"The Only Savior"

Well, good morning, church. Let me invite you to turn to Acts chapter 4, verses 1 through 22,

Acts 4:1–22

! as we continue our series in the book of Acts today. That is page 857 or 868 in the pew Bible,

depending on which edition you have. Acts chapter 4. So we're picking up in the middle of the story.

Acts 4 · chapter mention

Last week we saw in chapter 3 how the risen and ascended Jesus performed a miracle through Peter

and John by healing a man who had been lame since birth. Then in the rest of chapter 3, Peter went

on to explain the significance of this event, this healing. And the significance was this, that the

crucified and risen Jesus was indeed the Messiah, the one appointed by God to bring about the restoration

of all things, and that the healing of this man was a sign confirming the truth of what the apostles

were teaching about Jesus. Now chapter 4 continues the story of that day in the temple courts. What

happens when the ruling authorities start to catch wind of what the apostles are teaching? What happens

when the message about Jesus reaches the ears of the powers that be? All right, well, let me pray for us,

and then I'll read our text. Father, we thank you that we get to come to your word this morning,

this life-giving word that for generation after generation has proclaimed your saving power in Christ our

Lord. Lord, we ask for the Spirit's help this morning. Lord, that we would be able to truly hear

what it is you are saying to us, and that in hearing we would believe, we would respond in repentance and

faith, and that we would glorify and worship you with our whole lives. Father, we ask this in the mighty

name of Jesus. Amen. All right, Acts 4, 1 through 22. And they, oh, sorry, and as they, that is Peter and John,

as they were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon

them, greatly annoyed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from

the dead. And they arrested them and put them in custody until the next day, for it was already

evening. But many of those who had heard the word believed, and the number of the men came to about

five thousand. On the next day, their rulers and elders and scribes gathered together in Jerusalem

with Annas the high priest and Caiaphas and John and Alexander and all who were of the high priestly family.

And when they had set them in their midst, they inquired, By what power or by what name did you do this?

Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, Rulers of the people and elders,

if we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has

been healed, let it be known to all of you 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. This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the

cornerstone. 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. Now, when they saw the boldness of Peter and John and perceived that they

were uneducated, common men, they were astonished and they recognized that they had been with Jesus.

But seeing the man who was healed standing beside them, they had nothing to say in opposition.

But when they had commanded them to leave the council, they conferred with one another, saying,

what should we do with these men? For that a notable sign has been performed through them

as evidence to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it. But in order that it may

spread no further among the people, let us warn them to speak no more to anyone in this name.

So they called them and charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus.

But Peter and John answered them, whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you

rather than to God, you must judge, for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.

And when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding no way to punish them because

of the people, for all were praising God for what had happened, for the man on whom this sign of healing

was performed was more than forty years old." So apparently there was an English bishop who once complained,

he complained that he didn't seem to be having the same impact as the first apostles.

Everywhere they went, he said, there was a riot. Everywhere I go, they serve tea.

How about us today? What sort of impact does our message in our life together have?

The earliest Christian movement was full of a message so dynamic and so transformative

that when it came into contact with the status quo, with the powers that be,

with the ones who were kind of comfortably in charge, there was resistance, there was opposition.

At times there was a riot. Why? What was it about the Christian message that made it so disruptive?

Well, part of the message that made it disruptive then and that still makes it disruptive today is what we find in verse 12.

Look again at this verse in the very middle of our passage.

According to the apostles, Jesus is the world's only savior.

There is salvation in no one else.

For there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.

Now, I want to spend some time this morning unpacking that central verse.

And after we unpack it, then I want to walk briefly through the rest of the passage and look at some applications that this text has for us today.

So we have a really kind of simple outline this morning. We're going to look at verse 12 and then we're going to walk through the passage and apply it.

Okay?

So, verse 12.

Look, I think we have to admit, right, that at first this verse strikes us as incredibly challenging, does it not?

Because it is saying in no uncertain terms that Jesus is the world's only savior. There is salvation in no one else.

