Salvation is Found in No One Else (Acts Sermon 8)

I. The Gospel Advances Against Satan’s Opposition

Turn to your Bibles to Acts 4, as we continue our series in the Book of Acts.  The spread of the gospel has been opposed violently every step of the way as it moved from Jerusalem through Judea and Samaria, even to the ends of the earth. The Bible reveals that this whole world lies in the grip of Satan. He is called the god of this age and the ruler of the kingdom of the air. He also claimed to Christ’s face when he tempted Him in the desert, “All the kingdoms of the world have been given to me, and I can give them to anyone I want to.”  Jesus did not contradict him at that time. Not at all. Actually, Jesus agreed that Satan is like a strong man, fully armed who guards his possessions with a jealous zeal. But Jesus is the warrior who’s stronger than that strong man, who comes and strips Satan of the armor in which he trusted and plunders his house.

We, brothers and sisters in Christ, we are that plunder. We have been rescued from the dominion of darkness by Jesus, who is infinitely stronger than the God of this age. He said to Peter and all of the apostles in Caesarea Philippi, “I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prove stronger than it.”  Jesus by His death has defeated him, who held the power of death and has rescued all those who were enslaved to fear of death, and He has begun to overthrow Satan’s dark kingdom. But that defeat and that overthrow, God has ordained to be a long slow process, person by person, city by city, region by region, year by year, century after century, a long slow death of the evil kingdom of Satan.

Jesus, therefore, predicted to His apostles how difficult the spread of the gospel would be. They would be persecuted every step of the way by Satan’s entrenched human forces. He says in Luke 21, “They will lay hands on you, and they will persecute you. They will deliver you to synagogues and prisons, and you’ll be brought before kings and governors and all on account of my name. This will result in your being witnesses to them.”  This account today is the beginning of that process that has continued right up to this present day over twenty centuries. So let’s step back and get a sense of the context here.

After His atoning death on the cross, the Lord Jesus Christ rose from the dead on the third day, and He appeared over a period of 40 days to His apostles and His disciples, giving them many convincing proves that He was alive. He commanded them to wait in Jerusalem until they were clothed with power from on high through the Holy Spirit, by which they would testify to Him. As He says in Acts 1:8, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all of Judaea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth.”

In Acts 2, that great day of Pentecost finally came, the Holy Spirit was poured out in power on the church. There came the sound of a mighty rushing wind like a hurricane, and there was tongues of fire that descended from heaven and separated and came to rest on each of them, and they were enabled to speak in other languages as the Spirit moved them. A crowd gathered around the house when they heard that sound, and the apostles went out and boldly preached the gospel to that crowd that had assembled. Peter preached his great Pentecost sermon, focusing on the life and the death and the resurrection of Jesus Christ. 3,000 received that message and were baptized, and the church was born, and they began living a godly life in the context of that church.

In Acts 3, Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayer, and a lame beggar stopped them and asked for money. Peter said in Acts 3:6, “Silver or gold, I do not have, but what I have I give you, in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.” Immediately, the beggar was miraculously healed and began walking and leaping and praising God. A huge crowd gathered because this previously lame beggar was well-known to all of them. These Jews passed by the beggar sitting at that temple gate called Beautiful day after day. They knew him well. Peter used that opportunity to preach the gospel boldly right there in the temple area. As usual, he exalted Christ and convicted the unbelieving Jewish nation of their sinful rejection of Him.

II. Peter and John on Trial

Acts 4 is the account of their trial before the Sanhedrin. It is the very thing that Jesus said would happen. In Matthew 10:19-20, Jesus said, “But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time, you’ll be given what to say for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.”  Listen to Luke 21:14-15, “But make up your mind not to worry beforehand how you will defend yourselves, for I will give you words and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict.  Then in Mark 13:11, Jesus says, “Whenever you’re arrested and brought to trial, do not worry beforehand about what to say. Just say whatever is given you at the time, for it will not be you speaking, but the Holy Spirit.”

I’d never noticed this before, but those three accounts show the Trinity, the Father, the Son and the Spirit giving His witnesses the words to say when arrested and brought before tribunals. “The Father will speak through them.” [Matthew 10] “It will be I giving you words to say.” [Luke 21] “It will be the Holy Spirit speaking through you.” [ Mark 13]  Acts 4 should be seen through that light. The triune God, Father, Son and Spirit, speaking through weak, fallible, sinful vessels, Peter and John, the timeless gospel of Jesus Christ.

Peter and John now go to trial. The Jewish authorities move in. Look at verses 1-3 in our text today. “The priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to Peter and John while they were speaking to the people. They were greatly disturbed because the apostles were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead. They seized Peter and John because it was evening and put them in jail until the next day.”

They are ready to pounce like evil birds of prey. They’re very aware of what happened on the day of Pentecost. They run the temple area, and they will not allow any challenges to their authority. Specifically, the Sadducees were distressed about any proclamation of the resurrection from the dead, a doctrine they disagreed with. They arrest Peter and John for teaching without their permission and for proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead.

But they can’t stop the gospel’s power. Look at verse 4, “Many who heard the message believed, and the number of men grew to about 5,000.” How powerful is that? By the way, this is the last numeration of the growth of the church. After this, it just gets too big to count, and this is the number of men. It’s like the feeding of the 5,000, there’s women and children besides. The church was getting very, very large at this point.

Verses 5-6, the Sanhedrin is assembled. “The next day the rulers, elders and teachers of the law met in Jerusalem. Annas, the high priest was there and so were Caiaphas, John, Alexander and the other men of the high priest family.” These are the very ones, of course, who had orchestrated the plot against Jesus and had condemned Him and forced Pilate to crucify Him, though Pilate wanted to let Him go.  These are Satan’s tools. These are Satan’s men, what Jesus would call in the Book of Revelation, a synagogue of Satan. Annas was the wicked leader of all of this. He was the true human power behind opposition to Jesus. Caiaphas was the nominal high priest that year and was supposed to be in office for life. But the Romans wanted to keep that office from becoming too powerful, so they moved Annas out, but he controlled who was his successor, Caiaphas, his son-in-law.

These men ran the temple with wicked efficiency. They became fabulously wealthy through their control of the animal sacrificial system and their corruption of it so that Jesus twice cleansed the temple and John, too, at the beginning of his ministry and then in the final week of his life, making Annas and Caiaphas and all of these men His bitter enemies because He was hitting them at what they cared about the most, which was money. He had said, “How dare you turn my Father’s house into a den of thieves, a market.”

