The Only Way

Of [Jesus] all the prophets bear witness that through His name everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins.
–Acts 10:43

If you asked people, “Do you think somebody who believes in God, prays regularly, and gives money to the poor is going to heaven?” most people on the street and even in the church would probably say yes. But the Bible says no one is saved apart from a personal faith in Jesus Christ. This is the third truth we learn from the story of the Roman centurion Cornelius in Acts 10. Cornelius wanted to know God, but that desire wasn’t enough to save him. Salvation is found only through Jesus Christ. That’s why God went to supernatural lengths to put Peter in Cornelius’s life so he could hear the gospel.

Cornelius gathered his friends and family to hear what Peter had to say. When Peter arrived, he said, “You yourselves know how unlawful it is for a man who is a Jew to associate with a foreigner or to visit him; and yet God has shown me that I should not call any man unholy or unclean. That is why I came without even raising any objection when I was sent for” (vv. 28–29). Cornelius was a Gentile, not a Jew. In fact, he was part of the military force occupying Israel. But God had prepared Peter’s heart to witness to somebody he was inclined to resent.

When Peter asked why Cornelius had sent for him, Cornelius said, in essence, “Please preach whatever God has placed on your heart.” Any preacher loves to hear that! And Peter was ready to share the gospel. He gave a sermon about the perfect life, sacrificial death, and indisputable resurrection of Jesus Christ. Peter concluded, “This is the One who has been appointed by God as Judge of the living and the dead. Of Him all the prophets bear witness that through His name everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins” (vv. 42–43).

Peter did not say that everyone who believes in God or who tries to be a good person will receive forgiveness; he said everyone who believes in Jesus receives forgiveness. That’s what the gospel is about. Knowledge of God is available to everyone, and anyone who desires further revelation about God will receive it. But no one is saved apart from a personal faith in Jesus Christ.

Today’s devotion is adapted from “Why God Sends Good People to Hell,” by Dr. Robert Jeffress, 2022.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. www.lockman.org.