Okay, Acts chapter 4. The title
will be taken from verse 12, Acts 4 verse 12. Neither is there
salvation in any other. Salvation being shortened, salvation
in no other. Salvation in no other. For there is none other name
under heaven. There's no other name. but the
Lord Jesus Christ. There's but one God, one Savior,
one Redeemer, one Mediator, one Advocate, all one. There is no
other name, no other God, no other Savior under heaven, given
among men. And in the Lord Jesus Christ,
we must be saved. It's a must. Not an option. Those in Christ are justified.
Salvation in no other. We know that salvation is in
the Lord Jesus Christ. Salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ
is certain and sure. None can perish for whom Christ
died. Our Lord said this in John 6,
All that the Father giveth to me shall come to me, and those
that come to me I will never, no, never cast them out. Again, the Lord repeats Himself
in John 10, My sheep hear my voice, I know them, and I give
unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish. Father, which gave to me is greater
than all, and no man can pluck him out of my Father's hand.
I and my Father, we are one. Salvation. Now, what do you need?
You don't need a good job. I mean, a good job's okay, but
that's not what you need. Well, I need a good education.
Well, that's fine, but that's not what you really need. What
you need is to be found in Christ. He is salvation. The Lord Jesus
Christ did not put us in a savable state when he died, nor did he
die to make salvation a possibility. He actually justified all of
his elect from their sin when he died for them. He justified
them with His blood and gives them everlasting salvation. That's why we can say with great
certainty that none will perish for whom Christ died. Peter and
John and all gospel preachers of the past and present declare
the same message. Salvation is of the Lord Jesus
Christ and salvation is in the Lord Jesus Christ, that is, in
his person, through his redeeming blood. Salvation is of him, it
comes from him, and salvation is in him. That's why Paul said,
oh, that I may win Christ and be found in him. He that hath
the Son hath life. He that hath not the Son doth
not have life. This is eternal life, that they
might know thee the only true God, Jesus Christ, whom God has
sent. He is God our Savior. There is salvation in no other
person. God command the light to shine
out of darkness as shines in our heart to give us the light
of the knowledge of the glory of God that shines in the face
of THE LORD JESUS CHRIST. NOW IN ACTS CHAPTER FOUR THE
STORY GOES WE SEE HOW THE LORD BLESSED THESE MEN, PETER AND
JOHN, FISHERMEN. REMEMBER THE LORD SAID YOU FOLLOW
ME I'LL MAKE YOU FISHERS OF MEN. THAT'S WHAT THEY'RE DOING HERE,
THEY'RE PREACHING THE GOSPEL. YOU SEE HOW THE LORD BLESSED
THESE MEN, NOT ONLY TO PREACH THE GOSPEL WITH THE POWER OF
GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT, VERSE 8 SAYS, THEN PETER FILLED WITH THE HOLY
GHOST. was enabled to preach with liberty
and boldness before the common people, over in Acts chapter
three, all this great multitude, these thousands that were gathered
there in the temple, and on the day of Pentecost, Peter and John
and the others preached the gospel to these common people, but also
before these religious leaders who had plotted and planned the
murder of the Lord Jesus Christ. These men hated God, the true
and living God, and they especially hated the way of salvation in
Christ. The carnal mind is still enmity
against God. Now, I love what the words that
we read down in verse 13. I love these words, when they
saw the boldness of Peter and John and perceived and understood
that they were unlearned in the schools of the Pharisees and
ignorant men, that is in the way of the Jewish tradition,
they marveled that they and they took knowledge or acknowledged
that they had been with the Master Teacher, the Lord Jesus Christ,
and they were taught of God. Now, Peter and John had been
blessed of God to spend time with the Lord Jesus Christ. What
a blessing it would be for us if we would have time alone together
with our blessed Savior, that the Lord would put us in the
ministry to serve God's purpose. They all marveled that they had
been with the Lord Jesus Christ. That's salvation, being with
Him, with Him. Now, verse one, down through
verse three. Let's read down through here. As they spake unto the people.