These same men are assembled to oppose Jesus’ disciples. This was a proverbial brood of vipers, like being thrown into a well with a hundred poisonous snakes, hissing with fangs, dripping with deadly poison. That’s what it was like to be on trial before the Sanhedrin. They asked a loaded question, verse 7, “They had Peter and John brought before them and began to question them, ‘By what power or name did you do this?'”

This is the same kind of line of questioning they had asked of Jesus in His time. It was a question of authority based on their conception of their own spiritual authority over Israel and especially over the temple. In Luke 20:2, “‘Tell us,’ they said to Jesus, ‘by what authority you’re doing these things, and who gave you this authority?'” They knew very well that they had not given Jesus any authority at all, certainly not to cleanse the temple or to prevent merchants from carrying their merchandise across the temple grounds. They especially had not given Him any authority to preach and to teach there in the temple.

John, the Baptist, was not chosen by men to do what he did. God called him, like all true prophets.

Remember that time when they had questioned Jesus about authority, He asked them a counter question. In Matthew 21, Jesus replied, “I will also ask you one question and if you answer me, I will answer your question. John’s baptism, where did it come from? Was it from heaven or from men? Tell me.” At that point they pulled off into an unholy huddle. They discussed it among themselves and say, “If we say from heaven, He will say, why didn’t you believe Him? But if we say from men, we’re afraid of the crowd for they all are persuaded that John was a prophet.” So they came up with a political kind of answer, compromise. “We don’t know where it was from.”  Now keep in mind these are the spiritual leaders of Israel. How can they not know where John, the Baptist’s authority came from. He was the number one religious event of the nation of Israel before Jesus came. Thousands were going to get baptized by John, and they had no idea where he got his power from?  Jesus said, “Then neither will I tell you about what authority I’m doing these things.” But Jesus is making a point if they’ve been willing to listen. John, the Baptist, was not chosen by men to do what he did. God called him, like all true prophets. It was God that called John the Baptist to do his baptism, and in the same way, Almighty God sent His only-begotten Son to do what He was doing. His authority came directly from God, not from men.

Notice also that the Jewish leaders at that time could not give their true answer about John the Baptist, who they hated because he called them a brood of vipers. They hated him, but they couldn’t give their true answer because of fear of the crowd. Do you see the same fears at work in them here in this chapter as well? They have to be very, very careful about what the crowd thinks.  Look again at the question they posed and the way it’s phrased. Look at verse 7, “By what power or what name did you do this?”  Thank you, God, for an engraved invitation to preach the gospel. Isn’t it beautiful how God manipulates even the most wicked people to do exactly what He wants, an open door to preach Christ and preach the gospel. “By what power or what name did you do this miracle?”

III. Boldly Proclaiming Christ

The time has come to boldly proclaim Christ. This is one of the most amazing and the boldest proclamations of Christ in the entire Bible. I’m in awe of this passage. I love this passage. The clarity and brevity and power of Peter’s proclamation here is unmatched in any other count, and it’s a clear example of the power of the Holy Spirit at work in a fallible vessel like Peter.  Remember that just a short time before this, just a very short time before this, Peter had played the coward in the face of a servant girl who challenged him in the high priest’s house. Peter had denied it three times that night, even calling down curses on himself if he had ever even heard of Jesus. Now standing in front of that very same crowd, the very same man, Annas, who had orchestrated the condemnation and the execution of Jesus.  Peter has absolutely no fear whatsoever of this man or of the Sanhedrin. It’s incredible, and the text tells us why.

Look at verse 8, “Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, ‘Rulers and elders of the people.'” We have the perfect combination of the fact, the historical fact of the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead and His personal visiting Peter and showing him that He had been raised from the dead, as Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 15. The gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit drove out any fear of repercussions, any fear of death from Peter and John, none whatsoever. They turned Peter, in particular, from a coward to a bold proclaimer of Jesus Christ.

This filling of the Spirit is no new baptism of the Spirit. Rather, it’s the activity of the indwelling Spirit of God appropriate to the circumstance and the situation, a filling up of power and of zeal and truth, like a limp sail then filled with a mighty wind, and the whole ship is going to move in a direction. They’re filled with the Spirit. It controls Peter’s fear, and it controls his sinfulness. It overwhelms these things, and it moves Peter in the direction the Spirit wants him to go.

Let me just stop and say, brothers and sisters, ask God to do this to you. If you’re a child of God, you have the same indwelling Spirit in you and the same power to proclaim Christ in your setting this week can come upon you, driving out any fear of repercussions, driving out any fear what people might think. Instead, you care more about what’s happening to your coworkers and your lost friends and neighbors and relatives. You care more about the fact that they’re heading to hell, and you care more about that than any repercussions that might come from proclaiming Christ crucified and resurrected. Ask God to give you the filling of the Holy Spirit. “Fill me with the Spirit, Lord, so that I might boldly proclaim the gospel.”

Peter begins with a rather subtle condemnation of this whole inquiry. He rather slyly starts to expose their evil. Look at verse 9, “If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a cripple,” I mean, hang on a minute, did we actually get arrested for doing a miracle of healing? Is that what’s actually happening here? You’ve arrested us for doing an act of kindness. If that’s the situation, which it seems like it really is, take a step back,” Peter is saying, “and look at what you’re doing. All we did is heal a crippled man who had never walked a day in his life. He’s over 40 years old, and now he’s walking and leaping and praising God, and you arrested us? This is a good deed. This is an act of kindness. This is an act of mercy. What is wrong with you, people?”

But the same thing happened with Jesus, didn’t it? They looked right at miracles Jesus did and ascribed them to Beelzebub, to Satan. Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead after four days, and their response was try to kill Lazarus, too. What is wrong with these people? If we’re being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a cripple, there was no reason ever to hate Jesus. “They hated me without a cause,” Jesus said. It also fulfills what He had warned His followers. “If the head of the house has been called Beelzebub, how much more are the members of his household? Don’t expect to be treated well by a world who hated me when all I did was a river of good works.”

We have this bold proclamation of the gospel in Christ’s name. Listen again to Peter’s whole message without a break, verses 9-12 and stand in awe of this kind of courage and clarity. “If we’re being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a cripple and are asked how he was healed, then know this. You and all the people of Israel, 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 builders 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.”

