THE WAY OF SALVATION
Acts 4:12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under
heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.
Have you ever heard of Billy Bray? … Billy Bray lived from 1794 to
1868 in Cornwall. He belonged to a Christian family, but he rebelled and
he got up to all the badness of his day. He turned out to be an uneducated
almost illiterate drunken miner from a small village called Twelveheads
near Truro. However, the Lord wonderfully saved him by His grace and
turned him into a preacher of the Gospel.
He was a real character in the pulpit, … simple and uncomplicated. When
he preached, he shouted. He used to say, “I lift up one foot and it says,
‘Glory!’ and I lift the other foot and it says, ‘Amen!’ and so they keep on
like that all the time I’m walking.” In another one of his sermons he
shouted out at his congregations, “If I were to go down to Hell I would
shout, “Glory! Glory! unto my blessed Jesus until I made the bottomless
pit ring again, and that miserable old Satan would say, ‘Billy, Billy, this
is no place for thee; get thee back.’ Then up to Heaven I would go,
shouting, “Glory, glory, praise the Lord!’”
… Even on his deathbed when the doctor had told him he was going to
die, he asked him, “Doctor, when I get up there, shall I give them your
compliments, and tell them you will be coming too?” … His family
prayed for him, and the Lord heard their prayers! … God saves souls
when His people pray … and there was much prayer going on in the early
Church and God saw fit to save many people.
The early apostles were men like Billy Bray, - simple trophies of God’s
Grace. When the Lord saved them He didn’t give them posh accents or
fancy ways, - He simply placed a burden upon their souls to publicly and
unashamedly make Christ known, calling on sinners to repent and turn to
God. They never lost their roughness and the Lord used it to His glory!
They believed God came into this world to save ordinary people … and
there was no limit on who He could save! … And the pedigree of these
two men, - Peter and John unlearned and ignorant, - was accompanied with
such a passion, the boldness of Peter and John, as they made Christ known.
Indeed, the onlookers knew that they had been with Jesus.
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Peter and John, these two Galilean fishermen, were at the temple at three
o’clock in the afternoon (3:1) when a beggar man, lame from birth,
approached. And Peter said to him, v.4 Look on us. … v.6 Silver and gold
have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of
Nazareth rise up and walk. … And the man stood up and for the first time
in his life, he walked! All the people were amazed and Peter took the
opportunity to preach unto them Jesus, v.19 Repent ye therefore, and be
converted, that your sins may be blotted out.
Noticing the huge crowds that had gathered, the priests reacted by
throwing Peter and John into the cell for the evening, … but the ‘damage’
had been done, 4:4 many of them which heard the word believed; and the
number of the men was about five thousand. The following day they were
brought before the high priest and the religious dignitaries of Jerusalem.
Unashamedly, these two unlearned and ignorant men began to preach, v. 10
Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of
Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead,
even by him doth this man stand here before you whole. 11 This is the stone
which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner.
And then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, shouted out to them the most
unwelcome message they hoped they would never hear again, for Peter
shouted out to them the Name of Jesus Whom they had crucified, v.12
Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven
given among men, whereby we must be saved.
EXCLUSIVE
Neither is there salvation in any other
Salvation is in our religion, they all believed. They had travelled from all
corners of the Roman Empire to come to Jerusalem. For many of them, it
was a once in a lifetime opportunity … and it would ‘better their chances’
of reaching Heaven when they died … or so they thought.
It wasn’t how the Law of Moses taught them, or the prophets … but it
was how their priests were teaching them. Their priests taught them that
all they had to do was be a good Jew … a good Israelite. Do your best,
don’t do anybody any harm … and at the end of your life you might just
have done enough for God to let you into Heaven.
That is not what Peter preached, though. He preached that salvation does
not depend upon anything good we would hope to do. …
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He preached, instead, that salvation is only found by trusting in Jesus
Christ. And the moment you believe in Jesus Christ you become His
child, and you begin to serve Him. He takes over your life and He
becomes your Master … But they didn’t want to hear this! They didn’t
want to hear they were sinners. No, that’s something other people need to
hear, but not me! …
You may say, “I’m not a great sinner. I’ve never murdered anyone. I’ve
never stolen or cheated anyone. I’ve been a fairly good person all my
days”. That may be, but God in His Word says, Rom. 3:23 all have sinned.
And, as far as He is concerned “all” means “all”, without exception. …
And it makes it all the more of a priority for God has provided a means of
salvation whereby you can escape the terrors that await those who die in
their sin. That means of salvation rests upon only one Person, and that is
Jesus Christ.
It doesn’t matter who you are, where you were born, how you were born,
when you were born … there is only one salvation you must take account
of and it all hinges upon Jesus. Hiw Word explains, That if thou shalt
confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God
hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.(Rom. 10:9). … Salvation is
like the Shepherd going out and searching until He finds all His flock, for
only when He finds them all is He satisfied … He promised, He that
heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and
shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life (Jn. 5:24).
But salvation is even more than an escape route from the road leading to
Hell, - salvation is becoming a child of God. … And that was how the
preacher, Peter, told his Jewish audience, neither is there salvation in any
other.
