brought them out, and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”
They said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.”
Show the surrounding paragraph
Acts 16:30-31 sits inside this longer paragraph.
He called for lights, sprang in, fell down trembling before Paul and Silas, brought them out, and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”
They said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.” They spoke the word of the Lord to him, and to all who were in his house.
Parallel Translations
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brought them out, and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”
They said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.”
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and brought them out and sayde: Syrs what must I do to be saved?
And they sayde: beleve on the Lorde Iesus and thou shalt be saved and thy housholde.
Show all 3 translations
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And brought them out, and said, Syrs, what must I doe to be saued?
And they saide, Beleeue in the Lord Iesus Christ, and thou shalt be saued, and thine houshold.
Examined in Scripture Analysis
Contradictions (2)
Questions where the Bible appears to say two different things, with the passages on each side set together.
Cross-references (47)
- John 1:12 (v31) But as many as received him, to them he gave the right to become God’s children, to those who believe in his name:
- John 3:36 (v31) One who believes in the Son has eternal life, but one who disobeys the Son won’t see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.”
- Acts 2:38-39 (v31) Peter said to them, “Repent, and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins, and you will…
- Romans 10:9-10 (v31) that if you will confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be…
- Acts 11:13-14 (v31) He told us how he had seen the angel standing in his house, and saying to him, ‘Send to Joppa, and get Simon, who is called Peter, who will…
Show all 47 cross-references
- Mark 16:16 (v31) He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who disbelieves will be condemned.
- Galatians 3:26 (v31) For you are all children of God, through faith in Christ Jesus.
- John 11:25-26 (v31) Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will still live, even if he dies. Whoever lives and believes…
- Isaiah 45:22 (v31) “Look to me, and be saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other.
- Genesis 17:7 (v31) I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to…
- 1 John 5:10-13 (v31) He who believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself. He who doesn’t believe God has made him a liar, because he has not believed…
- Acts 18:8 (v31) Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed in the Lord with all his house. Many of the Corinthians, when they heard, believed and were…
- Ephesians 2:7-8 (v31) that in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus; for by grace you have been…
- John 3:15-16 (v31) that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only Son, that…
- Acts 4:12 (v31) There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven that is given among men, by which we must be saved!”
- Acts 15:11 (v31) But we believe that we are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they are.”
- Jeremiah 32:39 (v31) I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear me forever, for their good, and the good of their children after them.
- John 6:40 (v31) This is the will of the one who sent me, that everyone who sees the Son, and believes in him, should have eternal life; and I will raise…
- John 6:47 (v31) Most certainly, I tell you, he who believes in me has eternal life.
- John 7:37-38 (v31) Now on the last and greatest day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink! He who…
- Acts 16:32 (v31) They spoke the word of the Lord to him, and to all who were in his house.
- Galatians 3:22 (v31) But the Scripture imprisoned all things under sin, that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.
- Genesis 18:19 (v31) For I have known him, to the end that he may command his children and his household after him, that they may keep the way of Yahweh, to do…
- Romans 5:1-2 (v31) Being therefore justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ; through whom we also have our access by faith…
- Habakkuk 2:4 (v31) Behold, his soul is puffed up. It is not upright in him, but the righteous will live by his faith.
- John 20:31 (v31) but these are written, that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in his name.
- Acts 16:15 (v31) When she and her household were baptized, she begged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house and…
- Galatians 3:14 (v31) that the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.
- John 6:27-29 (v30) Don’t work for the food which perishes, but for the food which remains to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For God the…
- Acts 2:37 (v30) Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”
- Acts 13:38-39 (v31) Be it known to you therefore, brothers, that through this man is proclaimed to you remission of sins, and by him everyone who believes is…
- Romans 11:16 (v31) If the first fruit is holy, so is the lump. If the root is holy, so are the branches.
- Luke 3:10 (v30) The multitudes asked him, “What then must we do?”
- Acts 8:36 (v31) As they went on the way, they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “Behold, here is water. What is keeping me from being baptized?”
- Acts 22:10 (v30) I said, ‘What shall I do, Lord?’ The Lord said to me, ‘Arise, and go into Damascus. There you will be told about all things which are…
- Isaiah 58:9 (v30) Then you will call, and Yahweh will answer. You will cry for help, and he will say, ‘Here I am.’ “If you take away from among you the yoke,…
- Matthew 3:8 (v30) Therefore produce fruit worthy of repentance!
- Acts 14:15 (v30) “Men, why are you doing these things? We also are men of like passions with you, and bring you good news, that you should turn from these…
- James 2:13 (v30) For judgment is without mercy to him who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.
- Job 25:4 (v30) How then can man be just with God? Or how can he who is born of a woman be clean?
- Acts 9:6 (v30) But rise up and enter into the city, then you will be told what you must do.”
- Acts 16:17 (v30) Following Paul and us, she cried out, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to us a way of salvation!”
- Acts 16:24 (v30) who, having received such a command, threw them into the inner prison, and secured their feet in the stocks.
- Job 34:32 (v30) Teach me that which I don’t see. If I have done iniquity, I will do it no more’?
- Isaiah 1:16-17 (v30) Wash yourselves. Make yourself clean. Put away the evil of your doings from before my eyes. Cease to do evil. Learn to do well. Seek…
- Isaiah 58:6 (v30) “Isn’t this the fast that I have chosen: to release the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free,…
- Matthew 5:7 (v30) Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (18 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain On vv30–31 30. Sirs, what must I do? He doth so…
30. Sirs, what must I do? He doth so ask counsel, that he showeth therewith that he will be obedient. By this we see that he was thoroughly touched, so that he was ready to do what they should command him, whom not many hours before he had bound uncourteously. The wicked oftentimes when they see wonders, though they tremble for a time, yet are they straightway made more obstinate, as it befell Pharaoh, (Exodus 8:8, 32;) at least they are not so tamed that they give over themselves to God. But in this place the keeper (acknowledging the power of God) was not only a little afraid, so that he returned straightway unto his former cruelty, but he showeth himself obedient to God, and desirous of sound and wholesome doctrine. He demandeth how he may obtain salvation; whereby it appeareth more plainly that he was not suddenly taken with some light fear of God only, but truly humbled to offer himself to be a scholar to his ministers. He knew that they were cast in prison for no other cause, save only because they did overthrow the common estate of religion. Now he is ready to hear their doctrine which he had before contemned.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv30–31 30 And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what…
30 And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?
Ver. 30. What must I do to be saved?] A reverend divine said once to a poor soul, that told him he was troubled about his salvation; I tell thee, said he, it is able to trouble the whole world.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv30–31 Brought them out, into his own apartment in the…
Brought them out, into his own apartment in the prison, or to some more open and free place.
Sirs; a term of respect given by the Romans and Grecians to such whom they honoured, as now the jailer did these seemingly most contemptible men.
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What must I do to be saved? He might have some knowledge of a future state, which he here inquires after:
1. By the very light of nature.
2. By tradition.
3. By the doctrine of the philosophers.
4. By his frequenting with Jews and proselytes.
Men under fears, and in dangers, as to the things of this world, are brought to look after another world (as every one prays in a storm): but this is only when God is pleased to sanctify such fears and disasters; otherwise all the plagues of Egypt do but harden them the more, Exo 7:3.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv30–31 And brought them out,.... Of the inner prison, to…
And brought them out,.... Of the inner prison, to some part of the prison that was more free and open:
and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? he treats them with great reverence now, and addresses them under a title and character of honour and respect; whom but a few hours ago he despised and abhorred, and perhaps knew no name bad enough for them; he now saw himself lost and perishing, and wanted their instructions, advice, and assistance; and as most persons under first awakenings are, so he was, upon the foot of works; thinking he must do something to procure his salvation, and desires to know what it was he must do, that he might set about it directly; and it may be he had heard what the damsel possessed with a spirit of divination had frequently said of Paul and Silas, that they were the servants of the most high God, and showed unto men the way of salvation, Act 16:17 and therefore he desires that they would acquaint him with it: his language shows, he was in earnest, and expresses great eagerness, importunity, and haste.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv30–31 Sirs - He did not style them so the…
Sirs - He did not style them so the day before. What must I do to be saved? - From the guilt I feel and the vengeance I fear? Undoubtedly God then set his sins in array before him, and convinced him in the clearest and strongest manner that the wrath of God abode upon him.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv30–31 Verse 30. Brought them out] Of the dungeon in…
Verse 30. Brought them out] Of the dungeon in which they were confined.
