Contradiction or Confirmation (6)

“SALVATION IN NO OTHER NAME”

“Neither is there salvation in any other, for their is no other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved”, Acts 4:12. In this verse we have an inseparable link between salvation and ‘the name’. If we were to trace a few verses back, we would discover the name being referred to is the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Previous to this verse, a lame man was healed in front of the temple because of faith in the name of Jesus. Peter did not only heal the man, but used the attention gained from the miracle to explain that not only was healing found in the name of Jesus, but salvation was also to be found in that name. Peter was quite unreserved in his declaration that salvation cannot be found in any other name but the name of Jesus. We must conclude that the “Name of Jesus Christ” is the only name of salvation.

This scripture becomes vital to our understanding when we recognize that baptism and salvation are so closely associated. Mark declares, “he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved” Mark 16:16. Peter in his first Epistle declares that baptism does save. Jesus, when speaking with Nicodemus in John 3 likened being ‘born again’ to being ‘born of the water and of the spirit'. Add to this the testimony found in the Book of Acts of various believers being baptized and we can see its vital role in salvation. Jesus had commanded all of his disciples to go, teach, and baptize (Matthew 28:19). We are responsible to do all that we have been commanded, not just a part. Baptism is vital to making disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ.

“The New Testament Epistles do not appear to reckon with the fact of an unbaptized disciple. How can one become a disciple and then be baptized?… It is when a man who hears the gospel believes and is baptized that he becomes a full disciple. Baptizing belongs to the means by which a disciple is made” ("Baptism in The New Testament" ,G.R. Beesley-Murray, pg. 88-89) W. F. Flemming characterized the baptism of the earliest church as a “Sacrament of the Gospel”. ("The New Testament Doctrine of Baptism" , London, 1948, pg. 124) Schlatter also stressed the same thing when he described a normal apostolic sermon as a baptismal sermon: “Its purpose was not merely the acceptance of an idea; it demanded a definite act”. ("The Church and the New Testament Period" , pg. 26 ) “This is said from the aspect of baptism as a response to the gospel and acceptance of its gifts. There are grounds for going further and suggesting that the fitness of baptism to be a means of response to the offer of the gospel is grounded in its fitness to be an embodiment of the gospel”. (Baptism in The New Testament" ,G.R. Beesley-Murray, pg. 99-100) The view of scripture is that, “the Church is commissioned to make disciples by baptizing men”. (Baptism in The New Testament" ,G.R. Beesley-Murray, pg. 88)

We have already noted the fact, and affirm it again, that baptism and remission of sins are inseparably associated. Without the remission of sin, one cannot be a complete child of God. Therefore baptism plays a vital role in our salvation because of the cleansing it provides. The blood of Jesus was shed for the remission of sins, and it is through baptism that the blood accomplishes this purpose. Remission of sins is central and critical to a man’s salvation, so it is therefore only reasonable to conclude that baptism and salvation are inseparably linked, one to the other.

Baptism is essential in making disciples, according to the Commission, and it is essential in salvation even in our day. Believing and baptism are criterion to salvation. They come before, not after salvation. They are a part of the process, not independent of the process. A man is not baptized because he is saved; he is baptized so he can become saved (Mark 16:16). Peter also associated baptism and the remission of sins in Acts 2:38. “There appears to be no doubt as to the intention of Acts 2:38; the penitent believer baptized in the name of Jesus Christ may expect to receive at once the Holy Spirit, even as he is assured of the immediate forgiveness of sins”. (Baptism in The New Testament" ,G.R. Beesley-Murray, pg. 108)

Ananias also associated baptism with the washing away of sins and the name of the Lord in his instructions to Paul (Acts 22:16). Peter again referred to baptism and salvation in his First Epistle and declared “baptism doth save” (1 Peter 3:21). We do not, however, contend that baptism alone, as a physical act, brings salvation. It must be an extension and manifestation of the faith that is present within the heart of one who hears the gospel. It will equally lead to further faith-responses to the Word of God. Baptism is a vital aspect of salvation that cannot be ignored. 

Our key scripture for this section, Acts 4:12, allows us to know that salvation is found only in the name of Jesus Christ. Repentance, without which one will perish (Luke 13:3,5), was to be preached in the name of Jesus Christ (Luke 24:47). Remission of sins (Luke 24:47) was also to be preached in the name of Jesus. Peter, Ananias, and others have shown that remission of sins and baptism is one. Therefore we must conclude that in full agreement with the scriptures, baptism is in the name of Jesus Christ. Jesus also promised us that the Holy Ghost (without which no man shall see God, Romans 8:9) would be sent in the name of Jesus Christ (John 14:26). Thus we see the three aspects of salvation: repentance, baptism, and receiving the Holy Ghost, are all to be associated with the name of Jesus Christ alone. Therefore Acts 4:12 reveals to us that the Apostles were correct in their fulfillment of the Great Commission by baptizing in the name of Jesus Christ only.