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Q: What does the Bible say about salvation?

The Bible teaches that there is no salvation in any other name but Jesus Christ. In Acts 4:10-12, Peter asserts the exclusivity of salvation through Jesus Christ, stating, 'There is none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved.' This underscores the centrality of Christ in the plan of salvation and affirms the Reformed belief that salvation is solely through Christ's redemptive work.

Q: How do we know Christ is the only way to God?

Scripture consistently affirms that Jesus is the sole mediator between God and man. Jesus Himself claimed in John 14:6, 'I am the way, the truth, and the life; no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.' This truth is reiterated throughout Scripture, including 1 Timothy 2:5, which states that there is 'one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.' This narrative reinforces the historic Reformed perspective on the necessity of Christ for salvation and access to God.

Q: Why is it important to understand the exclusivity of Christ?

Understanding Christ's exclusivity is essential for grasping the nature of salvation. The exclusive nature of Christ as the sole means of salvation is foundational to the Christian faith. It emphasizes the seriousness of sin and the necessity of God's redemptive plan through Christ. Without understanding this, individuals may rely on their own works or actions for salvation instead of placing faith in Christ alone (Ephesians 2:8-9). The Reformed view holds that this understanding should lead to a humble reliance on God's grace.

Q: What does it mean that Christ is our only hope?

Christ being our only hope signifies that salvation and assurance come solely through Him. In the Reformed faith, the assertion that Christ is our only hope means that we rely completely on His mediatorial work for salvation. As Paul writes in Colossians 1:27, 'Christ in you, the hope of glory,' it indicates that our assurance rests not in human effort but in the finished work of Christ. This truth is comforting for believers, establishing the basis for their faith and hope in eternal life.

Kingsport Sovereign Grace Church, located at 2709 Rock Springs Road in Kingsport, Tennessee, would like to invite you to listen to a message of Sovereign Grace by their pastor, Gabe Stoniker. For information and service times, visit www.ksgc.church. And now, Gabe Stoniker.

I would like to invite you to turn with me to Acts chapter 4 today. The book of Acts chapter 4. In this particular portion of scripture here in Acts, Peter and John healed a lame man. They healed a man who could not walk. The Lord had given His apostles the abilities to do certain miracles to confirm His Word, and this was one of those miracles. They caused a lame man to walk, and everyone that saw it marveled at it. They were amazed by this.

And if you look with me at Acts chapter 4, verse 10, They said, Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole, well.

This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders." And that's speaking of Christ. This man was healed by Jesus Christ of Nazareth. This is the stone. He is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which has become the head of the corner.

Neither is there salvation in any other For there is none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved." They said, neither is there salvation in any other. For there is none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved. Now, I read something that was written by a very old writer, a preacher from the 1800s. This was written 150 years ago or more.

And he made a few statements that were so thought-provoking and clear. I have a message that is very thought-provoking. And I do hope that we can pay special attention to this, because this is truly thought-provoking. But I read what this man, this old preacher, wrote, and as I thought about what he said, a few more thoughts came into my mind that were along the same lines, and I put it all together. And I want to bring them to you for this message. Now, right here, let's read these verses one more time. Verse 10, Be it known unto you all and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him, doth this man stand here before you whole.

This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which has become the head of the corner. Neither is there salvation in any other, for there is none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved." He said there is no other name. There is no other man. No other man. Only one. That's what he's saying. only one, and that man is Jesus Christ of Nazareth. He's the one.

Now, when it comes to salvation, our attention always goes to Christ. It should always go to the Lord Jesus Christ. Always. If we talk about salvation, if we think about salvation, if the subject of salvation comes up, Our minds should immediately always go to Christ. He is the one. When we talk about what must I do to be saved? Christ. What is the only way? Christ. He's the only one.

And what struck me about what this particular man wrote was he pointed out four or five accounts, four or five events or things in the scripture that pictured Christ as being not just the one, but the only one. He pointed out that that particular item that pictured Christ was the only one. And again, this is so sobering. This is what I want us to see. And I hope we enjoy this. Christ is the one and Christ is the only one. All right. Now, let me read the article to you that I read. I'm going to read what this man wrote. It was titled Christ, the Redeemer.

Christ, the Redeemer, he said, there is no other there is none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved all the types and symbols of the savior teach you this so what he's saying is everything that's recorded in the word of god teaches us this all right now think about this this man wrote There was one ark in the flood, but one.

And all perished save those who sailed in it. He said there was one altar in the temple, but one. And no sacrifices were accepted, but those offered there, the altar." The altar. As the Bible says, that sanctified the gifts. He said, there was one way through the depths of the Red Sea, but one. And only where the water held back by the hand of God stood up in crystal walls was a passage opened for those that were ready to or about to perish. And even so, this man said, there is but one mediator between God and men, the man, Christ Jesus. He said the only Redeemer of God's elect is the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, that really struck me. When I read that, that really struck me. There is one. And only one. But here's the thing about it. Thank God there is one. Thank God there is one." Now, again, we're going to dwell on some of this for a minute here.

