The Way of Salvation
A Sermon
(No. 209)
Delivered on Sabbath Morning, August 15, 1858, by the
REV. C.H. SPURGEON
at the Music Hall, Royal Surrey Gardens
"Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name
under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved."–Acts 4:12.
IT IS A VERY HAPPY CIRCUMSTANCE when the servants of God are able to
turn everything to account in their ministry. Now, the apostle Peter
was summoned before the priests and Sadducees, the chief of his nation,
to answer for having restored a man who was lame from his mother's
womb. Whilst accounting for this case of cure, or, if I may use the
expression, for this case of temporal salvation, the apostle Peter had
this thought suggested to him, "While I am accounting for the salvation
of this man from lameness, I have now a fine opportunity of showing to
these people, who otherwise will not listen to us, the way of the
salvation of the soul." So he proceeds from the less to the greater,
from the healing of a man's limb to the healing of a man's spirit; and
having informed them once that it was through the name of Jesus Christ
that the impotent man had been made whole, he now announces that
salvation,–the great salvation, must be wrought by the selfsame means;
"Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name
under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved."
What a great word that word "salvation" is! It includes the cleansing
of our conscience from all past guilt, the delivery of our soul from
all those propensities to evil which now so strongly predominate in us;
it takes in, in fact, the undoing of all that Adam did. Salvation is
the total restoration of man from his fallen estate; and yet it is
something more than that, for God's salvation fixes our standing more
secure than it was before we fell. It finds us broken in pieces by the
sin of our first parent, defiled, stained, accursed: it first heals our
wounds, it removes our diseases, it takes away our curse, it puts our
feet upon the rock Christ Jesus, and having thus done, at last it lifts
our heads far above all principalities. and powers, to be crowned for
ever with Jesus Christ, the King of heaven. Some people, when they use
the word "salvation," understand nothing more by it than deliverance
from hell and admittance into heaven. Now, that is not salvation: those
two things are the effects of salvation. We are redeemed from hell
because we are saved, and we enter heaven because we have been saved
beforehand. Our everlasting state is the effect of salvation in this
life. Salvation, it is true, includes all that, because salvation is
the mother of it, and carrieth it within its bowels; but still it were
wrong for us to imagine that that is all the meaning of the word.
Salvation begins with us as wandering sheep; it follows us through all
our mazy wanderings; it puts us on the shoulders of the shepherd; it
carries us into the fold; it calls together the friends and the
neighbors; it rejoices over us; it preserves us in that fold through
life; and then at last it brings us to the green pastures of heaven,
beside the still waters of bliss, where we lie down for ever, in the
presence of the Chief Shepherd, never more to be disturbed.
Now our text tells us there is only one way of salvation. "Neither is
there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven
given among men, whereby we must be saved." I shall take first of all a
negative truth taught here, namely, that there is no salvation out of
Christ; and then, secondly, a positive truth inferred, namely, that
there is salvation in Jesus Christ whereby we must be saved.
I. First, then, A NEGATIVE FACT. "Neither is there salvation in any
other." Did you ever notice the intolerance of God's religion? In olden
times the heathen, who had different gods, all of them respected the
gods of their neighbors. For instance, the king of Egypt would confess
that the gods of Nineveh were true and real gods, and the prince of
Babylon would acknowledge that the gods of the Philistines were true
and real gods: but Jehovah, the God of Israel, put this as one of his
first commandments, "Thou shalt have none other gods besides me;" and
he would not allow them to pay the slightest possible respect to the
gods of any other nation: "Thou shalt hew them in pieces, thou shalt
break down their temples, and cut down their groves." All other nations
were tolerant the one to the other, but the Jew could not be so. One
part of his religion was, "Hear, O Israel, the Lord thy God is one
God;" and as the consequence of his belief that there was but one God,
and that that one God was Jehovah, he felt it his bounden duty to call
all pretended gods by nicknames, to spit upon them, to treat them with
contumely and contempt. Now the Christian religion, you observe, is
just as intolerant as this. If you apply to a Brahmin to know the way
of salvation, he will very likely tell you at once, that all persons
who follow out their sincere religious convictions will undoubtedly be
saved. "There," says he, "are the Mohammedans; if they obey Mohammed,
and sincerely believe what he has taught without doubt, Alla will
glorify them at last." And the Brahmin turns round upon the Christian
missionary, and says, "What is the use of your bringing your
Christianity here to disturb us? I tell you our religion is quite
capable of carrying us to heaven, if we are faithful to it." Now just
hear the text: how intolerant is the Christian religion! "Neither is
there salvation in any other." The Brahmin may admit, that there is
salvation in fifty religions besides his own; but we admit no such
thing. There is no true salvation out of Jesus Christ. The gods of the
heathens may approach us with their mock charity, and tell us that
every man may follow out his own conscientious conviction and be saved.
