No other name but Jesus.
Hebrews 7:25
25 Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them. (NIV)
The holiness of God makes Him unapproachable. Anyone with even the slightest imperfection of the soul can not qualify worthy to be in the presence of God. Yet, God is also love and wants that no one be condemned to Hell and desires that all men be with Him. God’s answer to this difficulty of creating a path for man to Himself while He remains unapproachable is the priesthood.
In the Old Testament, the priest was chosen by God to be cleansed in ritual qualifying the priest to stand as an in-between allowing mankind to come to God through the priest. The problem was the imperfection of the men who made up the priesthood from the tribe of Levi. They were chosen to be cleansed ritually, but they also were guilty of sin and thus, unworthy to approach God for themselves much less did they qualify to represent others. Yet, God for a season allows this.
When Christ comes, through baptism, He is ordained as the High Priest. His perfect life more than qualifies Him to stand in the gap between sinful man and the unapproachable holiness of God. He is the only qualified priest of God. We still need a priest who can present us to the Father as one who has been cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ. It is only through faith in our High Priest, Jesus, that we can be saved. Salvation comes through no other name but Jesus.
The Old Testament priests are gone, and we no longer bring animal sacrifices to offer to God, yet, too often, we seek salvation through the faith of others and not our own. Because our wife, Mom, or grandfather are near to God, we live to please them as if their faith and their prayers make a Heavenly reservation for our soul. This is not true. It is by no other name than Jesus that we can be saved.
It is impossible to live a Christian life vicariously through another. We must have our own faith. They can pray for you, teach you, and lead the way, but in the end, we must choose to have a faith of our own. Our faith must be fed by our own prayers, our own worship, our own obedience, reverence, and honor to God. These godly people in your life are gifts from God, but they are not the gift of salvation, and they cannot appropriate the abundant blessings of God for your life. You must do this through no other name but Jesus.
