Read Acts 4:5-12
Key Verse: “This Jesus is the stone rejected by you builders which has become the cornerstone. 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 4:11-12 CSB)
Peter and John had been taken into custody the previous night by the religious leaders, because of their boldness about Jesus. The next day they were brought before the leaders who demanded an explanation. They wanted to know by what power or what name Peter and John were able to perform such an incredible miracle of healing a man who had been lame from birth.
Filled with the Holy Spirit, Peter did not shrink back. He boldly and unashamedly told them that, “by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth” (v.10), this man who was once unable to walk was now standing there before them healthy. Peter then went all in with his boldness. Holding nothing back, he told them that not only was it by the name of Jesus that this man was now healed, but that “there is salvation is no else, for there is no other name under heaven given to people by which we must be saved” (v.12).
Take a moment to reflect on that statement. It captures one of the core elements of what makes the Christian faith so unique. Many people around us will say that there are many pathways to God or that ultimately all roads lead to Him. To the world, what is most important is the sincerity of your faith. As long as you are sincere or genuine in whatever it is you believe, this is sufficient in the eyes of the world. To suggest otherwise or to speak of a single and exclusive way is considered arrogant and unloving.
Yet this is exactly the opposite of what Peter is saying. Peter is making clear to the religious leaders that the only path to God, the only way to salvation is through Jesus Christ. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). While the sincerity of your faith is important, what is most important is in what or in whom you are placing your faith. Salvation is available to anyone, but it possible only through Jesus Christ. There is no other name by which we can be saved.
The exclusivity of the gospel message should be one of the motivations for us in pursuing the mission of Jesus in our lives. Since the only pathway to salvation is found through Him, then we ought to be boldly and unashamedly seeking opportunities to introduce people to Jesus. Anyone who calls on the name of Jesus can be saved. But as the Apostle Paul asked, “How, then, can they call on him they have not believed in? And how can they believe without hearing about him?” (Romans 10:14) Ask God to give you the courage to share the good news of Jesus with someone today so that they would have the opportunity to hear and believe.
Prayer: Thank you, Father, so much for making the only way back to you through your Son Jesus Christ. Thank you that through the name of Jesus we can be saved. I pray for an opportunity to share this good news with someone today so that they can experience what I have in You. Amen.
Author: Jonathan Miller has served in pastoral roles for more than 13 years in churches in Barrie, Oakville and Burlington, Ontario. He currently serves as the Chief Operating Officer at Prison Fellowship Canada, a ministry that mobilizes and equips local churches to engage in the restorative work of prisoners, ex-prisoners, their families, and victims across Canada. Jon holds degrees from McMaster University and Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He and his wife Adrienne have been married since 2004, and live in Burlington, Ontario with their 4 children. Jon’s greatest passion is to know Jesus and to see lives transformed by Him and for Him.