What must I do to be saved?] Whether this regard personal or eternal safety, it is a question the most interesting to man. But it is not likely that the jailor referred here to his personal safety. He had seen, notwithstanding the prison doors had been miraculously opened, and the bonds of the prisoners all loosed, that not one of them had escaped: hence he could not feel himself in danger of losing his life on this account; and consequently it cannot be his personal safety about which he inquires. He could not but have known that these apostles had been preaching among the people what they called the doctrine of salvation; and he knew that for expelling a demon they were delivered into his custody: the Spirit of God had now convinced his heart that he was lost, and needed salvation; and therefore his earnest inquiry is how he should obtain it. The answer of the apostles to the jailor shows that his inquiry was not about his personal safety; as his believing on Jesus Christ could have had no effect upon that, in his present circumstances. Men who dispute against this sense of the word are not aware that the Spirit of God can teach any thing to a heart, which the head of a person has not previously learned. Therefore, they say it was impossible that a heathen could make such an inquiry in reference to his eternal state, because he could know nothing about it. On this ground, how impertinent would the answer of the apostles have been: Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be put in a state of PERSONAL SAFETY, and thy family! I contend that neither he nor his family were in any danger, as long as not one prisoner had escaped; he had, therefore, nothing from this quarter to fear; and, on the ground against which I contend, his own question would have been as impertinent as the apostles' answer.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On v31 Act 16:31-34. And they said, Believe on the Lord…
Act 16:31-34. And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ — Whom it is our office to preach as the great and only Saviour; and confide wholly in him for salvation; loving, obeying, and living to his glory. As Paul had preached a considerable time at Philippi, the jailer, before this, must have heard of Jesus Christ, perhaps oftener than once: thou shalt be saved — Now and for ever, from every evil; and thy house too, if they also believe. “The meaning cannot be, that the eternal salvation of his family could be secured by his faith, but that his believing in Christ would be the best security of his family from present danger; and that, if they also themselves believed, they would be entitled to the same spiritual and everlasting blessings with himself; which declaration Paul might the rather add, as it is probable that many of them, under this terrible alarm, had attended the master of the family into the dungeon.” And they spake unto him the word of the Lord — That is, Paul declared more fully to them the contents and design of the gospel, giving them a brief account of the person and offices of the Lord Jesus, and of his life, doctrine, miracles, death, resurrection, and ascension; all which Silas confirmed by his testimony. And Paul’s discourse on these subjects was so powerfully convincing, that both the jailer, and all the members of his family, became real converts to Christianity, and were baptized straightway. And he took them the same hour, and washed their stripes — Which still remained unhealed. It should not be forgotten, that the apostles had not the power of working miraculous cures when they pleased, either on themselves or on their dearest friends. Nor was it expedient they should; since it would have frustrated many wise designs of God, which were answered by their sufferings. And when he had brought them into his house — After the solemn rite of baptism had been performed; he set meat before them, and rejoiced — In the knowledge which he had obtained of Christ, and the way of salvation through him. Thus faith makes a man joyful, prudent, liberal: believing in God — In the one living and true God; a very different being from the gods in which he had before believed. With all his house — Who, it seems, were all equally impressed with Paul’s sermon as the jailer himself was. Such were the transactions of this memorable night; and those of the next morning were not much less remarkable.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv30–31 And brought them out - From the prison.
And brought them out - From the prison.
Sirs - Greek: κύριοι kurioi, lords - an address of respect; a title usually given to masters or owners of slaves.
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What must I do to be saved? - Never was a more important question asked than this. It is clear that by the question he did not refer to any danger to which he might be exposed from what had happened. For:
(1) The apostles evidently understood him as referring to his eternal salvation, as is manifest from their answer, since to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ would have no effect in saving him from any danger of punishment to which he might be exposed from what had occurred.
(2) He could scarcely now consider himself as exposed to punishment by the Romans. The prisoners were all safe; none had escaped, or showed any disposition to escape; and besides, for the earthquake and its effects he could not be held responsible. It is not improbable that there was much confusion in his mind. There would be a rush of many thoughts; a state of agitation, alarm, and fear; and in view of all, he would naturally ask those whom he now saw to be men sent by God, and under his protection, what he should do to obtain the favor of that great Being under whose protection he saw that they manifestly were. Perhaps the following thoughts might have tended to produce this state of agitation and alarm:
(1) They had been designated by the Pythoness Act 16:17 as religious teachers sent from God, and appointed to “show the way of salvation,” and in her testimony he might have been disposed to put confidence, or it might now be brought fresh to his recollection.
(2) He manifestly saw that they were under the protection of God. A remarkable interposition - an earthquake - an event which all the pagan regarded as ominous of the presence of the divinity - had showed this.
(3) The guilt of their imprisonment might rush upon his mind; and he might suppose that he, the agent of the imprisonment of the servants of God, would be exposed to his displeasure.
(4) His guilt in attempting his own life might overwhelm him with alarm.
(5) The whole scene was suited to show him the need of the protection and friendship of the God that had thus interposed. In this state of agitation and alarm, the apostles directed him to the only source of peace and safety - the blood of the atonement. The feelings of an awakened sinner are often strikingly similar to those of this jailor. He is agitated, alarmed, and fearful; he sees that he is a sinner, and trembles; the sins of his life rush over his memory, and fill him with deep anxiety, and he inquires what he must do to be saved. Often too, as here, the providence of God is the means of awakening the sinner, and of leading to this inquiry. Some alarming dispensation convinces him that God is near, and that the soul is in danger. The loss of health, or property, or of a friend, may thus alarm the soul; the ravages of the pestilence, or any fearful judgment, may arrest the attention, and lead to the inquiry, “What must I do to be saved?” Reader, have you ever made this inquiry? Have you ever, like the pagan jailor at Philippi, seen yourself to be a lost sinner, and been willing to ask the way to life?
In this narrative we see the contrast which exists in periods of distress and alarm between Christians and sinners. The guilty jailor was all agitation, fear, distress, and terror; the apostles, all peace, calmness, joy. The one was filled with thoughts of self-murder; the others, intent on saving life and doing good. This difference is to be traced to religion. It was confidence in God that gave peace to them; it was the want of what led to agitation and alarm in him It is so still. In the trying scenes of this life the same difference is seen. In bereavement, in sickness, in times of pestilence, in death, it is still so. The Christian is calm; the sinner is agitated and alarmed. The Christian can pass through such scenes with peace and joy; to the sinner, they are scenes of terror and of dread. And thus it will be beyond the grave. In the morning of the resurrection, the Christian will rise with joy and triumph; the sinner, with fear and horror. And thus at the judgment seat. Calm and serene, the saint shall witness the solemnities of that day, and triumphantly hail the Judge as his friend; fearful and trembling, the sinner shall look on these solemnities with a soul filled with horror as he listens to the sentence that consigns him to eternal woe! With what solicitude, then, should we seek, without delay, an interest in that religion which alone can give peace to the soul!
