When last we met, the keeper of the jail brought them out - Paul and Silas - and next, they were asked the question: Sirs, what must I do to be saved? (Acts 16:30)
What must I do to be saved ...
The keeper was saved from self-murder just moments before this enquiry. He had been asleep, in the dark of midnight, when there was an earthquake, doors opened wide, and shackles were loosed from wrists and ankles. All prisoners were free to leave, and yet, all remained in their cells. Paul, discerning what the guard would do to himself, cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here. The keeper, called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling (Acts 16:28, 29)
This turn of events is astounding. Consider with me a prison guard, respectfully addressing prisoners as Sirs, and asking the question, What must I do to be saved? The fright of his life, along with being instructed not to harm himself, had him trembling, and brought him to his knees, before men that knew the answer to his question.
Do you wonder too, what you must do to be saved, dear reader?
When your spirit and body part ways; when the corporal is severed from the soulful, what will become of you?
Clearly, the man knew there was more to this life, than just being in his body. One of the lessons for me from reading this account of salvation, a prison break for the keeper, is how powerful God is, and how mighty the gospel truth can be for those that hear it and believe. It helps me immensely, by giving me the freedom to share the Good News, without worrying about pulling or pushing people into the family of God. It is never human effort, persuasion, or coercion, that saves souls; it is always hearing about Jesus Christ as Lord, and for those that hear and believe, there is joyful delight.
And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, you and your house (Acts 16:31)
Does this answer to the keepers question resonate with you?
Does it appeal to your spirit to be saved via the Redeemer of your soul?
What about your family members? Does it concern you, when you consider what they believe about life, and the after life?
And they spoke unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house. And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes: and was baptized, he and all his, straightway (Acts 16:32-33)
Word of the Lord
Spoken to him and all that were in his house
He washed their stripes the same hour
Was baptized, he and all his, straightway
I promised in our last time together on this subject, an order, a structure to being saved, and what follows soon after:
1. The word of God must be spoken to a person. So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God (Romans 10:17)
2. The hearer, must believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believe on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life (John 5:24)
3. There is a change of heart, and an immediate change in behaviour. In the case we are viewing, we see the keeper, the prison guard, washing the stripes, the whip inflicted gashes and slashes, on the backs of Paul and Silas. This is a sign of repentance, and a willingness to show humility in the admittance of wrong doing.. The keeper displays tender compassion for the men that had not long before, been treated violently in their innocence. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and contrite heart. O God, thou will not despise (Psalm 51:17)
4. Straightway, he was baptized, he and all his. Baptism follows straightway, immediately, on the heels of salvation. How marvellous for the prison keeper and his household, to hear the word of God; to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ; and his Father that sent him; to have the assurance of passing from death unto life - escaping, being saved, from condemnation - now that is a real jailbreak, to say the least! - and to have their sins washed away, while calling on the name of the Lord:
He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned (Mark 16:16)
And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord (Acts 22:16)
From here, dear reader, there is newness. There is a joy in the Lord that is unmatched and unsurpassable, by any other pleasure. To know and love God, to feel his love poured out, is a deep and abiding bond of affinity, one that cannot be broken, and lives into eternity. Only those that belong to him, know of what I speak.
Let us take our last look into the home of the jail keeper.
And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house (Acts 16:34)
We read of a middle of the night baptismal celebration and feast, with recently sprung from jail prisoners, Paul and Silas. They are now honoured guests in the midst of new family of God members. This scene makes my nose tingle with the start of tears. In a few short hours, this band of new believers have formed an eternal bond, in Christ as Lord. The messengers of reconciliation, Paul and Silas, are richly rewarded for their steadfast commitment to sharing the gospel ... souls saved and celebrated ... what could possibly be better than this?
Praise be to God on high.
NOTE: As ministers of reconciliation, we are promised persecution. Paul and Silas were maltreated by the unsaved, but here we see what can happen in the life of one man, and as a result, what the outcome can be for an entire household, that believe on the Lord Jesus Christ as Saviour. What must I do to be saved ...
This, dear one, can be your story too: an unlikely prison break, where you, as former captive to the carnal world, can be set free.
No comments:
Post a Comment