What an incredible difference in the disciples!
In less than two months they went from cowering men who had deserted and disowned Jesus to boldly calling out the religious leaders and preaching the Good News without fear, in the power of the Holy Spirit.
What I love about this passage is how over and over, the apostles boldly proclaim the Truth. They don't mince words. They don't beat around the bush. They make no attempt at political correctness.
It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. He is "the stone you builder's rejected, which has become the capstone." Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved. Acts 4:10-12
(emphasis mine)
In his sermon There is Salvation In No One Else John Piper says....
We need to feel the force of this universal claim in our pluralistic age. "There is salvation in no one else!" Do you really mean no one, Peter? Or are you just speaking in a limited Jewish context—only among the Jews there is no other way to heaven than their true Messiah? No, he says, the reason there is salvation in no one else is that "there is no other name under heaven [not just no other name in Israel, but no other name under heaven, including the heaven over Iraq and the heaven over America] given among men [not just among Jews, but among humans] by which we must be saved." ....
But there is even more here that we need to see. Sometimes people will say, "Yes, Jesus is the only source of salvation, but you don't have to know him in order to benefit from the salvation he offers. In other words, if you are a faithful Muslim or Hindu or Jew or animist, you will be saved by Jesus. There is salvation in no one else, but you don't have to believe on him in order to be saved by him."
But that is not what Peter meant. Peter focused on the NAME of Jesus. "There is no other NAME under heaven by which we must be saved." He is saying something more than that there is no other source of saving power that you can be saved by under some OTHER name. The point of saying, "There is no other NAME," is that we are saved by calling on the name of the Lord Jesus. His name is our entrance into fellowship with God. The way of salvation by faith is a way that brings glory to the name of Jesus. Peter says in Acts 10:43 "Every one who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name." The name of Jesus is the focus of faith and repentance. In order to believe on Jesus for the forgiveness of sins, you must believe on his name. That is, you must have heard of him and know who he is as a particular man who did a particular saving work and rose from the dead.
Paul put it this way in Romans 10:13-15: "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. But how are men to call upon him in whom they have not believed and how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without a preacher? And how are they to preach unless they are sent?" There is salvation in no one else—and that means there must be missionaries, who make him known by name so that people can believe and call on his name for salvation. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life, apart from him no one comes to the Father (John 14:6).
Peter pushed the universality of Jesus from the no-count town of Nazareth as far as it could be pushed. Jesus is absolutely unique. He is absolutely supreme among all the gods and lords of the world religions. Knowing him and believing on his name is absolutely necessary for salvation. For since the cross and resurrection there is no other way to God and to heaven. Therefore, as Paul says in Acts 17:30-31, "God commands all men everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed, and of this he has given assurance to all men by raising him from the dead."
This is a fundamental biblical fact that we have to come to terms with if we aim to be biblical Christians in a pluralistic nation and a pluralistic world. It's the kind of truth that either makes converts or makes enemies. It is not a live-and-let-live truth....
There are two wars going on in the Middle East. The one threatens the earthly life of thousands. The other seeks the eternal life of millions. Does not God want to deal with us this morning about how utterly preoccupied we are with the one war, and how relatively ignorant and indifferent we are about the other? (emphasis mine)
The real question is....Am I willing to preach the Truth in His name as boldly as the disciples did, no matter what the cost?
Tomorrow's passage: Acts 6-8:1
3 comments:
I find it interesting that in the Gospels, when someone spoke out of turn or put his foot in his mouth, it was Peter. And now, after having received the blessing of the Holy Spirit he is the spokesman of the group of twelve - not only that, but he speaks clearly and unambiguously. Amazing, what can be accomplished with the Holy Spirit that we are not capable of on our own.
The other thing that really stood out to me today was right at the end of the passage: "The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name." Wow! Worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name. I'm not even willing, most times, to even be mildly embarrassed - and here they are rejoicing at being worthy of suffering disgrace. Makes me feel pretty ashamed of my timidity.
Yes! Thank you for mentioning that, I was going to and then totally forgot. My thoughts exactly!
Miriam, those two things always pop out at me too, when I read these passages about the very early church. The transformation in Peter is incredible, amazing, and beautiful! And the ability to be grateful to be considered WORTHY to suffer...? That's just unfathomable in our world of relative non-persecution. Mind-blowing.
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