Now we know what Peter was preaching. GOD HAVING RAISED UP HIS SON,
JESUS SENT HIM TO BLESS YOU AND TURNING AWAY EVERY ONE OF YOU
FROM YOUR INIQUITY. THEY PREACHED AND SET FORTH CHRIST
AND HIM CRUCIFIED AS THE ONLY WAY OF SALVATION UNTO THE PEOPLE. AND THE PRIEST AND THE CAPTAIN
OF THE TEMPLE AND THE SADDUCES, WELL, THEY GOT UPSET. THEY WERE
GRIEVED, IT SAYS IN VERSE 2. THEY GRIEVED THAT THEY TAUGHT
THE PEOPLE but specifically they grieved that they preached through
the Lord Jesus Christ salvation. That is, resurrection from the
dead. So what was their response? Being grieved. When they heard
the message, they arrested them. They laid hands on them, and
they put them in prison until the next day, for it was even
time. All night they spent in prison.
I think the crippled man that was healed, I believe he was
in prison as well because on the next day when they come before
this council, he's standing there with them. But I wonder what
they did that night in the prison cell. You reckon they moaned
and groaned and complained, said, we're being treated so unfairly.
This just shouldn't happen to, you know, we're the Lord's people,
we're the Lord's apostles. Turn over here to Acts 16. Here's,
I think, what took place that night in the prison cell. When
Paul the apostle was arrested, Acts 16, 25, and at midnight,
Paul and Silas prayed and sang praises unto God, and the prisoners
heard them. Now, don't you imagine John and
Peter were doing exactly the same thing, praising God and
giving thanks unto God for the salvation of the Lord. Now, these Sadducees were grieved
because they preached the resurrection from the dead. Now, God, he says,
were justified freely by his grace through the redemption
that is in the Lord Jesus Christ. They grieved that Peter and John
preached salvation through Christ. But these Pharisees, they did
not believe in any type of resurrection. The Pharisees did, if you'll
turn over to the book of Acts and look at verse Acts 23, when
Paul was arrested, And he stood before this council
and he perceived, Acts 23 verse 6, Paul perceived that one part
were Sadducees and the other part Pharisees. He cried out
in the council, men and brethren, I'm a Pharisee, the son of a
Pharisee. of the hope of resurrection of the dead, am I called in question?
And when he had so said, there arose a dissension between the
Pharisees and Sadducees, and the multitude was divided, for
the Sadducees say, there is no resurrection, neither angel nor
spirit, but the Pharisees confess both. There arose a great cry,
and the scribes that were the Pharisees part arose and strove,
saying, we find no evil in this man, But if a spirit or an angel
had spoken to him, let us not fight against God. So the Sadducees
particularly believed in no resurrection whatsoever from the dead. And
when they heard that Peter and John were preaching salvation
through the resurrected Christ, They said, we can't have that.
