Sunday: No Other Name Under Heaven
Some Christians have the conviction that only those who hear and respond positively to the Christian gospel can be saved. The people, sometimes called exclusivists,
regard all non-Christian religions as constructs of fallen humans, which express willful rebellion against God. Non-Christians are, they believe for that reason, outside the saving grace of Jesus Christ.
Some Christians take the further step of claiming that outside their specific denomination and doctrinal structure there is no salvation, even for other confessing Christians. For them, other denominations with their divergent beliefs have placed themselves outside the care of God and have no chance of entering the kingdom of heaven. For instance, in 1302 in his papal bull Unam Sanctam, Pope Boniface VIII declared that it is absolutely necessary for salvation that every human creature to be subject to the Roman Pontiff.
Some Protestants have taught something similar in regard to their own denominations, as well.
Read Acts 4:12. What is it saying, and how are we to understand these words?
Image © Providence Collection from GoodSalt.com
The words of the Scripture here are very clear: salvation is found only in Jesus Christ and in no other name under heaven. It’s important, however, not to read into these words more than they specifically say.
Imagine a man in a building that is on fire; before being able to escape, he is overcome by smoke and collapses unconscious. A firefighter finds him on the floor, grabs him, and brings him outside, where the medics take over. He is rushed to the hospital, and a few hours later he regains consciousness.
The point is that this person, who was saved, had no idea who had saved him. In the same way, anyone who is saved—either before Jesus came in the flesh or after—will be saved only through Jesus, whether or not that person had heard of His name or of the plan of salvation.
Among the heathen are those who worship God ignorantly, those to whom the light is never brought by human instrumentality, yet they will not perish. Though ignorant of the written law of God, they have heard His voice speaking to them in nature, and have done the things that the law required. Their works are evidence that the Holy Spirit has touched their hearts, and they are recognized as the children of God.
—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 638.
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What about the remnant church philosophy; is this not what we baptize people into?
We are baptized into Christ, not into to a church. The notion of a remnant church is an important one but it should be understood in terms of responsibility, not privilege. Nobody can say "I am in the remnant church therefore I am saved!" The church roll is not going to be brought to the judgement to determine whether you are saved or not.
Having said that I do not want to deny the importance of church membership, not as a name registered on the church books, but as a member of a functional, supportive, community of believers who have a sense of mission. The church is a framework for acting on our responsibility.
Maurice can you explain what you mean by being baptized into Christ? If you mean by the authority of Jesus as commissioned in Matt 28:19, one would have to note that Jesus is the head of the church,the church being His people. If the distinction is being drawn between the different reasons that some have for being baptized,I would agree that baptisms are not always performed for the right reasons.
I did not really want to get into the semantics of baptism, but wanted to emphasize the importance of a personal relationship with Christ. That does not deny the importance of the church. I have said often enough that the church has an important role to play in our spiritual lives, but we do need to understand that belonging to a church is not what saves us. The Jews had the problem where their corporate identity was more important to them than the relationship they had with God. Seventh-day Adventists have the same temptation.
Amen to your comment, and a thanks for the reminder - being a member of the remnant church is a responsibility to demonstrate Christ in our daily living! It is also a privilege, but that blessing is far down in the list as compared to the responsibility of being in God's family!!
Well put! It is possible to be in the church records but not in the book of life
Baptism is an outward expression of the determination to change ones way of life and to follow the example that Jesus set for us. That example is not a philosophy, it is the real thing.
I was saved by Jesus Name and nothing else. and there is no other means or action or ritual can save us. We are always tempted to be exclusivists wither by these:
1). When we cannot get through to other people
2). When people reject us or ridicule us
3). When as a local church have failed to enter unentered areas by way of rejection
4). When we have a Perfectionists worldview or heresy.
The only cure for these attitudes are as follows:
1). We need to learn the basics of making friends, then we pray and approach.
2). We need to learn the common grounds so we appraise them and once we have won them than we move onto the uncommon grounds with tact and respect.
3). Pastors should equip our members and members should learn with open mind
4). Members should learn basics of salvation, on Justification, sanctification and glorification.
