The Name of Jesus

There is no other way to be saved but through Jesus Christ.
This part astounds me to read:

“What shall we do to these men? For, indeed, that a notable miracle has been done through them is evident to all who dwell in Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it. But so that it spreads no further among the people, let us severely threaten them, that from now on they speak to no man in this name.”

The religious leaders wanted to stop the very name by which salvation comes. It has become more evident in our world today that it is not the worship of God or a god that offends people. In fact most people are willing to accept someone’s religious values except when the name Jesus is involved. To this day the name Jesus (Yeshua, Ieous…) is offensive to those whose minds are closed to the truth. It doesn’t matter how clear a presentation, they will reject him. Just like the clear presentation of the forty-something year old man healed in the name of Jesus. The religious leaders saw this for themselves but still refused to accept the truth.

Unity among believers
Do these verses sound encouraging to you? This is how we should behave as a body of believers, the body of Christ.

"Now the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and one soul; neither did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common."

"Nor was there anyone among them who lacked; for all who were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the proceeds of the things that were sold, and laid them at the apostles’ feet; and they distributed to each as anyone had need."

Wow! What a heart for Christ. The best way to fight against the powers of darkness is with your brothers and sisters in Christ. Spiritual unity is vital in the church. All the differences and opinions did not hinder their spiritual goal in this early church. This heart of sharing and attitude that their possessions were not their own was through the leadership of the Holy Spirit. They were willing to allow the Holy Spirit to work through them. It is not like communism which is directed by man and forced upon people. It was not a competition of who could give the most or a way to classify people by who gave the least. Also, it was not commanded of them. Through this display of unity others were attracted to them.

We can not lie to God
Even though the church in general had unity and maybe appeared to be perfect it was not. If humans are involved there is sin. The example given in chapter five is hard to accept but God meant business. A man named Ananias and his wife Sapphira tried to deceive God and the people of God. God did not judge them so harshly because they didn’t give the whole amount of money for the land but because they tried to make everyone believe they were giving the whole amount while keeping a little share of their own. This was a critical time for the growing church and their testimony for Christ. This example of Ananias and Sapphira being struck dead for their actions shocked the other believers and caused them to realize how serious sin really is in the church.

“…They should not speak in the name of Jesus…”
I just wanted to add that this is the goal of Satan. Again, we see that they wanted them to stop using the name of Jesus. The Apostles were beaten, given a talkin to and then released for the time being. Through their boldness given by the Holy Spirit they did not stop. They counted it joy to be worthy to suffer for Jesus name.

Solving problems that arise in the church
People in the church began to bring to the Apostles attention that the widows were being neglected so instead of passing blame they took the responsibility and had a meeting. They prayed and appointed men that were of good report, full of the Holy Spirit, and full of wisdom to take care of this problem. This was done so that they could go on and continue their work to spread the gospel message.

Satan is always looking for opportunity to trip us up, to destroy our testimony and to oppress us as individuals and as a church. We must be just as diligent in our work to be unified in the body of Christ and in prayer for strength and direction to continue spreading the name of Jesus.