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv30–31 Sirs, what must I do to be saved?--If this…
Sirs, what must I do to be saved?--If this question should seem in advance of any light which the jailer could be supposed to possess, let it be considered (1) that the "trembling" which came over him could not have arisen from any fear for the safety of his prisoners, for they were all there; and if it had, he would rather have proceeded to secure them again than leave them, to fall down before Paul and Silas. For the same reason it is plain that his trembling had nothing to do with any account he would have to render to the magistrates. Only one explanation of it can be given--that he had become all at once alarmed about his spiritual state, and that though, a moment before, he was ready to plunge into eternity with the guilt of self-murder on his head, without a thought of the sin he was committing and its awful consequences, his unfitness to appear before God, and his need of salvation, now flashed full upon his soul and drew from the depths of his spirit the cry here recorded. If still it be asked how it could take such definite shape, let it be considered (2) that the jailer could hardly be ignorant of the nature of the charges on which these men had been imprisoned, seeing they had been publicly whipped by order of the magistrates, which would fill the whole town with the facts of the case, including that strange cry of the demoniac from day to-day--"These men are the servants of the most high God, which show unto us the way of salvation"--words proclaiming not only the divine commission of the preachers, but the news of salvation they were sent to tell, the miraculous expulsion of the demon and the rage of her masters. All this, indeed, would go for nothing with such a man, until roused by the mighty earthquake which made the building to rock; then despair seizing him at the sight of the open doors, the sword of self-destruction was suddenly arrested by words from one of those prisoners such as he would never imagine could be spoken in their circumstances--words evidencing something divine about them. Then would flash across him the light of a new discovery; "That was a true cry which the Pythoness uttered, 'These men are the servants of the most high God, which show unto us the way of salvation! That I now must know, and from them, as divinely sent to me, must I learn that way of salvation!'" Substantially, this is the cry of every awakened sinner, though the degree of light and the depths of anxiety it expresses will be different in each case.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv30–31 30. Brought them out—From the inner prison, or interior…
30. Brought them out—From the inner prison, or interior rows’ of cells. He may have brought them into the hall or aisle between the inner and outer rows of cells. The other prisoners probably remained within their cells, as none appear to have escaped, and to none does the word seem to have been preached.
Be saved—Those who make the jailer ask how he shall be saved from punishment for the escape of his prisoners, forget that his prisoners were all safe. Perhaps they forget, too, that the jailer resided in Philippi, where Christian doctrine had been preached many days, (Act_16:18,) where even the pythoness knew and daily testified that these men showed the way of salvation, and where the whole city knew that they proclaimed a new religion. How the apostles understood the question is shown by their answer.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv30–31 30. and brought them out] There could be no…
30. and brought them out] There could be no fear that they would flee now who had remained when the open doors made flight easy.
and said. Sirs] The Greek word Κύριοι implies an acknowledgment of great superiority. Those who had been his prisoners are now his “Lords.”
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what must I do to be saved?] He had probably heard about the testimony of the possessed damsel, that Paul and Silas shewed the way of salvation, and now without knowing what it fully meant, he cries out (in his misery, when despair had prompted suicide) asking for the teaching which they had to give.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv30–31 (30) Sirs, what must I do to be saved?—The…
(30) Sirs, what must I do to be saved?—The use of “Sirs” differs from that of Act_7:26 in having a Greek word, expressive of respect (that used in Joh_20:15), corresponding to it. We ask what the gaoler meant by the question. Was he thinking of temporal safety from the earthquake, or from punishment; or had there come upon him, in that suicidal agony, the sense of an inward misery and shame, a “horror of great darkness” from which he sought deliverance? The latter seems every way most probable. It must be remembered that the very circumstances which had brought St. Paul to the prison had pointed him out as “proclaiming the way of salvation” (Act_16:17). The witness of the demoniac girl was thus not altogether fruitless.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv30–31 The jailor"s question.
The jailor"s question.
It puts into a single sentence the great cry of the human soul. And yet see how difficult it is to get the soul to realize this its greatest need, and to utter this its greatest cry.
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I MANY OF YOU ARE NOT QUITE SURE YET THAT YOU NEED TO BE SAVED. That is the gravest hindrance to the preaching of Christ to you. You attach very little meaning to the expression. You say, "Saved! Saved from what?" You need to be saved from two things:
(1) the penal consequences of your sin; and
(2) the moral power of your sinfulness.
That is, you need to be saved from all that is gathered up in the word hell, and from all that is gathered up in the word self. You are not your own; you are a creature of God"s. Your first duty is to love, trust, and obey God. To help you God has made his will known with sanctions. Do you think he will fail to keep his sanctions? His "Law is holy, his commandment is holy, and just, and good; and The soul that sinneth, it shall die. Moreover, you are as one stricken with a foul disease, the leprosy of sinfulness, You need to be saved from a foulness that pollutes you, from delusions which vainly seek to shatter you, and from bondages which you are powerless to break. How can a. man be just before God, a sinful man be clean in the presence of his Maker? Verily you need to be saved.
II EVEN WHEN AROUSED TO ANXIETY, MANY TURN ANYWHERE FOR REFUGE RATHER THAN TO CHRIST. Many are like Lot they will not do just what the angel-messenger commands, they will seek for some little city near to which they may flee; but there are no Zones now for seeking sinners, they must flee to the mountain. Show some of the subtle refuges in which awakened souls try to find shelter and rest; e.g. waiting for deeper conviction; intenser effort to make themselves good; devotion to the externalities of religion; expecting to get more feeling, etc.
III EVEN WHEN DRIVEN FROM OTHER CONFIDENCES, AND LED TO CHRIST, MANY OF US CAN SCARCELY BE SATISFIED WITH "ONLY BELIEVE." The very simplicity of the gospel terms of salvation we turn into a hindrance. Yet this is the gospel God, of his free mercy, is willing to pardon, deliver, and receive all who seek him, solely on the ground of what his Son has done for them, and is in relation to them. And God is pleased to make their justification depend on their believing in his Son. "God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life," etc. "By this Man is preached unto us the forgiveness of sins." Does any man now ask, "What must I do to be saved?" The old answer is ever new, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved. R.T.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On v30 What must I do to be saved?
Act_16:30-31
What must I do to be saved?
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…Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.
The great question and the plain answer
The keeper of a Macedonian gaol was not likely to be a very nervous or susceptible person. And so the extraordinary state of agitation and panic into which this rough jailer was east needs some kind of explanation. Now do you think that the jailers question was a piece of foolish superstition? I daresay some of you do, or some of you may suppose, too, that it was one very unnecessary for him or anybody to ask. So I want, in a very few words, to deal with these three things--the question that we should all ask, the answer that we may all take, the blessing that we may all have.
I. The question that we should all ask. I know that it is very unfashionable nowadays to talk about salvation as mans need. What is it to be saved? Two things; to be healed and to be safe. With both aspects the expression is employed over and over again in Scripture. It means either restoration from sickness or deliverance from peril. I venture to press upon everyone here these two considerations--we all need healing from sickness; we all need safety from peril. Mind, I am not talking about vices. I have no doubt you are a perfectly respectable man, in all the ordinary relations of life. Be honest with yourselves in asking and answering the question whether or not you have this sickness of sin, its paralysis towards good or its fevered inclination to evil. If salvation means being healed of a disease we have all got the disease; and whether we wish it or no, we want the healing. And what of the other meaning of the word? Salvation means being safe? Are you safe? Is anybody safe standing in front of that awful law that rules the whole universe, Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap? Somewhere and somehow, men will have to lie on the beds that they have made; to drink as they have brewed. If sin means separation from God, and separation from God means, as it assuredly does, death, then I ask you, and there is no need for any exaggerated words about it, Are we not in danger? and if salvation be a state of deliverance from sickness, and a state of deliverance from peril, do we not need it? Ah, I venture to say we need it more than anything else. You will not misunderstand me as expressing the slightest depreciation of other remedies that are being offered extensively now for the various evils under which society and individuals groan. We are wrong in our relation to God, and that has to be set right before we are fundamentally and thoroughly right. That is to say, salvation is our deepest need. Then how does it come that men go on, as so many of my friends here this evening have gone on, all their days paying no attention to that need? Is their any folly, amidst all the irrationalities of that irrational creature man, to be matched with the folly of steadily refusing to look forward and settle for ourselves the prime element in our condition--viz., our relation to God? A man is never so wise as when he says to himself, Let me fairly know the whole facts of my relation to the unseen world in so far as they can be known here, and if they are wrong, let me set about rectifying them, if it be possible.