Now, there might be some helpful teaching. There might be some good advice.

There might be some practical wisdom in other teachers and other philosophers and other world views.

But there is salvation only in Jesus.

Now, that, of course, runs right up against the religious pluralism of our day, doesn't it?

We like to think that there are many paths up the mountain, as it were, right?

And that if someone is sincere and if someone is well-meaning, then they'll eventually get to the top, right?

There isn't one way. There are many right ways.

But I think we have to examine that belief for a second that we have.

Let's examine that belief for a second. Let's examine the belief that there are many paths and that they all lead to the same place if you're sincere and well-meaning.

I think, first, it's worth pointing out that that belief is itself a particular and even exclusive belief.

I think it was Leslie Newbigin who pointed this out with particular power.

Leslie Newbigin was a 20th century theologian and missionary, and he spent a lot of time on the mission field and then came back to the West and realized that the West was also a mission field.

And Newbigin said, you know, he said, here's what we tend to think.

He said, in our pluralistic society, we tend to think that the different world religions and different life philosophies are all sort of grappling different aspects of the same reality,

but that none of them can claim to grasp ultimate truth.

He said, we sort of think that we're all kind of like blind men grabbing different parts of an elephant, right?

One of them grabs the leg and says, oh, absolute truth is a tree, right?

One of them grabs the trunk and says, oh, this animal must be a snake, right?

One of them grabs the tail and says, oh, no, it's a rope.

But, of course, none of them grasps the whole truth.

None of them sees the truth absolutely.

And that's how it is with different religions, different worldviews.

They all see only part of the truth.

Newbigin says that's how we tend to think.

And at first that sounds kind of plausible, right?

It sounds kind of nice.

Makes some sense to us today.

But here's the problem.

That whole picture, that kind of metaphor, it assumes something.

It assumes that you, that you actually can see absolute truth, doesn't it?

That you, the religious pluralist, are able to step back and see the whole picture as it really is.

You can see the whole elephant, and you can see those blind men trying to grasp it.

You claim to see the whole mountain that those paths are trying to climb.

In fact, you claim to have the ultimate view that takes it all in.

The view that is really true for everyone.

So you see what that means?

It means that the kind of pluralist view, that at first sounds kind of broad and inclusive at first,

actually does the very same thing that other religions and philosophies,

according to the pluralist, can't and shouldn't do, right?

The pluralist view is making an absolute claim.

Right?

Do you see that?

And it means that the pluralist view and the Christian view are actually doing the same thing.

They're both making an absolute claim to reality.

And that claim to reality inevitably excludes other views.

Think about it.

If you say to me,

hey, did you hear that the Brewers won the series against the Dodgers?

And I say to you,

no, no.

I believe all the teams won the series against the Dodgers.

Like, both of our views exclude the other, right?

They're both kind of narrow and exclusive in their own way

because they're both making a claim to what's really real.

Now, why am I saying all this?

I'm saying all this because as we come to a text like Acts 4,

we can't just dismiss Christianity out of hand by saying,

oh, it's so narrow and exclusive.

Every view of reality excludes some other views.

We're all kind of exclusive in that sense.

We have to be.

And the real problem with the pluralist view

that we all sort of have this default in, in our culture,

is that honestly, it's a bit narrow and exclusive

without even realizing it and without even admitting it.

It's fine if you want to think that all religions

are blindly grasping an elephant

or charting a different path up a mountain.

But you have to also admit that when you claim that,

you are claiming to have the God's eye view of everything,

just like the other religions are.

No?

No?

Okay, so with that being said,

what are the apostles claiming here in Acts 4?

Why?

Why are they willing to say

that there is salvation in no one else but in Jesus alone?

Why do they make that particular claim?

And why should we consider it this morning?

Well, this idea that there is salvation in Jesus alone

is what's sometimes called in theology the exclusivity of Christ.

Now, what does one mean by that phrase, the exclusivity of Christ?

We have to be really careful because it does not mean

that Jesus is a Savior for some people and not for others,

that Jesus sort of excludes people by who He is.