Wouldn’t you love to be able to preach the gospel like that? How powerful is that and how clear and how courageous? Let’s unfold it step by step. “First of all, you [the Sanhedrian] asked. You asked for this. Don’t forget you asked for this, all right, now it’s going to come. You asked by what power or name this beggar stands before you healed. But whether you asked for it or not, the name and the glory and the power of Jesus Christ is going to spread to the ends of the earth. Nothing can stop it.  Now, if you asked how this man was healed, then know this. You and all the people of Israel.” Peter has his sights set not only on this brood of vipers, but on the whole nation of Israel beyond them. He’s speaking to all of them. God wants these words proclaimed to every single Jewish person alive, and I mean that’s today, too. “Know this, you and all the people of Israel, only by hearing and believing these words, this gospel, can Israel be saved from God’s judgments, God’s righteous judgments on their sins. Then know this, you and all the people of Israel, it is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth.”

The word “name” here means, first and foremost, by His authority. It is by the authoritative, powerful name of Jesus Christ. They had asked for this. What power or what name, what right, what authority did you have? It is by the authority of Jesus Christ.  But the real issue is God’s authority and God’s power, and it’s effectively only by the ministry of Jesus as our great high priest that the power of God is unleashed to heal and to save in this in-cursed world. It is only through the shed blood of Christ. All of these blessings are blood-bought, the power of God through Jesus.  The name of Jesus opens the door for God’s healing power and access into the throne room of God’s grace. So the word “name” represents His authority.

It also represents the person. It represents His achievements, His resume, to some degree. What he has done. He is the Son of God. That is His position in the universe. That’s His name, the name that is above every name. But He has also done great things. He lived a sinless life. He did powerful miracles, a river of miracles. There was no disease or sickness He could not heal and did not heal. He has done perfect teaching. So much so that even hostile enemies that were sent to arrest Him came back dumbfounded, saying, “We never heard anyone speak like this man.”

But most of all, He died an atoning death on the cross, shedding His blood under the wrath of God for the sins of the world. He did that, and then on the third day was raised to life and seen by all of these witnesses. When we say somebody has made a name for themselves, it’s like what is their reputation? What have they achieved? What have they done worthy of this situation? Jesus has made a name for Himself, and the elements of that name that He has made are in Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Read about it. Those are His great accomplishments. He has made a name for Himself. By what power or what name did you do this? By the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth.

Why these three names, Jesus Christ of Nazareth? Why? Jesus, “Yeshua,” means salvation is from Yahweh, from the Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God who spoke out of the burning bush, the “I am.” Salvation is from the Lord. That’s what His name means, Jesus.  “Christ” is the anointed one. It’s the Greek version of the Messiah, the anointed one, the fulfillment of the promise made to David, the son of David, the greater son of David, who all the Jews have been waiting for for centuries, the awaited majestic son of David, who’s also the Son of God, Christ.  Then “of Nazareth.” Jesus wasn’t trying to avoid that He came from Nazareth. It didn’t have a good reputation. Nathaniel, when he heard that the Messiah had come from Nazareth, he said, “Nazareth? Can anything good come from there?” [John 1:46] But he doesn’t shrink back. It is the historical Jesus, the one who lived in a town called Nazareth. This very one is Jesus, the savior. Christ, the anointed one. That’s who it is. So the whole name, Jesus Christ of Nazareth.

Then he says, “Whom you crucified,” not shrinking back from that at all. He directly accused them and rightly so, justly so, of killing Jesus. They are sitting in trial on Peter and John for doing an act of kindness and clear miracle. But the real crime is them killing the Son of God, and Peter accuses them of it,  he doesn’t shrink back. “You killed him because it’s the truth.” The greatest crime in history, friends. The only perfect, holy, righteous man that’s ever lived. He only did good and the orchestration and the machinations of wickedness and evil that killed Him, it’s the greatest crime in history, and they did it. They’re the ones who did it. “You killed Him, but God raised Him from the dead.” In direct opposition to God, they’re fighting God. God is their enemy.

Later in Acts 5, Gamaliel, the rabbi that everybody respected so much, says this apparently wise, but really stupid thing, in my opinion, we’ll get to that. Acts 5:39, “If this whole thing is from God, you’ll not be able to stop these men. You will only perhaps find yourself fighting against God.” You’re fighting against God. It’s not like we have to wonder. We’re not sure if Gamaliel ’s words are from God. You are fighting against God. You killed Him. God raised Him from the dead, and 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.

Look at this evidence. Here is this crippled man standing right here. You know him. You’ve walked by him for years. You might’ve even given a little money to him. Maybe not. But you know him, and everyone in Jerusalem knows him. And look at him, look at the evidence. He’s standing healed. He was crippled from his mother’s womb 40 years, over 40 years ago, and look at him now. What explanation do you have for that? It’s evidence right before your eyes. How could they be so blind?

They’re blind, spiritually blind, and only by God through the Spirit miraculously taking away the blindness will they see the truth.

But it’s the very thing Jesus said, and Isaiah predicted in Isaiah 6 that Jesus quoted in Matthew 13, “You’ll be ever hearing, but never understanding. You’ll be ever seeing, but never perceiving. Make these people’s heart callous. Make their ears dull and close their eyes. Otherwise, they might see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.” They’re blind, spiritually blind, and only by God through the Spirit miraculously taking away the blindness will they see the truth.  He is the stone you builders rejected, which has become the capstone. Now, Jesus had quoted this passage, Psalm 118:22, “The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone. He who falls on the stone will be broken to pieces. Anyone on whom it falls will be crushed,” Jesus quoted, and they knew at the time He was talking about them. They knew it.

Peter does a little enhancement here, he adds, changes a word. I’m not recommending that when you quote scripture, don’t change anything. But Peter’s under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit to sharpen the stick, so to speak. What did he change? Psalm 118:22 says, “The stone the builders rejected.” It’s like, “Well, let’s get clear now. The stone you builders has rejected, has become the cornerstone. You are the builders who rejected the stone that God chose.” He is directly accusing them of killing God’s Son.