II. That brings me to the next point here--viz., the blessed, clear answer that we may all take. Paul and Silas were not nonplussed by this question, nor did they reply to it in the fashion in which many men would have answered it. Take a specimen. If anybody were to go with this question to some of our modern wise men and teachers, they would say, Saved? My good fellow, there is nothing to be saved from. Get rid of delusions, and clear your mind of cant and superstition. Or they would say, Saved? Well, if you have gone wrong, do the best you can in the time to come. Or if you went to some of our friends they would say, Come and be baptized, and receive the grace of regeneration in holy baptism; and then come to the sacraments, and be faithful and loyal members of the Church which has apostolic succession in it. And some would say, Set yourselves to work and toil and labour. And some would say, Dont trouble yourselves about such whims. A short life and a merry one; make the best of it, and jump the life to come. Neither cold morality nor godless philosophy nor wild dissipation nor narrow ecclesiasticism prompted Pauls answer. He said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved. What did that poor heathen man know about the Lord Jesus Christ? Next to nothing. How could he believe upon Him if he knew so little about Him? Well, you hear in the context that this summary answer to the question was the beginning and not the end of a conversation, which conversation, no doubt, consisted largely in extending and explaining the brief formulary with which it had commenced. But it is a grand thing that we can put the all essential truth into half a dozen simple words, and then expound and explain them as may be necessary. Mark, first, whom it is that we are to believe on. The Lord, that is the Divine Name; Jesus, that is the name of a man; Christ, that is the name of an office. And if you put them all together, it is this, He on whom we sinful men may put our sole trust, and hope for our healing and our safety, is the Son of God, who came down upon earth to live our life and to die our death that He might bear on Himself our sins, and fulfil all that ancient prophecy and symbol had proclaimed as needful, and therefore certain to be done, for men. It is not a starved half Saviour whose name is only Jesus, and neither Lord nor Christ, faith in whom will save you. You must grasp the whole revelation of His nature and His power if from Him there is to flow the life that you need. And note what it is that we are to do with Jesus Christ. To believe on Him is a very different thing from believing Him.
III. Lastly, consider the blessing we may all receive. This jailer about whom we have been speaking was a heathen when the sun set and a Christian when it rose. A sudden conversion, you say, and sudden conversions are always suspicious. I am not so sure about that: they may be or they may not be, according to circumstances. There are a great many things in this world that have to be done suddenly if they are ever to be done at all. And I, for my part, would have far more faith in a man who, in one leap, sprung from the depth of the degradation of that coarse jailer into the light and joy of the Christian life, than in a man who tried to get to it by slow steps. You have to do everything in this world worth doing by a sudden resolution, however long the preparation may have been which led up to the resolution. The act of resolving is always the act of an instant. And there is an immense danger that with some of you, if that change does not begin in a moments resolve tonight, you will be further away from it than ever you were. The outcast jailer changed nationalities in a moment. You who have dwelt in the suburbs of Christs kingdom all your lives--why cannot you go inside the gate as quickly? For many of us the gradual growing up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord has been the appointed way. For some of us I verily believe this sudden change is the best. Some of us have a sunrise like the tropics, where the One moment is grey and cold, and next moment the seas are lit with the glory. Others of us have a sunrise like the poles, where a long, slow-growing light precedes the rising, and the rising itself is scarce observable. But it matters little as to how we get to Christ, if we are there. (A. Maclaren, D. D.)
The jailers question
I. The circumstances under which the question was asked.
1. Not in response to any direct teaching. Paul and Silas had not been preaching to him, so far as we know. The pulpit is a great but not the only instrument for good. Where the prophet has preached in vain, God may reserve many to Himself. There is a still small voice that does a work which the pulpit may fail to do.
2. But after a time of trouble. It is quite common to see religious interest awakened in a time of trouble. But it is not, alas! so common, that the interest continues after the trouble is past. The jailer had been assured of the safety of his prisoners before he asked this question.
3. After observation of the power of Christianity on others lives. He had seen Paul and Silas scourged, and had, notwithstanding, heard them singing praises. He had seen that, when they had opportunity, they made no attempt to escape. Their preaching he might have scoffed at, but their lives carried with them a power beyond that of words.
II. The question itself. What is it to be saved?
1. To be delivered from sins punishment.
2. To be delivered from sins power. It was from their sins that Christ came to save His people.
III. The answer. The question is: What shall I do? as though anticipating some great requirement. The answer, perplexing many by its simplicity, is, Believe. And what is it to believe? Well, that depends on what is to be believed. Jesus Christ died to save you. Do I believe that? Then emotion and action are both called forth, I sorrow for sin, and flee from sin; His love calls forth my love, and my faith works by love. Let the object of faith be a person, and trust is its essential element. To the banker whom I trust I give up my gold. To the physician whom I trust I commit the care of my diseased body, and I take his medicines, though they be poisonous. To the Saviour whom I trust I commit my all. I lay my sins upon Him, and He bears them; I forsake sin, for He commands it; I lay cheerfully hold on His promises and He fulfils them.
1. Gospel faith is trustful, because its object is a Person.
2. It is fruitful in good works, because that Person calls to action. (Study and Pulpit.)
The great question
There are many questions of great importance, but there is one question that comes before all others, and that is--What must I do to be saved? When Esther stood before Ahasuerus, her request was, Let my life be given to me at my petition, and my people at my request. Had she asked anything else than this she might as well not have asked at all. It is even so with the human soul. There are many blessings to be enjoyed, and acquisitions to be made, but these are only possible when this great question has been set at rest.
I. The question. It suggests the thought of present danger. If I were to exclaim with apparent solicitude, My friend, allow me to save you! would you not look astonished, and reply, My dear sir, what do you mean? I am in no danger. But suppose I were to offer the same proposal when you were in peril of drowning, you would understand the proposal. The danger from which Christ proposes to save the soul is threefold.
1. There is a moral danger. Sin is to the soul what disease is to the body. We value our natural life sufficiently to take measures to counteract disease when we recognise its presence. Oh, that men were equally wise about the soul! But it is not always the most startling form of disease that is the most fatal. There is a disease that sweeps off its victims by hundreds, where smallpox slays its tens--consumption. Some forms of sin are loathsome. It is not to be wondered at that the drunkard should be described as in danger, but all seems a contrast between his life and the very respectable life you live. Yet though your sins excite no fears, remember they are sins, and a disease of the soul all the more perilous because they excite so little apprehension.
2. There is a spiritual danger. There are certain mysterious intelligences of evil who waylay us, with the object of compassing our ruin. We pity the man whose footsteps are dogged by the assassin. Have we no commiseration for those who are exposed to a more murderous foe? You would tremble if you woke up to find your greatest enemy standing over your bed, dagger in hand; but a more terrible than any human enemy has you at present in his power.
3. Judicial danger. Here is a man in the condemned cell: no man will say that he is not in terrible danger. Why? Because he is condemned already. Even so judgment has been already pronounced upon every sinner. It used to be fabled of the ostrich that when pressed hard by the pursuer, it buried its head in the sand, and endeavoured to persuade itself that it was safe because it ceased to see the danger. But the bird of the desert is too wise to do anything of the kind; yet sinners are not. Whether, however, they forget it or not, it is there. He that believeth not is condemned already. Now with these thoughts before us we shall be better able to understand the story from which our text is taken. Why did the jailer tremble? He was no coward, nor were earthquakes unusual in that part of the world. He had shown a moment before how little he feared death. Paul and Silas had created no small stir in that town, and the damsel had borne witness to them as servants of the most high God, etc. The jailer must have known all about this, and now when he awakes in the darkness of night and hears their singing amid the terrible rumble of the earthquake shock, and sees them full of solicitude for the man that had so cruelly wronged them, the thought rushes into his mind, They are what they profess to be; and have come to show us the way of salvation. Another moment and this mighty God, whose majesty I have defied in the persons of His servants, may hurl me to the flames of Tartarus. Sirs, what shall I do to be saved? Now we understand what the inquiry meant. The man felt what it was to be in the hands of a justly indignant God. It is this that brings a similar inquiry to our lips, and until you reach this point nothing is gained.
II. The answer--Believe, etc. It does not sound so very much, does it? It sets forth salvation as centred in a Person. That Person then is represented as in a position to deliver us from the forms of danger to which we are exposed.