We reply–No such thing: there is no salvation in any other; "for there
is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be
saved"
Now, what do you suppose is the reason of this intolerance–if I may
use the word again? I believe it is just because there is the truth
both with the Jew and with the Christian. A thousand errors may live in
peace with one another, but truth is the hammer that breaks them all in
pieces. A hundred lying religions may sleep peaceably in one bed, but
wherever the Christian religion goes as the truth, it is like a
fire-brand, and it abideth nothing that is not more substantial than
the wood, the hay, and the stubble of carnal error. All the gods of the
heathen, and all other religions are born of hell, and therefore, being
children of the same father, it would seem amiss that they should fall
out, and chide, and fight; but the religion of Christ is a thing of
God's–its pedigree is from on high, and, therefore, when once it is
thrust into the midst of an ungodly and gainsaying generation, it hath
neither peace, nor parley, nor treaty with them, for it is truth, and
cannot afford to be yoked with error: it stands upon its own rights,
and gives to error its due, declaring that it hath no salvation, but
that in the truth, and in the truth alone, is salvation to be found.
Again, it is because we have here the sanction of God. It would be
improper in any man who had invented a creed of his own, to state that
all others must he damned who do not believe it; that would be an
overweening censoriousness and bigotry, at which we might afford to
smile; but since this religion of Christ is revealed from heaven
itself, God, who is the author of all truth, hath a right to append to
this truth the dreadful condition, that who so rejecteth it shall
perish without mercy; and in proclaiming that, apart from Christ, no
man can be saved. We are not really intolerant, for we are but echoing
the words of him that speaketh from heaven, and who declares, that
cursed is the man who rejects this religion of Christ, seeing that
there is no salvation out of him. "Neither is there salvation in any
other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men,
whereby we must be saved."
Now I hear one or two persons saying, "Do you imagine then, sir, that
none are saved apart from Christ?" I reply, I don t imagine it, but I
have it here in my text plainly taught. "Well but," saith one, how is
it concerning the death of infants? Do not infants die without actual
sin? Are they saved? and if so, how?" I answer, saved they are beyond a
doubt; all children dying in infancy are caught away to dwell in the
third heaven of bliss for ever. But mark this–no infant was ever saved
apart from the death of Christ. Christ Jesus hath with his blood bought
all those who die in infancy; they are all regenerated, not in
sprinkling, but probably in the instant of their death a marvellous
change passes over them by the breathing of the Holy Spirit, the blood
of Jesus is applied to them, and they are washed from all original
corruption which they had inherited from their parents, and thus washed
and cleansed they enter into the kingdom of heaven. Otherwise, beloved,
infants would be unable to join in the everlasting song,."Unto him that
loved us and washed us from our sins in his blood." If infants were not
washed in the blood of Christ, they could not join in that universal
song which perpetually surrounds the throne of God. We believe that
they are all saved–every one of them without exception–but not apart
from the one great sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ. Another says,
"But how about the heathen? They know not Christ; are any of the
heathen saved?" Mark, Holy Scripture saith but very little concerning
the salvation of the heathen. There are many texts in Scripture which
would lead us to infer that all the heathen perish; but there are some
texts which, on the other hand, lead us to believe that there are some
out of the heathen race who, led by God's secret spirit, are seeking
after him in the dark, endeavoring to find out something they cannot
discover in nature; and it may be that the God of infinite mercy who
loves his creatures, is pleased to make to them these revelations in
their own heart–dark and mysterious revelations concerning the things
of heaven–so that even they may be made partakers of the blood of
Jesus Christ, without having such an open vision as we have received,
without beholding the cross visibly elevated, and Christ set forth
crucified among them. It has been observed in many heathen lands, that
before the missionaries have gone there, there has been a strong desire
after the religion of Christ. In the Sandwich Islands, before our
missionaries went there, there was a strange commotion in the minds of
those poor barbarians; they did not know what it was, but they were all
on a sudden discontented with their idolatries, and had a longing
desire after something higher, better, and purer, than anything they
had hitherto discovered; and no sooner was Jesus Christ preached, than
they willingly renounced all their idolatries, and laid hold upon him
to be their strength and their salvation. Now, we believe this was the
Work of God's Spirit secretly inclining these poor creatures to seek
after him; and we cannot tell but that in some sequestered spots where
we had thought the gospel never has been preached, there may be some
lone tract, some chapter of the Bible, some solitary verse of Holy Writ
remembered, which may be sufficient to open blind eyes, and to guide
poor benighted hearts to the foot of the cross of Christ. But this much
is certain; no heathen, however moral–whether in the days of their old
philosophy, or in the present time of their barbarism–ever did or ever
could enter the kingdom of heaven apart from the name of Jesus Christ.