IV. The Exclusivity of Christ

Now we come to the exclusivity of Christ in verse 12. It’s such an important point that I’ve given its own heading in the outline. This verse may be, I think it actually is, the clearest statement on the exclusivity of Christ there is in the Bible, up there with John 14:6.  Listen to the verse, “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.” Jesus’s own very famous parallel statement in John 14:6, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

We live in a time of confused worldviews, surrounded by alternate views of spiritual things and of reality. We think about American pluralism, a melting pot, many different peoples coming together to make one secular nation. We’re told as part of that, it’s arrogant to assume your way is right and everybody else’s ways are wrong and to force it on people.  Part of that is freedom of religion. Each should be free to pursue his or her own religion or not, in their own ways according to the dictates of their own conscience. We’ve got postmodernism that comes along and tells us you really can’t know metaphysical truths absolutely, only as they appear to you. Then you’ve got all the world religions that have been going on for centuries and cults.  Part of that we’re told is that all religions are equally valid. They basically all teach the same things, don’t they? We should respect all religions. We should see them all equally. There are many ways up the mountain, but the view from the top is the same, we’re told.

I believe in freedom of religion in the public square… But I do not believe that all religions are equally valid.

So let’s unravel all this. I believe in freedom of religion in the public square, of course. All people should be allowed to pursue their religion or not without interference from the government or societal advantage or disadvantage. I believe in that. I believe also that no religion should be established legally by any government so that you’re advantaged or disadvantaged, persecuted or praised by the government for your religious views. But I do not believe that all religions are equally valid. Valid, a synonym would be true, right, or helpful. Are they all? No, they’re not. Not all equally true, and they’re not all equally helpful and, therefore, they’re not all equally valid. Not at all. I believe that there is one true religion in the world, the one we are preaching today, the religion of Jesus Christ, salvation through faith in Christ, and all the others are satanic lies, all of them, including atheism, agnosticism, all of them.

Why would I say that they are valid or equally true? They’re not. In the parable of the wheat and the weeds, or the weed and the tares, we have this image of the world where a man sows good seed in the field and goes to bed and, at night, an enemy comes and sows weeds among the wheat and goes away. Then when the wheat sprouts and forms head, the weeds also appear and the servants come and say, “Do you want us to root them out?” “No, no, no. Because if you do, you may root up the wheat with them. It’s hard to tell the difference between the wheat and the weeds. Just let them both grow together and, at the harvest, we’ll separate them.”  Jesus interpreted, the field is the world. The good seed stands for the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one. The enemy who sows them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age and the harvesters are angels.  That’s how I see all of these religions. 

Paul also said in 1 Corinthians 10:20, “The sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God.” I believe that demons are god and goddess impersonators. When it was in vogue, they impersonated Artemis of the Ephesians or Molech or other things. They might’ve even done supernatural things to kind of spur those pagan religions on from time to time. God might’ve permitted it.  In the end, he’s going to deceive the world by signs and wonders done through the Antichrist. He’ll let the demons do that kind of stuff. They can do supernatural things. But they’re pagan religions.  I’m not going to admit that a religion that will lead someone to hell if they keep believing it is valid or true at all. Only that the government should stay out of it and not enforce one way or the other.

So fundamentally this statement, salvation is found in no one else than Jesus. Salvation is found in no one else than Jesus. God did not send His only-begotten Son into the world to be one of many equally valid options. He sent His Son into the world to die under His wrath on the cross because there was no other way. Didn’t Jesus effectively ask Him that at Gethsemane? “Father, if it is possible, take this cup away. Is it possible for me to save your people from their sins and I not drink that cup?” “No, there is no other way. Will you drink it anyway?” He did.  So, no, Jesus didn’t die on the cross to provide one of many equally valid ways to get to heaven. He did it because there was no other way.

Peter says it plainly, “Salvation is found in no one else, for there’s no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.” I only say to you, Christians living in 21st century America, this doctrine that I’m preaching today is extremely unpopular in the public square.   It’s not the only thing that we get nailed on. We get nailed on our abortion views, on our views on homosexuality. But this is one of the list, and we must never give up on it, friends, the exclusivity of Christ and of the gospel of Jesus Christ.  Salvation is not found in Muhammad or his teachings. Salvation is not found in Buddha or his teachings, or in Krishna and his teachings. It’s not found certainly in Joseph Smith and his Mormon cult or Charles Taze Russell and the Jehovah’s witness patterns. No, it’s not found in any of those things. It’s found in Jesus alone. There is no other name that God, the Father, will honor than His only-begotten Son who died under His wrath for the sins of the world. By repentance and faith in His name, it says, we must be saved.  Look again at verse 12, “Salvation is found in no one else for there is no other name under heaven given to man by which we must be saved.” Save from what? It is necessary that we be saved. “What would it profit someone to gain the whole world and lose their soul?” Save from what? Save from hell.  Jesus was very clear about this in many places, “a place of outer darkness where there’s weeping and gnashing of teeth, a lake of fire from which there is no escape, where the worm does not die and the fire is never quenched.” [Matthew 8:12]   Salvation from that. Islam can’t save from that. Neither can Buddhism or Hinduism, certainly not atheism or agnosticism, or being a basically good person who tries to do good deeds. None of that will save.

Calling on Jesus’ name is the only way sinners can be saved. And what does that mean? Everyone who calls in the name of the Lord will be saved. It means to identify Him as Son of God for yourself by faith. Believe that He is who He claimed to be, the Son of God, and all of His achievements on the basis of His miracles, His teachings, and especially His death on the cross and His resurrection. Call on the name of the Lord, and you will be saved.

I think of it like the beggar, the blind beggar Bartimaeus, who was outside the city of Jericho. “When Bartimaeus heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, ‘Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me.’ Many rebuked him and told him, ‘Be quiet.’ But he shouted, all the more, ‘Son of David have mercy on me.’” [Mark 10:46]  When you hear the words, “Have mercy on me, have mercy on me, oh God.” How will a sinner escape Judgment Day in which God sees and knows everything you’ve ever done and doesn’t back off on any of His holy law? There’s only one way to be saved from that.  Salvation is found in no one else, only by Jesus.

So I just ask, I’ve got to ask, have you done that? Have you called on Jesus and said, effectively, “Have mercy on me. I’m a sinner. I’m going to go to hell if you don’t save me. Save me. Save me from my sins?” And everyone who does that will be saved. Think about that.  He stopped and called to Bartimaeus, “Come here.” Bartimaeus was brought, and He said, “What do you want me to do for you?” “Lord, I want to see.” And Jesus said, “Receive your sight. Your faith has healed you.”  You’re brought, sinner, convicted, guilty, to Jesus, and He’s asking the same question. What do you want me to do for you? Save me from hell, Jesus. Save me from hell, and He will. Everyone who calls in the name of the Lord will be saved.