1. The last danger is the greatest of all; for what can be more terrible than to have God against us? Here most of all, I find myself in need of a Saviour; for in this respect more than any ether my case is hopeless. When I contemplate sin as a moral disease, I may flatter myself with the hope that I may get the better of it; or I may flatter myself that I may escape the malignant influence of the intelligences of darkness by care, and watchfulness, and determined resistance. But how shall I escape from the sentence of the righteous Judge? I am directed to raise my eyes to the Cross, and there I see One who has vindicated His Fathers law in His own person by suffering such a penalty as sin has merited, and by doing so has rendered it no longer necessary that Gods judgment should be vindicated by my doom.
2. Being thus saved from the judgment of God, I am also saved from the power of Satan. St. Paul was sent to the Gentiles to turn them from the power of Satan unto God. In forsaking God man turned his back on the only power sufficiently strong to enable him to rise above the tyranny of the destroyer; and thus we came under the yoke of Apollyon. But the Son of God has been manifested that He might destroy the works of the devil. He rescues us from Satan by bringing us back to God. The Son has made us free, and now are we free indeed.
3. From sin, as a fatal moral disease, Jesus proves Himself our Saviour. In curing bodily diseases He illustrated to us His willingness and His ability to cure our spiritual diseases. There is a balm in Gilead, there is a Physician there, and your hurt may yet be recovered. Wilt thou be made whole? Surely Jesus is passing through this our Bethsaida tonight with this question on His lips. Which of us shall be the first to claim His healing touch?
III. The subjective condition upon which the enjoyment of these benefits depends. What is it to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ? In endeavouring to understand these words, we have to guard against the danger of making them mean too little, or too much. Those who fall into the first error would represent faith as the mere mental acceptance of a certain number of facts or doctrines, and those who fall into the latter would represent it as something so mysterious and unintelligible that none can be assured that they really possess it. This faith is--
1. An intellectual conviction or apprehension by which I take in the object proposed to me, assuring myself of its character and trustworthiness. Many fail here, because they do not even intellectually apprehend the true character of the provision made in Christ to meet their case.
2. Next comes the decision of the will--the moral act by which I repose my simple confidence upon the object so apprehended. Now it is here that most people are found wanting. The child that you set on a table and bid spring into your arms is as apt an illustration as you could wish. There it stands hesitating, not because it has any real doubt in its mind of its parents ability to catch it, but rather because it allows its will to be influenced by its feelings instead of being affected by its reasonable conviction. Now you believe with your mind that Jesus is the sinners Saviour, and therefore yours. Why allow any feeling of misgiving to prevent you from committing yourself with a distinct and decisive act of will into His arms, trusting Him to save you now?
3. But next, when the mind has apprehended the object, and the will decides to trust itself to it, there will naturally follow a rest of the soul, in the assurance that all is well, and this may be described as the emotional element in a true faith, the presence of which crowns and completes the whole, and brings the inward uneasiness and disquiet to an end. One of you is drowning. I swim out to save you. As I approach you know and believe that I have the power and the will to save you. Then comes the act of will as you trust yourself to me. But still, there is only one arm between you and destruction. Yet you reflect, What have I to fear? he is able and willing to save me, and I am trusted into his hands. At once the inward tumult begins to subside, and a wonderful reaction of relief and oven of calm happiness sets in, although you have not yet reached the shore. (W. Hay Aitken, M. A.)
Method of dealing with inquirers
Every Christian, especially every minister, will have this responsible and difficult work to do.
I. General principle suited to all cases. The directions given will be determined by the views we entertain of the nature of religion.
1. Rationalists endeavour to suppress all concern.
2. Romanists teach men to submit to the Church, and practise religious duties and penance.
3. Protestants direct inquirers to come directly to God in the way appointed in the gospel. But this general direction is modified by the peculiar views of those who give it.
(1) Some place the essence of religion in submission to God, and hence the general directions to submit.
(2) Others in the choice of God as a source of happiness, hence the direction Choose God as your portion.
(3) Others in a volition to make the happiness of the universe the aim of our being.
(4) Others in the return of the soul to God through Christ, and by faith in Him. Hence the general direction to believe. This is the proper direction, because--
(a) Faith is declared to be the condition of salvation. Believers are saved: unbelievers are lost.
(b) This is the apostolic direction.
(c) Neither pardon nor sanctification is otherwise to be obtained.
(d) Christ is the Alpha and Omega of the gospel. But what is faith? What is the precise thing to be done? The exercise of this involves immediate conviction of sin.
II. Special directions.
1. As to sceptical doubts.
(1) Do not rely on speculative arguments mainly. Their true place is to remove difficulties, to show that the truth is not inconsistent with reason or fact. But they are not to be used to prove the truth--i.e., to afford its positive evidence.
(2) Rely upon the exhibition of the truth, and upon pressing it on the conscience, because--
(a) The ground of faith is the witness of the Spirit with the truth.
(b) The truth is self-evidencing.
(c) Arguments are human, while truth is Divine.
2. As to fatalists, who say nothing can be done. They plead the doctrine of election.
(1) Here again moral considerations should direct our effort. The intellectual difficulty is not first to be removed.
(2) The sinner should be urged to act as he does in other cases.
3. As to have those who rely on the excuse of inability, or feel they can do nothing. The true method is to admit the fact and fall as the leper at the feet of Jesus.
4. As to those who plead hardness of heart, want of conviction of sin. Show the true place of conviction. (C. Hodge, D. D.)
Sin and salvation
I. To every man in his serious moods the sense of sin is a genuine human experience which no reasoning can reason away.
1. It is not a remnant of savagery, but the sign of a spiritual nature; growing with our growing power of moral sympathy and insight.
2. The Christian revelation quickens and deepens the consciousness of sin. In the presence of Jesus Christ all our self-complacencies vanish.
3. The reality of sin is increasingly felt as we realise its consequences; how it darkens and disorders human life and human society. The sense of sin is a pain, but in such pain there is hope; it is the beginning of all redemption and all progress.
II. The Christian idea of salvation is a very comprehensive one.
1. It is a certain severance from the shame and guilt of transgression. The sense of dissatisfaction with sin is not healthy in its influence unless it receives a hopeful interpretation and leads to hopeful endeavour. It may also, according to our training, assume the form of a fear of God and the hereafter. But the removal of our distress concerning ourselves, and our ignorant and guilty dread of God and fate, is only clearing the ground for Christs great salvation.
2. There is evil working within, and from its presence and dominion in the heart and life we need to be delivered. What must I do to be saved? is but a poor and petty cry when it only means What must I do to escape from the discomfort, the fear, the natural penalty of sin? That is the cry of a man who cares more for his ease and happiness than for eternal truth and good. We are not to speak of being saved if we are not being saved from the sins we are tempted to commit daily.
3. Salvation is character and the perfection of character, the realisation of the ideal life for which we were created. The obligation is laid upon everyone to come to his best, and we are called not to repress but to cultivate all our human faculties. The saved man is the whole man, the full-grown, healthily and harmoniously developed man.
4. Salvation means a life lived not for self but for God. Religious selfishness is just as bad as any other kind of selfishness. Mans chief end is to save himself that he might glorify God, live for Divine ends, and give himself as the Lord did fur the redemption of mankind.
III. How believing in Jesus Christ enables a man to realise this ideal of salvation. Christ saves not by any single method, but by whatever He was and is, did and does, by all the influences of His life and Cross, truth, and spirit; saves not by any arbitrary and magical efficacy, but precisely to the extent in which He is known and understood, loved and obeyed; saves by inspiring right thoughts, right feelings, right motives; saves by giving new trusts, new hopes, new sympathies, new affections; saves by His revelation of the Divine mercy and by bringing men into direct communion with the eternal grace and power.
1. To believe in Christ as the revelation of God to man is to believe in redeeming mercy and grace, and to be delivered thereby from the fear which weakens and the despair which kills.
2. To believe in Christ is to have evil affections conquered and displaced by the growth of a new and holier and more masterful love.
