In Acts 4:12, Peter states, “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.” And the name he’s talking about is the name of Jesus, the theanthropic Person who came into this world (John 1:1, 14), lived a sinless life (2 Cor 5:21; Heb 4:5; 1 John 3:5), and went to the cross and died a penal substitutionary death for all mankind (1 Cor 15:3-4; 1 Pet 3:18). Peter dogmatically states that salvation is found only in Jesus Christ. This is exclusive, for it means there is only way to be saved. The word “must,” in Acts 4:12, translates the Greek verb δεῖ dei, which speaks of divine necessity. This means it is necessary to come to Jesus, and Jesus alone, for our salvation, “for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.” We need only Christ to be saved. And to be saved (σῴζω sozo) calls for one action only, and that is to trust in Christ as our Savior. This means we accept the good news “that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures” (1 Cor 15:3-4). And if we trust in Jesus as our Savior, we will have forgiveness of sins (Eph 1:7), eternal life (John 10:28), and the gift of righteousness (Rom 5:17; Phil 3:9). Here is grace, as we can be forgiven and made right with God. We are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone (Eph 2:8-9). We are not required to produce any works to be saved (Rom 4:4-5). None whatsoever. No works before, during, or after salvation, “For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law” (Rom 3:28). Our forgiveness of sins and eternal life are a free gift from God to us, paid in full by the Lord Jesus. We are helpless to save ourselves (Rom 5:6-10), and we come with the empty hands of faith, offering nothing, only receiving the free gift that God offers to us. Once we are saved, good works should follow salvation (Eph 2:10; Tit 2:11-14), but they are NEVER the condition of it. Good works that follow salvation earn us rewards in heaven; but heaven itself is the blessing that comes to us by grace, and this blessing to us is the work of Christ alone.
The good news of the gospel is that Jesus died for everyone (John 3:16; 1 John 2:2), which means everyone is savable. That’s unlimited atonement. But, though Christ died for everyone, the benefit of salvation is given only to those who believe in Jesus as their Savior. These are the elect. The gospel message is simple, even a child can understand it and be saved. If you’ve not trusted in Jesus as Savior, then I “beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God” (2 Cor 5:20). Turn to Christ as your Savior, believing He died for your sins, was buried, and raised again on the third day. And no matter what your past sins may be, no matter how many or egregious, God will forgive you (Eph 1:7), give you eternal life (John 10:28), and bless you with a portfolio of spiritual assets (Eph 1:3) that will open for you the most wonderful life you can have in this world; a life in relationship with God. And this all starts when you simply believe in Christ as your Savior. This is the most important decision you can make in your life, for it determines both the quality of life you have in this world, as well as your eternal destiny afterwards.
Dr. Steven R. Cook
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While discussing eternal rewards in His Sermon on the Mount (Matt 5:1-2, 12, 46; 6:1-6, 16-18), Jesus taught there would be varying degrees of placement in the kingdom of heaven. In Matthew 5:19, Jesus said, “whoever breaks one of the least of these commands and teaches others to do so will be called least in the kingdom of heaven. But whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” In this verse, Jesus talked about two kinds of saved people, both of which will be “in the kingdom of heaven.” This is plainly understood from what Jesus said. The first group will be believers who, after salvation, live a life of disobedience to God, rebelling against His Word, and teaching others to do the same. These disobedient-to-the-Word believers will forfeit eternal rewards and have a low status in heaven. Jesus calls them least, which translates the Greek word ἐλάχιστος elachistos, which refers to being “the lowest in status, least…being considered of very little importance, insignificant.”
To explain further, let me draw a distinction between the gospel that saves and the life of good works that should follow. From the divine side, our salvation was very costly: it cost God His Son. Jesus willingly bore our sins on the cross and paid our sin debt in full (Mark 10:45; John 10:18; 1 Pet 2:24). He died in our place, “the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God” (1 Pet 3:18). At the cross, God judged our sin as His righteousness requires, and saves us, the sinner, as His love desires. From the human side, salvation is very simple: believe in Christ as Savior. We obtain our entrance in heaven when we simply believe that “Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures” (1 Cor 15:3-4). God’s free gift of salvation comes to us by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone (Eph 2:8-9; Tit 3:5).
Let’s get back to the subject of rewards. As Christians, we know there will be a future time in which we will stand before the judgment seat of Christ. Paul said, “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad” (2 Cor 5:10). This judgment seat evaluation is not to determine whether or not we get into heaven. That has already been made secure by the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. This judgment seat evaluation pertains solely to eternal rewards. And these rewards are determined by how we live in accordance with God’s revealed will in Scripture. The obedient-believer will produce a life of “gold, silver, and precious stones” which all survive the test by fire and will go with us into eternity (1 Cor 3:12). The rebel-believer will produce a life of “wood, hay, and straw” which will not survive the test by fire and will be burned up (1 Cor 3:12). The quality of work produced by the obedient-believer will remain and “he will receive a reward” (1 Cor 3:14). The quality of work produced by the rebel-believer will be burned up and “he will suffer loss” (1 Cor 3:15). Though the rebel-believer has no rewards, “he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire” (1 Cor 3:15). For more on this subject, see my article,