No Other Name
We live in a culture that slips into the false beliefs of pluralism and universalism. Such beliefs hold that individuals can believe in other ways of salvation or believe that all gods are the same. These belief systems are counter to the truth found in the Bible that salvation comes only through Jesus Christ.
In Acts 4, Peter and John stand before the Jewish leaders. The Jewish leaders demanded that John and Peter stop preaching about this Jesus. Standing in boldness, the two Apostles declared the name of Jesus and proclaimed, “There is salvation in no one else for there is no other name under heaven given to people by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12).
First, the declaration of John and Peter presented a clear need of salvation for people. Every individual has a sin problem. Sin is the wedge that separates people from God. Sin is not merely activities against the ways of God, but sin is the acts of disobedience, the wrong thoughts and intentions, and centers on pleasing the self instead of pleasing the Lord. Every person deals with the plague of sin. The Apostle Paul wrote to the church in Rome: “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23).
Salvation is needed because of people’s inability to fix their sin problem. No amount of good living or morality offsets the effects and due punishment of sin in one’s life. No one ever becomes righteous through their own methods. The Bible clearly states that “none is righteous, no not one”(Romans 3:10) and that our own activities are filthy before the Lord. Isaiah wrote: “We all have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment.” (Isaiah 64:6)
As a result, individuals need salvation because without redemption through Christ, life is hopeless. Sin creates a life defined by hopelessness. This hopelessness flows from the required penalty, punishment, and payment required by the sin in one’s life. The Bible says that “the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 6:23). The payment and punishment of sin is eternal. The wages of sin is eternal separation, eternal pain, and eternal suffering. But through Christ, God offers a gift eternal in nature. It is the gift of eternal life that removes the due punishment of sin.
Second, the apostles’ declaration detailed the nature of salvation. The gift of eternal life through Jesus is God’s dealing with man’s sin issue. God made a way by which everyone could be reconciled back to God by receiving Christ alone as one’s personal Lord and Savior. The work of Christ achieved what humanity could not achieve on their own. Christ fulfilled the debt owed due to sin by offering himself as the needed sacrificial lamb and making available the gift of eternal life.
Third, the apostles’ declared the name by which salvation is available. Salvation comes only through a personal relationship with Christ. The apostles stated that it is in the name of Jesus alone that salvation is available. Salvation does not come through family origins. One’s salvation is not based on the salvation of one’s parents or grandparents. Salvation is not based on a good name here on earth. Salvation is not found in church membership or attendance. Salvation is not found in the good deeds in one’s life. Salvation is found in Jesus Christ alone.
People today state that everyone has eternal life because of God’s love and that God would never send anyone to Hell. This is known as universalism and it rejects the truth found in the Bible. For the Bible clearly declares that God offers eternal life to all, but that each individual holds the responsibility to respond to the offered gift of life by entering a personal relationship with Christ. Those who reject the offered gift of the Lord face the punishment of their sin. God offers the gift of life in His love, but punishes those who reject God’s gift because of His perfect justice.
Today some people declare that all roads of religions lead to salvation and eternal life. This is known as pluralism and rejects the truth found in the Bible. The Bible states boldly that salvation is in the name of Christ alone. Jesus himself declared, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6). God loves you very much and desires to spend eternity with you. He desires to be reconciled with you. Do you have a relationship with Jesus? The ways of man lead to destruction, but God has made a way, through Jesus, that leads to life with Him.