3. In our Christian believing and loyalty are all the elements required for the development of the most complete and finished type of human excellence. To believe in Christ is to believe in ourselves, and to see in Him the man we are each called to be, ought to be, and can be; His righteousness is, indeed, our righteousness--ours to love and live. Faith in Christ is not a substitute for personal obedience, but it is vital with quickening power to make us obey as He obeyed. He changes character by imparting His own character sympathetically to all who enter into real sympathy with Him.
4. To believe in Christ is to be brought out of the circle of our selfish affections, aims, and interests into communion with mankind. His spirit is a social spirit, drawing and binding men together in mutual love and helpfulness, and, through individual influence, producing its effect on the families and generations of men, making possible and actual, as the text suggested, a Christian heredity. It is in the way of the spread and triumph of the Christian spirit we are to look for the coming of the Christian order of society, which is the second coming of Jesus Christ. (John Hunter.)
Anxiety for salvation
The reasons that justify this anxiety are--
I. The value of that object on which it is bestowed. We look around upon the solicitude which men feel in reference to earthly objects; and we justify that solicitude up to a certain point. What then should be the solicitude which should be cherished with reference to the immortal soul? Oh, that I had ability to describe the madness a thousand times multiplied of that man who professes to believe that he is immortal, and who can find anything on earth more important to him as a subject of attention than the salvation of his soul!
II. The concern which others have manifested about our souls. The whole moral universe has been drawn into concern for the immortal soul of man. What was it brought the Son of God from the throne of heaven to the Cross? Per what are all the miraculous agencies of the Holy Spirit granted? For what purpose did the finger of inspiration write the Bible, and the arm of Providence defend it? Why did patriarchs live, and priests minister, and prophets predict, and apostles preach? For the salvation of man.
III. Consider what the salvation or the damnation of the soul includes. I dwell for a moment on that vast word--salvation. The pardon of all your sins; the justification of your person; your adoption into the family of Jehovah, and a spirit of sonship connected with it; the renovation of your fallen nature; consolation in affliction; assurance that all things work together for good; hope in death; the resurrection of the just; life everlasting; a blissful heaven made up of the presence of God in Christ. Turn to the opposite of this. What is hell? The loss of all happiness; but it is a state of conscious existence; it is a state of prolonged death. Hell means banishment from the presence of God, consignment to the dark world where hope never enters and mercy is never seen. This is the question, What shall we do to be saved, so as to gain heaven and to escape hell?
IV. The soul of every man, until he repents and believes in Christ, is actually in a lost state, although not irrecoverably lost. You have no need to ask what will bring the soul into a state of death and condemnation: it is done already. All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God. You are under the terrors of the law and exposed to the wrath of God. How shall I be delivered from the guilt which sin has brought on my conscience so as to avoid the dominion of sin here and the punishment of sin in the world that is to come?
V. The multitude of souls that are irrecoverably lost. Such is the loss of the soul, that if it occurred but once in a century it is so tremendous a catastrophe, that it should awaken the solicitude of the whole world. And that man must be guilty of the greatest folly who can go on in reckless security even under the very possibility that he may be that one in a century who might thus perish eternally.
VI. The loss of the soul may yet be averted and this salvation secured. It were perfectly useless to talk to men of miseries which cannot be remedied, or excite them to the pursuit of benefits which never can be obtained. But this is not your case; you are in that world where mercy reigns; where all the opportunities of salvation and the means of grace are continued. You ask the question, What shall I do to be saved? And I am commissioned to reply, Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved. (J. Angell James.)
The way of salvation
I. The importance of the question. And yet it is lamentable how few ask it! Many who have been driven up to it like this jailer would never have thought it unless God had sent some distress to rouse them. This man was asleep till the earthquake happened, and then his mind was suddenly filled with a subject which he had never thought of before. If men were quite left to themselves the generality would never concern themselves with this subject. What is the reason men do not ask the question? Because they do not like the answer. And yet the same persons who are so slack about their great concern are found to be very careful in lesser things. What must I do to be rich? What must I do to be in the fashion? Here daily labours and nightly watchings are sustained without reluctance. And is it consistent with common sense to toil for the sake of things which are perishing, and neglect the only object that is of any real value? People take much more pains to go on in the broad way of destruction than would be requisite to carry them to heaven. Our danger will be more manifest if it be considered that under these circumstances there is one who is as careful as we are careless about ourselves. While we sleep Satan is awake.
II. The answer. This is short and to the purpose. Salvation is what all men are equally interested in; and thence it stands to reason that the way of salvation should be so plain that all may understand it. But lest they should think that they believe when they do not, it will be necessary to show--
1. That belief necessarily implies a knowledge of the object in which we believe. This object is our Lord Jesus Christ, whose person, character, and offices must be made known to us before we can believe Him to be what He is.
(1) He is the Lord; and this word is expressed by two words, one of which is Jehovah, and denotes His eternal existence; the other is a term of authority and dominion, which bespeaks Him the Ruler of all things in heaven and earth. As such He is to be worshipped by us; and we find, in fact, that He was frequently worshipped upon earth.
(2) He is Jesus. This name expresses that office which He took upon Him for our salvation, and proposes His as the only name given under heaven whereby we may be saved. And if it is His office to deliver us from sin, then we are all under the dominion of sin till He redeems us from the power of Satan unto God.
(3) He is Christ, the anointed of God; that Person who, by the power of the Divine Spirit, is ordained to be our Prophet, Priest, and King.
2. Our belief implies an obedience to the commandments of this Divine Person; and this obedience is the evidence He expects of our faith. If we call Him Lord, Lord, we are to do the things which He saith. And therefore--
3. The belief of a Christian implies a conformity of character between the believer and the person in whom he believes. The likeness between the Master and the disciple is universal in all professions. If Jesus had been a great warrior then certainly His followers would have excelled in the military art. If He had been a master of worldly forms, then we should have been all for elegance and niceness of outward appearance. But as He was none of these, but a preacher of righteousness, a physician of souls, a guide of the blind, and a comforter of the afflicted, and a sufferer upon earth for the glory of God and the salvation of men; the qualifications which show us to be believers must be of the same sort. (W. Jones, M. A.)
Conditions of being saved
I. What sinners must do to be saved.
1. They must not imagine that they have nothing to do.
2. Not mistake what they have to do.
3. Not say or imagine that they cannot do what God requires.
4. Not procrastinate.
5. Not wait for God to do what He commands them to do.
6. Not wait for God to do anything whatever. God has either done all on His part already, or if anything more remains, He is ready and waiting this moment for you to do your duty that He may impart all needful grace.
7. Not flee to any refuge of lies.
8. Not seek for any self-indulgent method of salvation.
9. Not imagine you will ever have a more favourable time.
10. Not suppose that you will find another time as good, and one in which you can just as well repent as now.
11. Not wait to see what others will do or say.
12. Not indulge prejudices against God, His ministers, Christians, or anything religious.
II. What sinners must do to be saved. You must--
1. Understand what you have to do.
2. Return and confess your sins to God.
3. Renounce yourself. In this is implied that you renounce--
(1) Your own righteousness, forever discarding the very idea of having any righteousness in yourself.
(2) The idea of having done any good which ought to commend you to God, or be ever thought of as a ground of your justification.
(3) Your own will, and be ever ready to say not in word only, but in heart--Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
(4) Your own way and let God have His own way in everything.
4. Come to Christ. You must accept of Christ really and fully as your Saviour.
5. Seek supremely to please Christ, and not yourself.
6. Forsake all that you have, or you cannot be Christs disciple. There must be absolute and total self-denial.
7. Believe the record God hath given of His Son. This is the record that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. (C. G. Finney, D. D.)
Gods method of saving men
Consider the question in relation--
I. To human thought.
1. The history of human thought is to a great extent a history of the manifold forms in which this question has betrayed itself, and of the costly expedients to which man has had recourse in his attempts to answer it.
