Acts 4:12

There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to people, and we must be saved by it.

     Although this is an oft-quoted verse from the Bible, I wonder how many people truly comprehend the significance and consequences involved in believing this passage.  Peter and John certainly did, when they were hauled before the Sanhedrin, and Peter spoke these words so boldly.  

     Since the day that the Holy Spirit had descended upon them on the feast day of Pentecost, they had been preaching and teaching to the people gathered in Jerusalem for the Lord's Feasts.  At this particular time, they had been arrested for healing the lame man at the Temple gate, and declaring that they had done so in the name of Jesus.  Furthermore, they taught that Jesus was the Messiah, whom God spoke about through the mouths of His holy prophets.  They contended that God raised up Jesus, His Servant, and sent Him to bless the people by turning each of them from their evil ways.

     We must remember that the Sadducees denied a resurrection, and didn't believe in an after-life, so this was blasphemy to their ears!  So, to preach that salvation came through a man the disciples claimed was raised from the dead could not be tolerated.  They must be stopped from preaching and inciting the people to believe in this Name.

     But notice that Peter didn't merely proclaim Jesus as a way of salvation, but as the only way of salvation.  The Jewish leadership could not accept the idea that there is no salvation in any other, and that there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved; yet Peter could not have stated it any plainer.  That statement enraged them.  And you know what?  The world still cannot accept that truth and hates that claim.  There is a rising swell of voices that protest that Jesus is the only way to heaven, and even some of our own church leaders deny the exclusive claims of Jesus Christ as the only Savior.  

     I guess it's the same old game plan that Satan has used since the Garden of Eden:  Isn't there some way that I can save myself?  Isn't Jesus just for those ones who can't save themselves?  The people of the world simply can't fathom what Peter was teaching that day ... Jesus is the only One who can rescue you from eternal peril, and you must be saved by His Name, alone.  That means that each and every person must make a personal decision to accept Him as their personal Savior -- no one else, or no other god, can do it for you; only belief in Him brings salvation.  

    But the world, who doesn't want to believe in Him, counters with, "What about the infant who dies? What about the person who has never heard about Jesus?"  I believe that our answer to that should be, "God will deal with them fairly and justly, and those who are saved will be rescued by the work of Jesus done [on the Cross] on their behalf, even if they lacked a full knowledge of Him." That is up to God to decide in His Sovereignty.  

     My concern is for those people who have heard the Word of Salvation preached, and who have been told that "there is no other name under heaven given to people" ... and still reject Him.  That concern extends to anyone who wishes to believe that all will be saved, or that there are many roads to heaven, or that one can take the best of all faiths and blend them into one, or that Jesus is just one among many who can punch your ticket to heaven.  All these paths are being preached today, and I daresay that those who adhere to them do not foresee the consequences of their foolish opinions.  

     But nothing has changed since Peter quoted the words of our Savior through the mouth of King David in Psalm 2 ... the nations rage and the people plot futile [fruitless] things.  The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers assemble together against God and His Servant, Jesus Christ, the Anointed One.  We, who know Him and the power of His Name, must be as bold as Peter.  We must pray the prayer that He spoke during this time of harassment and intimidation against him:  "And now, Lord, consider their threats, and grant that Your bond-servants may speak Your message with complete boldness, while You stretch out Your hand for healing, signs, and wonders to be performed through the name of Your holy Servant Jesus” (Acts 4:29-30).  And may we be as blessed as Peter and the other disciples were, when the place where they were assembled was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak God's message with boldness.  There is no other Name that brings salvation!