Go ahead and turn with me in your Bible to Acts chapter 4, if you would, please. We'll look at one verse this morning. Verse 12, Acts chapter 4, verse 12. The title of my message is, A Little Jesus, with a question mark. So maybe it would be better said, A Little Jesus?

In the early to mid-1990s, a religious movement took off that originated from a book written in 1896 by Charles Sheldon, and it was called In His Steps. And this book repeatedly asked the question, what would Jesus do? The phrase was revived by some youth director in Michigan, and it became popular among youth ministries. And the question was later popularized through these bracelets. You may remember, it's been almost 30 years ago, bearing the initials WWJD, short for what would Jesus do?

Now, this was meant to be a moral guide for Christians, but let me just say right up front, a book or a bracelet designed to be a moral guide is useless, absolutely useless, when you consider that mankind, naturally speaking, is spiritually dead and depraved. Now, I know that's not a popular message, man's total depravity, but it's no less true. The heart's deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. You and I, by nature, are capable of doing anything and everything horrendously bad. A dead man has no moral values or works of righteousness.

And these colorful silicone bracelets really took off as a way for teenagers and young adults to wear their faith and make a moral statement in daily life. Only one big problem with that, you don't wear faith. True faith begins inwardly in the heart. Everyday, moral men and women are going out to meet God without Christ and without hope in this world. So how would the question, what would Jesus do, help me, who can never do what Jesus did? God requires perfection. In order for any to be redeemed, and sin being what we are, makes doing what Christ did out of the question.

This question, what would Jesus do, doesn't do anything but promote work, not faith. And this slogan teaches that salvation and approval from God comes from the sinner trying to mimic the Lord Jesus Christ's actions rather than trusting in his finished work. This is what we preach all the time. Paul in Ephesians 2, verses 8 and 9 makes it very clear and simple that we're saved by grace, not by following a checklist of what Jesus Christ would do. That's nothing less than works. What did Paul say? Not by works. Not by works of righteousness we've done, not by works, lest any man should boast. And that is exactly what winds up happening when men begin to believe in their own work. They start thinking that there's something for them to brag about because there's something that they themselves did to be saved. This will every time cause men and women to boast and brag on their faithfulness, not Christ.

Okay, now let's fast forward 30 years to today and discover a new religious tactic that's given with a little figurine of a bearded man that folks give. I have one. Compliments of Miss Molly. They gave it to her at the doctor last week. And they pass this little thing out. Can you see it? Pretty little, isn't it? And they say, everyone needs a little Jesus.

Well, not me. I don't need a little Jesus. I need a great Savior. Blasphemous. Teresa and I were talking this morning on the way to church. That was her exact word, blasphemous. And it is. Sinners don't need a little Jesus. They need the great I am. The basic idea behind this horrific trend that everyone needs a little Jesus, it may sound innocent, but it implies many things that will lead sinners to hell, which is eternal separation from God. And if you and I could do what Jesus did, and if we could be what Christ was, we would have no need of Him, because we could be perfect in and of ourselves. We could provide God what He requires from us, but we can't.

So the question of what Jesus would do has no real relevance when it comes to salvation. In John 14, 6, you know the verse well. The Lord Jesus said, I am the way. There is no other way. He is the way. He is the truth and the life. And then He follows that statement up with some of the most powerful words in all of Scripture. No man cometh to the Father, but by me." Now that is a very serious statement in consideration.

Christ is not something that you take a little of. When it comes to Jesus Christ, it's all or nothing. Christ's Lordship is total. You either submit to Him and live, or you don't and die. Everyone needs a little Jesus implies work based living. It assumes people are basically good on their own. You need a little Jesus because the rest comes from you. It turns the Lord into a little an add on instead of a substitute. The gospel is not Jesus plus you. It's Christ instead of you. It's the only way God will accept you is in Him. There's no room for human contribution, none.