V. Unbelief and Threats

The reaction there is unbelief and threats. It’s incredible. They should have called in the name of the Lord Jesus, shouldn’t they have?  While they evaluate Peter and John, verse 13, “When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled ordinary men, they were astonished and took note these men had been with Jesus.” Astonishing boldness. These men, the Sanhedrin, they were used to having people tremble and cower in their sight. These men had no fear of them at all.

But as would be the case of every witness, every true powerful Spirit-filled witness in front of all the tribunals over 20 centuries, there was a boldness and a complete fearlessness in the face of death. It says they were unschooled ordinary men. Idiots, it says. These people had a very low opinion of other people who didn’t share their aristocratic spiritual levels. They’re unschooled ordinary men. They’re blue collar fishermen from Galilee with kind of a rough Galilean accent, this kind of thing.  But they took note that these men have been with Jesus. What does that mean? They’re like Jesus. What does that mean? They had no fear. They spoke the truth. The Spirit of Jesus was on them. They had an appearance, an aura about them, and they took note of this fact.

They also saw the cripple standing there. Look at verse 14, “Since they could see the man who had been healed standing there with them, there was nothing they could say.” They knew this man. They wanted to deny it. They wanted to refute it. They would love to be able to do that, but they couldn’t because everybody in Jerusalem is going crazy over this miracle. What are they going to do?

Now I tell you what they should’ve done. What should Annas and Caiaphas and John and Alexander have done at that moment? I would say, “Repent of your sins, fall on your faces before Jesus and find forgiveness and salvation. Because everyone, including you, who calls in the name of the Lord will be saved.” That’s what they should have done, but they didn’t.

Instead, they decide they’re going to fight the gospel, they’re going to oppose it. It is the first in a long line of people in positions of power, political or religious, that decides they’re going to fight Jesus, they’re going to fight Christians, they’re going to oppose.  Verses 15-17, “So they ordered them to withdraw from the Sanhedrin and then conferred together. ‘What are we going to do with these men?’ they said. ‘Everybody living in Jerusalem knows they’ve done an outstanding miracle and we cannot deny it, like we’d like to. But to stop this thing from spreading any further among the people, we must warn them to speak no longer to anyone in this name.’” They’re now officially set against the Gospel, no surprise there, and they will do everything they can to stop it.

But it is easier for a man to stop the wind. Jesus said to Nicodemus, “The wind blows where it wishes, and you can’t stop it.” There’s nothing any government can do to stop the true gospel from spreading.  They bring them in, and they give a warning, and the apostles respond to it. Verse 18-20, “Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John replied, ‘Judge for yourselves whether it’s right in God’s sight to obey you, rather than God,‘ verse 20, ‘for we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.'”

There is a limit to government authority. Romans 13 tells us we should submit to the God-ordained authorities. That is true as long as they don’t directly contradict the Word of God, and command us to do things that we’re forbidden from doing, or forbid us from doing things we are commanded to do.  They were forbidding Peter and John and the entire church from preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. I assure you’ve that they were commanded by God to do that very thing, and so there’s no way they’re going to obey that. “Judge for yourselves, whether it’s right in God’s sight to obey you, rather than God.”  Then they say beautifully, “We cannot, but speak,” or “We cannot help speaking. We can’t stop. There’s nothing we can do that will stop that.”

This reminds me of Jeremiah 20:8-9. Jeremiah had a very unpopular message and he said, “The Word of the Lord has brought me insult and reproach all day long. But if I say I will not mention Him or speak any more in His name, His Word is like a fire in my heart, a fire shut up in my bones. I’m weary of holding it in. Indeed, I cannot.” Oh, may that happen to this church.  Think about that. If the Spirit is poured out on this church, we’ll be like, “I cannot help speaking about Christ.” May that happen to us.

After further threats, they let them go. They could not decide how to punish them because all the people were praising God for what had happened, for the man who was miraculously healed was over 40 years old.  So it’s on now. War is going to start. They didn’t do much. They arrested them, held them for a night, gave them some warnings and let them go, but it’s going to get worse. This is like a shot across the bow for the church, but the church is going to keep sailing with the power and the wind of the Holy Spirit.

VI. Application

The central application I’ve already given you. Do you realize what a tragedy it would be for any of you to leave this place unconverted? You’ve heard, very plainly, the gospel. You’ve heard, very plainly, the threat if you don’t believe. May God grant you repentance and faith, and then may God grant to us the kind of boldness, supernatural boldness that took Peter from being a craven, cowardly man to being this kind of a bold proclaimer of Christ.  That’s for our benefit, and we can see that trajectory. May God do that to us, that we would not shrink back from responsibilities we have in our workplace, in our neighborhoods, in our families, in our daily lifestyle of proclaiming in Christ, the resurrection from the dead.

Close with me in prayer.

Father, we thank you for this incredible text. Thank you for the things we’ve learned from it. And we pray that you would work in our church and in members of this church to be faithful to do what you’ve called us to do.  We thank you for the courage of Peter and John. We thank you for their boldness. We thank you for the ministry of the Holy Spirit. But most of all, we thank you for Jesus. In His name, we have salvation. In His name, we have full forgiveness. We thank you, and we pray in His name, Amen.

These are only preliminary, unedited outlines and may differ from Andy’s final message.

I. The Gospel Advances Against Satan’s Opposition

The spread of the gospel has been opposed violently every step of the way, as it moved from Jerusalem through Judea and Samaria, even to the ends of the earth.

The Bible reveals that this whole world lies in the grip of Satan. He is called the god of this age and the ruler of the kingdom of the air. He also claimed to Christ’s face when he tempted him in the desert, “All the kingdoms of the world have been given to me, and I can give them to anyone I want to.” Jesus did not contradict him.

Not at all! Actually, Jesus agreed that Satan is like a strong man, fully armed who guards his possessions with a jealous zeal. Jesus is the warrior who is stronger, who comes and strips Satan of his armor and plunders his house. He said to Peter and to all of the apostles in Caesarea Philippi, “I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prove stronger than it.” The “gates of Hades” represents the power of death and hell, which Satan held at that time. Jesus by his death has defeated him who held the power of death and has begun to overthrow his dark kingdom. But that defeat and overthrow is a long, slow process… person by person, city by city, region by region, year by year, century after century.

Jesus therefore predicted to his apostles how difficult the spread of the gospel would be. They would be persecuted every step of the way by Satan’s entrenched human forces:

Matthew 10:18-20  On my account you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles.  ¹⁹ But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say,  ²⁰ for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.