"Neither is their salvation in any other." A man may seek after it and
labor after it in his own way, but there he cannot possibly find it,
"for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we
must be saved."
But after all, my dear friends, it is a great deal better, when we are
dealing with these subjects, not to talk upon speculative matters, but
to come home personally to ourselves. And let me now ask you this
question, have you ever proved by experience the truth of this great
negative fact, that there is no salvation in any other? I can speak
what I do know, and testify what I have seen, when I solemnly declare
in the presence of this congregation, that it is even so. Once I
thought there was salvation in good works, and I labored hard, and
strove diligently to preserve a character for integrity and
uprightness; but when the Spirit of God came into my heart, "sin
revived and I died," that which I thought had been good proved to be
evil; wherein I thought I had been holy I found myself to be unholy. I
discovered that my very best actions were sinful. that my tears needed
to be wept over, and that my very prayers needed God's forgiveness. I
discovered that I was seeking after salvation by the works of the law,
that I was doing all my good works from a selfish motive, namely to
save myself, and therefore they could not be acceptable to God. I found
out that I could not be saved by good works for two very good reasons:
first, I had not got any and secondly, if I had any, they could not
save me. After that I thought, surely salvation might be obtained,
partly by reformation, and partly by trusting in Christ; so I labored
hard again, and thought if I added a few prayers here and there, a few
tears of penitence, and a few vows of improvement, all would be well.
But after forging on for many a weary day, like a poor blind horse
toiling round the mill, I found I had got no farther, for there was
still the curse of God hanging over me: "Cursed is every one that
continueth not in all things that are written in the book of the law to
do them;" and there was still an aching void in my heart the world
could never fill–a void of distress and care, for I was sorely
troubled because I could not attain unto the rest which my soul
desired. Have you tried those two ways of getting to heaven? If you
have, I trust the Lord, the Holy Spirit, has made you heartily sick of
them, for you shall never enter the kingdom of heaven by the right
door, until you have first of all been led to confess that all the
other doors are barred in your teeth. No man ever will come to God
through the straight and narrow way until he had tried all the other
ways; and when we find ourselves beaten, and foiled, and defeated, then
it is, that pressed by sore necessity, we betake ourselves to the one
open fountain, and there wash ourselves, and are made clean.
Perhaps I have in my presence this morning some who are trying to gain
salvation by ceremonies. You have been baptized in your infancy; you
regularly take the Lord's Supper; you attend your church or chapel; and
if you knew any other ceremonies you would attend to them. Ah! my dear
friends, all these things are as the chaff before the wind in the
matter of salvation; they cannot help you one step towards acceptance
in the person of Christ. As well might you labor to build your house
with water, as to build salvation with such poor things as these. These
are good enough for you when you are saved, but if you seek salvation
in them, they shall be to your soul as wells without water, clouds
without rain, and withered trees, twice dead, plucked up by the roots.
Whatever is your way of salvation–for there are a thousand different
inventions of men whereby they seek to save themselves–whatever it may
be, hear thou its death. knell tolled from this verse: "Neither is
there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven
given among men, whereby we must be saved."
II. Now, this brings me to the POSITIVE FACT which is inferred in the
text, namely, that there is salvation in Jesus Christ. Surely, when I
make that simple statement I might burst forth with the song of the
angels, and say–"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good
will towards men." Here are a thousand mercies all bound up in one
bundle, in this sweet, sweet fact, that there is salvation in Jesus
Christ. I shall endeavor now merely to deal with any soul here present
who entertains a doubt as to his own salvation in Jesus Christ; I shall
single him out, and address him affectionately and earnestly, and
endeavor to show him that he may yet be saved, and that in Christ there
is salvation for him.
I know thee, sinner! Thou hast long been trying to find the road to
heaven, and thou hast missed it. Hitherto thou hast had a thousand
dazzling cheats to deceive thee, and never yet one solid ground of
comfort for thy poor weary foot; and now, encompassed about by thy
sins, thou art not able to look up. Guilt, like a heavy burden, is on
thy back, and thy finger is on thy lip, for thou darest not yet cry for
pardon; thou art afraid to speak, lest out of thine own mouth thou
shouldest be condemned. Satan whispers in thine ear, "It is all over
with thee; there is no mercy for such as thou art: thou art condemned,
and condemned thou must be; Christ is able to save many, but not to
save thee." Poor soul! what shall I say unto thee but this–Come with
me to the cross of Christ, and thou shalt there see something which
shall remove thine unbelief. Seest thou that man nailed to yonder tree?
