Salvation in No Other - Acts 4:12
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Intro:
Intro:
Good morning.
This morning, I want to begin by thinking about the word “Exclusive.”
Have you ever signed up for a rewards program?
Maybe it’s a credit card rewards program, or maybe one of those travel websites that promises certain benefits if you book your hotel stays with them?
“EXCLUSIVE BENEFITS,” “EXCLUSIVE REWARDS for you once you book 20 nights’ stay with Expedia or Air B n B” or what not!
Or maybe we think of a country club — Country clubs offer “exclusive benefits” for members, right? (Use of the golf course and the clubhouse, etc.)
What does exclusive mean?
Exclusive means “excluding or not admitting other things” or “restricted or limited to the person, group, or area concerned.”
Well, the word “exclusive” is one thing when it comes exclusive benefits for hotel stays and country clubs, but this morning I want us to think about the much more important benefits of being members of God’s exclusive organization!
And that is the Lord’s church!
Ephesians 1:3 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.”
If you study the book of Ephesians carefully (which I recommend you do — It’s only 6 chapters), you will see that to be IN CHRIST is to be IN THE CHURCH.
It is the church for which Jesus purchased with His blood (Acts 20:28).
This morning we want to turn to Acts chapter 4, and we want to read the bold preaching of Peter and John that is found there.
And we want to talk about the fact that salvation from sin is found EXCLUSIVELY in Jesus Christ, with our title this morning taken from Acts 4:12 - “Salvation in No Other.”
BACKGROUND OF THE TEXT:
BACKGROUND OF THE TEXT:
If we were to briefly recap the first 3 chapters of the book of Acts, it would be:
Acts 1 - Jesus ascends to Heaven, and gives the apostles their marching orders; also, a new apostle (Matthias) is chosen to replace Judas Iscariot.
Acts 2 - This is Peter’s marvelous sermon on the day of Pentecost — The message being that the Jews had crucified the son of God, resulting in about 3000 souls being added to the church (Also, the Holy Spirit was poured out and this is when the apostles began speaking in tongues, which was a sign that was fulfillment of the prophecy from Joel chapter 2).
Acts 3 - John and Peter had gone up to the temple during the hour of prayer; they healed a cripple man, which caused quite the stir! Then Peter preached Jesus again, a very similar message to what he had preached in chapter 3 — a message summarized by verse 19 - “Repent, and be converted.”
Well the response is different this time around, though, as we are about to notice in chapter 4.
This time, the Jews have Peter and John arrested!
There will be more converts produced, as the church is going to grow to about 5000, but with this growth is going to come increasing conflict with the Jewish leaders.
TEXT:
TEXT:
Verses 1-4:
Now as they spoke to the people, the priests, the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees came upon them, being greatly disturbed that they taught the people and preached in Jesus the resurrection from the dead.
Notice the leaders of the Jews were “greatly disturbed” about Peter and John’s preaching.
Preaching the truth is disturbing to those whose beliefs and values and actions do not align with the truth.
Not only is it disturbing, but in the case here, it was a threat to the Jewish leaders’ entire power dynamic.
What if everyone had converted to Christianity?
Then, there goes the source of their power as leaders of Judaism!
And they laid hands on them, and put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening. However, many of those who heard the word believed; and the number of the men came to be about five thousand.
Verses 5-12:
And it came to pass, on the next day, that their rulers, elders, and scribes, as well as Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, John, and Alexander, and as many as were of the family of the high priest, were gathered together at Jerusalem.
And when they had set them in the midst, they asked, “By what power or by what name have you done this?”
Church, are we prepared to give an answer, to give a defence, when someone ask us:
“By what power or by what name or authority do you believe the way that you do?”
“By what authority do you worship and live the way that you do?”
“By what authority do you say that one must obey the Gospel to be saved?”
“By what authority do you teach that certain proclivities and deviant agendas that are so popular today are sinful?”
Church, we’ve got to be able to give Scripture to answer every one of those questions and more!
And the Jewish leaders here are asking questions about the authority of the apostles, and the apostles are going to give them an answer!
Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders of Israel: If we this day are judged for a good deed done to a helpless man, by what means he has been made well,
Just stop right there.