There is no way. Now, the only reason we have
hope of salvation is not only that Christ died for our sin,
according to scripture, but that he also was resurrected from
the dead, signifying that all that he said and all that he
did was accepted of God. Delivered for our offenses, raised
again for our justification. We have no salvation apart from
His glorious resurrection. Remember our Lord said to Martha
and Mary, I am the resurrection and the life. He that believeth
in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. And whosoever
liveth and believeth in me, shall never die. He is the resurrection
and he is life. Now, the gospel of God's sovereign
grace always grieves the religious crowd. Always does so. The one reason why the Pharisees
and the Sadducees hated the Lord Jesus Christ so much was the
fact that he declared unto them that I am the way, I am the truth,
that I am the life, that no man come to the Father but by and
through me, that no sinner is ever justified by the deeds of
the law or saved apart from the Lord Jesus Christ and him crucified. Religious people today hate that
message of grace. Grace alone, Christ alone, through
the blood atonement alone. Their only recourse was to silence
them, put them in prison, and command them not to teach or
preach anymore. Look at verse 18, and they called
them and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the
name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, Men have not changed. The religious lost people today
hate the way of salvation exclusively in and only by the sovereign
mercy and the sovereign grace of God, that he will have mercy
on whom he will have mercy, that he will have grace upon whom
he will have grace. Now, notice what happens in verse
4. HOW BE IT MANY WERE GRIEVED,
THESE FOLKS WERE GRIEVED, THESE RELIGIOUS LOST PEOPLE, BUT MANY
GOT GLAD. Verse 4, HOW BE IT MANY OF THEM
WHICH HEARD THE WORD BELIEVED, AND THE NUMBER OF THE MEN WAS
ABOUT FIVE THOUSAND PEOPLE, MANY HEARD the sermon of Peter, but
more than that, they heard from God. God spoke to their heart,
and the Lord granted faith, true faith, to 5,000 of these poor
sinners. Faith comes by hearing, and hearing
by the word of God. There is a necessity of hearing
the word of truth. Of his own will beget he us with
the word of truth. Many heard and believed, and
the Lord added 5,000 more. Look back at chapter two. Verse 47, remember, before there
were 3,000 souls, Acts chapter 2, verse 41, then they that gladly
received his word were baptized, and the same day were added unto
them about 3,000 souls, verse 47, Acts 2, praising God, having
favor with all the people and the Lord, added to the church
daily, such as should be saved by his grace. The last sermon
Peter preached, 3,000 souls were added, and now 5,000 more. The church grew from 120 souls,
well over 8,000 just in a few days. And here we know where
sin abounds, grace does much more abound. Moreover, Paul said
in Romans 5, the law entered that defense might abound, but
where sin abounded, grace did much more abound, that as sin
hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through
righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord. Now look at verse 5, 6, and 7.
It came to pass on the morrow, because these lost religious
Pharisees, Sadducees, the elders and the scribes, the rulers,
so grieved, put them in prison, and then the next day it came
to pass on the morrow that the rulers, the elders and scribes,
Annas, does that sound familiar, the high priest, Caiaphas, John,
Alexander, as many as were the kindred of the high priest, were
gathered together at Jerusalem. And when they had set them in
the midst, they asked, By what power, by what name, you have
done this miracle? Then Peter said, In that name,
which is above every name, we have acted. Those names sound
familiar because these were the very same men who plotted and
planned to kill the Lord Jesus Christ. They're still trying
to stamp out his name, stamp out his message, and to destroy
and to murder those who would dare preach the message of salvation
in Christ. The one question they had, instead
of rejoicing in the Lord healing this man, They wanted to hear
Peter and John confess that they did so in the name that they
hated. That is the name of the Lord
Jesus. You remember what Peter said to that man? Turn back over
to Acts chapter 3. Peter said, when that man expecting
to receive something, that beggar, he was begging for money, Peter
said, verse 6, silver and gold have I none? but such as I have
in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk, and
God raise that man up." Now, Peter's message is not going
to change. Verse 8, down through verse 12, then Peter filled,
not with anger, not with malice, but being filled with the Holy
Spirit. He said unto them, You rulers,
people, and elders, if we this day be examined of the good deed
done to this infinite man by what means he's made whole, be
it known unto you and to all the people of Israel that by
the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, oh, by the way, the same one
you killed, whom God raised from the dead, even by him, that this
man stand here before you whole. This is that 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 of the name of the heaven given among man, whereby we must
