No Other Name

Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, "Rulers of the people and elders, if we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a cripple, by what means this man has been healed, be it known to 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, by him this man is standing before you well. This is the stone which was rejected by you builders, but which has become the head of the corner. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved." Acts 4:8–12 (RSV)

""And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved."

These are days in which St. Peter's words are deeply offensive. They are also the truth. As Christians, we confess that the death and resurrection of Jesus is the only means by which salvation comes. One may choose to mute their confession to be palatable to others, and you are free to do so. However, if you do, please do not call yourself a Christian.

Our witness stands against the ways of the world distorted by sin. They like a religion of pretending importance that asks nothing of anyone. Their God would not get too involved in the way humanity chooses to do things.

God, whom we confess, comes directly among us. In Jesus, He confronts all the falsehoods, compromises, and shadow faiths our race chooses. Jesus will not let us content ourselves with any other name save His.

He does this not out of small-minded selfishness but because it is the eternal truth.