That's not what we mean by the exclusivity of Christ.

Rather, it means that according to Christianity,

humanity cannot find salvation anywhere else except in Him,

that He is the one and only Savior.

That's what we mean when we talk about the exclusivity of Christ,

that salvation is only found in Him.

But here's the important thing to realize.

Why does the New Testament make that claim?

Why is that what the apostles taught?

We have to understand that for the apostles,

for the whole New Testament,

the exclusivity of Jesus Christ in that sense,

that He is the only Savior,

is rooted in the singularity of Jesus Christ.

In other words, salvation is only found in Jesus

because no one else is like Jesus.

He is utterly unique.

So let's consider then the uniqueness of this claim.

And the first thing we have to consider

when we think about Jesus being the only Savior

is that Jesus claims to offer a unique salvation.

Look at verse 2.

What is it that made the temple authorities

so greatly annoyed at the apostles?

Well, because they were teaching the people

and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead.

That's what annoyed them.

They were proclaiming in Jesus

the resurrection from the dead.

You see, friends,

Christianity holds forth a very unique salvation.

Why?

Because the Christian view of salvation

is not just spiritual or emotional,

but material and tangible.

The Christian understanding of salvation

is that God will put the whole world,

the whole of creation,

right again.

He will not just restore our souls,

but our bodies too.

Not just our minds,

but our relationships.

That's why the healing of the man in chapter 3

is such an important sign

that we looked at last week.

What is a sign?

Well, a sign isn't the reality itself, right?

But it points to that reality.

The wholeness of this man's body in chapter 3

is a sign pointing to the reality

of the complete restoration

that Jesus will bring

when He returns and makes all things new.

When sickness, death, and decay

will be no more,

and creation will be liberated

to sing in freedom.

Because the curse of sin and death

is banished once for all.

You know, it's interesting.

You read the story in Acts 3

of the man rejoicing

because he's been healed.

And then you go back in the Psalms

and you read these Psalms

where it says,

when God finally comes in fullness,

the trees are going to clap their hands

and the mountains are going to rejoice.

All of creation is going to sing

like this man who had been set free

from this disability.

But how can we be sure

that's going to happen?

Because in Jesus' own resurrection,

it's already happened.

His own resurrection,

when God the Son took on human flesh,

took on our nature,

and rose from the dead,

it is as if the thick ice

of sin and death

had been cracked once and for all.

And what's true of Him

because He has united Himself

to us will be true

of all creation one day

because He is creation's Lord.

But friends, at the center

of this unique salvation

that Jesus offers

isn't just the healing

of the material creation,

as glorious as that is.

At the center

is the healing

of our relationship

with our Creator.

At the heart of the unique salvation

that Christianity holds forth

to all who believe

is nothing less

than reconciliation

with God.

To know God.

To really

know Him.

Not as some distant force,

not as a stern judge,

but as a loving

heavenly Father

who forgives all your sins

and faults and flaws,

who provides comfort

in every trial,

who rejoices over you

with love.

Christianity offers

this unique salvation.

It says,

God will now be your God

and you will be loved

as His son,

as His daughter,

and nothing will separate you

from this love

in Christ Jesus our Lord.

So this is what Christianity

means by salvation,

reconciliation with God,

and the renewal

of all creation.

But this unique salvation

is found

in a unique Savior.

Why is salvation

found in Jesus alone?

What makes Him

unique?

Well, three things,

actually.

First,

He has a unique identity.

Jesus is a unique

person.

He alone

is fully human

and fully God.

Two natures

in one person.

No other religious leader,

no other wise philosopher

was ever

the incarnate Son

of the Father.

Only in Jesus Christ

did the one true

eternal God

take on human flesh

and live our human life

in every way.

The book of Hebrews

even says that Jesus

was tempted

in every way as we are,

except without sin.

Right?

Now, of course,

there have been people

throughout history

who have claimed

to be God, right?

Most of them

were rightly dismissed

as being mentally unstable.