“You mean to tell me that out of all the people in the world there is only
one way to know you’re going to Heaven?” Yes, for it is what the Bible
says. Jesus Christ is the only means of salvation.
“Ah, but what if the Bible is wrong?” … Ah, but what if you are wrong?!
Could you afford to be wrong?! You see, the Bible clearly sets the Gospel
of the Lord Jesus as distinct from every other religion … and that is why
the Gospel is exclusive!
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And if you want to enter Heaven someday you’ve got to believe what
the Bible says, neither is there salvation in any other. … You cannot afford
not to believe it! Jesus emphasises it, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no
man cometh unto the Father, but by me. The Bible tolerates no other gospel,
Gal. 1:8 But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto
you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed .
… It is the most beautiful and precious truth, “I am so glad that our
Father in heaven Tells of His love in the Book He has given: Wonderful
things in the Bible I see; This is the dearest, that Jesus loves me.” … He
is the centre of the Gospel … for He shed His blood and died at Calvary!
 Peter preached, Neither is there salvation in any other, - the Gospel is
exclusive ….
INCLUSIVE
for there is none other name under heaven given among men
The Gospel message includes all, - it is for all to hear! Among the last
words the Saviour said, Mk. 16:15 Go ye into all the world, and preach the
gospel to every creature. The Gospel is not only for a restricted few … And
neither did Jesus die on the cross for a certain type of people only … He
died on the cross for people in the Muslim faith, in the Jewish faith, Jesus
died on the cross for Protestants and Roman Catholics, Jesus died on the
cross for Buddhists and atheists.
… You see, this is how the Gospel is inclusive, - the salvation that saves
me is the same salvation that saves anyone, because it is the only
salvation that saves … Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none
other name under heaven given among men … And it is as simple as that! …
It is the Gospel that God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son,
that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life . …
What you do have to do is what Paul told the Philippian jailer, Believe on
the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved ; you see, there it is again, …
Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven
given among men, whereby we must be saved.
There is no getting away from it, - Jesus and Jesus only saves. This
message is exclusive to Jesus, Neither is there salvation in any other, … and
it is inclusive also, for there is none other name under heaven given among
men … and then he finished off with the …
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CONCLUSIVE whereby we must be saved.
Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven
given among men, whereby we must be saved. Do you see the two ‘nones’
there? One of them is ‘hiding’ but it is easy to find ‘her’, … Neither is
there salvation in any [i.e. none] other: for there is none other name under
heaven given among men. It’s black and white; there are some subjects in
Scripture we cannot be totally dogmatic about but this is one we can, …
in fact, more than that, - we must be!
The Bible says salvation comes through the Name of Jesus Christ alone,
and the urgency of Peter’s preaching to these self-righteous Jewish
leaders was that we must be saved.
Why was his preaching so urgent? It was so urgent because they had to
do something about it there and then. How unwise they would have been
if they had left Peter to go and ask their priests if it was true or not …
You know what their priests would have said! They would have told
them not to listen to Peter … you’re good enough! … Or, they could have
made their way back home and never heard the preaching of the Gospel
again. And, you see, that is why God’s Word accompanies the preaching
of the Gospel with a very real urgency, II Cor. 6:2 behold, now is the
accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation. You cannot be sure of any
other time, but now. I don’t want to sound morbid … but I do want to be
practical and realistic, Prov. 27:1 Boast not thyself of to morrow; for thou
knowest not what a day may bring forth.
It’s not only the elderly who die … the next breath any of us takes is
equally precious! And that is why the issue of salvation is so crucial …
Jesus died on the cross for sinners, and rose again. … Neither is there
salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among
men, whereby we must be saved. … It’s conclusive!
… This is the only Gospel that saves. And if you are not saved … can
you afford to argue with God about what He says in His Word? … Can
you tell Him that you have a different way of understanding it? … Can
you do that?! … No, if you argue with Him, you will lose! Don’t waste
your time or your energy … open your heart and let Jesus come in.
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This is our message. It’s the same message preached all over the world, more now than ever it has been preached before. It is being preached in
almost every language. In fact, there would not be a time in any day when
God’s people somewhere are not meeting together to worship Him and to
present the Gospel. … You waken in the middle of the night and there are
people worshipping Him, His Word is being preached, and souls are
being saved. And they are coming to Christ by this means we have been
considering today, Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none
other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.
If you are not saved, the Gospel is a privilege God has spared you to hear
… Be under no delusion, this Gospel is exclusive, - you cannot be saved
by any other means. It is also inclusive, - it shuts no-one out, - it will save
all who come to God through the Lord Jesus ... And it is conclusive, there is no doubt about it, - we must be saved.
If you want to know God personally, all He has required to bring about
your salvation has been done by Jesus at Calvary … when your sins were
laid upon His precious body. What is left for you to do is to repent of
your sin and believe He died for you. … Is it as simple as that? Yes, it’s
as simple as that … but from then on, your life is His, - you live for Him!
I pray God would bless the preaching of His Word this evening and that
the Holy Spirit will indeed call you unto Himself, for the Glory of God.
Amen.