Dost thou know his character? He is without spot or blemish, or any
such thing: he was no thief, that he should die a felon's death: he was
no murderer and no assassin, that he should be crucified between two
malefactors. No; his original was pure, without a sin; and his life was
holy, without a flaw. Out of his mouth there proceeded only blessing;
his hands were full of good deeds, and his feet were swift for acts of
mercy; his heart was white with holiness. There was nought in him that
man could blame; even his enemies, when they sought to accuse him,
found false witnesses, but even they "agreed not together." Dost thou
see him dying? Sinner, there must be merit in the death of such a man
as that; for without sin himself, when he is put to grief, it must be
for other men's sins. God would not afflict and grieve him when he
deserved it not. God is no tyrant that he should crush the innocent; he
is not unholy that he should punish the righteous. He suffered, then,
for the sins of others.
"For sins, not his own, he died to atone."
Think of the purity of Christ, and then see whether there is not
salvation in him. Come now With thy blackness about thee, and look at
his whiteness; come with thy defilement, and look at his purity; and as
thou lookest at that purity, like the lily, and thou seest the crimson
of his blood overflowing it, let this whisper be heard in thine
ear,–he is able to save thee, sinner, inasmuch as though he was
"tempted in all points like as we are," yet he was "without sin;"
therefore, the merit of his blood must be great. Oh, may God help thee
to believe on him!
But this is not the grand thing which should recommend him to thee.
Remember, he who died upon the cross, was no less than the everlasting
Son of God. Dost see him there? Come, turn thine eye once more to him.
Seest thou his hands and feet trickling with streamlets of gore? That
man is Almighty God. Those hands that are nailed to the tree, are hands
that could shake the world; those feet that are there pierced have in
them, if he willed to put it forth, a potency of strength that might
make the mountains melt beneath their tread. That head, now bowed in
anguish and in weakness, has in it the wisdom of the Godhead, and with
its nod it could make the universe tremble. He who hangs upon the cross
yonder, is he without whom was not anything made that was made: by him
all things consist–Maker, Creator, Preserver, God of providence, and
God of grace–he who died for thee is God over all, blessed for ever.
And now, sinner, is there any power to save in such a Saviour as this?
If he were a mere man, a Socinian's Christ, or an Arian's Christ, I
would not bid thee trust him; but since he is none other than God
himself incarnate in human flesh, I beseech thee cast thyself upon him;
"He is able,
He is willing, doubt no more."
"He is able to save unto the uttermost, them that come unto God by
him."
Will you recollect again, as a further consolation for your faith that
you may believe that God the Father has accepted the sacrifice of
Christ. It is the Father's anger that you have the most cause to dread.
The Father is angry with you, for you have sinned, and he has sworn
with an oath that he will punish you for your offenses. Now, Jesus
Christ was punished in the room, place, and stead of every sinner who
hath repented. or ever shall repent. Jesus Christ stood as his
substitute and scapegoat. God the Father hath accepted Christ in the
stead of sinners. Oh, ought not this to lead you to accept him? If the
Judge has accepted the sacrifice, sure you may accept it too; and if he
be satisfied, sure you may be content also. If the creditor has written
a full and free discharge; you, the poor debtor, may rejoice and
believe that that discharge is satisfactory to you, because it is
satisfactory to God. But do you ask me how I know that God has accepted
Christ's atonement? I remind you that Christ rose again from the dead.
Christ was put into the prison-house of the tomb after he died, and
there he waited until God should have accepted the atonement.
"If Jesus ne'er had paid the debt,
He ne'er had been at freedom set."
Christ would have been in the tomb at this very day, if God had not
accepted his atonement for our justification; but the Lord looked down
from heaven, and he surveyed the work of Christ, and said within
himself, "It is very good; it is enough;" and turning to an angel, he
said, "Angel, my Son is confined in prison, a hostage for my elect; he
has paid the price; I know he will not break the prison down himself;
go, angel, go and roll away the stone from the door of the sepulcher,
and set him at liberty." Down flew the angel, and rolled away the
massive stone; and rising from the shades of death the Saviour lived.
"He died and rose again for our justification." Now, poor soul, thou
seest God has accepted Christ; surely then, thou mayest accept him and
believe on him.