Noah's Ark, as people like to call it, they like to call it Noah's Ark. It was God's Ark that He put Noah in. But Noah's Ark, that Ark was a picture of Christ. That ark was a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ. Salvation was inside that ark. You had to be inside that ark.

Every person and everything that was inside that ark was saved from the judgment and wrath of God that literally rained down on this world because of sin. It was all because of sin. That ark bore the reigning judgment and wrath for every living thing that was inside that ark. Every living thing inside that ark was under the judgment of God. God poured out His judgment on this entire world. They were under it just like the rest of the entire world. Judgment fell down on their sin just like it did everyone else's sin.

But that ark was a covering for them. The judgment stopped at the covering of the ark. The ark took the beating before it could get to those that were inside the ark. That ark was Christ. That ark was the Lord Jesus Christ. That ark was a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ.

And here is the thing that every soul who must face the judgment of God needs to understand. There was only one arc. Now let's see if we can really get a hold of this, okay? For this entire world, for the entire world, I hope this reaches you like it has reached me. There was only one ark.

Have you ever thought about how many people were on this earth during the days of Noah and the flood? Have you ever thought about that? It's not recorded anywhere, but based on estimations, these mathematicians and people that are much smarter than me, they say it could have been upwards of 750 million people on upward to billions. There could have been billions of people on this earth.

It wasn't just Noah and his family. This world was full of people. And God only provided one ark. I hope this reaches you. I hope you're entering into this. God only provided one ark. God did not provide two arks. God did not provide a fleet of arks. God provided one ark. One ark, but thank God He provided one. Thank God He provided one. Oh, the goodness and mercy of God that He would provide one.

All right, when Moses led the children of Israel out of Egypt, He led them into the wilderness, and God told Moses to build a tabernacle and to put an altar in that tabernacle where a sacrifice for sin could be made. They had to have a sacrifice for their sin. Now, how many tabernacles and altars did God tell Moses to make? How many? One. One for the whole camp of Israel. They had to come and bring a sacrifice to be slain for their sin. They did this. They had to bring two turtle doves. They had to bring a lamb, a goat. They had to bring animals. And they had to come to this tabernacle.

Because of some ancient Jewish records, it's estimated that the Israel encampment in the wilderness was 12 kilometers long by 12 kilometers wide. It was a square, and that's roughly 7 1⁄2 miles by 7 1⁄2 miles. And if it was a square, then some people had to live in the corners. And if the Lord put the tabernacle in the center of the encampment, for those that live the farthest away, it was about a five and a half mile walk, one way to get to that tabernacle.

Now I wonder why they didn't do things like we do things now. Now it's all about convenience. People don't like to drive very far and they throw up churches just all over the place. Why didn't Moses put up a tabernacle about every quarter mile? with an altar in it about every quarter mile. Why didn't he do that? It's because God said, I will only accept one. What I want us to enter into is this is the way of God. Man's ways are not God's ways. This is the way of God Almighty. He said, I will accept one.

He said, there is only one altar that I will accept a sacrifice from. that will appease me as an offering for sin." There was only one, and that altar is Christ. There is only one true altar before God, and that altar is Christ. That altar in that tabernacle represented the Lord Jesus Christ. Through that picture and type, God was saying, if you want your sin offering to be accepted, you have to come to Jesus Christ. You have to come to Christ.

There was one place of sacrifice for sin, but thank God there was one. Thank God He provided one by the one sacrifice of Himself. How many times was Christ sacrificed before God on the cross of Calvary? One. By the one sacrifice of Himself, Christ entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for all of His people.

There was one door that led into the holy place. One door. Christ said, I am the door. I am the door. There is one way in, one way into glory. There is only, no matter what a man tells you, there's only one way into glory. Our Lord said, no man cometh to the Father but by me. There's only one way in. Thank God there is a way. Thank God there is. Christ is the way.

Now some of you may know the story of the serpent on the pole in the wilderness. The serpent that was lifted up on a pole. All the people were being bitten by these venomous snakes and they were dying. And they cried to Moses and Moses cried to the Lord and the Lord said, you make a serpent of brass and you put it on a pole and lift it up and whoever looks to that serpent will live. There was only one. There was only one serpent on a brass, on a pole made of brass.

You know that, I mean again, think about how large this encampment was, seven and a half miles by seven and a half miles. You know Moses could have had men on an assembly line just hammering out brass, making poles and serpents and lifting them up. How many did God tell Moses to make? One. You look to this one serpent on this one pole.

And I'll tell you that the serpent on the pole represents Christ being made sin. Christ being made to be the very thing that was killing his people. And that's sin. And that's what Christ was made to be on the cross of Calvary. We look to the substitution of Christ. for us, bearing our sin for us, as us, receiving what we deserved to receive. We look to Him, and that is our redemption. That is our salvation. That is our life.

Him and Him alone. Our Lord said, as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up. That one place to look is Jesus Christ. That's the only place. Now, again, this is the way of our God. This is what I want us to take from this. This is the way of our God, our one and only God, the only God that there is. Father, Son, and Spirit, one God.