But for the followers

of Jesus,

they saw His deeds

and they heard His claims

and their conclusion

was not that He was

out of His mind,

but that in Him

they were,

impossible as it might seem,

beholding the glory

of God in human flesh.

And consider the claims

that Jesus Himself made.

John 14, 6,

Jesus said,

I am the way,

the truth,

and the life.

No one comes to the Father

but through Me.

Or Matthew 11, 27,

where Jesus says,

all things have been handed

over to Me by My Father,

and no one knows

the Father except the Son,

and no one knows

the Father,

no one knows the Son

except the Father,

and no one knows

the Father except the Son,

and anyone to whom

the Son chooses

to reveal Him.

Could you imagine

hearing Jesus on that day

saying,

no one knows

the Father except the Son?

Okay, Jesus,

you have a unique

knowledge of God.

But then He turns around

and says,

no one knows the Son

except the Father.

His being is so glorious,

so deep,

so profound,

that the only one

who could possibly

comprehend Him

is God Himself.

Could you imagine

if I said that?

What a crazy thing to say.

And yet,

as the disciples

follow Jesus

throughout His ministry,

they start to think,

goodness gracious,

I think He might be right.

Jesus was stating

very clearly

that He was equal

to the Father,

and therefore,

no one could know

the Father except through Him.

So when Peter says

in Acts 4

that there's salvation

in no one else,

He's actually proclaiming

what Jesus Himself taught,

that Jesus,

He alone,

is the way back

to the Father.

But you see,

it's not just

Jesus' unique person.

That makes Him

the only Savior.

It's also His unique work.

Because He is a unique person,

fully God and fully human,

He can accomplish

a unique work.

Listen to how Peter

sums it up in verse 10.

He says,

Let it be known

to all of you

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.

Whom you crucified,

whom God raised

from the dead.

What makes Jesus different

than some of the other

religious leaders,

even those who have

made claims to be divine?

You know,

there have been others,

people who have claimed

to be divine,

and not all of them

were written off

as mentally unstable.

What makes Jesus different

than the Egyptian pharaohs

who claim to be divine?

What makes Jesus different

than the Buddha,

who even if the Buddha

didn't teach that He was divine,

a lot of other people

around Him

thought that He might be?

Friends,

is it not this,

that Jesus Christ

came to do a unique thing

amidst all the world religions,

He came to lay down

His life

in the place of sinners.

He didn't come

just to teach

a way of godliness

or teach a way

of enlightenment.

He came actually

to stand

in the place

of the condemned

and to be judged

and punished

in their place

so that they could

be forgiven

and set free

from the penalty

of sin and death.

In short, friends,

no other religious leader

died for your sins.

Who else saw us

in our plight

as lost sinners

under the just

sentence of death?

Who else emptied himself

of heavenly glory

and honor

and took the form

of a servant for us?

Who else

didn't just come

and say,

well, if you want

to get out

from under that,

you've got to do

all these things,

but said,

I'll do the thing.

I'll stand

in your place

and bear the wrath

that you deserve.

Who else

loved us

that much?

Loved us

to the point

of laying down

His life for us.

Only Jesus Christ.

Why is He

the only Savior?

Because only He

atoned for our sins

through His death

and only He

rose again

on the third day

for our justification.

And He rose

so that all

who trust in Him,

all who come

to unite themselves

to Him

through faith,

all who do that

will receive

the same

verdict

that the Father

spoke over Jesus

on that first

Easter morning.

You see what was being

said in the resurrection?

The powers that be

said Jesus was guilty,

He was a criminal,

He was condemned,

He was a blasphemer,

but in the resurrection

the Father spoke

over the Son

this word,

He is the righteous

one.

He is my Son.

Death has no

holder over Him.

He lives no more

to die.

And in His life

we live.

His was a unique work.

Only Jesus died

and rose again

for our salvation.

And you see,

because of His unique work

and because of His

unique person

and because of His

unique person

having accomplished

that unique work,

Jesus now occupies

a unique office,

a unique standing.

