Thrust Statement: God revealed Himself  in Christ.

Scripture Reading: Acts 4:8-12

            “Salvation is found in no one else,” writes Peter. Is there another way to God other than through Jesus Christ? Is it the summit of intolerance for one to say that salvation is found in no other name than the name of Jesus?  What about the religions of the world? Why the name of Jesus alone? What about Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, Animism, Judaism, Secularism, and so on?^[1] Is Jesus really the only way to God? For the mindset of many, the words of Peter border on the verge of narrow-mindedness and fanaticism. Some world religions have veneration for Jesus Christ, but, at the same time, they deny the words of Peter: “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 4:12).^[2]

            With this truth about Jesus, Peter would not budge. His statement does not allow for other alternatives. Familiarity with these penetrating words of Peter has dulled the minds of many to the startling and revolutionary quality of such a statement. This world-shattering statement of Peter should open the minds and hearts of Christians to the message of the grace and truth that came by Jesus Christ. The Church must not compromise this truth. The Church has been chosen by God as the vehicle of His revelation of salvation in and through the Incarnate Son. The Cross cannot be taken out of Christianity without changing it beyond recognition.

Even though Christians cannot compromise the statement of Peter, nevertheless, believers must not become narrow and bigoted and manifest a harsh and unlovely attitude toward those who do not understand.  Christians cannot and should not be intolerant toward the ungodly nor toward the godly. In the Christian community, Christians are often intolerant toward anyone who dares to reject their traditions. Today, it is excommunication, not the stake. The word intolerance sends chills up-and-down the spine. Just what meaning should one attach to the word intolerance in dealing with world religions or even doctrinal differences within the Christian community? The word tolerance may carry two basic connotations.  It goes almost without saying that one concept of tolerance is that Christians cannot punish or persecute those who disagree with their understanding of God or Christianity. There is a sense in which the word patience is equivalent to the word tolerance. Christians are to be tolerant toward other people. In the religious world of Christianity, especially in earlier times, the State as well as the Church refused tolerance toward those who refused to submit themselves in religious matters to the State or the established Church. Christians do not have the right to punish or persecute one who professes a different theology from his or her brand of orthodoxy.

            Just a perusal of Church history reveals that many Christians were convicted as heretics and burnt at the stake and simply wiped out for different religious convictions. Jesus was not the issue, but rather the doctrinal teachings of a select few became the focus of orthodoxy.^[3] During the sixteenth century, the Anabaptists were pursued with a vengeance that would shock even the most hardened Christian today, at least I hope so. On November 13, 1544, Maria and Ursula van Beckum were burned at the stake for their Anabaptist faith.^[4] This persecution was not over the nature of God, the reality of the Trinity, the deity of Christ, or the authority of the Scriptures, but rather upon their insistence upon rebaptism of those baptized in infancy. Felix Manz was the first to be executed at the hands of the Zurich authorities in Switzerland.  What was his crime? He became associated with the Anabaptist and insisted on adult baptism.^[5] Within the Reformation movement, rebaptism was one of the most revolutionary acts of the Reformation movement.

            Michael Sattler (1490-1527) execution was one of the most notorious executions in the sixteenth century. After his arrest, his trial lasted for two days and then he was burned alive. Why was he burned alive? He did not believe that the actual body and blood of Christ were present in the Lord’s Supper. He placed the bread and wine on a plate and ate and drank the same. He also married a wife. William R. Estep recounts the story of his martyrdom in the following account:

These events took place over a two-day period. Sattler was sentenced on May 18 and executed two days later. The torture, a prelude to the execution, began at the marketplace, where a piece was cut from Sattler’s tongue. Pieces of flesh were torn from his body twice with redhot tongs. He was then tied to a cart. On the way to the scene of the execution he was torn with the tongs five more times. In the market place and at the site of the execution, still able to speak, the unshakable Sattler prayed for his persecutors. After being bound to a ladder with ropes and pushed into the fire, he admonished the people, the judges, and the mayor to repent and be converted. Then he prayed, “Almighty, eternal God, Thou art the way and the truth: because I have not been shown to be in error, I will with thy help to this day testify to the truth and seal it with my blood.” When the ropes on his wrists had burned, Sattler raised both forefingers, giving the promised signal to his fellow Anabaptist that a martyr’s death was bearable. Then the assembled crowed heard coming from his seared lips, “Father, I commend my spirit into Thy hands.”^[6]

            Following his execution, three more were executed. Eight days later, his wife was drowned in the Neckar when she refused to recant. She turned down an offer of amnesty and a comfortable home.^[7] Hubmaier (1480-1528), another Anabaptist, was burned at the stake in Vienna on March 10, 1528. As they rubbed sulphur and gunpowder into his beard, he cried out: “O dear brothers, pray God that he will give me patience in this my suffering. I will die in the Christian faith.”  As his head and hair caught fire, he again cried out: “O Jesus, Jesus.”^[8] Three days later his wife was drowned in the Danube.

            This kind of intolerance prevailed for centuries within the Christian community. Yet today, this kind of ill treatment is forbidden by many countries of the modern state along with the insistence on freedom of religion and conscience. Many states will no longer allow the Church to use them as an instruments of violent intolerance. The State will no longer permit factions of the various denominations to persecute people on religious grounds, even though Churches still practice a hounding of a different nature. Christians have a lot to be thankful for in today’s society. The State will not consent to blind fury and religious persecution. For one to use violent behavior in support of right belief is in sharp contrast to the teachings of Jesus.  Forbearance must become a part of one’s behavior toward others of a different mindset.