Luke 21:12-15  they will lay hands on you and persecute you. They will deliver you to synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors, and all on account of my name.  ¹³ This will result in your being witnesses to them.  ¹⁴ But make up your mind not to worry beforehand how you will defend yourselves.  ¹⁵ For I will give you words and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict.

Mark 13:9  You must be on your guard. You will be handed over to the local councils and flogged in the synagogues. On account of me you will stand before governors and kings as witnesses to them.

This account today is the beginning of that process that has continued right up to this present day.

Context: After his atoning death on the cross, the Lord Jesus Christ rose from the dead and appeared over a period of forty days to his apostles and disciples, giving them many convincing proofs that he was alive. He commanded them to wait in Jerusalem for the gift of the Holy Spirit by which they would testify to him:

Acts 1:8  you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.

In Acts 2, the great day of Pentecost came and the Holy Spirit was poured out on the church. There was the sound of a mighty rushing wind, like a hurricane… and tongues of fire separated and came to rest on each of the disciples. They began speaking in other languages as the Spirit enabled them.

A crowd gathered around the house, so the apostles went out and began preaching the gospel to those who had assembled… amazingly speaking in the heart languages of all the people who had come from many distant lands for the Feast of Pentecost.

Peter preached his great Pentecost sermon focusing on the life, death, and especially the resurrection of Jesus Christ. He proved that Christ’s resurrection was predicted in the Old Testament in Psalm 16. He called on the people to repent and believe in Jesus Christ for full forgiveness of their sins and they would also receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

3000 received the message and were baptized and the church was born. They began living the Christian life there in Jerusalem, devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching, the fellowship, the breaking of bread and prayer. They met together in the temple courts every day and grew in number every day.

In Acts 3, as Peter and John were going into the temple at the time of prayer, a lame beggar stopped them and asked for money. Peter said,

Acts 3:6  “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.”

Immediately the beggar was miraculously healed and began walking and leaping and praising God. A huge crowd gathered, because this previously lame beggar was very well-known… these Jews passed by this beggar every day. Peter used the opportunity to preach the gospel boldly… as usual, he exalted Christ and convicted the unbelieving Jewish nation of their sinful rejection of him.

Acts 4 is the account of their trial before the Sanhedrin. It is an amazing account of the very thing Jesus had said would happen:

Matthew 10:19-20  But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say,  ²⁰ for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.

Luke 21:14-15  But make up your mind not to worry beforehand how you will defend yourselves.  ¹⁵ For I will give you words and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict.

Mark 13:11  Whenever you are arrested and brought to trial, do not worry beforehand about what to say. Just say whatever is given you at the time, for it is not you speaking, but the Holy Spirit.

Listen to those predictions!! See the Trinity… the Father will speak through you, I will give you words to say, the Spirit will be speaking through you!!

Acts 4 should be seen through that light… the Triune God speaking through weak, fallible vessels… Peter and John.

II. Peter and John on Trial

A. The Jewish Authorities Move In

Acts 4:1-3  The priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to Peter and John while they were speaking to the people.  ² They were greatly disturbed because the apostles were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead.  ³ They seized Peter and John, and because it was evening, they put them in jail until the next day.

1. Ready to pounce like evil birds of prey

2. They are very aware of what happened on the Day of Pentecost

3. They run the temple area and will not allow any challenges to their authority

4. Specifically the Sadducees are distressed about any proclamation of resurrection

a. They denied that the dead rise

b. Jesus had specifically refuted them doctrinally by proving that the dead rise from Moses’ account of the burning bush

c. But his own resurrection from the dead is the kill shot for their false doctrine

5. They arrest Peter and John for teaching without their permission and for proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead

B. BUT They Can’t Stop the Gospel’s Power!!

Acts 4:4  But many who heard the message believed, and the number of men grew to about five thousand.

C. The Sanhedrin Assembled

Acts 4:5-6  The next day the rulers, elders and teachers of the law met in Jerusalem.  ⁶ Annas the high priest was there, and so were Caiaphas, John, Alexander and the other men of the high priest’s family.

1. These are the very ones who had orchestrated the plot against Jesus and had condemned him and forced Pilate to crucify him

2. These are Satan’s tools… what Jesus would call a “Synagogue of Satan”

3. Annas is the wicked leader of all of this… the true human power behind the opposition to Jesus; Caiaphas was the nominal high priest, but he was just Annas’s son-in-law

4. These men ran the temple with its lucrative sacrificial system… they were fabulously wealthy through their deep corruption; and they hated Jesus because he had twice cleansed the temple, saying “How dare you turn my father’s house into a den of thieves.”

5. The rulers, elders, teachers of the law were the ones who had hounded Jesus every step of his life, stung by his seven-fold denunciation of them in Matthew 23—“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites!” Called them whitewashed tombs who would not escape hell.

6. Now they are assembled again to oppose Jesus’ disciples

7. This was a proverbial brood of vipers… like being thrown into a well with a hundred poisonous aroused snakes hissing with fangs dripping with poison, coiled and ready to strike

D. The Loaded Question

Acts 4:7  They had Peter and John brought before them and began to question them: “By what power or what name did you do this?”

1. This is the same question they had asked Jesus… it was a question of authority… based on their conception of their own spiritual authority over Israel and especially the temple

2. The question to Jesus:

Luke 20:1-2  One day as he was teaching the people in the temple courts and preaching the gospel, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, together with the elders, came up to him.  ² “Tell us by what authority you are doing these things,” they said. “Who gave you this authority?”

3. They knew very well they had not given Jesus authority to cleanse the temple or to prevent merchants from carrying their wares in the temple; and they especially had not given him authority to preach the Word there to all the Jews who assembled to worship at the temple

4. He was NOT AUTHORIZED by them!!

5. Remember at that time, Jesus had asked a counter question:

Matthew 21:24-27  Jesus replied, “I will also ask you one question. If you answer me, I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things.  ²⁵ John’s baptism– where did it come from? Was it from heaven, or from men?” They discussed it among themselves and said, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will ask, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’  ²⁶ But if we say, ‘From men’– we are afraid of the people, for they all hold that John was a prophet.”  ²⁷ So they answered Jesus, “We don’t know.” Then he said, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.

Jesus’ point: John was not chosen by men to do his baptism… God sent him.

Paul will say the same thing about his authority as an apostle:

Galatians 1:1  Paul, an apostle– sent not from men nor by man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead

Galatians 1:11-12  I want you to know, brothers, that the gospel I preached is not something that man made up.  ¹² I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ.

