).

Verses 1-7, “And as they were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them, 2 greatly annoyed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. 3 And they arrested them and put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening. 4 But many of those who had heard the word believed, and the number of the men came to about five thousand. 5 On the next day their rulers and elders and scribes gathered together in Jerusalem, 6 with Annas the high priest and Caiaphas and John and Alexander, and all who were of the high-priestly family. 7 And when they had set them in the midst, they inquired, “By what power or by what name did you do this?” (ESV)

Look at verses 1-3. The religious establishment was stirred up over the man who was healed. They seized Peter and John and had them brought before Annas the high priest and others of the high priest’s family. Persecution was coming. For most people this would mean bad news. But for the people of God, this means that God is on the move.

It seemed as if trouble was coming for them but persecution is like sunlight to the early church. It bore a lot of fruit. Look at verse 4, “But many of those who had heard the word believed, and the number of the men came to about five thousand.” Persecution was serving to revive the church. Persecution, makes a healthy Christian remain healthy. Moreover, this became an opportunity to preach the gospel. And when they did, 5,000 people came to faith in Christ.

We tend to think that persecution is a bad thing that should be avoided. But it is par for the course for believers. Jesus said, “If they persecuted me they will persecute you also.” (john 15:20) and, “I am sending you out as lambs among wolves.” (Matt 10:16) Jesus is God himself. He was sinless and powerful and yet he was persecuted. Do we think that we can do God’s work without some opposition? Do we think that we are better than Jesus himself? I agree that if we can do the work of God, sincerely, without persecution then go for it. But know that it will come your way and you had better be ready for it. We should also not be surprised when Christians are persecuted. It will happen.

But we should not be persecuted for our thoughtless ways of presenting the gospel or our bad theology. If that is happening then we should re-assess our ways. This means that we should confess, repent and re-adjust our methods to be in line with Biblical principles. But even when we do this, persecution may occur.

Some of the most healthy churches are the ones who have undergone some persecution. The early church grew by the thousands. The church leaders grew to be spiritual giants. They were changing the world and making history. Today, the Chinese underground churches are prospering and growing due to persecution. Powerful Christian leaders are being raised up. We need to change our views and attitudes about persecution.

Persecution gives us opportunities to witness to the authorities. Look at verses 5-7,
“On the next day their rulers and elders and scribes gathered together in Jerusalem, 6 with Annas the high priest and Caiaphas and John and Alexander, and all who were of the high-priestly family. 7 And when they had set them in the midst, they inquired, “By what power or by what name did you do this?”

Part 2: There Is No Other Name Under Heaven By Which We Must Be Saved (8-22). 

Verse 8-22, “8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders, 9 if we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed, 10 let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by him this man is standing before you well. 11 This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. 12 And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” 13 Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus. 14 But seeing the man who was healed standing beside them, they had nothing to say in opposition. 15 But when they had commanded them to leave the council, they conferred with one another, 16 saying, “What shall we do with these men? For that a notable sign has been performed through them is evident to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it. 17 But in order that it may spread no further among the people, let us warn them to speak no more to anyone in this name.” 18 So they called them and charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. 19 But Peter and John answered them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, 20 for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.” 21 And when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding no way to punish them, because of the people, for all were praising God for what had happened. 22 For the man on whom this sign of healing was performed was more than forty years old.”

Peter spoke to them full of the Holy Spirit. He boldly proclaimed that the man had been healed in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth (10). Then Peter told them that Jesus was the stone the builders rejected which had become the cornerstone. Jesus is the fulfillment of God’s plan of salvation, the most important stone in God’s house. Salvation is found in no one else. Let’s examine this claim.

Why is salvation found in no one else? It is because salvation is linked to forgiveness. God is holy and righteous. He wants to bring sinners to his kingdom and near to his heart. We can not make this happen. It is like the one who does the offense coming to the victim and declaring, “You have to love and accept me, as I am, on my terms. If not then forget about you.” Tell this to a wife who has been domestically abused, or a child who has been molested. The perpetrator can not make up the terms and demand forgiveness and acceptance without a change of heart and paying a price for their crime. This is just wrong. We have sinned so much against God. Why do we think that he should accept our demands on our terms for no reason other than we want it to happen? This can not be. It is not just. It is not in keeping with the character of a holy and righteous God.

But the holy God really wants that restored relationship with us. He wants to dwell with us and take us to his kingdom to dwell with him forever. But how is this possible? Can a molester dwell among the family of child they molested without some extreme reconciliation? What does that say about the victim’s family to allow this to happen? But there could be a way for the victim’s family to relate to the molester and maintain their honor and integrity and it has happened before. If the molester confesses their sin, pleads forgiveness and goes to jail for their crimes. The family may forgive and pray for the salvation of that person while the person is spending time in prison paying for their crimes. There could be some relationship but it will never be complete. In any case, there must be confession, repentance and payment for the crime committed. Then their might me some reconciliation.

Now apply this to our relationship with the holy and righteous God. For the holy God to relate to us there must be confession, repentance and payment for the crime. We can confess and repent with God’s help, but our sins are so great and so heinous to the holy God that we could never pay the price for out sins. If it was only up to us there could never be reconciliation.

But this did not stop God. He made a way for the reconciliation to happen. He sent his One and Only Son, Jesus into this world on a rescue mission. Jesus is holy and righteous. He is sinless. When he suffered and died on the cruel cross, his sinless blood was shed. This satisfied the demands of God’s justice. God can now completely forgive all those who accept the fact that Jesus shed blood as the basis for their total forgiveness. A sinner who is forgiven on this basis is made acceptable to the holy, righteous God. God can now dwell among sinners without compromising his holiness one iota. He can dwell in our hearts and among us in fellowship. We are now family members and have an eternal hope in the kingdom of God. The sacrifice of Jesus on the cross made this possible. We can be certain that Jesus shed blood is enough to reconcile us to God because he rose from the dead. This is God’s sign that Jesus alone can save us.

That is why there is no other name under heaven by which we must be saved. All other religions can not produce a sinless sacrifice to bring about the complete forgiveness of our sins that we need to come to God and live a new life. No other religion can help us to know that God loves us and forgives us and accepts us for there must be a holy sacrifice and Jesus alone provides this.

Standing firm on the name of Jesus invited persecution for the early believers. The authorities told them not to preach in Jesus’ name. People don’t like the absoluteness of the Christian claims. They are offended. They think, “Why isn’t my human goodness enough to save my soul? Why isn’t my religion enough to save my soul?” It is because of the extent of our sins. I can not think that any religion or philosophy of life that does not open the way for complete forgiveness can ever be the way of salvation. Some people may say that we don’t need salvation, claiming “there is nothing after death.” Well, that is the topic of another discussion.

We will be persecuted if we claim that Jesus is the only way. We need to accept this fact. There is no way around it. It is getting to the point where you can be convicted of a hate crime if you publically infer that there is no other name under heaven by which we must be saved. How sad. But God will give us grace to stand. That is for sure. The apostles stood firmly in Jesus. Verses 18-20, “So they called them and charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. 19 But Peter and John answered them, ‘Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, 20 for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.’”(ESV) They stood firm in their call to preach the gospel and make the name of Jesus known. They knew that people need to know the gospel of God’s forgiveness for that is the only way to come to God with a clean slate and to start a new life. Billons of people are in desperate need to hear about Jesus. They are searching for the salvation that this crippled man received through Jesus’ name.

Prayer: Lord, I know Jesus is the way. He is the Savior. Work through me to make the name of Jesus known to the world.

One word: No other name but Jesus