Yes! There is Good News! 9.16.17

At the end of our previous article I asked whether or not it was important for Peter to say we must be baptized “in the name of Jesus Christ.” We have been following Peter’s statement in Acts 2:38 concerning repentance and baptism and so we continue with the fourth aspect of Peter’s comment.

At first blush this may seem like an obvious concept. We have been taking our articles from the “good news” of the word of God, so wouldn’t it be apparent that we should be baptized in the name of the Son of God? Well, yes! However I have heard some say that “we all serve the same God and it doesn’t matter what form of religion we might care to use.” This avenue of thinking will not fit in with true worship of God. It is only a couple of chapters later in the book of Acts that Peter finds himself before the ruling body of the Jews – the Sanhedrin.

The authorities were questioning Peter and John and in verse 5 of chapter 4, we read, “Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: ‘Rulers and elders of the people, if we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a cripple and are asked how he was healed, then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed … Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.’” The statement “no other name under heaven” would reasonably eliminate every other so-called deity!! There is one God and His one Son is the author of salvation.

I have heard others say that Jesus Christ was just another “good man” who walked the earth. This statement will not stand up under the scrutiny of God’s word! The reality is that Jesus was who He said He was, or he was insane! In the 16th chapter of Matthew, Peter answers a question by stating that Jesus was “the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Jesus told Peter that he was blessed because the Father in heaven had revealed this to him. In the book of John chapter 7, while at the Feast of Tabernacles, Jesus makes the statement, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.” In the next chapter Jesus tells the crowds that He is the “Light of the world.” He later tells Mary and Martha that He is the “resurrection and the life.” He then went on to call their brother, Lazarus, out from the grave after being dead for 4 days.

We are left with only one conclusion: He was who He said He was! Jesus Christ is our Salvation. Jesus Christ is our Redeemer. And so, there is only one name under heaven by which we may be saved. “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ.”

Until next time, rejoice in the “good news” of Jesus Christ.