A little Jesus implies that He fills the gaps while you carry the load. Works religion says become better. The gospel says you gotta become a new creature. Has this religious world fallen into such ignorance? And I'm not trying to be cruel, I'm just trying to tell the truth. Ignorance, that's what it is. Lack of knowledge of the Scripture that they actually think that having a little figurine in their pocket or on their shelf or in their car is going to show them and provide for them what they need. It's a mockery, and it trivializes the Lord Jesus Christ, reducing Him to something that you can have a little of, making Christ nothing more than just a good luck charm, just a token rather than the living Lord of your life.

Our Lord said in Matthew 7, verse 21, It ought to be a warning to many. He said, not everyone that says unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven. How obvious that's become in religion today. Christ is all, or Christ is nothing. Again, He is the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes. No man is able to come to the Father for life but by Him. There's no shortcut to God. There's no half-hearted path. There's no just a little Jesus option. None. Sinners are not mostly good and just need to keep a little Jesus in their life.

So with that lengthy introduction, I want you to look here at my text in Acts 4, verse 12. And this single verse of Scripture shows us just how eternally important it is for God Almighty and the person and work of His Son to save us from our sin. Verse 12. 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 exclusive to Christ, not a little Jesus. Jesus Christ, God in the flesh, the great I am. You and I can't take a little bit of Jesus. You and I must have the great I am to intervene in our lives. You and I don't need a little grace. We're not just little sinners in need of a little grace. We need a lot, because we're great sinners. We need great grace because we're great sinners. It's all Christ or it's nothing. Jesus Christ is not an option. He's not a little charm that we keep in our pocket. He's the Lord. The Lord of lords and the King of kings.

Now I want to quickly give you five things that this verse plainly and clearly teaches.

First, salvation is necessary. The word saved assumes that some are lost. The verse doesn't flatter humanity. It presupposes guilt and danger and judgment and helplessness. If people weren't spiritually ruined, salvation wouldn't be required.

Salvation is necessary because salvation cannot be earned. Peter and John had just the day before, you can read this in Acts chapter 3, had healed a crippled man at the temple. You remember that story? They were arrested and commanded not to preach any more in the Lord's name. And yet that day, the Lord saved 5,000.

In the beginning here of Acts chapter 4, we see here, the very next day, the rulers, the elders, the scribes, the Pharisees, the high priests, they set Peter and John in the midst of them. And it was then that Peter boldly declared what we just read in verse 12. Neither is there salvation in any other. You're telling me not to preach in the name of the only one that can save. He said, I tell you, without any hesitation, there is no salvation in any other, for there's none other name under heaven. given among men, whereby we must be saved."

So we see that salvation is not by works, not by deeds, not by moral behavior. What would Jesus do? Doesn't have anything to do with it because I can't do it. I've got to stand before God perfectly holy, perfectly righteous. How am I going to do that? Only one way. Only one way. I just read it to you. Neither is there salvation in any other.

Romans 3, verse 28 declares, Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law. So how is he saved? By the one who kept the law for him. And he kept it perfectly for him.

Human wisdom can't bridge The gap between a holy God and sinful men. Salvation is not found in human wisdom. Paul declares that the foolishness of God is wiser than men. You take the wisest man, Solomon, for example. Well, he was foolish when compared to God. Human wisdom won't bridge that gap.

1 Corinthians 1.18.21 says, For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness, but unto us which are saved. Unto us whom God has enlightened and intervened, those that are saved. It's the power of God. Preaching is the preaching of Christ. For it's written, I'll destroy the wisdom of the wise and bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. And then he asks, where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this world? Hath not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? Well, he sure has. He sure has.

For after that and the wisdom of God, the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God. How? By the foolishness of preaching. What the world calls foolishness. to save them that believe. But it's not foolishness to me. You know what's foolishness to me? This little figurine is what's foolishness to me.