be saved." Now, being filled with the Spirit of God, he could
only give one answer. ONE ANSWER THAT WAS TRUE, ONE
ANSWER THAT POINTED SINNERS TO CHRIST. THIS NOTABLE AND GLORIOUS
MIRACLE OF GOD'S GRACE TO THIS HELPLESS CRIPPLE WAS NOTHING
SHORT OF A MIRACLE OF GOD'S GRACE. GOD SINGLED THAT MAN OUT. GOD
HAD MERCY ON THAT ONE MAN, MADE THAT ONE MAN TO WALK AND LEAP
AND PRAISE GOD, PASSING BY ALL OTHERS THAT WERE THERE THAT DAY
BEGGING, I'M He singled out one man, had mercy on one man, taught
one man the gospel, took one man, that man, to glory, and
he did so by his sovereign purpose and sovereign grace. God saves
every sinner whom he wisely saves according to his electing purpose
and electing grace. The means the Lord uses to justify
any sinner before God is the means that he has ordained from
the foundation of the world. God has never justified, saved
anyone apart from God's grace and Christ crucified. And God
raised him from the dead, signifying that all that he said, all that
he did was accepted of God. When he by himself purged our
sin, he sat down at the right hand of God. Therefore, we can
conclude every sinner whom God saves, he saves on purpose, right? God never saved a sinner by accident. We know that all things work
together for good to them who love God, to them who are called
according to his purpose. Peter and Paul and John all had
the same message, salvation is of the Lord and salvation is
in him. It's God who saved us and called
us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to
God's own purpose and grace, given us in Christ before the
foundation of the world. Now, I want you to turn, hold
your place there, and turn over to Acts 15. And here is Peter again, making
this confession. Acts 15, verse 11, but we believe
that through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, we shall be
saved even as others. It's always by the grace of God
that God has mercy upon sinners, being justified freely by his
grace. Peter and John weren't afraid
to confess, be it known unto you all, verse 10, and to all
the people of Israel, that by the name of that one whom you
killed, the Lord Jesus Christ, God raised him from the dead,
Even by him that this man stand here before you whole Peter identifies
the Lord Jesus Christ is the one that These men said when
Pilate brought forth the Lord and said behold your king Remember
what these men said we have no king but Caesar away with him.
Give us Barabbas away with him Crucify him we have no king but
Caesar Now, Peter's message has not changed. Be it known unto
you and all the people, the name of Jesus Christ, whom you crucified,
whom God raised from the dead, their substitution and their
satisfaction. Turn back over to Acts chapter
two. Peter's message has not changed. Our message does not
change. Acts 2, 22. You men of Israel,
hear these words. Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved
of God, among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which
God did by him in the midst of you all, yourselves also know,
him being delivered by the determinate counsel for knowledge of God,
you have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain,
whom God raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it
was not possible that he should beholden of death. Why? He put away sin. His message
has not changed in the book of Acts chapter 3, look at verse
13. Peter again preaches the God
of Abraham, Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath
glorified his Son, whom you delivered up, and you denied him in the
presence of Pilate. When Pilate said, I find no fault
in him, Pilate was determined to let him go. But you denied
the Holy One and the Just One, and you desired a murder to be
granted unto you. You killed the Prince of Life.
whom God raised from the dead, whereof we are witnesses." So
Peter's always again, anytime he has an open door, He's lifting
up the name of the substitute, the Lord Jesus Christ, who made
satisfaction by the resurrection from the dead. We know that he
satisfied God's law and justice for us. And his name, which is
above every name, God has highly exalted him, that at that name,
every knee should bow, every tongue should confess that Jesus
Christ is Lord. Verse 11, Acts 4. This is the
foundation. There is no other foundation.
Other foundation can no man lay. This is the bedrock. This is the foundation which
was said it not of you builders. THEY WANTED NOTHING TO DO WITH
THE FOUNDATION THAT GOD HAD LAID, THAT IS, CHRIST AND HIM CRUCIFIED,
AND PETER SAID HE IS NOW LORD AND CHRIST. YOU REMEMBER THE
WORDS? BACK OVER IN ACTS CHAPTER 2 VERSE
36. let therefore all the house of israel know assuredly that
god had made that same jesus whom you crucified god had made
him both lord and christ he's the lord not by what we do but
by what god has done for us in christ this is that stone remember
this comes from From Isaiah 28, 16, where God said, behold, I
lay in Zion for a foundation of stone, a tried stone, a precious
cornerstone. He that believeth on him shall
not be ashamed, confounded, or forced out. He is the head of
the corner. He is Lord and Christ to the
glory of God. Peter said, other foundation
can no man lay than that which is laid WHICH IS THE LORD JESUS
CHRIST. NOW HERE'S THE QUESTION FOR US.