No human authority sent me to preach.

Jesus said the same thing about John the Baptist… and even more clearly, about himself.

God sent me to do these things.

Note also that the Jewish leaders could not give any answer to Jesus’ question about John the Baptist’s authority, because they were afraid of the crowd. The same fear will restrain them in Acts 4

Now… look at the amazing question the way its phrased:

Acts 4:7  “By what power or what name did you do this?”

This will be an open door to preach Christ!! Though I can assure you it was not intended that way by the Sanhedrin!

III. Boldly Proclaiming Christ

A. This is the Boldest Proclamation of the Gospel in the Bible

1. I am in awe of this passage

2. The clarity and brevity and power of Peter’s proclamation here is unmatched in any other account

B. Clear Example of the Power of the Holy Spirit on Peter

1. Remember that just a short time before this, Peter had played the coward in the face of a servant girl who challenged him, “You’re not one of this man’s disciples are you?” Peter had denied it three times that night… even calling down curses on himself if he had ever heard of Jesus

2. Now, standing in front of the very men who condemned Jesus to death, Peter has absolutely NO FEAR WHATSOVER!!

3. The text tells us why

Acts 4:8  Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: “Rulers and elders of the people!

4. The perfect combination of the fact of Christ’s resurrection from the dead and the power of the indwelling Spirit of God transformed Peter from a craven coward to the boldest proclaimer of Christ in history

5. The “filling of the Spirit” is not a new baptism of the Spirit… rather it is the activity of the indwelling Spirit in the mind and heart of Peter, controlling his fear, giving him wisdom and words and boldness needed for the exact circumstance he was in

6. Ask God to do this to YOU… we are all cowards at heart, seeking to save our lives and comforts rather than proclaim Christ to hate-filled people

7. To be “filled with the Holy Spirit” conquers all our sins and fears and enables us to deliver the Word that can save souls

C. Subtle Condemnation of their Sinful Opposition

1. Peter begins rather slyly to expose their evil

Acts 4:9   If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a cripple and are asked how he was healed…

2. In effect, Peter is saying, “Take a step back and look at what you’re doing. All we did is heal a crippled man, giving him a gift unlike any he has received in his entire life. We set him free and gave him joy. Now, you arrest us like we had stolen or murdered someone.”

3. This was a GOOD DEED

4. But it’s the same as what happened when they opposed Jesus’ healings… a river of grace and kindness flowing over a suffering population day after day… and they said Jesus was doing all that by the power of Beelzebub, Satan.

5. No reason to hate him!

John 15:25  But this is to fulfill what is written in their Law: ‘They hated me without reason.’

6. This also fulfills the prediction Jesus had made to his apostles:

Matthew 10:25  If the head of the house has been called Beelzebub, how much more the members of his household!

D. Bold Proclamation of the Gospel in Christ’s Name

Listen again to Peter’s whole message without a break… stand in awe of this kind of courage and clarity:

Acts 4:9-12  If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a cripple and are asked how he was healed,  ¹⁰ then know this, you and all the people of Israel: 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.  ¹¹ He is “‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the capstone.’  ¹² Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”

Unfolding it step by step

1. You asked by what power or name this beggar stands before you healed

a. This is what you asked for, this is what you’re going to get!

b. But whether you ask for it or not, you cannot stop the name of Jesus Christ from growing and gaining glory!

2. “Know this, you and all the people of Israel…”

a. Peter has his sights set not only on the Sanhedrin, but the entire nation of Israel

b. God wants this words preached to every single Jewish person alive

c. Only by hearing and believing these words can Israel be saved from God’s judgment on their sins

3. “It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth…”

a. The word “name” here first means authority… that’s what the Sanhedrin was asking… what give you the right, the power, the authority to do this?

b. But the real issue is God’s power and authority

c. Effectively only by the name of the Son of God can any sinners come into God’s presence and ask for anything

d. So the “name of Jesus” opens the door of access into the throne room of God

e. The word name represents his person—who he is, and his achievements… what he has done

f. He IS the Son of God; that is his position in God’s universe;  and he has done great things… sinless life, powerful miracles, perfect teachings, atoning death, bodily resurrection. We say someone can “make a name for himself” meaning achieve a reputation by his great works. Jesus has made the greatest name for himself

g. By the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth

i) Why three names?

ii) Jesus means “Salvation is from the Lord”…

iii) Christ means “anointed one”… expected, promised, Son of David, in fulfillment of the prophecies

iv) Of Nazareth… tied to his humble beginnings in Galilee, the actual historical personage… often meant to be an insult, like Nathanael asked

John 1:46  “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” Nathanael asked. “Come and see,” said Philip.

4. Whom YOU crucified but whom God raised from the dead”

a. Directly accusing them of the real crime here

b. They are sitting in trial on them for doing an act of kindness and a clear miracle

c. But the real crime is their hatred of God, his Son, and his messengers

d. Peter accuses them of killing Jesus… because it was the truth

e. And says God is in direct opposition to them

f. Later Gamaliel will say an apparently wise but actually foolish thing:

Acts 5:39  if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God.

g. IF? MAYBE we’re fighting against God??

h. All they need to do is listen to Peter’s words here to figure that one out… Jesus Christ of Nazareth is the one YOU crucified but GOD raised from the dead.

i. You ARE IN FACT fighting against God!

5. “This man stands before you healed”

a. Apparently the healed former crippled was standing right there as well… like he was a co-conspirator!

b. But he is also simple physical evidence of the power of Jesus’ name!

c. He was crippled from his mother’s womb and they all knew it

d. Now he can walk and leap and praises God for it!

e. EVIDENCE RIGHT BEFORE YOUR EYES! How could they be so blind?

f. But Isaiah predicted it, as Jesus said:

Matthew 13:14-15  “‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.  ¹⁵ For this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.

6. The Rejected Stone

Acts 4:11  He is “‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the capstone.’

a. Jesus had quoted this passage from Psalm 118:22

b. They knew right away that they were the builders in the verse according to Jesus, and he was the rejected stone

c. Peter would later write:

1 Peter 2:4  As you come to him, the living Stone– rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him-

d. Peter sharpens the stick by adding one word… YOU… you are the builders who rejected God’s chosen and infinitely precious stone

e. As Peter wrote to believers

1 Peter 2:7-8  Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe, “The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone,”  ⁸ and, “A stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall.” They stumble because they disobey the message– which is also what they were destined for.