In verse 11,

Peter quotes

Psalm 118.22.

He says,

this Jesus

is the stone

that was rejected

by you,

the builders,

which has become

the cornerstone.

Quoting Psalm 118.22.

You see,

the rulers

and authorities

of Jesus' day

refused

to receive Him

and instead

they rejected Him.

But when God

raised Him up,

God was declaring

that Jesus

is indeed

all that He claimed

to be.

And God

made Jesus,

according to Peter,

that cornerstone.

Or actually,

better,

it's a capstone,

right?

It's the rock

that sits at the top

of an arch

and it holds it

all together.

In other words,

God has made

and God has established

the risen Jesus

as the key figure

in His plan

for the restoration

of His people

and the renewal

of the whole creation.

That's why in verse 12,

Peter can say,

there's no other name

under heaven

given among men

by which we must be saved.

The Father gave

His one and only Son

for this role

and He demonstrated it

by raising Him

from the dead.

The Father has seated Him

at His right hand.

Listen to how Paul speaks

to the same thing

in Philippians 2,

8-11.

He says,

of Jesus being found

in human form,

He humbled Himself

by becoming obedient

to the point of death,

even death on a cross.

Therefore,

God has highly exalted Him

and bestowed on Him

the name that is

above every name

so that at the name

of Jesus

every knee should bow

in heaven

and on earth

and under the earth

and every tongue confess

that Jesus Christ

is Lord

to the glory

of God the Father.

So on the basis

of His unique identity,

His unique work

and His unique status,

Jesus is the only Savior.

So friends,

what are you trusting in today?

Perhaps on the one hand,

our vision needs

to be expanded

so that you can see

the fullness

of this unique salvation

that God has in store.

God's plan is to remove

all sin, death,

and decay

from His creation.

He's working

to reconcile sinners

to Himself

not so that they can

grovel in fear

before Him

but so that they can

worship and love Him

as His children.

But if that is the salvation

that God has in store,

what are you trusting in

to be a part of it?

The truth is, friends,

we need a Savior.

We need someone

to forgive our sins.

We need someone

to remove the curse

of death from us.

We need someone

to bring us out

from under the wrath

of God

that our sins deserve.

But what will do that?

Will our good works

be enough

to kind of cancel

that debt that we owe?

No.

Will sincere religious effort

be enough

to work our way back

out from under

the curse of death?

No.

And if you trust

in any of those things,

you will remain

in your sins,

alienated from God

and far off

from His salvation.

But friends,

here's the good news.

That great debt

that we owe,

Jesus paid it all.

What you could not do,

He did in your place.

And if you entrust

your life to Him,

He will clothe you

with His righteousness.

And His saving death

will wash away your sins

and you will be saved.

Jesus is the only Savior,

yes,

and He receives

everyone who comes to Him.

No one who comes to Him

will be turned away.

And if you have trusted in Christ

as your and the only Savior,

what do we see

in the rest of this passage?

What does living

in light of this truth

that Christ is the only Savior

mean for us

as we live for Him?

Well, let's walk through

the passage

and just point out

a few things

as we wrap up.

First,

consider that

our message about Jesus

ought to both

annoy

and attract.

We saw in verse 2

how the message

of the gospel

greatly annoyed

the temple authorities,

right?

I love that word

that Luke chose there.

But look at what Luke

tells us in verse 4.

The temple authorities

were greatly annoyed,

but many of those

who had heard the word

believed,

and the number of men

came to about 5,000.

The message of Jesus

and the resurrection

was both challenging

and compelling.

It was both

greatly annoying

and wonderfully attractive

all at the same time.

And friends,

that's how it will always be.

Every time,

every place,

every culture

will have things within it

that when confronted

with the gospel,

it will find both attractive

and repulsive.

Right?

Think of us today.

The gospel is a message

of forgiveness,

of love,

of unity,

of misdifference.

And those things resonate

deeply with our culture,

do they not?

