Acts 4:12 says, "Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under Heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved".
Salvation is the theme of the text here; but what does salvation mean? When anyone is saved, does it simply mean that he or she is saved from Hell and is ready to be admitted into Heaven? Absolutely! But it means so much more than just that. God's salvation is so wonderfully comprehensive. We are lost, broken and beaten down by sin and under condemnation, but He seeks and finds us and restores us into fellowship with Himself, and then He empowers us to live a holy life. When we are saved, we are given back all that was lost through the invasion of sin into the world. God's salvation covers man's needs, past, present and future. It is an immediate and an eternal salvation. It is the salvation of the soul, but also of the whole human personality which is brought under the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Let's take a deeper look into this great statement of the gospel, and notice to begin with that:
(1) Salvation is something that is absolutely necessary.
The last three words in the key-verse declare this, for they tell us that "we must be saved". Peter did not say, "we may be saved", or "we can be saved"; what he did say was, "we MUST be saved". Here, then, is an absolute necessity, something that is imperative-"we MUST be saved"! Look up John 3:14-15 and then compare John 3:7. Why MUST Jesus die? Because mankind MUST be saved. But why MUST we be saved? There are three reasons:
First, we must be saved because we are not saved already.
By nature, we are lost, just as the sheep, the silver and the son were lost in the parable of Luke 15; and we are not only lost, we are perishing, as John 3:16 tells us. We must be saved, therefore, because we are not saved already.
Secondly, we must be saved because we cannot save ourselves.
What can we do to blot out our past sins? What can we do to save ourselves from the present onslaught of sin and Satan? What can we do to guarantee our salvation for eternity? We can do absolutely nothing. If we are to be saved, this salvation must come from someone outside ourselves.
Next, we must be saved because God has provided salvation for us.
But why has God provided salvation if we do not need it? Why the amazing miracle of Bethlehem and the ignominious death of Calvary if we could be saved in some other way? The fact that God has, at such infinite cost, promised salvation for us all is a sure proof that we all need to be saved.
Salvation is absolutely necessary. It is imperative-"we must be saved". But notice also that our verse tells us a further very important truth about salvation, namely that:
(2) Salvation is absolutely necessary here and now.
Peter is very careful to say that this salvation is given "under Heaven"-not in Heaven. It is given this side of Heaven, and this means that we must receive this salvation in THIS life. There is no such thing as missing salvation in this life and then receiving it in the next life. Salvation must be experienced here and now, and that is why there is such a strong emphasis all the way through the Scriptures on the importance of being saved today. Look up and compare Proverbs 27:1; Luke 19:5; II Corinthians 6:2 and Hebrews 3:7. The Bible does not promise a second chance of salvation beyond the grave, although many false prophets hold out such promise. The "gospel of the second chance" does three things: first, it makes God a liar; second, it slanders the Cross, and third, it provides a back door out of Hell. God is infinitely merciful and desires the salvation of all men, but these are His terms: salvation is absolutely necessary, but it must be received here and now, in this life. This leads us to a third truth contained in our text:
(3) There is only one way of salvation.
This is the burden of Peter's message-"Neither is there salvation in any other ... " This should read quite literally, "Neither is the salvation ... "-notice the definite article here and compare the words of Jesus in John 10:9 and John 14:6, and the inspired words of the Apostle Paul recorded in 1 Timothy 2:5. There is "none other name ... " by which we must be saved, and the name referred to is the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ, as Peter tells us in Acts 4:10---"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 ... neither is there salvation in any other ... "! No-one will ever be saved except by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, because He is the only Savior. There is no other savior-look up Isaiah 43:11. Jesus is the only Savior of the world, and the world's only Savior. Notice also that here we have the truth emphasized that salvation is in a Person. It is not in religion, in church membership or in rites, ceremonies and forms, but it is in the Person of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. It is through faith in His name-look up Acts 3:16. Next we learn that:
(4) Salvation is offered to all.