            This kind of sadistic fanaticism of persecution, as mentioned above, is not in harmony with the teachings of Jesus. On the other hand, one cannot accept the philosophy of the world religions that Jesus is to be placed alongside of Rama, Krishna, and Buddha. Christians cannot, and must not, place these gods in parallel to Jesus as the Savior of humanity, or the world. Even though one exercises patience with individuals of different perspectives about reality, nevertheless, one cannot accept other beliefs as true. Christians must affirm the dictum of Peter: “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 4:12).

Why is this (salvation in no other name) the position of Christians? If Peter’s statement is true, one cannot compromise this truth. Truth can never be negotiated. Truth is either true or it is not. From one point of view, one can say that truth excludes the possibility of something else being true. If Peter’s statement is true, one cannot compromise with beliefs that contradict this truth. For one to assert Peter’s statement as true, this admission excludes the possibility of its opposite being true. For example, if two plus two equals four, then two plus two cannot be five. Or for example, if Julius Caesar was murdered in 44 BC on March 15, then it is false to say that he died a natural death in 45 BC. Both cannot be true. Again, if there is only one God, then there cannot be more than one. As one reflects upon truth, one is conscious that truth is always single and exclusive.

            This study is not a study of the various religions of the world, but one thing is observable in Christianity that is not found in any other religion—a man who came to earth to reconcile God by the sacrifice of His life for those who had become separated from God by their sins. The Cross of Jesus is the Divine act of reconciliation.  “He bore the sin of many” is that alone which distinguishes Christianity from all other religions. The Gospel of God is just this—Jesus gave His life in order to restore the alienation between humanity and God. Jesus, in response to the mother of Zebedee’s sons, said: Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:28).  If you study Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, and so on, you will never find this truth: One who died on the Cross for the atonement of mankind and who gave His life a ransom for many. Neither Buddha nor Rama nor Krishna nor Mohammad died for the sins of the world.

            Paul understood this truth about the self-sacrifice of Jesus upon the Cross. In fact, he tells the Corinthians: “For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:2). It is the Cross of Jesus that differentiates “special” revelation from all other forms of religion. At the very center of the Bible, one observes the idea of sin separating humanity from God. But in Jesus, this blockage has been removed. No one can escape the root of sin in his or her life. The reason for this fact is that everyone is guilty in the presence of God. The evil that cuts through to one’s heart is the evil of one’s own being—“all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).

In sin, one loses not only God, but also one loses himself or herself in the process—“Remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world” (Ephesians 2:12), writes Paul. Both men and women have always longed for redemption from sin that strikes the very heart of one’s soul—from the guilt of sin that burdens them. Sin is something that affects oneself. It attacks the very core of one’s being, that is to say, his relationship with God. Everyone is conscious that sin means that all is not well between one and God. One’s spiritual health is dependent upon one’s relationship with God. This relationship can only be restored in the One who said: “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).

            In Jesus, the guilt of sin separating both men and women from God is removed. It is in this vein that Paul writes: “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ” (Ephesians 2:13). Isaiah explains the separation from God this way: “But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear” (Isaiah 59:2).  Why Jesus in the scheme of redemption from sin? Paul sets forth the case for Christ in Romans:

But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. ^22 This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, ^23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, ^24 and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. ^25 God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement,^a through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— ^26 he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus (Romans 3:21-26).

            This declaration by Paul is the very reason that Peter explains: “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 4:12). Again, Paul unfolds the wisdom of God in sending Jesus for the salvation of the human race: “It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption” (1 Corinthians 1:30). It is only in and through Jesus that one can stand before a Holy God. Why? God made Jesus our righteousness, our holiness, and our redemption. Again, Paul captures God’s part and Christ’s part in the salvation of men and women:

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! ^18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: ^19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. ^20 We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. ^21 God made him who had no sin to be sin^a for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:17-21).

CONCLUSION

            The Bible reveals God’s act of redemption in and through Jesus. Only God Himself can remove sin; no man or woman can do so. God reaches out to both men and women in their fallen state and offers forgiveness in and through the atonement of His Son Jesus. It is only in Jesus that one can be restored to fellowship with God. Herein lies the very essence of true healing and true salvation in that He sent Jesus to make atonement for the sins that separates one from God. As one recalls the Gospel of God, one is reminded that God’s love takes hold of one in Christ. The Gospel is about God’s love. Many do not seem to be able to accept the radical message of free grace in Jesus Christ. Forgiveness and justification of the sinner can only be found in the suffering savior. It is just that which was achieved through Jesus Christ and His atoning death upon the Cross. Isaiah (739 BC) expresses it this way: “But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5).

            In Jesus Christ the Crucified, one finds an exact fulfillment of the prophecy of Isaiah. It is in Him and through Him that God has broken down the barrier created by our guilt of sin.  The Cross is the sign of the Christian faith. It is the sign of the Christian church. It is the sign of God’s special revelation in Jesus Christ. God has linked humanity to Himself in peace and reconciliation through belief in the One who atones for the sins of the world. The atoning took place in Him and through Him alone, no one else. This is why Peter exclaims: “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 4:12).

The blind fanaticism of the Jews resulted in the crucifixion of Jesus, nevertheless, this crucifixion of Jesus became the climax and the crown of His whole atoning work. In the words of Jesus upon the Cross to the Father: “It is finished” (John 19:30). The atonement did not take place through Rama, Krishna, Buddha, or Mohammed, but only through Christ. The Cross reveals God’s love for lost humanity.  In Jesus one is confronted with the radical message of free grace. Forgiveness and justification can only be found in the suffering Servant of Isaiah 53. This grace that one receives in Christ Jesus undeservedly cannot be intolerant or arrogant, but loving. Christians are not to go forth as rulers or dictators, but as servants of the Most High God. Love as grounded in Jesus is the only sure antidote against arrogance and intolerance. Do you stand in awe of what God accomplished in and through Jesus—salvation by grace through faith in Him? If not, the end of awe or reverence is the end of true religion.