(1) Four thousand years ago confused and anxious whispers of this question meet us in the inquiry of the patriarch--How shall a man be just with God? They come up in the later question of the prophet, Wherewith shall I come before the Lord? etc. If we consult the dusky records of paganism we encounter everywhere, in its temples and altars, the dark eclipse of sin and the uneasy suspicions it has cast over the race. If we listen to the creeds and litanies of the best of its teachers we hear everywhere the cry of fugitives from a justice they have provoked, but which they know not how to appease.
(2) In our own age the question thrusts itself up in quarters where we least expect to find it. Thinkers, statesmen, scientists, cannot avoid drifting into the mystery that belongs to the religious question. The mind grown weary of abstract speculations hungers for rest. The conscience, chafed and outraged by unclean proclivities, asks for peace. The heart of the man most engrossed in worldly pursuits will have its hours of awakening, of aching dread in which the questions--What am I, and whither am I going? will make themselves heard.
2. As Christian students we have but one answer to give, and that is the one of the text. When from surging to and fro in all kinds of dreary speculation a man drifts, and turns away to the gospel, the gospel meets him with an answer direct and full in the Person of Christ. It says for a man to be saved is for him to be reconditioned in his moral relations with the Infinite Father, to be reconciled, to be at peace. Sin is disharmony. It puts man out of his normal orbit. To be saved is just to enter that orbit. The antecedents to this state are, first, the intelligent conviction that we need it, which is a wise self knowledge, begotten of the truth; and secondly, an ingenuous sorrow for sin, expressed in an amended life. The conditions on which its attainment hinges are belief in the promise, and trust in the Person of Christ. The consequence instantly following is a new life state--salvation is its initial act.
II. To mans destiny.
1. Man is a yonder-minded being, an embodied hereafter. Every man in the present life is building out of himself and for himself a character which belongs to the future. This little everyday life is but the prologue of a mighty drama, the sad plot out of which the harvest of the future is to be reaped. The great assize simply catalogues results. Men are, now and here, what the Judgment Day will show them to be. The supposition of a change induced by death in the character and condition of man must be dismissed. Death does not change, it only fixes. It puts a finality on the book of life, and hands it on to be opened at the judgment of the Great Day. It sums up two columns--for and against the man--of right and wrong, good and evil, and registers the result.
2. What then? What in view of his eternal existence must a man do to he saved? If there were no dangers to be encountered this question would be useless and impertinent. Or if all souls are sure to enter heaven, the question, how, is a matter of comparative indifference. On the other hand, if there is a risk, and if to make the chance of escape sure to all who are earnest about it, a revelation has been vouchsafed, then we are infinitely concerned to know how that revelation speaks; and we hazard eternal consequences if we fall to listen to, and instantly obey it. First, then, let us say that there is a beginning of the religious life in man which puts the soul and God into a fellowship of peace. When such a man, delivered from his old bondage to evil, yields himself to God, and when amidst the perils of the world he maintains the sanctities of conscience, he has reached a second stage. When at the end of life, the man conquers gloriously in death and then stands faultless in the presence of His glory--this is the end of his salvation: that man is saved--saved because he is safe. The everlasting gates close him in.
III. To Christian teaching. Two things are noteworthy in Pauls answer--first its simplicity, and secondly its immediateness. And were we now dealing with this question within the same limits we should need only to reproduce the same answer. But we are dealing with the question in its broader and more exhaustive signification; and the answer must take in forgiveness, sanctification, and heaven. What then must be done?
1. The wrong doing, on which the necessity of salvation is founded, must be got rid of. We must cease to do evil before we can become good. Let the wicked forsake his way, etc. There can be no compromise between the two terms which enter into this agreement. We must give up sinning if God is to forgive us for having sinned.
2. The remedy which God has provided must not only be accepted as theoretically true, but must be personally applied. And this shuts out all the pretentious rights of human reason to determine in what method God should deal with the sinner. It brings us squarely up with the one method in which God will deal with us. Gods plan does not alternate between open courses--two or more.
3. The one thing that a man must do is distinctly put. He must believe on, etc. The apostles had nothing more simple to set before this rude pagan. And they had no figurative, fabulous, or doctrinal Christ, but the Christ of Bethlehem and Calvary. And the act on which salvation hinges is as straightforward as its object is definite. You are not to think about Christ, or say grand nothings about Him: you are to believe on Him, to submit to, to trust in Him that He may forgive and heal you. And this act of the soul putting itself out in an intelligent surrender of the whole personality of its being--mind, heart, will--to Christ is the mans trust for salvation.
IV. To the individual man.
1. The importance of this question is obvious, It is the one question that silences every other. It is the most stupendous question that man in his agony can ask, or that God in His mercy can answer. And it is none the less impressive in that nowhere outside this Book is an answer to be found. The universe has not a whisper of it. Those calm, grand laws, know nothing of mercy. Our schools of philosophy know nothing of salvation. Science has not a word of pity for guilty man.
2. We are not saying that this is the only important question, but that all others are insignificant in comparison. One hundred years hence and what shall I know or care about my banking account, or who is the premier of the country? But one hundred years hence what and where shall I myself be?
3. This question must be answered by each one for himself, and at once. It admits of no postponement. Today if ye will hear His voice, etc. Time is on the rush, and we are rushing with it into a timeless future. (John Burton.)
Believe and be saved
I. What is it to believe? Believing in this case involved--
1. The assent of the mind to the testimony that Paul gave to our Lord. Now all that is necessary in the case of the testimony that the worlds were framed by the word of God is that we should mentally assent to it. When we have intellectually apprehended it, we have perhaps done all that we can do with it.
2. But there is other testimony which requires the consent of the heart: By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain. Our conviction is that in this case God testified that He would provide an atonement, and that blood should be shed as a symbol of that atonement, and in acknowledgment of the fact that a personal application of that atonement was required. Now Cain, although he evidently understood this testimony mentally, rejected it in his heart. He thought it sufficient to acknowledge God as a Creator: and therefore simply brought to God of the fruit of the ground, in acknowledgment of Gods relation to him as a Creator, and in recognition of the bountifulness of Divine Providence. But Abel received the testimony, adopted the symbol, offered the sacrifice, and therefore by faith offered a more excellent sacrifice than Cain.
3. There is testimony which requires not merely the assent of the mind, and the consent of the heart, but the response of the will--testimony which, if a man receive, puts him immediately upon a certain course of conduct: and we have two illustrations in the cases of Noah and Abraham. You will see by these illustrations what the apostle means by Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved. The first thing is, of course, to understand the meaning of the words, the next to receive them to the heart (Rom_10:9), and the next to take personal advantage of them. For this message is sent by God to us personally.
II. The object of this belief.
1. Not God, as God, for the devils believe in God. They go further--as the effect of their faith they tremble. They do more than some of you have done.
2. Neither did Paul exhibit the providence of God: far less the law of God. Of what advantage would it be to preach the law of God to a transgressor except with the object of convincing him of sin? If I were to see a fellow man drowning, should I help him by pointing him to the stream? If he was not conscious of his danger, I should, but it would be useless otherwise. Just so with the law of God. If I find that you do not feel that you are sinners, I teach you the law of God. But if I find you asking, What must I do to be saved? if I were to preach Gods law to you I should be cruelly mocking you. I then say, not The law is holy, and just, and good; but Jesus came into the world to save sinners.
3. Paul presented not a mere doctrine: there is no mere doctrine that will save any man. If I were to give you a letter of introduction to some physician notable for the cure of particular bodily ailments, could you be cured by that letter? Unless you took the letter to the physician, and saw him, and received his remedies, and applied them, would the letter benefit you? Just so doctrines are intended to introduce you to Christ.
4. And Paul was justified in doing this, for the following reasons. In the first place, the object is adapted, and able to save. Salvation is now Christs one work. And the act of believing is appointed to save. There is nothing in it of efficacy, as there is in the object. It is efficacious simply because of Gods arrangement: and therefore no merit can be attached to faith. Faith is a simple receptive faculty. Nothing more now is required. By and by you will have to let that faith work; but just now, for your introduction into salvation, nothing more is required. But then, mark, nothing else will suffice. You must believe. Shall I remind you why this is so difficult? Because it is so simple. You are just like that proud Syrian Naaman. If I were to say to you that in order to be saved, you must visit the Holy Sepulchre, there are some of you who would sell everything to get to the Holy Sepulchre; and you would start immediately. But instead of that we say, Trust. This is Gods first and last provision; so that if you do not believe on the Lord Jesus Christ you never can be saved.