But the natural man, no matter how wise, how intelligent, receive it not the things of the Spirit of God, for they're foolishness unto him. Neither can he know them because they are spiritually discerned. They're not understood through natural reasoning. Proverbs 14, 12, there's a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. That's why we don't lean on our own understanding. We'll end up dead. We'll end up spiritually separated from God eternally. Jeremiah 9, 23, I'm giving you scriptures here to show you what God says. Thus saith the Lord, let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, Neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches, but let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knows me." That's what God said. Do you know the Lord? Well, if you are, you're blessed above all.

that he understand to know me, that I am the Lord, which exercise loving kindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth, for in these things I delight, saith the Lord. How do I please the Lord Jesus Christ? Through Him, the Lord Jesus Christ. Oh, why, when men and women profess themselves To be wise, they become fools, Paul said in Romans 1.22.

Now listen, human wisdom cannot attempt to, it can attempt, excuse me, to explain life, but it can't redeem life. Human wisdom can diagnose problems, but it can't cure sin. Human wisdom can impress men, but it can't please God. Human wisdom, it's, Throw it out the window when it comes to salvation. Salvation requires a divine revelation, not human speculation. And the smartest men and women in the world stand guilty before a holy God because salvation is not discovered by intellect. It's seen and believed by revelation. God didn't ask the world to reason its way to Him. He commanded every son of Adam to repent and believe. The cross does not need to be improved, explained away, or supplemented. It needs to be believed. God became a man, died on the cross, in the room instead of His people who could not keep His law, who could not provide the righteousness that God required. And we look to Him as the fulfillment of that for us. It's substitution. And a little Jesus won't get the job done.

Secondly, we see the exclusivity of Christ's name. Salvation is exclusively in Christ. Did you know that? Jonah said it. Salvation's of the Lord. That's pretty exclusive, isn't it? That's pretty simple. Peter said, for there is none other name under heaven given among men. Neither is there salvation in any other. God himself appointed Jesus Christ. Salvation is not a human idea. It was the will and the purpose of God Almighty. God ordained His Son to be the sole Savior, S-O-L-E, the only Savior, the one and only mediator between God and men. No substitutes exist. Well, I have a substitute, and I carry him around in my pocket. It just makes me mad. No substitutes, but the one God provided. Many claim alternative paths. They think that wealth and fame and education and religion or even self-improvement saves, but it doesn't. It doesn't. Only the name of Christ has the authority to do so. Acts 10.43 tells us that, to Him, Christ, give all the prophets wisdom, witness, excuse me, that through His name, whosoever believeth in Him shall receive remission of sin.

Thirdly, salvation's personal. Our text says there's no, there's none other name among men. God didn't send a system, did he? God didn't send a philosophy or a ritual. God gave and sent a person. And that little figurine ain't it. Ain't no telling how many millions of those little charms have been made and handed out. That's not the one I need. That's not the one I need. There's one God, one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. Acts 16, 31. Romans 10, 9. that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

And this is the record that God hath given to us eternal life. And this life is where? In His Son. He that hath the Son hath life, and he that hath not the Son hath not life.

Fourthly, salvation is Christ-centered. The name of Jesus Christ represents His person and His word. The name of Jesus Christ in scripture is not just a label. It represents His character, His authority. What does the name Jesus mean? It means the Lord saves. It means Yahweh is salvation. Jesus Christ is God and He is salvation. Salvation is personal and it's in a person. Christ is not His last name. That's what I thought for years. Jesus Christ. Christ is His last name. No, it's His title. It's who He is. It means Anointed One. He's the Anointed One. In Hebrew, it's the equivalent of the word Messiah. Being anointed refers to being chosen and set apart by God for a specific purpose and mission, and that was to save His people from their sin. Isn't that what Matthew 121 tells us? For thou shalt call His name Jesus, for He shall save His people from their sin.