Once our biases and naive and ignorance is addressed than we cannot get through for these are bridges we need to build to get through and our message is being received and make commitment for Jesus and His commandment.
Given that salvation is available through Christ without human witness, and the majority of all who have ever lived died without hearing the gospel, and many are now dying daily in ignorance and sin, why is it necessary that “this gospel” be preached in all the world? (Matthew 24:14).
Why is it necessary to get present truth (“this gospel” partly defined in Matthew 24) to all parts of the world only in the last generation or so?
It probably has much to do with the great controversy. The stage is to be set for the unfolding of final events. By technological advancement in communications the world is already a global village. Almost upon us are the final conflicts between Christ and Satan which call the attention and invite a decision from the whole world with the universe as witness (1 Corinthians 4:9).
The Lord’s Sabbath, the outward sign of the seal is to be made the final test of loyalty as the tree was the first test in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 2:17).
Amazingly some believe the Creator did make a big deal over tasting a little fruit, whereby mankind was plunged into sin and untold suffering, but somehow could not try mankind around a commandment bearing the seal of His authority (Exodus 20:8-11), as if then He was a primitive God, but now there is a modern one (Malachi 3:6).
The final test is real. Though some may think it laughable like Lot’s prospective sons-in-law, who failed to get out of a fallen place and ended up missing their marriage (Genesis 19:12-14), some will remain in Babylon or lost among the remnant people like Lot’s wife, being infatuated with worldly stuff which they see nothing wrong with (Genesis 19:26).
Those with adequate oil in their lamps, being filled and sealed by the Holy Spirit (Matthew 25:1-10; Ephesians 4:30) will not miss the marriage supper of the Lamb (Revelation 19:6-9). They do not invent their own strategies and have no problem following instructions (Revelation 14:4).
Once again we must clarify what it means to be saved. The Word says the LORD's plan is - "I will dwell in them and walk among them" or in other words we are saved to have a relationship with the LORD, initially here on earth, then in heaven for awhile and then in the earth made new.
There are two classes of people: 1) those who have received the full revelation of the LORD, and 2) those who have not but recognize that there is a higher being.
In Acts Peter is talking to the Jews and is revealing to them the true Messiah promised in the OT
In Romans 2 Paul is talking about those who have not heard the truth but recognise and worship the God of creation.
In both cases the people must desire a relationship with the LORD, and He changes their hearts so that they and the LORD can walk in harmony.
Act 4:12 And there is salvation in no other One; for there is no other name under Heaven given among men by which we must be saved.
Mat 1:21 And she shall bear a son, and you shall call His name JESUS: for He shall save His people from their sins.
Joh 15:5 I am the Vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, the same brings forth much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.
2Co 6:16 And what agreement does a temple of God have with idols? For you are the temple of the living God, as God has said, "I will dwell in them and walk among them; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people."
Your comment is a pertinent one Shirley. So often, the message I hear from Seventh-day Adventists is that salvation means being found in Heaven after the second coming and living in the new earth. I call it; "treating salvation as the ultimate retirement plan!"
I don't deny that there is a heaven to look forward to, but being saved is something that we can experience now. It is the relationship that is the important thing. God wants to be with us, and that is a lot more than just a good emotional feeling on Sabbath morning. It is easy to "feel good" about being saved when you are caught up in the emotion of heart-felt singing and powerfully expressed sermons on Sabbath, but salvation comes with the responsibility of being "Christian" the rest of the week.
I look at it a bit like this: If heaven in the future is going to be real for us, then we need to make heaven real for people around us now. And yes sometimes that is really tough. We may not reach the rest of the world but our responsibility is to share heaven with the people we come in contact with.
This quarter's lessons has emphasized missions. The commentary in the adult devotional today, I find enlightening and would like to share it.
"The condition of the woman who Christ saw approach the well is mirrored by the general populace of today. Her life had been punctuated by a series of fleeting thrills and short-term relationships. She had no abiding happiness or emotional security. Our sin-sick society is filled with such pleasure seekers- people of shallow satisfactions, surface summations, ancillary answers, temporary triumphs, finite fixes, and vaporous victories, who routinely gather at the well of short-term solutions.