But the gospel is also

a message that says

you are not your own.

You were bought with a price.

Your personal freedom

and expression

must come under

the lordship of Christ.

And we don't like that one bit.

Right?

No thanks.

And so,

as we are sharing the gospel

and living the gospel

as a church,

we shouldn't be surprised

if people are offended

by the claims of the gospel.

People will be greatly annoyed.

That's how it always been.

But,

we should also expect

that the gospel will

at the same time

attract.

Right?

Because it's a life-giving message.

And if we find,

if we find

that there's only one

or the other,

people are only kind of

comforted and attracted,

people are only kind of

offended and repulsed,

if we find that it's only

one or the other,

we may be missing something

in our message.

Second application.

Not only does the message

of Jesus both annoy

and attract,

but we should also

be praying

and looking for opportunities

to turn our conversations

and interactions

explicitly to who Jesus is

and what he's done.

Notice how in the second

paragraph of our passage,

Peter and John

are brought to trial

and the authorities say,

tell us by what power

and by what name,

that is,

tell us by what authority

you're doing all this.

And think about Peter.

Peter could have said,

well, gee,

you know,

we prayed

and look what happened.

God just happened

to heal this guy.

I don't know,

it's pretty surprising to us too.

I mean,

you're not going to just

punish us

for a good deed, right?

I mean,

we're all in agreement

that people need to be helped,

right?

Peter could have answered

that way.

But instead of kind of

backtracking,

what does Peter do?

He says this,

he says,

well,

if you're really asking me

how this man was healed,

I'll tell you,

Jesus did it.

The same Jesus

you crucified

a few weeks ago.

God raised him

from the dead.

And now,

just like the psalm said,

he's the capstone

of God's people

and there isn't salvation

in anyone else.

Ouch.

Ouch.

In other words,

when asked about

what was really going on,

Peter

made Jesus

the hero

because he is.

Now,

we don't always get the chance

to be as forthright

as Peter,

do we?

You know,

sometimes our conversations

are a little further upstream.

But the same spirit

that filled Peter

in that moment

to speak what he ought to say

to testify to Christ

also fills us.

You know,

Jesus promised in Luke chapter 12,

Luke 12 · chapter mention

back in the gospel of Luke,

the first chapter

of Luke's two-part work.

In Luke chapter 12,

Luke 12:11–12

verse 11 through 12,

Jesus said,

when they bring you

before the rulers

and authorities,

the Holy Spirit

will teach you

what you ought to say.

And here in Acts 4,

we see that Jesus' promise

is coming true.

And that same promise

is true for us.

The Spirit helps us

in our everyday moments

with what we ought to say.

He will help us

to turn our conversation

to the things of the gospel

in a way that's fitting

and natural to the moment.

We might not get a chance

to say everything

that we want to say

about Jesus

or that we hope

to say about Jesus,

but we can still pray

for the opportunities

to draw people

a little closer

to the unique Savior

who holds out

this unique

and beautiful salvation.

So I think we learn

from this text

to be praying,

to be depending

on the Spirit,

to turn the corner

of our conversations

to make Jesus known.

Right?

How many of you,

when you, you know,

run into friends

or things like that,

and you're like,

oh, I was, you know,

I was, what were you doing

this weekend?

Oh, I was at church.

Oh, it's nice to have community,

isn't it?

Right?

I hear that a lot, actually.

And it is nice

to have community.

Isn't it wonderful?

Yeah?

Yeah?

Oh, what would the Holy Spirit

prompt us to say

in that moment?

You know,

community is great,

but I'll tell you,

the one at the center

of our community

is even better.

I don't know.

The Holy Spirit

will lead you,

brothers and sisters.

Third and last,

we should not only pray

for opportunities

to speak about Jesus.

If He is indeed

the only Savior,

then the most important

thing we can do

is spend time

with Jesus.

Notice the last paragraph

of our passage.

The rulers and authorities

are sort of surprised

at the boldness

of Peter and John.