To call on Jesus Christ is to trust Him, to trust His finished work, His death, His burial, His resurrection. No Jesus Christ, no gospel. No Jesus Christ, no salvation. It's that simple. Not by works of righteousness, which we've done, but according to His mercy He saved us. By the washing of regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Ghost, which He shed. on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that being justified by His grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

Fifth and last thing, we see that salvation is imperative. It's a must. Whereby we must be saved. That's what he said. That's what Peter said. Peter does not say whereby we should be saved. Peter doesn't say whereby we might be saved. Peter doesn't say whereby we ought to be saved. No, he says whereby we must be saved. Must be saved. Being neutral, it's impossible. You can't be neutral. You're either saved by Christ or you're lost without Him. It's just that simple. Yes, friend, salvation is a must. Salvation is in Christ. There's no other way to be saved. There's no other name to call upon. And there's urgency to respond. This is not something a little Jesus will provide. Salvation is of the great I Am who can do all things. That's the Savior I need. Don't hand me this and tell me everybody needs a little Jesus. He saves fully, not partially.

Paul said in 2 Corinthians 5, 17, therefore, if any man be in Christ, he's a new creature. Old things are passed away. Behold, all things have become new. This is talking about a total change, not just a little tweak. The world has time for a little Jesus, but not for a full commitment to Him. They want Jesus to bless their lives. They want Him to give them a little comfort. They want Him to fix their problems. But they don't want Him to rule their lives. Don't worry. Don't worry. This little Jesus can't. He can't. Matter of fact, I can make Him do what I want Him to do. That's the Jesus. A little Jesus is convenient for those who want Him on their terms. A little Jesus is someone who will bless their weekends, their social standing, their jobs, their marriage, but He doesn't require full surrender and obedience and sacrifice to Him. He's under my terms and conditions. And if I want to put Him away, I can put Him away. And if I want to get Him out, I can get Him out. But that's not the Jesus Christ of the Scripture.

The little Jesus exposes worldly compromise. He's the one who will bless their sin, tolerate their laziness, and ignore their pride. The little Jesus brings false security.

Now, I don't know who's foolish enough to trust in that little half a cent piece of plastic. Only a fool would. People think this little figurine might serve as a reminder of faith. Well, it's a conversation starter. That way I can talk to others about the gospel to offer emotional comfort and support. That's why they gave it to her at the doctor's office. Might as well have slapped her.

A little Jesus can't forgive sin. A little Jesus can't save a person from eternal separation from God. A little Jesus can't impart the Holy Spirit. A little Jesus can't change the heart. A little Jesus isn't just a tiny figurine. Symbolically, it represents a Jesus who is somehow limited, ineffective, one trying and wanting, and Designed to save, but needs the sinner's help. You see the blasphemy in this?

But what a sinner needs is an all-powerful, all-sufficient Savior who can save completely, redeem fully, and successfully conquer sin and death. That's what we all need. The Christ of the Bible is able to save to the uttermost all that come unto God by Him. That's the Christ I need.

Christ's power is unlimited. It's not miniature. All power, He says, is given to me in heaven and in earth. Salvation comes from an all-powerful Savior. The Christ of the Bible has once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God. And my doesn't mean maybe, it means that he can bring, he's able to bring us to God. And he will bring us to God if we trust in him.

A little Jesus reduces the gospel to nothing but sentiment. Oh, Jesus loves you, won't you just love him back? That's not the God of the Bible, that's not the salvation of the scriptures. The real Jesus suffered, died, rose, was buried and rose again, which is proof that God accepted His work and that He accepted us in Him.

You know what this little Jesus is? A little Jesus is anything that shrinks Christ to something that you and I can control. Paul called this little Jesus another Jesus, and then he added, which is not another. We need an omnipotent Savior, one who reigns, one who redeems, one who justifies, and one who reconciles. True salvation demands a full, capable, sovereign Christ, nothing less of Him. Nothing less.

So what kind of Savior do you desire? A little one or a big one? The one that resides in heaven, the big one? The one who does whatsoever He pleases or this one? that I can manipulate, put away, and discard. Well, may God give you the life and the wisdom to know which one can. The one who can is God, and certainly not this one.

Somebody gives you one, tell him, no, thank you. You don't need to lose Jesus. You got a big one. Amen.