Saturday, July 27, 2013
Acts 4:12-13 "Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved." Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus.
ACTS OF GOD IN ACTS -- SALVATION
I was visiting a WWII veteran not long ago who was telling me all sorts of battle stories and facts about the war. What impressed me the most, besides his sharp-shooter awards, was that he served in close contact with General Patton. The way he described Patton and in the manner in which he spoke about him, you could tell he was with him.
That's the same impressive truth we see from verse thirteen above. When Peter and John were standing before the Sanhedrin court they testified about Jesus and all they had heard and seen. They recounted Jesus' connecting the Scriptures to prove He was the promised Messiah, the anointed Lamb of God, to come and take away the sin of the world. The Sanhedrin "realized that they had been with Jesus."
As we saw this week, the Book of Acts has many individuals like Paul, Philip, Stephen, Peter, and Lydia, whom we can tell had spent time with Jesus. This is true not just with the Book of Acts, but in all of God's Word. Not all of these individuals spent time with Jesus face to face or ever even met Him physically, but they spent time with Him in His Word and in the promises He made to them -- and to us.
The first chapter of the Gospel of John says that "the Word became flesh and dwelt among us." Jesus is that Word! The Word is Jesus! When we spend time in the Word of God we spend time with our Savior and bathe in the living waters of His forgiving grace. People take notice of cleanliness! Like I saw with that war vet who served with General Patton, people will perceive and realize that we have spent time with Jesus. When can I spend more time? May the Spirit help us show others how we still serve our Lord Jesus out of love for the salvation He has so freely and graciously given us!