They speak

not just with courage,

but that word there,

that word there,

courage or boldness

also means clarity

and insight

and freedom,

freedom of speech.

Right?

And the authorities

are surprised

at that courage,

at that boldness,

because Peter and John

are uneducated,

common men.

That is,

that is,

technically what that means

is that they hadn't

gone through

the formal rabbinical training

that the religious authorities had.

They hadn't been schooled

in their schools.

They hadn't been trained

in their methods,

right?

They hadn't gotten

their certification.

Peter and John,

in other words,

were not religious professionals.

They were just lay people.

And yet,

they spoke

with insight,

with conviction,

with courage.

How could that be?

What gave them

that boldness?

Well, the rest of verse 13 reads,

and they recognized

that they had been

with Jesus.

They had been

with Jesus.

You see,

Jesus also hadn't been trained

in the rabbinical schools

of the day.

He also hadn't gotten

their same credentials.

And yet,

no one taught

with the authority

and the clarity

and insight

that Jesus did.

In Jesus,

all the wisdom,

all the fullness

of wisdom and truth

and goodness dwelled.

In Jesus,

the very radiance

of the glory of God

shone forth

in human form.

And Peter and John,

that they hadn't been trained

in the schools,

had been with Jesus.

Now, friends,

of course,

there is great value

in learning,

in study,

in education.

Most of you are here

in New Haven

to do just that.

And these are good gifts,

and they're worth pursuing.

And Christianity

has always been a learning

and teaching faith.

But, friends,

what matters most

is if we have been

with Jesus.

Jesus is the only Savior.

And if He is,

then the great pursuit

of our earthly lives

ought to be

to commune with Him

in prayer,

to learn of Him

in His Word,

and to worship Him

in fellowship

with His body,

the local church.

The passage ends

with the authorities

threatening Peter and John

to never speak

about Jesus again.

And then they say this

in great courage,

whether it's right

in the sight of God

to listen to you

rather than God,

you must judge,

for we cannot but speak

of what we have seen

and heard.

Wow!

Where did they get

the courage

to go on preaching

and to suffer

the consequences?

Friends,

it's because

they had been

with Jesus.

They had been

with Him,

and they had to speak

of what they had seen

and heard.

And that's where

our courage,

that's where our boldness

will come from too.

Brother, sister,

if you feel weak

or weary,

if you feel timid

or afraid,

spend time

with your Savior.

Be with Jesus.

Learn to worship

and love Him

in prayer.

Read and meditate

on His Word

until it starts

to warm your soul.

Spend time

with fellow believers

who can encourage you.

Spend time

with Jesus Himself.

And may it be said

of us as a church

as it was said

of Peter and John,

and they recognized

that they had been

with Jesus.

And if that is true

of us,

then more and more

and more,

our message

and our life

together as a church,

it won't only be

disruptive

to the status quo,

right?

It won't just

maybe bring a riot

or two every once

in a while

instead of tea.

It won't just be

disruptive

to the status quo,

but our message

and our common life

will also be

transformative

and healing.

It won't be something

that simply tears down,

but something

that builds up.

Because

it will be

Jesus Himself

that we bring

to others.

And they recognized

that they had been

with Jesus.

May God grant it

to be so with us,

friends.

Let's pray.

Lord,

we are so grateful

that You are indeed

a unique Savior,

that the great need

that we had

to be reconciled

to God

for this world

to be renewed

and healed.

You have come,

Lord Jesus,

and accomplished

all that was required.

So we worship

and we praise You.

May our witness

to You,

Lord Jesus,

in lip

and in life

be fueled

not by fear,

not by pride,

but may it be fueled

by that rich communion

with You.

O Lord,

help us even this week

to be with You,

to commune with You,

to walk with You,

to keep in step

with Your Spirit.

Lord,

I pray that You

would open

the eyes

of those

who are far from You,

who are seeking You.

Help them

to see in Christ

the only Savior,

to trust in Him

and be saved.

Lord,

we pray this

in Jesus' mighty name.

Amen.

Amen.