Daily Devotional For Saturday, February 15, 2025
You made it to the weekend and it is time to celebrate Super Saturday. Today, we are going to talk about the uniqueness of Jesus. There are many people in the church and many people who are Christians who want to water down who Jesus is and the means to salvation. Even though it may be culturally and politically be correct to say, “All roads lead to heaven,” for the record, they do not. If you are sick, do all treatments lead to health? No. While it may make those seem more open, accepting, non-condemning, and loving, the most loving thing we can do is testify to the only one road to heaven – Jesus Christ.
Look at Acts 4:11-12:
“He (Jesus) is the stone which was rejected by you, the builders, but which became the chief corner stone. (12) And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved” (NASB).
Do you see the exclusive statement made by Peter and John here? There is no other name under heaven by which anyone can be saved EXCEPT the name Jesus Christ. I grieve over the way much of the Church has moved away from the uniqueness of Jesus. In an attempt to gain acceptance from the broader culture, we have become reluctant to say that Jesus is the only way to salvation. Instead, we integrate various spiritual teachings into a faith of our own making. But Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me" (John 14:6, NIV), and to say otherwise is to call Him a liar.
Here, Peter quotes from Psalm 118 to tell Jewish leaders that Jesus is the only source of salvation for sinful people—and that included them. The truth of salvation through Christ alone is the standard by which we must live, and it is a truth we must tell others. Jesus is the only name that leads to salvation. Let’s remember that and proclaim it loudly through our words and deeds. Yes the Gospel is exclusive and for good reasons. I like how Christian author John Yates puts it in his on-line article on this:
“When I was a teenager, the students in our high school were called together and each given a sugar cube with pink syrup on it. It was a serum that had been developed by Dr. Jonas Salk to keep us from getting polio in a time of a polio epidemic all across our country. Now, did we turn up our noses and say, "I don't really think I want to avoid polio this way. I'm going to wait until another means is made possible?" That would be crazy. That's the sense in which we have to see what God has done for us in Christ.
Suppose I were to offer you a wonderful new home, fully furnished with everything you could ever want--on one condition. You must use this key to get in the front door. In a sense, that's what God has done for us in Christ. He has provided for all people. If we are faithful to the Great Commission to carry the message of Christ to the world, he has provided to all people the opportunity to come to know him, to live with him now and in heaven for ever and ever” (Source: John Yates).
Think about this for a moment. Every lock comes with a specific key that will unlock or lock that lock. You don’t ever see people upset about the exclusivity of locks, do you? And this is for good reason. You want to know that when you lock the doors to your home or office when you leave, they are secure and safe.The same is true for us with salvation. The exclusivity of the Gospel, salvation and heaven does not exist to create a burden to us nor is it there to frustrate us. It is there to prove that we are safe and secure.
Anything diminishing the uniqueness of Jesus—anything deemed comparable, equal to Him, or adding to what He did—is a false gospel. Wherever that’s tolerated, elevated, or honored is a false church.
Questions To Consider
- What do you think of the exclusivity of the Gospel and salvation? Now instead of giving the “church answer,” think for a moment, how would you explain this to a lost person or someone who has never been in church?
- In John 14:6, Jesus said there is no other way, truth or life except through Him to God. Why do you think this is so offensive to so many people?
- John Yates’ comparison of the polio vaccine delivery system to school kids is a great example that helps explain Acts 4:11-12. How?
Scripture To Meditate On: 1 Peter 2:6-8, “For this is contained in Scripture: ‘Behold, I lay in Zion a choice stone, a precious cornerstone, And he who believes in Him will not be disappointed.’ (7) This precious value, then, is for you who believe; but for those who disbelieve, ‘The stone which the builders rejected, This became the very cornerstone,’ (8) and, ‘A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense”; for they stumble because they are disobedient to the word, and to this doom they were also appointed” (NASB).
Prayer To Pray: “Heavenly Father, I believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, Your only begotten Son. I believe He was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, sinlessly suffered under Pontius Pilate, and was crucified. I believe He died, was buried, and descended into Hades. I believe on the third day, He rose again from the dead and ascended into Heaven, where He sits at Your right hand until He returns to Earth as He promised. Thank You that Jesus is who no one else can be! In His name, Amen. (Adapted from The Apostles Creed).
I love you Southside!--Pastor Kelly