ARE YOU RESTING ON THAT FOUNDATION? ARE YOU STUMBLING OVER THAT FOUNDATION? OR ARE YOU RESTING, ARE YOU SUBMITTED
TO AND RESTING ON THAT BEDROCK FOUNDATION THAT GOD HAD LAID? ARE YOU RESTING UPON THE FOUNDATION
OF YOUR WORKS? UPON THAT SINKING SAND? OR UPON
THE ROCK OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST? Now, here's the declaration,
neither is there salvation in any other. Now, that's pretty
clear language, is it not? Now, we need salvation because
we're great sinners, but there is salvation in no other but
the Lord Jesus Christ. Salvation is complete deliverance
from THE GUILT, THE POWER OF SIN ONLY BY THE BLOOD ATONEMENT
OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST. HOW CAN I PUT AWAY MY SIN? I
AM A SINNER, GUILTY BEFORE GOD. I CANNOT DO ONE THING TO ERASE
ONE SIN, NOT ONE. It's only the blood of Jesus
Christ, God's Son, that cleanses us from all our sins. By nature,
by birth, by practice and choice, we are sinners through and through,
from the bottom of our feet to the top of our head. That's what
God says of us. Listen Isaiah 1 from the sole
of the foot even as the head there's no soundness in it But
wounds and bruises putrefying swords that have not been closed
either bound up either mollified with ointment God looked down
from heaven to see if there any that did seek after him that
there were any that had understanding He said there's none. They've
all gone out of the way Remember from our study in the book of
Romans There is none righteous. No, not one There is none to
understand, there's none to seek after God. No, not one, that
includes you, that includes me, by nature, what we are, sinners
before God. So what does a sinner need? Salvation. What does a great sinner need?
A great or greater Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. That being
true, we're vile and guilty and wretched. What do we need? We
need a Savior who saves. Not a Savior who wants to save.
Jesus wants to save you, but you won't let him. That's another
Jesus. That's not the Christ of God. Not the Christ of God. What do vile, wretched, guilty
sinners need? A Savior that saves from our
sin. Call his name Jesus, he shall
save his people from their sin. This is a faithful saying and
worthy of all acceptation that the Lord Jesus Christ came to
save sinners. Can you say with Paul? Remember
his testimony? I'm the chief one. I'm the chief
of sinners. So that being true, It's the
salvation of the Lord, and we are great sinners. What do we need? We need mercy.
That's what the publican cried out. That's what Blind Bartimaeus
cried out. Lord, be merciful to me, the
sinner. What do we need? We need grace.
Grace that is greater than our sin. What do we need? We need
forgiveness of sin. Where is that found? In whom
we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sin
according to the riches of his grace. Where is all that found? MERCY, PEACE, GRACE, RIGHTEOUSNESS,
RECONCILIATION, REGENERATION, WHERE IS ALL THAT FOUND? IN HIM,
IN CHRIST, IN THE LORD JESUS CHRIST. MY GOD SHALL SUPPLY ALL
YOUR NEED ACCORDING TO HIS RICHES IN THE LORD JESUS CHRIST. FOR
YOU KNOW THE GRACE OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST THAT THOUGH HE WAS
RICH, YET FOR YOUR SAKES HE BECAME POOR, THAT YOU THROUGH HIS POVERTY
MIGHT BE MADE RICH. You're looking at a vile, wretched,
guilty sinner that in my substitute, the Lord Jesus Christ, before
God, I stand completely justified, made whole, righteous, in Christ
my substitute. You see why he said there's salvation
in no other? No other name under heaven given
among men whereby we must be saved. Now let me give you these
things in closing here. I'll go through these very quickly. Seeing that salvation is in him
and of him, Therefore there is no other sacrifice for sin, but
Christ in Him crucified. Is there? Is there any other
sacrifice for sin, but Jesus Christ in Him crucified? That's
why Paul said, I'm determined not to know anything among you,
but Jesus Christ in Him crucified. That's why Paul said again, God
forbid I should glory save in the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. Don't look for a sacrifice for
sin anywhere else. but to Christ in Him crucified.
