It is easy to feel a lack of courage at work as a Christian. We can feel strong pressure to keep our mouths shut about Jesus. We might fear strong reactions from outspoken atheists, or being rebuked by our bosses, or being viewed as weird.
Stop and consider: What are the forces in your workplace (or mind) that work to keep your mouth shut about Christian things?
It can be very motivating to look at the courage and convictions of the early apostles. One of these convictions is that Jesus is the only way that people must be saved.
“Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” The Apostle Peter - Acts 4:12 (NIV)
‘Can’ vs ‘must’
The strange thing about this verse is the word ‘must’ (I’m assuming you already believe that Jesus is the only way).
The apostle Peter could have said that Jesus’ name is the only name by which we can be saved. This feels better grammatically. But ‘can’ sounds like an optional extra.
‘Must’ is stronger and more of an imperative. It seems to imply that there is no choice; we must tell people about this way of salvation and implore them to respond. But why must we, especially in this postmodern world where ‘must’ is a dirty word?
The apostle Peter’s reasons we must be saved
In Acts 4, Peter and John are arrested and brought before the Jewish Council—the same council that sentenced Jesus to die a horrible death just a few weeks previously.
Peter and John have no fear or reticence in speaking plainly about Jesus. They are even trying to persuade the Jewish leaders to turn to him. Why do they believe that everyone must hear about Jesus, even these powerful leaders? You can read their speech in Acts 3:11-26, but here is a summary of their reasons:
- Jesus has been raised to heaven in awesome power and is coming back to restore God’s kingdom (3:21). Healing the crippled man (3:6) was a foretaste of this.
- If you don’t believe in Jesus you will be cut off from this future kingdom (3:23).
- If you turn to Jesus there is great blessing even now: your sins are wiped out, you will leave your wicked ways behind, and refreshment will come (3:19, 26).
- Jesus is the one predicted in the Old Testament. For the past 2000 years all the prophets have been waiting for him to come and bring in God’s kingdom. He is the long awaited saviour. He is the only saviour (3:18, 21-25).
Pray: Ask God to so convict you of these truths that you’d be willing to overcome fear in order to persuade people that they must be saved through Jesus.