Think about it — They had just witnessed an AMAZING miracle! (The healing of this cripple man)
And the Jewish leaders had such an evil heart of unbelief, that witnessing this miracle did nothing to convince them: “Maybe there IS something to this Jesus Christ?”
“Maybe there is something to the resurrection? To Christianity? To the church?”
… But that evidently didn’t even cross their mind.
They were bound and determined to not believe in Christ, and to hold onto their power!
let it be known to you all, 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 stands here before you whole.
Here’s the answer to that question from verse 7!
“By what power or by what name have you done this?!”
“Let it be known to you all, 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 (notice, defending the resurrection — It is an essential element of the faith!) BY HIM (by His authority) this man stands here before you whole!”
This is the ‘stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone.’
This is a quote from Psalm 118:22 - “The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone.”
The meaning is — This is a metaphor for Jesus’ building (His church), with builders rejecting the most important part of the building (the foundation)!
The builders rejected Jesus, but Jesus says in Matthew 16:18 - “And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.”
The church was founded on the rock solid foundation of Jesus Christ — Even though the Jewish builders rejected that foundation, Jesus Himself is the Builder! And He is the chief cornerstone of His church. (He is the Head!)
Isaiah 28:16 says it this way: “Therefore thus says the Lord God: “Behold, I lay in Zion a stone for a foundation, A tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation ...”
Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
This is the main verse that we wanted to notice this morning.
We began our sermon talking about the idea that Christianity is exclusive.
Salvation is found EXCLUSIVELY in Jesus Christ, and the saved are found exclusively in His church (In fact, the Lord Himself adds the saved to the church - Acts 2:47).
Another verse that teaches the same concept is John 14:6 - “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”
Verses 13-22:
This next section, we are going to go through more quickly, but the main takeaway we need to notice is the BOLDNESS of Peter and John.
When you think about it, in the pagan society that was the Roman world, and in the Jewish dominated society that was Palestine, Acts 4:12 was a VERY, VERY bold statement!
Acts 4:12 - “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
And in a pluralistic, anything goes, “accept all religions” society we live in, it is absolutely a bold statement today as well!
But we have to preach it because it’s the truth!
Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus.
And seeing the man who had been healed standing with them, they could say nothing against it. But when they had commanded them to go aside out of the council, they conferred among themselves,
saying, “What shall we do to these men? For, indeed, that a notable miracle has been done through them is evident to all who dwell in Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it.
That should have been end of discussion!
Well, we cannot deny this — Jesus said that His Word would be confirmed with accompanying signs (Mark 16:20).
“Guys, we’re wrong. We need to repent and be converted. We need to accept Jesus.”
But that’s not what they say!
But so that it spreads no further among the people, let us severely threaten them, that from now on they speak to no man in this name.”
So they called them and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus.
But Peter and John answered and said to them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.”
Acts 1:3 says that there are “many infallible proofs” for the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
And Peter and John were direct witnesses, so they say, “We cannot but speak the things which we have SEEN and HEARD!”
So when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding no way of punishing them, because of the people, since they all glorified God for what had been done.
For the man was over forty years old on whom this miracle of healing had been performed.
Verses 23-31:
This next section is a prayer for boldness, and brethren, we need to be praying for boldness, too!
And being let go, they went to their own companions and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said to them.
So when they heard that, they raised their voice to God with one accord and said: “Lord, You are God, who made heaven and earth and the sea, and all that is in them,
who by the mouth of Your servant David have said: ‘Why did the nations rage, And the people plot vain things?
The kings of the earth took their stand, And the rulers were gathered together Against the Lord and against His Christ.’
“For truly against Your holy Servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, were gathered together to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose determined before to be done.
Now, Lord, look on their threats, and grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your word,
by stretching out Your hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of Your holy Servant Jesus.”
And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness.
(I’ll let you finish up the rest of the chapter on your own).
Application:
Application:
Question:
Do we have the BOLDNESS that the apostles had, the boldness that should go without saying alongside our belief in Jesus?
Do we speak by the authority of the resurrected Jesus Christ?
Do we only speak what we have READ and HEARD from God’s Word?
(The apostles spoke what they had SEEN and HEARD).
But we can speak what we READ about, what we HEAR from God’s Word (Rom. 10:17), producing faith in our hearts.
Do we truly believe the words of Acts 4:12? “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” (Give invitation).