The longer our time on earth the more difficult it is to arrest their attention and attract them to Jesus. But we must try. And we must do so knowing that Christ's methodology still works; kindness and love expressed in demeanor and deeds are far more effective in leading to Christ than debate and denunciation." Something Better by Calvin Rock
It is true that we find fault and criticize more than extending love, sympathy and understanding. We can remain true to our convictions, but we can do so with a loving demeanor.
A very important lesson to all of us who sometimes wish to own Christ and pronounce others outside our faith as hopeless. Jesus knows each one of us and knows each motive. What is important for us is to help each other grow into a fuller knowledge of Christ and the gift of salvation. We should help all understand what it means to be in Christ, without the intention of passing judgment on anyone.
Father, thank you for your son Jesus and the Holy Spirit. You have so many was in which to save us. Thank you Lord!!!
I used to be a JW and what I realised is that many JW's desires were to live on an earthly paradise forever.
I then left and went to the Pentecostal churches and their fear is of an everlasting burning in hell.
Now I am an Adventist and I can sense that most peoples desires is to be caught up in the clouds with the Lord and live in heavenly homes.
All three scenarios I feel there is lack of genuine love for Jehovah but a desire to be rewarded or not to be punished.
Mine is different, I love my God the creator of everything because he has wisdom that I cannot even comprehend. His creation makes me love him. look at the migration of the Wilder beast in the Sarangetti, how the bees search for nectar to make honey, have you ever sat on an anthill and see how ants are busy and the type of coordination happening.
Go to the oceans and see what happens with fish and the migration of whales across continents. Watch the sky at night and study about galaxies. This should push you to love the creator of such marvelous works. It should not be about fire in hell or heavenly houses but a genuine love of the creator. If he rewards us with the heavens I am sure it is because of his grace which we do not deserve. With me if I die and and fail to go to heaven I am glad to have seen such wonderful creation and this move me to love him and follow his commandments which are in conformity with his creation plan. His laws are marvelous. I am sure I will love him more if I see what the heavens look like and I can understand only the Milkway galaxies among the other billion galaxies.
I Thank the Lord for you brother Gari. How I pray that your love for Him may continue to grow deeper and deeper as you actualize His love by looking at nature and all that He is doing for you. I also pray that you allow the Bible to reveal His fatherly love more and more to an extent that He will remain your center of praise and adoration forever. I further pray that you worship Him in truth and purity forever. My last prayer for you is that your family may rejoice in the Lord as a result of the relationship you have with Him forever. You know, God reveals Himself to us in various ways: Through nature, through human relationships, through the Scriptures and through Jesus Christ, God incarnate. What is important is to benefit from these various ways of His revelation, because in that way, our worship will be shaped by what he Has revealed about Himself. Otherwise we may just remain at the level of admiring nature and forget to worship the God who created nature, and in the way He desires us to worship Him. Forget about loving God because of the fear to burn in hell, or because we want enjoy the flight to heaven. Let those come as a bonus for loving God. I believe you are on the right track brothr. God bless you. Amen!
We will sound selfish if we're only after the reward of inheriting eternal life and be in that heavenly abode God is preparing for His followers. This reward is just kind of bonus but what motivates us should be our genuine love for our God we serve. I believe that any reason outside of love in serving and worshipping Him in a way is not acceptable.
Dear Stanley,
Our Heavenly Father is so gracious that He draws us to Himself in various ways. Many are first drawn to Him by the promise of heaven or the terrors of hell. That is all right. But as we get to know Him better, we learn of His character and learn to love Him for Himself.
If we have been Christians for a number of years and are still only looking to heaven for reward or seeking to escape hell, we have neglected to get to know Him. and it is only in knowing Him that we are saved, as you noted.
We are not all at the same stage of our journey. As I understand it, as long as we are honestly seeking to know Him, we are in a saving relationship with Him. That is just part of the wonder of His grace.
Maurice Ashton. Your comments are very refreshing and easy to understand. Thank you so much and may God continue to bless you and your ministry.