If you consider all the religions that are out there in our world, how many do you think exist? Take a guess. What would you say? What are some of them? So, how many religions are there?
Would it surprise you that there are just two, at least from a theological standpoint regarding salvation? There is man's religion, and there is God's religion - just two to tell you how to be saved.
I. In matters of salvation Christ is the only one who can help me.
How to get to heaven - how to be saved from the burden of sin and guilt that oppresses - everyone wants to know that. Everyone? Yes everyone because everyone has a conscience that convicts him.
Oh, to be sure, a person can harden himself to that conscience and pretend he doesn't hear it. But the fact remains - everyone has a conscience and every conscience does the same thing. It bears witness to “the requirements of God's law written on the heart.” On that basis the Bible says it “accuses or defends” people for what they have done (Ro.2:15f). And since all have sinned and fallen short of God's holy will (Ro.3:23), the conscience shouts to everyone: “Guilty! You're guilty before God!”
Now, it's true, people can shut their ears to what their conscience tells them; they can harden their hearts and continue to do nasty things. But the fact remains, the conscience still accuses them. In the end it's foolish to ignore it for then one only fools himself. As John said in our Epistle Lesson today (1Jn.1:8): “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us…If we claim we have not sinned, we make God out to be a liar.”
You see, dear friends, everyone – whether they openly admit it or not – knows they have done wrong. Those who listen desire salvation from it. So the question becomes, “How does one get it?” And the world has what appear to be countless answers to that. That's what religion is about.
Some examples: the heathen who bows down to an idol made of stone says, “To be saved, give everyone his due. And if you haven't done all your duties, then bring an offering to this idol and make a sacrifice to the gods as payment.”
The Moslem says, “To be saved acknowledge Allah as god and Mohammed as his prophet. Then follow the rules of the Koran.”
The Socialist says, “To find salvation, break down all the barriers that divide mankind. Love the brotherhood of man. Share with all. Be honorable and true to yourself and everyone.” And we could go on with countless examples of other religions in the world. At first all such answers to the question of “How to be saved” seem different. But they all say the same thing; maybe you noticed it. They have a common thread running through them: “Save yourself and get to heaven by what you do. Do, do, do! Do what you can to make yourself right with whatever god you follow. Save yourself by your works.” Even some so-called Christian groups say similar things, placing the emphasis upon what the person does.
What does God say? First of all He says, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death” (Pv.14:12). He also says, “With man (salvation) is impossible” (Mt.19:26). In other words, in matters of salvation I Can't Help Myself.
Then He turns us to a different way in our text, a way that is outside of ourselves, to Christ, and He says, “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.” In matters of salvation Christ is the only one who can help me.
You see, God's way is completely different from man's way. What sinful man could never buy, earn, or obtain on his own, Christ Jesus won in our place. He became “the atoning sacrifice” for our sins, yes, “for the sins of the entire world” (1Jn.2:2). Those blessings become ours by faith, for God declares that He “so loved the world that He gave His only Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish” (Jn.3:16). There you have it: “By grace you are saved through faith, not by yourself, it is the gift of God, not by works.” Or, as our text said, “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.” It is the arrow of grace coming downward from God to us in Christ, not the arrow of man's works going upward to impress God.
No other way! No one else but Christ and by faith in Him! Can it be stated any more clearly than that? I Can't Help Myself . In matters of salvation Christ is the only one who can help me. Just like Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (Jn.14:6).
You know, it seems totally unnecessary for me to spend any time this morning convincing you of this. I said the same thing to the LWMS yesterday. Why would I have to convince any Christian of this truth of salvation? In fact there are times that some have said, “Pastor, why do you always talk about salvation to us, to those who already know it? Tell us about other things. Tell us how to live as God's people. You don't have to convince us of salvation.”
Why do gospel preachers always talk about salvation? Because we dare not take it for granted and think it to be “old hat.” Too many who have thought that way before have now “wandered from the faith.” This is what faith is all about. True, it's about my life for Christ; but much more than that, it's about Christ's life for me. Do I need to spend time convincing you of this?
Maybe not; maybe we preachers should move on to other things. But our purpose today and in this lesson is not so much to convince us of this truth as much as it is to encourage us in it. Encourage us, how? To proclaim what we know. In matters of salvation Christ is the only one who helps me, and I Can't Help Myself from telling that simple, saving truth. It's the most important thing I can do with my life. Indeed…
II. …in telling this saving truth, nothing can stop me.
That's what Peter and John said in our text. They had just healed a man who had been a cripple from birth. When he begged money from them, Peter said, “Silver and gold I don't have, but what I have I will give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.” Instantly he was healed and began hopping about.
You can imagine the stir that created. Many came to see what had happened. When Peter saw that, he used it as an opportunity to tell them the saving truth about Jesus.
He was bold about it; nothing could stop him. He even told the authorities the sin they had committed in crucifying the Lord Jesus. That put him into danger. But he couldn't help himself . It was true; they needed to hear it so that the Gospel message that had helped him could help them find the Savior too.
You see, dear friends, Christians can't help themselves. When they know that Christ is the only way to heaven, they can't help telling that saving truth. Even if it should endanger their lives, they tell it for there is a kind of divine restlessness that seizes their hearts. Some people call is “The Voice of Conviction.”
Think of it this way; think of it in connection with the Old Testament prophets. They were called by God and overcome by His Word.
For example, you know about Jonah, the reluctant prophet. When God called him to preach His saving Word to the people of Nineveh in the east, Jonah didn't want to go. So he got on a ship going west, in the opposite direction. But Jonah could not escape God. He was “overcome by His Word.”
On the other hand the prophet Isaiah responded to the Lord's call with an enthusiastic, “Here I am. Send me! Send me!” In the end “the voice of conviction” affected both of them. Jonah was a reluctant draftee; Isaiah was a glad volunteer.
Likewise the apostles were called by the Lord and overcome by the Word. They were not overpowered in the sense that they went into the world like robots. No, there call to the ministry was gladly heeded for they were “overcome” by having seen and heard the risen Savior. They were fully convinced as “He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures” (Lk.24:45). Would they be silenced? Could they be threatened to remain quiet? No! Peter said, “I can't help speaking about what I've seen and heard.”
Throughout the centuries God's people have been committed to His saving Word. The apostles, Martin Luther at the Diet of Worms, and even the Sudanese whom we heard about at the LWMS rally yesterday as they cling to the truth, even with all the junk they have to deal with. Nothing could stop them from hearing and telling.
Does such divine restlessness seize our hearts? Does “the voice of conviction” raise our hands gladly to respond: “Here am I; send me”? As we continue to meditate on the blessings of Lent and Easter and what Christ did for us then, it will.
With this Gospel we go to people burdened in guilt and bring them the glad news that Christ's blood cleanses from all sin. We go to people worried about life and show them how much God loves them and works things out for their good. We go to the sick and dying, to those shattered by pain and proclaim that one day Christ will wipe all tears from their eyes. With this Gospel Christ sends us to save men from hell for heaven. Nothing else can do it. There is only one thing that can get us to heaven – in a word, Christ.
I Can't Help Myself. In matters of salvation Christ is the only one who can help me, and nothing will stop me from telling. God grant it to us in faith for Jesus' sake. Amen.