Secondly, salvation is in Him. There is no other mediator, advocate,
to make intercession for sinners but the Lord Jesus Christ. One God, one mediator between
God and men, not all mankind, God and men, and that is the
Lord Jesus Christ. There is no other physician of
value for diseased, sinners that can look for healing, but the
Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ. When the
Lord called Matthew the publican, and he went home with him, it
came to pass that Jesus sat and meet in his house. Behold, many
publicans and sinners came and sat down with him and his disciples. And when the Pharisees saw it,
they said unto his disciples, why eateth your master with publicans
and sinners? But when Jesus heard that, he
said unto them, they that behold need not a physician, those who
are sick. Go learn what, go you and learn
what that means. I will have mercy, not sacrifice,
for I'm not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentant. He is the great physician for
sinners who are in need of mercy. There is no other physician of
value for our diseased heart but the Lord Jesus Christ. He
is our healing. With his stripes we are healed.
There is no other refuge where sinners can flee unto and be
saved. You need a refuge from sin. You
need a refuge from the wrath of God. Where would you run and
hide? In a cardboard shack? When I
was a little boy. grew up on the Wasatch Mountain
Range there in northern Utah. And every once in a while, there'd
be a big, long black cloud that would form on top of them mountains,
and down through those canyons would come 100-mile-an-hour winds. And we used to build a little
fort out of cardboard, thinking that we would stop that 100-mile-an-hour
wind, thinking it would be our refuge to hide in. You know what
happened? The cardboard shack blew away.
The wind didn't have to get, but just 20, 30 miles an hour. Don't hide in the refuge of your
puny works. God will blow it away. It won't
stand the test. Trust Him in all times. You people,
pour out your heart before Him. Psalm 62. God is a refuge for
us. Now, I want to hide in the refuge
that He has provided, and that refuge is Christ, the Lord Jesus
Christ, and Him crucified. Let's move on. There is no other
righteousness to justify and clothe us before God but Christ. HE IS CALLED THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS. NOW HOW RIGHTEOUS DO YOU NEED
TO BE TO STAND BEFORE GOD? AS RIGHTEOUS AS GOD. WELL HOW
CAN THAT BE? ONLY IN CHRIST WHO HAS MADE UNTO
US WISDOM, RIGHTEOUSNESS, SANCTIFICATION AND REDEMPTION. BLESSED IS THE
MAN TO WHOM THE LORD WOULD IMPUTE RIGHTEOUSNESS WITHOUT WORKS.
THEREFORE TO WHOM SHALL WE GO FOR SALVATION BUT UNTO THE GREAT
SAVIOR OF SINNERS? Peter confessed that again when
the Lord fed that great crowd and then declared the salvations
of the Lord. And most of that crowd of 5,000
walked away from him. And the Lord turned to his disciples
and said, would you also go away? If you want to leave, now's the
time to get on board. Ski-daddle on out of here. Peter
confessed this. Same message right here. We believe
and we are sure you are that Christ. the Son of the Living
God. You have the words of eternal
life. We are resting in you. We are looking to you for all
salvation. And that's what saving faith
does, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. We read a moment ago, to whom
coming as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but
chosen of God and precious. Is that your hope? Is that your
refuge? Is that your righteousness before
God? May God give us grace always
to look to the Lord Jesus Christ and Him alone. I want you to
take this verse home with you. I want you to think about this
verse all week, and it will give you comfort in your heart. Neither
is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name. Don't
look for another name. Not Muhammad, not Buddha, not
Confucius, no other name under heaven. The name of the Lord
Jesus Christ under heaven given among men whereby we must. Those
people for whom he died, they must be saved. You know why?
He justified them with his blood and he saved them by his grace.