01.12.04

Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders of Israel: If we this day are judged for a good deed done to a helpless man, by what means he has been made well, let it be known to you all, 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 stands here before you whole. This is the ‘stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone.' Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”  - Acts 4:8-12.

Manufacturers these days go to extreme lengths to provide adequate warning labels in order to avoid lawsuits. For example, the manufacturer of a 5-inch fishing lure with three very sharp steel hooks has put a label on the lure that states, “Harmful if swallowed.” If fish could read it would be a very helpful piece of information for them! The manufacturer of a drain cleaner has placed this warning label on the bottle, “If you do not understand, or cannot read, all directions, cautions and warnings, do not use this product.” A warning label on a snow sled states, “Beware: sled may develop high speed under certain snow conditions.” No doubt, you have seen other warning labels that seem just as absurd.

Whatever label there may be on products there will probably be someone who will do exactly what they are warned not to do. It may simply be human nature to want to rebel against what they know is right and do what is wrong. It apparently is an inherited trait, which we all have gotten from our ancestors Adam and Eve.

God is also in the warning business and has been busy for thousands of years doing exactly that. In the days of the Old Testament God sent men called prophets to warn the people of their sins and of what God would have them to do differently. Today we have the Bible - it is a love letter from God to us but sometimes it is a tough love. God loves us so much that He warns us about what will happen if we do not heed His words of love.

The world’s idea is that all religions lead to Heaven and if you are sincere about what you believe then that will be enough. The Bible warns very clearly that the world’s idea is not true. There is only one Name under Heaven by which we may be saved and that Name is Jesus Christ of Nazareth. The Bible states, “Nor is there salvation in any other (name).” Jesus also warns very plainly in John 14:6 about this very thing saying, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”

We would think that someone was a fool if they swallowed a three-pronged fishing lure or if they drank some drain cleaner ignoring the warning labels (and common sense!). But there are people who continually laugh at and thumb their noses at the Word of God by their words and their actions. Those are the people who are really the fools and someday when it is eternally too late they will find out the truth.

Before it is too late warn your friends, warn everyone you can that there is only one way to Heaven and that is through Jesus Christ. “To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Him we preach, WARNING EVERY MAN and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus (Colossians 1:27-28).”