1 E. F. Horton.
ACTS iv. 12 79
other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved." 1
% Swami Vivekananda, the hero of the Chicago parliament of religions, preaches to his fellow-countrymen the sinlessness of man : " The worst lie that you ever told yourself was that you were a sinner or a wicked man. ... It is the greatest of all lies that we are men ; we are the god of the universe." Meanwhile Krishna, the favourite god of India, is the incarnation of abandoned immorality. When some Hindus were remonstrated with for worshipping a being guilty of these shameless vices, they replied, "These are but his sports, you English have your sports, you have the railway and the steamboat and the telegraph, and no one blames you. Why should you blame Krishna for sporting in his way ? " 2
3. Why does St. Peter say, " There is no other name " ? Christ Himself suggests to us the reason. When He said in His last prayer, "I have manifested thy name to the men whom thou gavest me," He did not mean that He had made known simply what we call the name of God. Men already knew that. He meant rather that He had revealed the fatherly character of God, the eternal principles which the name of God represents. In modern speech a name is merely a sort of tag or label. " A rose by any other name would smell as sweet." In the Scriptures a name connotes something characteristic of the thing or person named. Thus Jesus helps us to the clue that leads out of all misunderstanding of the Apostle's teaching. The name of Christ is the saving name because it stands for the saving thing.
TJ The victory has been enshrined in a Name. All the power of the Nazareth victory, and of the Wilderness victory, all the power of the great climax victory of Calvary, and of the Eesurrec- tion morning — all is packed into one word, a Name, the Name of Jesus. There is far more, infinitely more, practical help and power in that Name than we have dreamed of ; certainly far more than we have ever used. The Name of Jesus is the most valuable asset of the Christian life.3
^| I remember a young man coming up to me at the close of a service in London. He told me how sorely he had been tempted, how he seemed to make no headway against the struggle in his Christian life, until the suggestion came to him of the
1 C. H. Spurgeon. 2 R. F. Horton.
8 S. D. Gordon, Quiet Talks about the Tempter, 202.
80 THE SAVING NAME
practical value of that Name above every name. Instantly be began using it, reverently, prayerfully, eagerly, and relief and victory came. And the look of eye and face revealed how real was the victory and peace that had come to him.1
In One Name I have found the all in all.
It is enough, and It will never fail.
Here on the height, or there within the vale, In this my strength I shall not greatly fall. If on the dark hills here thy fears appal,
O thou mine Enemy ! or there assail
My fainting heart, yet shall they not prevail, For on the Name thou dreadest I will call.
Oh then rejoice not ! for 1 shall arise, And heavenly light shall stream across the gloom, And heavenly music drown the voice of doom,
And a most blissful prospect cheer mine eyes: All from that Name beloved and adored, Thy sweet great Name, 0 Jesus Christ, my Lord.2
4. How shall we prove the truth of Christ's claim ? We shall prove it in our life. As the Cross is the price of salvation, so, too, a cross will mark the life of the Christian. The words of Jesus are: "Whosoever shall lose his life for my sake shall find it." Salvation from sin means power over sin, and this salvation Christ gives in His name. But the distinguishing marks of Christianity are sacrifice and struggle. A Christian will be known from a non- Christian as one who, having taken a right view of life, knows that it means a long struggle and perpetual sacrifice. Do not make the mistake of thinking that Christianity means the pale face and the lacerated body and the constant thwarting of desires. If you cannot escape into life without these sacrifices, it does so mean, but not otherwise. It means death to the lower that we may live in the higher. It means a sacrifice of much which the world values, because the Church has found something higher. It means that the soul loves to be with God better than eating the forbidden fruit. It means that the soul would rather be an outcast with Christ than be popular without Him. A Christian is one who is able to say with all his heart : " Thou art worthy . . . for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood."
1 S. D. Gordon, Quiet Talks about the Tempter, 203. 3 S. J. Stone, Poems and Hymns, 202.
ACTS iv. 12 81
Christ's Heart was wrung for me, if mine is sore ;
And if my feet are weary, His have bled;