This wondrous salvation, which is in the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ, has been "given among men"-that is, it has been made available to all men, everywhere. Thank God, there is no racial barrier, for people of all races are invited to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ-look up Romans 10:13; there is no social barrier, for all kinds of people, the elite of society and the ordinary everyday folk are invited to put their trust in the Savior-compare Acts 4:13 and Romans 2:11; there is no financial barrier! It does not matter how rich or how poor we are, we all have to come the same way. Look up Isaiah 55:1-2; there is no moral barrier. We may be (comparatively speaking) good people, or we may be very immoral. Look up 1 Timothy 1:15; and there is no age barrier. The young may come as well as the old. Look up and compare John 3:4 and Acts 4:22. There is one more truth embodied in our verse. It is that:
(5) Salvation is absolutely free.
It is "given among men". Compare John 3:16 and John 10:27-28. You cannot pay for a gift. All you can do is to receive it or reject it. You cannot buy salvation by keeping religious observances, Titus 3:5. You cannot buy salvation with money, 1 Peter 1:18-19. You cannot buy salvation by trying to live a good life, Ephesians 2: 8-10. You cannot buy salvation with anything; Jesus already paid the price for our redemption on Calvary's Cross! And this great salvation is available for all who will receive it by faith. All we have to do is to come with empty hands and receive the wondrous provision that God had made for us to be saved for all eternity.
The story is told of a fabulously wealthy multimillionaire. He had no heirs. He left no will with his attorney. His wife had died, and his only son has lived until a teenager as a crippled, nursed by the housemaid. His attorney summons the family for a reading of the will. And the room was packed with those who were ready to get rich. The housemaid also attended. Sitting on a table was the picture of the millionaire's only son. And the housemaid asked the attorney, "May I have this"? And the attorney asked the relatives, "Do any of you want this picture"? There was a chorus of NO's. "We don't want the picture". She took the picture. She went home.
There was a bulge in the back of the picture. She opened it. It was the will of the millionaire. It simply said, "To the one who loves my son enough to want this picture goes all that I own". She was instantly a multi, multimillionaire. The point is, God the Father, who owns heaven and earth, is saying to every person in this room and those of you who are watching television across America and around the world, "To those who love my son, I will give you everything I own. And heaven is yours for the asking". Do you love the Lord?
Father God, we thank you today, because you are in this place. And there are precious people, Your sheep, that are lost and looking for a Shepherd. There are people, who like the coin, are out of circulation, and really have no place of service in the Kingdom of God. There are those, who are lost like the elder brother. They go to church and keep the religious rules, but Christ is not the Lord of their life. There are some here today that if they died in the next 60 seconds, would not end up in Heaven. Today, let no one leave this place without being sure that they're going to spend eternity in Heaven with God and the holy angels, their family, rejoicing around the throne.
If you're reading this right now and you say, "Pastor, if Jesus Christ came for me in the next 60 seconds, I would not be ready. There are things in my life about which I must repent and make right. I must honor the Lord with obedience, because obedience is better than sacrifice." If that describes you, I'm going to have a prayer with you.
Some of you right now are getting ready to step from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light. And when you cross that line, the Bible says, the angels in heaven will rejoice that you've made that decision, because they know how long eternity is. And our minds just can't get it. We're all going to pray a prayer together. I know some of you have never heard a sermon like this in all of your life in that church you go to. But I assure you everything I've said today is the yea and amen of the Word of God. And you want to know the Lord. Let's pray together.
Heavenly Father, in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ, I ask you to forgive me of all of my sin, my failures, my shortcomings. Today, in the authority of Jesus' name, and by the shed blood of the cross, I ask you to forgive me, to cleanse me, to make me righteous, to make me pure, to make me holy. Lord Jesus Christ, from this day forward, I'm going to serve you and serve you only. You will be the Lord of my life. And I will be your servant. I will read your word. And I will obey your word. In Jesus' name, from this moment forward, Jesus is Lord. Amen.
