In the book of the Acts of Apostles, after the Pentecost event, what follows especially from chapter two to four is the spirit filled sermons of St. Peter. In Chapter three we read how Peter healed the crippled beggar by saying, “I have no silver or gold, but what I have I give you; in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, stand up and walk” (Acts 3:6).  The people who saw this were utterly astonished and they came to Peter and John. It is then Peter began to preach to them and told them that it is faith in Jesus that healed that man.

As Peter and John were preaching they were arrested by the priests and Sadducees. When they were being questioned before the council, Peter delivers another short and thought provoking sermon: Peter filled with the Holy Spirit said to them…if we are questioned today because of a good deed done and are asked how this man has been healed……let it be known to all of you that this man is standing before you in good health by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth… (Act 4:8-11).

The crippled man who was made well can be taken as a model of persons who are saved by faith in Jesus. He was a crippled, but faith healed him and made him to stand and enjoy good health. Salvation is not just an after–death issue. Salvation is the fullness of everything which God wanted to give us in and through Jesus. It can be understood as the fullness of life, freedom, joy, peace, etc.

It is our common experience that, there is nothing in the world that will enable us to experience the fullness of all these, except through our faith in Jesus. It is in this manner that I understand the famous statement of St. Peter, there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among mortals by which we must be saved (Acts. 4:12).

About the Author:

Fr. Binoy Puthusery, C.M. is a Vincentian priest belonging to the Southern Indian Province. He was ordained as priest on December 27, 2008 and soon after served as an assistant parish priest in Tanzania.  In 2011, after two years of ministry, he was appointed as Spiritual Director to the Vincentian Sisters of Mercy, Mbinga Tanzania. He currently lives in Barakaldo (Spain), and is a teacher in the Masters in Vincentian Studies.