Acts 4:1-12
1: And as they were speaking to the people, the
priests and the captain of the temple and the Sad'ducees
came upon them,
2: annoyed
because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in
Jesus the resurrection from the dead.
3: And they
arrested them and put them in custody until the morrow,
for it was already evening.
4: But many of
those who heard the word believed; and the number of the
men came to about five thousand.
5: On the morrow
their rulers and elders and scribes were gathered
together in Jerusalem,
6: with Annas the
high priest and Ca'iaphas and John and Alexander, and all
who were of the high-priestly family.
7: And when they
had set them in the midst, they inquired, "By what
power or by what name did you do this?"
8: Then Peter,
filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, "Rulers
of the people and elders,
9: if we are being
examined today concerning a good deed done to a cripple,
by what means this man has been healed,
10: 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.
11: This is the
stone which was rejected by you builders, but which has
become the head of the corner.
12: 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."
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What's The Difference
Will you open your Bibles to Acts, the
fourth chapter? Peter and John had just healed a lame
beggar at the temple. The beggar had asked for money.
Peter and John said, "Silver and gold, we do not
have, but what we do have we give you -- In the name of
Jesus Christ of Nazareth, get up and walk." Well,
the guy got up and walked. It caused quite a disturbance.
Now in the first verse we read, while Peter and John were
speaking to the people, the priests and the Sadduccees
came to them ticked off because they were teaching the
people and proclaiming that in Jesus there is
resurrection from death.
 It
is quite controversial to get specific about God. We live
in a culture that is in a God rush. They are excited
about being spiritual, but they do not want to get
specific. So eventually Peter and John get arrested. Now
this is what we read, 8th verse, "Peter filled with
the Holy Spirit said to them, ‘Rulers of the people,
and elders, if we are questioned today because of a good
deed done to someone who was sick and are asked how this
man was healed, let it be known to all of you and to all
the people of Israel, that this man is standing before
you in good health, by the name of Jesus Christ of
Nazareth, whom you crucified and whom God raised from the
dead.
 This Jesus is the stone that was
rejected by you the builders. It has become the capstone,
the keystone or the cornerstone.’"
Now
here is the verse that is so controversial: This has been
a hard week for the staff, because this has caused us to
really work and look at what we believe, and I hope that
tonight becomes kind of hard for you...to help you really
focus on what you believe. "
 There is salvation in no one else,
for there is no other name under heaven, given amongst
people by which we can be saved." Now, that is a
controversial verse.
This
is the heart of what it means to be a Christian. The one
thing that I am willing to live my life for and die for
is that statement. "There is no other name under
heaven or on earth by which we must be saved, other than
the name of Jesus Christ."
Some
people in my denomination call me "narrow" and
"dogmatic" and "exclusive." American
Demographics magazine says that right now
spirituality is in, but we do not want to get specific
about God. We want a generic god. If and when you get
specific about naming the name of Jesus Christ, people
are going to get ticked off. People are going to get
upset. After all, what difference does a name make?
 I mean, right now, if the world is
so open to God, does it make any difference if we love
people in Jesus’ name, or Buddha’s name, or
Mohammed’s name? It makes a difference! There is a
name that is higher than other names. This is why, my
brothers and sisters, I want us to wrestle with this.
This is why I am willing to live and die for this
"one thing."
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