“Let me
clearly state to all of you and to all the people of Israel that he was healed
by the powerful name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, the man you crucified but
whom God raised from the dead. For Jesus is the one referred to in the
Scriptures, where it says, ‘The stone that you builders rejected has now become
the cornerstone.’ There is salvation in no one else! God has given no other
name under heaven by which we must be saved.” Acts 4:10-12 New Living Translation
A cornerstone unites two walls at the
corner of a building, thus holding the building together. Without a cornerstone
the building could not stand. Jesus is the cornerstone of the Christian faith
and that is solely because the Jews rejected him as their Messiah.
This portion of scripture above is an
account of Peter and John before the council of all the religious leaders of
Israel. These are the same men who had Peter and John arrested for speaking of
a resurrection of the dead thru Christ. Notice that Peter very pointedly and
unabashedly said that it was the religious leaders who crucified Jesus. He
followed with the fact that what they killed God raised to new life. This tells
me that mortal man cannot thwart whatever God wishes to take place. It was
necessary for Christ to shed his blood so that the sins of man could be
cleansed, both Jew and Gentile (or non-Jew).
The next statement is not universally
agreed upon among all religions. It is the statement that no one other than
Jesus Christ can forgive sin and provide the way to our eternal home with the
Father. This is a major bone of contention for the likes of Hindus, Buddhists,
Muslims and so on. Whoever says there is another way to heaven besides thru the
cross of Christ is mistaken. Jesus spoke
of being born again of the spirit. To others, he was simply a good teacher, but
that isn’t what he said of himself. He said he wasn’t good, that only God is
good (Mark 10:18).
Salvation comes thru no one else. If that were not true then why would Jesus
have to die in the first place? Until next time, walk with the King and be a
blessing!
Resource: The Life
Application Study Bible.
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