No other name
The book of Acts records,
“He is " ‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the capstone.'
Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved." Acts 4:11,12.
The apostles Peter and John after being brought before the religious leaders of his day (the Sanhedrin) for healing a man in the name of Jesus makes this bold statement about Jesus,
“Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved” Acts 4:12.
This is what Peter and John believed. This is what all the apostles believed and this is what true Christians believe today.
To a true believer in Christ Jesus, accepting Jesus as your Lord and Saviour is the way to heaven. There is no other way.
When Peter made this statement he could have been punished severely. Thrown in jail or potentially even stoned. The only reason he wasn’t was because the religious leaders of his day feared the public reaction. The book of acts records,
“When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.
But since they could see the man who had been healed standing there with them, there was nothing they could say.
So they ordered them to withdraw from the Sanhedrin and then conferred together.
"What are we going to do with these men?" they asked. "Everybody living in Jerusalem knows they have done an outstanding miracle, and we cannot deny it.”
The result was they told Peter and John not to preach in Jesus name. As the book of acts records,
"But to stop this thing from spreading any further among the people, we must warn these men to speak no longer to anyone in this name."
Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus.
But Peter and John replied, "Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God's sight to obey you rather than God.
For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard."
After further threats they let them go. They could not decide how to punish them, because all the people were praising God for what had happened.
For the man who was miraculously healed was over forty years old. Acts 4:17-22.
As I said what Peter and John believed then is believed by believers in Christ Jesus today. Notably
"Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved" Acts 4:12.
And just like Peter and John believers in Christ Jesus are willing to be called up before non-believing authorities for telling those around them what they believe. Like them also they are willing to face imprisonment and even death for what they believe.
If you are a believer in Christ Jesus are you presenting this message?
If you don’t believe that Christ Jesus is the way to heaven then I would ask you to take some time to read the New Testament and see for yourself what the early church believed about Him.
Please think about it.