Beside Him, there is none other. There is only one truth. There is one way. There is one truth concerning God, concerning the Bible, concerning salvation. I know that a lot of people do not believe that. I understand that many, many people do not believe there is one way, one truth, one gospel, but it doesn't change the fact that there is only one. There is only one. There is only one gospel. There is only one good news truth from God. There is not another. If you have your Bible there, turn with me to Galatians chapter one. In Galatians one, it says in verse six, Paul wrote to the Galatians, I marvel that you are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel.

He said, which is not another, there is not another, but there be some that trouble you and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we or an angel from heaven preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, if any man preach any other gospel unto you than that you have received, let him be accursed." Any man who preaches anything other than what God has written, that's a cursed man. People think, well, all preachers have to be saved. Oh, no, they don't. If they do not preach this right here, that you're looking at a cursed man. Verse 10, he said, for do I now persuade men or God, or do I seek to please men? For if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.

There's only one thing to preach. There's only one gospel truth, and that truth is Jesus Christ. He is the truth. Paul said, we preach Christ. There's only one life, okay? There's one way, there's one truth, there's one life. Christ, who is our life. That's what the scripture says. There is only one. There's only one. Christ is all. HE IS ALL. IT DOESN'T MATTER WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT. CHRIST IS ALL. CHRIST IS THE ONLY THING NEEDFUL. OUR LORD SAID THERE IS ONE THING NEEDFUL. IT'S CHRIST. IT'S THE LORD JESUS CHRIST. TURN OVER TO EPHESIANS 4 WITH ME.

I therefore the prisoner of the Lord beseech you that you walk worthy of the vocation wherewith you are called, with all lowliness and meekness, with long-suffering, forbearing one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

There is one body. There is one body. There is only one body, one body of believers, one body of God's people. It's all those who are in Christ. In Christ, there's one body. He is the head and we are the body. Verse four says there is one body and one spirit, one spirit of unity. One spirit of love. That's how it is with God. In John 17, our Lord prayed to his father and he said, Father, I want them, our people, to be one with us. One body, one spirit, one unity, one love.

Verse four goes on to say, even as you are called in one hope of your calling, there is one hope of our calling. We only have one hope. We only have one hope. That's it. Christ. Christ, not man, not me, not my Christ. Our conversation, we only have one conversation, Christ. That's it. We speak of Christ. We preach Christ. Scripture says Christ in us is the hope of glory. Us in him, him in us.

Verse five says there is one Lord. There's only one one God. Lord is is the name of deity. People say, well, you have your God and I have my God. No, there's only one. If it's not the true and living God of scripture, it's no God at all. There is one Lord, one faith. There's only one thing to believe.

Every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God, where people go wrong, please listen to this, where people go wrong is they believe the words of men. That's where we go wrong. And men will stand in pulpits and say, now you know God said when God did not say it. Well, now you know the Bible says when the Bible does not say it.

We need to check these men. We need to try the spirits. You need to try me. You need to get in God's word and see if what I'm saying to you is so. If not, don't listen to me. It'll cost you condemnation. There's only one Lord. There's only one faith. There's only one baptism. And it's not water. It's Christ. We are by God's Holy Spirit. We are immersed into Christ. Just like God put Noah and his family into that ark, they were immersed into the ark. And all of God's people are immersed into Christ. Christ is all of these things. He is our Lord. He is our faith. He is our baptism.

Verse six says, there's one God and father of all who is above all and through all and in you all. One. Scripture says there's one mediator between God and man, the man, Christ Jesus, the Lord. God only provided one, one mediator. But how amazing is it that he provided one? There is one redemption. There's only one. There is only one sure foundation. What are you standing on? Well, I'm standing on my baptism. I'm standing on the fact that I gave my heart to Jesus. I'm standing on my decision. I'm standing on my good deeds. That's nowhere to stand.

That's quicksand. It's all sinking sand on Christ, the solid rock. He's the only foundation that there is. There's one redemption. There's one foundation. There's one hope of glory. He provided one. No matter what comes, no matter what trial, no matter what trouble, no matter what affliction, even unto death, there is one hope of glory. And thank God, there is one. In Christ, God has provided His people a blessed assurance, a blessed hope of assurance. He is everything. He is all. And that's what I pray God will cause us to take from this.

Don't look to anyone or anything. You turn the eyes of your heart to Christ alone. You look to His mercy alone. You cry out for His grace alone. You beg God, save me in Christ or else I die. He is my only hope, only one. There is salvation in no other than Jesus Christ of Nazareth, for there is none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved. I pray God will make that to be a blessing to us. Amen.

You have been listening to a message by Gabe Stoniker, pastor of Kingsport Sovereign Grace Church in Kingsport, Tennessee. If you would like a copy of this message or to hear other messages of Sovereign Grace, you can call or write to the number and address on your screen or visit www.ksgc.church. Tune in at this same time next week for another message of God's free and sovereign grace.

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Key Quotes

What does the Bible say about salvation?

How do we know Christ is the only way to God?

Why is it important to understand the exclusivity of Christ?

What does it mean that Christ is our only hope?

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TV: One

Key Quotes

What does the Bible say about salvation?

How do we know Christ is the only way to God?

Why is it important to understand the exclusivity of Christ?

What does it mean that Christ is our only hope?

Sermon Transcript

About Gabe Stalnaker

Comments

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