Another argument, which may perhaps come nearer to thine own soul is
this–many have been saved who were as vile as thou art. and therefore
there is salvation. "No," sayest thou, "none are so vile as I am." It
is a mercy that thou thinkest so, but nevertheless it is quite certain
that others have been saved, who have been as filthy as thyself. Have
you been a persecutor? "Yes," you say. Ay, but you have not been more
blood-thirsty than Saul! And yet that chief of sinners became the chief
of saints. Have you been a swearer? Have you cursed the Almighty to his
face? Ay; and such were some of us who now lift up our voices in
prayer, and approach his throne with acceptance. Have you been a
drunkard? Ay, and so have many of God's people been for many a day and
many a year; but they have forsaken their filthiness, and they have
turned unto the Lord with full purpose of heart. However great thy sin,
I tell thee, man, there have been some saved as deep in sin as thou
art. And if even none have been saved, who are such great sinners as
thou art, so much the more reason why God should save thee, that he may
go beyond all that he ever has done. The Lord always delights to be
doing wonders; and if thou standest the chief of sinners, a little
ahead of all the rest, I believe he will delight to save thee, that the
wonders of his love and his grace may be the more manifestly known. Do
you still say that you are the chief of sinners? I tell you I do not
think it. The chief of sinners was saved years ago; that was the
Apostle Paul: but even if you should exceed him, still that word
"uttermost" goes a little beyond you. "He is able to save them to the
uttermost that come unto God by him." Recollect, sinner, if thou dost
not find salvation in Christ it will be because thou dost not look for
it, for it certainly is there. If thou shalt perish without being saved
through the blood of Christ, it will not be through a want of power in
that blood to save thee, but entirely through a want of will on thy
part–even that thou wilt not believe on him, but dost wantonly and
wilfully reject his blood to thine own destruction. Take heed to
thyself, for as surely as there is salvation in none other, so surely
there is salvation in him.
I could turn to you myself, and tell you that surely there must be
salvation in Christ for you, since I have found salvation in Christ for
myself. Often have I said, I will never doubt the salvation of any one,
so long as I can but know that Christ has accepted me. Oh! how dark was
my despair when I first sought his mercy seat, I thought then that if
he had mercy on all the world, yet he would never have mercy on me; the
sins of my childhood and my youth haunted me; I sought to get rid of
them one by one, but I was caught as in an iron net of evil habits, and
I could not overthrow them; and even when I could renounce my sin, yet
the guilt still did cling to my garments–I could not wash myself
clean; I prayed for three long years, I bent my knees in vain, and
sought, but found no mercy. But, at last, blessed be his name, when I
had given up all hope, and thought, that his swift anger would destroy
me, and that the pit would open its mouth and swallow me up, then in
the hour of my extremity did he manifest himself to me, and teach me to
cast myself simply and wholly upon him. So shall it be with thee, only
trust him, for there is salvation in him–rest assured of that.
To quicken thy diligence, however, I will conclude by noting that if
you do not find salvation in Christ, remember you will never find it
elsewhere. What a dreadful thing it will be for you if you should lose
the salvation provided by Christ! For "how shall you escape if you
neglect so great salvation?" To-day, very probably I am not speaking to
very many of the grossest of sinners, yet I know I am speaking to some
even of that class; but whether we are gross sinners or not, how
fearful a thing it will be for us to die without first having found an
interest in the Saviour! Oh sinner! this should quicken thee in going
to the mercy seat; this thought, that if thou findest no mercy at the
feet of Jesus, thou canst never find it any where else. If the gates of
heaven shall never open to thee, remember there is no other gate that
ever can be opened for thy salvation. If Christ refuse thee thou art
refused; if his blood be not sprinkled on thee thou art lost indeed.
Oh! if he keeps thee waiting a little while, still continue in prayer;
it is worth waiting for, especially when thou hast this thought to keep
thee waiting, namely, that there is none other, no other way, no other
hope, no other ground of trust, no other refuge. There I see the gate
of heaven, and if I must enter it, I must creep on my hands and knees,
for it is a low gate; there I see it, it is a strait and narrow one, I
must leave my sins behind me, and my proud righteousness, and I must
creep in through that wicket. Come sinner, what sayest thou? Wilt thou
go beyond this strait and narrow gate, or wilt thou despise eternal
life and risk eternal bliss? Or wilt thou go through it humbly hoping
that he who gave himself for thee will accept thee in himself, and save
thee now, and save thee everlastingly?
May these few words have power to draw some to Christ, and I am
content. "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved."
"For there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we
must be saved."
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