IN the book of Acts we find that when Peter and John were brought before the rulers, charged with the offense of having healed a man lame from the time of his birth, they were asked, as a preliminary to their judicial examination, "by what power, or by what name" they had wrought this miracle. They answered that it was through the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth that this man had been healed, and they declared that the healing truth thus exemplified was the truth referred to by the psalmist as "the stone which the builders refused," but which "is become the head stone of the corner." In pressing home the argument for their defense Peter continued, "Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved."
For long years this Scripture has been regarded by many as a dogma by which one's Christianity was to be tested. It was largely believed that an avowal of faith in the name of Christ Jesus brought salvation to the one who made it, but in most cases there was a sense of uncertainty as to what is really meant by "salvation" through the name of Christ, as expressed in this passage. To many professed Christians salvation has meant, specifically, escape from eternal punishment, and while in recent years a much broader meaning has been attached to the word, it is safe to say that a large majority hold to this old belief. In Christian Science, however, salvation takes on a very inclusive and withal an intensely practical signification. It is defined as follows (Science and Health, p. 593): "Life, Truth, and Love understood and demonstrated as supreme over all; sin, sickness, and death destroyed." To "work out your own salvation" according to Christian Science, must therefore be along the lines thus indicated.
Here we are brought back to Peter's declaration that salvation cannot be realized apart from the name of Christ Jesus, and his insistence that the lame man's salvation from a lifelong disability had come to him through this name. Now it cannot be denied that superstition has sought to counterfeit the essential truth which Peter's statement embodied, and this to the great detriment of Christian faith. Thousands throughout the centuries have blindly begged for healing in the name of Christ Jesus, and when they failed to receive it through blind faith, they turned entirely to material means and declared that salvation does not include healing such as was practised by Christ Jesus and his apostles. They quite overlooked the fact that the name of Christ Jesus represents forever his Godlike nature and his marvelous understanding of God's law, which he had in some measure imparted to his disciples. It was by this means that the lame man was healed, but no "vain repetitions" of any name, however sacred, could effect such a result, as witness the ignominious failure of Sceva's seven sons, who tried to cast out devils without having themselves "received the Holy Ghost," the divine Comforter that leads into all truth.
