Acts 4:12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved. I. OTHER WAY OF SALVATION THERE CANNOT BE, FOR THAT ONE WAY IS GOD'S WAY; its divinity necessitates its exclusiveness. It is clear, that when man fell, he lay at the mercy of his Sovereign. To Him alone it pertained to determine these two points-whether the offender should have means of salvation at all; and then, what those means should be. If, in the exercise of the mercy in which He delights, Jehovah determined on man's salvation, and appointed and revealed the way, how can the conclusion be resisted that that way is the only way? The name by which we are to be saved must he "given"; i.e., it must have Divine appointment. If "Jesus" be the name "given," then must it be the only name that can furnish any valid and satisfactory plea at the throne of the eternal God? If men could have been saved in ways of their own, God would not have devised one of His; and the very fact of His having done so is sufficient to show that men cannot be saved in ways of their own. It is related of Alphonsus, of Castile, that on having the Ptolemaic system of astronomy explained to him, he jeeringly said, that had he lived at the time, to give the Almighty counsel, he could have instructed Him to make a universe better. We now know that the scoff of presumptuous profanity was founded in sheer ignorance. And so it is in every one who fancies that he can dictate to God the way to save him. Men calling themselves philosophers have speculated whether God could have saved men in any other way than that which Christianity reveals, so as to forget the necessity of an interest in the way which He has accomplished. The question with us should be, what God actually has done, and if you admit that God has done what was best, you admit that He has done what alone He could do without ceasing to be God. II. WE ARGUE THE SAME THING FROM THE DIVINITY OF THE EXECUTOR of the plan; that is, from the person of the Redeemer. He is "God manifest in the flesh." Now if this is true, then that there can be no other Saviour must of necessity be as true. Either such a Mediator and such means of salvation were necessary, or they were not. If they were not, God could never have had recourse to them, for He is infinitely wise, doing nothing in vain, never using great means for little ends; and if they were, then all others must have been not only inadequate, but infinitely inadequate. The Mediator between God and man must either have been created or Divine. Then if a creature were sufficient, no matter how exalted, a Divine Mediator was infinitely above the exigency of the case; and if, on the contrary, a Divine Mediator was requisite, then was a created infinitely beneath the exigency of the case. We might base our argument, with equal conclusiveness, on the wisdom or the goodness or the justice of God. Take, in connection with the Divinity of the Saviour's Person, the sufferings which He endured. Then, if all this was not necessary, the adoption of such a plan was at variance with the Divine justice and goodness. III. We argue exclusiveness, on the ground that THE PLAN REVEALED IS THE ONLY ONE THAT BEARS TO BE TESTED BY THE PRINCIPLE OF ADAPTATION TO WHAT THE EXISTING CASE REQUIRES. This principle of adaptation is largely appealed to, as exhibiting the evidence of Divine perfection in the works of creation. This principle is as applicable in the moral world. 1. The gospel plan of salvation is in the essential and elementary principle of it, as well as in its provisions, adapted to the circumstances of man as the party to be saved. As guilty and condemned, he needed pardon and justification; and these are provided for by the mediatorial propitiatory obedience unto death of the divinely constituted and Divine Saviour. As depraved and sinful, he needed renewal in the spirit of his mind, sanctification; and this is provided for him by the work of the Holy Spirit in association with the work of Christ. 2. It is the only scheme adapted to the character of Him who saves. There is no salvation in any other, because He is the only Saviour by whom, and His the only name by which, in saving the lost, the glory of God is in every point secured. IV. The last ground on which we rest the exclusiveness of the gospel method of salvation is THE COMPLETENESS OF THE SALVATION ITSELF. It is a salvation worthy in all respects of God, and fully meeting the wants of man. It is a salvation from guilt, sin, suffering, death, hell, to a state of pardon and acceptance and favour, to the exercise of holy principles and holy affections, to life, to happiness, to usefulness, to heaven, and all for eternity. All God's works are perfect, and this not less than others. (R. Wardlaw, D. D.) Parallel Verses KJV: Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved. |
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