NO OTHER NAME

 

October 27, 2023

 

 

Romans 10:9-13 

9If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. 11As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.” 12For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, 13for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

 

Acts 4:11-12 

11Jesus is “ ‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone.’ 12Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”

 

Colossians 1:16-17

“All things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.”

 

 I Timothy 2:5

For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus

 

 

The Reformers concluded that our salvation is through Christ alone. We are declared righteous by the perfect work of Jesus on the cross. There is no other name given by which we must be saved (Acts 4:12). Jesus Christ is the mediator between God and humankind. He is the ultimate Prophet, Priest and King.


Christ is the ultimate Prophet who instructs us in the ways of God and heals our blindness and ignorance. Christ is the ultimate Priest who does not offer sacrifices through animals but through His own blood He redeemed us. He is also the great High Priest who intercedes for us in the heavenly courts. Christ is the ultimate King who rules over all things and one day he will usher in the kingdom in all its fullness where we will live gladly under His dominion and reign. “I Can Only Imagine!”


Now, we acknowledge that we live in a turbulent, confused, and chaotic time, so did Luther, Calvin and other Reformers. It did not stop them from seeking Christ first and putting God at life’s center. Some of you will know the inscription on the seal from Calvin University, it is a quote from John Calvin which says, “My heart to you I offer Lord, promptly and sincerely.” Now is our time. We have been placed where we are, in this our generation, purposefully, in our families, Churches, and workplaces etc., as I heard someone say recently, “to proverbially nail our own declaration of faith to the door of our hearts, homes, and in our communities.” Through Christ, alone, we come to God, by faith, forever redeemed. Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift to us in Christ Jesus our Lord!!

LET US PRAY

Lord Jesus, I love You Lord, and I desire that my trust remain in You alone. I want to trust You in every area of my life, and I pray that my trust in You permeates into every part of my being. Lord, I want to trust you in all things so that nothing touches my life that does not have You right there with me.

Lord, help me to trust You for all that I need, my daily needs and my spiritual needs. I want to rely on You and You alone, and not put my trust in my own frail and foolish abilities, for without You I can do nothing, but I can do all things through Christ Who gives me the strength. May nothing in heaven or earth or under the earth usurp Your central position in my life, I pray.

Lord, I want to trust You in every situation and every season of my life, for You have promised to take all things, whether good or evil, and use them together for good, not only for my good and the good of others, but also so that Your name may be glorified through it.

Amen.