Note the staggering boldness of Peter! He (as well as John) have absolutely no fear whatsoever of their own death or what might happen to them.

He is directly accusing them of killing God’s Son.

IV. The Exclusivity of Christ

This is such an important point, I gave it its own heading in my sermon outline

This verse is the clearest verse in the Bible, along with John 14:6, on the exclusivity of Christ as the only Savior of the world

Listen to the verse:

Acts 4:12  Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.

Jesus’ own parallel statement:

John 14:6  “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

A. Confused Worldviews

1. American Pluralism… the melting pot, many different peoples’ coming together to make one secular nation; it is arrogant to assume your way is the right way and to force it on others

2. Freedom of Religion… each can be free to pursue his or her religion in their own way according to the dictates of their own conscience

3. Postmodernism… you can’t really know truth absolutely, only truth as it appears to you

4. World religions: all religions are equally valid; they all teach basically the same things; we should respect all religions and see them equally; there are many ways up the mountain but the view from the top is equally good no matter how you get

5. Let’s unravel this

a. I believe in freedom of religion in the public square… all people should be allowed to pursue their religion without interference from the government

b. I also believe no religion should be established legally by any government so that you are advantaged or disadvantaged before the law because of this or that religion

c. BUT I do not believe all religions are equally valid, nor do I respect any false religion in and of itself; why should I respect a Satanic lie? And all the non-Christian religions are exactly that… Satanic and demonic lies

In the Parable of the Wheat and the Weeds, a man sows good seed in his field; but at night, while everyone is sleeping, an enemy comes and sows weeds among the wheat

Matthew 13:38-39  The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one,  ³⁹ and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.

Also, Paul said:

1 Corinthians 10:20  the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God

The fact is, I will never admit that someone else’s religion is valid… only their right to practice that religion freely in this world without interference from the government

B. Salvation is Found in No One Else

1. God did not send his only begotten Son to provide one of many options to get to heaven… he did it because there was no other way

2. Remember how Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane effectively asked the Father if there was any other way than drinking the cup of his wrath on the cross as an atonement for sin… the clear answer from God was this: there is no other way.

3. Peter says it plainly…

Acts 4:12  Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.

a. Salvation is found in no one else… not Muhammad, not Buddha, not Krishna, not Joseph Smith or Mary Baker Eddy or Charles Taze Russell or any other cult leader who comes in his own name starting his own religion

b. There is no other name that God the Father will honor… when sinners seek to enter God’s holy heaven, only one name will open those gates

c. By that name we MUST BE saved… this is NECESSARY for us…this is the most important issue of your life

Matthew 16:26 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?

d. Saved from what? Losing your soul in hell for all eternity…

Revelation 20:15  If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire

Revelation 14:10-11  he, too, will drink of the wine of God’s fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath. He will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb.  ¹¹ And the smoke of their torment rises for ever and ever. There is no rest day or night

Muhammad cannot save you from hell, nor can Buddha or Krishna or Joseph Smith or your own good works or denying that hell exists.

Calling on Jesus name is the only way sinners can be saved.

C. Call on Jesus’ Name!!

Acts 2:21  everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved

That means to understand his identity—he is the Son of God; understand his works-miracles, sinless life; understand his atoning death on the cross in our place; understand his bodily resurrection from the dead… and understand your own sin… your dire circumstances, and ask him to save you.

Mark 10:47-48  When [Bartimaeus] heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”  ⁴⁸ Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”

V. Unbelief and Threats

A. The Evaluation of the Sanhedrin

1. First, of Peter and John

Acts 4:13  When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.

a. Astonishing boldness… they were used to people cowering in fear before them

b. But as would be the case with all genuine witnesses of Christ for centuries to come… totally unafraid of death, emboldened by the Spirit of Christ on them

c. Interesting phrases: unschooled (meaning they had no formal training in their rabbinic schools)… they were blue-collar workers, rough fishermen from Galilee… men to whom they usually felt vastly superior

d. Took note that they had been with Jesus… the stamp and nature of the Savior was on them; Jesus had been just like this—bold, clear, unintimidated by their power or religiosity

2. Second, of the former cripple

Acts 4:14  But since they could see the man who had been healed standing there with them, there was nothing they could say.

This healed man is standing there. They knew him very well. They had no possible explanation for his healing other than the miraculous power of God. But they were effectively MUTE in what they wanted to do—REFUTE and CONTRADICT. But they could not.

This is tragic unbelief! They should have BELIEVED! They should have fallen down on their faces and repented from their sins

B. The Sanhedrin’s Deliberation and Verdict in Unbelief

Acts 4:15-17  So they ordered them to withdraw from the Sanhedrin and then conferred together.  ¹⁶ “What are we going to do with these men?” they asked. “Everybody living in Jerusalem knows they have done an outstanding miracle, and we cannot deny it.  ¹⁷ But to stop this thing from spreading any further among the people, we must warn these men to speak no longer to anyone in this name.”

They are now officially set against the gospel of the apostles… and they will do everything they can to stop it.

But it is as easy for a man to stop the WIND. The Holy Spirit is going to blow through Jerusalem and Judea, and there is nothing these wicked men can do to stop it.

C. The Warning and the Apostolic Response

Acts 4:18-20  Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus.  ¹⁹ But Peter and John replied, “Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God’s sight to obey you rather than God.  ²⁰ For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.”

There is a limit to the legitimate authority of human government. We must obey the government in all things, except when it contradicts the word and will of God.

Peter and John clearly assert what they are going to do…

God has commanded us to preach Christ and we will obey him, not you.

Furthermore, WE CANNOT HELP SPEAKING about what we have seen and heard.

Jeremiah 20:8-9  the word of the LORD has brought me insult and reproach all day long.  ⁹ But if I say, “I will not mention him or speak any more in his name,” his word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot.

D. Final Threats

Acts 4:21-22  After further threats they let them go. They could not decide how to punish them, because all the people were praising God for what had happened.  ²² For the man who was miraculously healed was over forty years old.

Okay, it’s on now! A direct war between God and Satan in the city of Jerusalem.

VI. Applications

A. Come to Christ… Acts 4:12

Acts 4:12  Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved

B. See the Boldness that the Spirit Gives!

1. Peter was a weak, sinful man apart from the working of the Holy Spirit

2. But the filling of the Spirit overcame all his weaknesses and enabled him to speak boldly

3. Ask God to use you this weak!

C. Never Compromise on the Exclusivity of Christ!