III. The result. Saved!
1. The body saved--from fresh inroads by sin; from its members being instruments of unrighteousness; from the sting of death; from the victory of the grave.
2. The soul saved--from unholy affection; from raging fear; from guilt; from despondency and despair; from the discord of the passions; from ungodly impulses; from evil influence.
3. The spirit saved--from fatal ignorance; from damnable folly; from vain and evil imaginations; from ruinous error. Body, soul, and spirit, all saved! Saved! Saved from all evil now in part, and hereafter saved in absolute and everlasting perfection. (S. Martin.)
Saving faith
I. What it presupposes. As distinguished from faith in Christ historically, and from what Scripture affirms of Him doctrinally (Jam_2:17-20), it presupposes a certain belief with respect to ourselves--viz., that we are sinners, and with a sincere sorrow because of it, and a sincere desire to forsake sin.
II. In what it consists.
1. Intellectual assent to the fact that Christ is the Saviour of men. Thus far saving faith is the same as that by which we buy, sell, eat, drink, and travel. Faith is not a new element in the soul life of man, superadded by God, upon an after thought to the moral constitution at the time of conversion. What is then given is grace to see--
(1) Self undone.
(2) Christ sufficient.
2. Trustfulness superadded to intellectual assent. Heart belief must accompany head belief. A drowning man cannot be saved by a lifeboat simply by believing in its life-saving capabilities; he must trust himself to it. So self is given to Christ in every case of saving faith.
3. Faith in a person. Some people trust in a creed or a ritual; because trust in them flatters rather than interferes with self-love. My creed is orthodox, my service ornate is the expression of some mens faith. Further, it is faith in a Divine person. It is not necessary that we should be able to theorise about the Incarnation or philosophise about the Atonement; but our trust must be in the Son of God, in opposition to being in human priests, whatever their claims. But remember that we are not saved by our faith as something meritorious, but by Christ; yet we cannot be saved without faith, because remaining in unbelief--
(1) We make God a liar, and fail to comply with His law of love.
(2) We cannot secure and develop the character necessary to fit us for heaven, nor the capacity for its enjoyments.
III. The extent of the salvation which faith secures.
1. Salvation from the punishment due to past transgressions.
2. Deliverance from the power and principle of sin. (J. S. Swan.)
Salvation through faith in Christ
I. Who is this Christ?
1. God;
2. Man;
3. God and Man in one Person.
II. What is it to believe in this Christ?
1. To know Him (1 Corinthians if. 2; Joh_17:3).
2. Assent to Him (Joh_11:27).
3. Rely upon Him (Eph_1:12).
(1) For the pardon of your sins.
(2) The acceptance of your persons.
(3) The salvation of your souls.
III. How shall they that believe in Christ be saved?
1. From what?
(1) The guilt of sin (Gal_3:13).
(2) The strength of sin (Act_3:26; Mat_1:21).
(3) The prevalency of Satan (Heb_2:14).
(4) The wrath of God (Eph_2:3; Rom_5:9).
2. To what?
(1) Justification (Rom_5:1).
(2) Regeneration (2Co_5:17).
(3) Spiritual consolation (2Co_1:5).
(4) Everlasting salvation (Joh_3:16). Consisting in--
(a) Our freedom from all evil.
(b) Our enjoyment of all good--as appears from the promises (Joh_1:12; Joh_3:15; Act_13:39); from the end of Christs coming (Joh_3:16); from the nature of faith (Heb_11:1).
IV. Uses for--
1. Instruction. Unbelievers will be damned.
2. Conviction.
(1) You do not know Him; for then you could not choose but--
(a) Admire Him (1Ti_3:16).
(b) Love Him (Eph_6:24).
(c) Think frequently of Him.
(d) Make it your business to interest yourselves in Him.
(2) If you do know, you do not assent to Him; for did you believe that He died for sin--
(a) Would you live in it?
(b) Would you not repent of it?
(3) You do not rely on Christ; for--
(a) What was it thou tookest most comfort from upon thy last sick bed?
(b) What is it that thou now delightest thyself with in trouble? How seldom dost thou think of Christ.
(c) How comest thou to live in sin without mourning for and turning from it (2Co_5:17)?
3. Examination. Test thy faith in Christ by--
(1) Thy knowledge of Him.
(2) Thy love to Him.
(3) Thy longing after Him.
(4) Thy obedience to His command.
(5) Thy acting for Him (Jam_2:18).
4. Exhortation. Believe in Christ; for consider--
(1) How miserable thou wilt be without Him. Satan always domineering over, sin always raging in, and God always frowning upon thee to all eternity (Psa_7:11).
(2) How happy thou wilt be with Him.
(a) Thy sins pardoned.
(b) Satan subdued.
(c) Corruptions mortified.
(d) The heart sanctified (1Co_1:2).
(e) God pleased (Heb_11:5).
(f) The soul saved (Rom_8:1).
V. Means--
1. Prayer;
2. Reading;
3. Hearing (Rom_10:17).
4. Meditation.
(1) The insufficiency of all things else.
(2) The sufficiency of Christ.
(3) Its end in coming into the world. (Bp. Beveridge.)
The great question answered
I. What are the antecedents of saving faith, that is, what precedes the act of faith in the experience of the sinner? I do not doubt that there was, previous to this jailers faith and essential to it, a conviction first of his guilt, secondly of his danger, and therefore, thirdly, of his need of salvation, and of a Saviour. It is on the ground of these facts that the gospel comes to men with offers of pardon and grace; and he who does not realise them as facts in his personal history cannot receive the gospel, for he does not feel his need of the gospel.
II. Let us look at the object of faith. Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. This which you are ready to rely on is nothing within you--no change wrought there, either by your own efforts or by any other agency, human or Divine. Cease, then, to explore the recesses of your spirits in search of something there which will constitute a ground of hope. You may search there forever and find no Saviour there, and nothing that will make you more worthy to come to Christ.
III. Let us consider the act of faith. What does the sinner do when he believes in Christ? It is worthy of notice that the Bible, while saying much of the necessity, the object, and the effects of faith, says very little of its nature. The reason may be because the act itself is so simple, so easily understood.
IV. Let us look at the results of faith. In the text these results are all summed up in the one word saved. We find, by searching the Scriptures, that these results, thus summed up, are resolved into two classes, one of which takes place in the mind and purposes of God, and the other in the mind and destiny of the sinner. On the side of God is His justification of the sinner. It is a judicial act, the act of God as a judge, freeing the sinner from the penalty of the law which he has incurred, and placing him in the position, in regard to the condemning sentence, of one who has never incurred the penalty. On the side of God also is His acceptance of believing sinners, and His adoption of them into His family. He hath made us accepted in the Beloved. On the side of God is also His bestowment of His Spirit on the believing sinner. Because ye are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts. But let us look at the results of this faith in the mind and destiny of the believer. In his heart, one of the first results of believing is peace or joy. Another result of faith is obedience. All acts of holy obedience spring from true faith. It brings the believer within the sphere of new motives. It fills his heart with ardent love. It secures for him the influences of the Divine Spirit. So in proportion to his faith will be his faithfulness. The final result of faith is eternal life. Who can tell its value? Who can show us the everlasting difference between a soul lost and a soul saved? In conclusion, I remark--
1. The terms of salvation are easy and simple. They could not be more so. They are also exactly adapted to our necessities.
2. The time for the exercise of this faith is now. Is not Christ now able and willing to save you? Is He not as worthy of trust now as He ever wilt be?
3. Finally, the results of faith are most urgent motives to its immediate exercise. Do you wish to be free from condemnation, and stand justified before God? Then believe. Do you wish to be adopted into the family of God, and so become an heir of God and a joint heir with Christ? Then believe. Do you wish for peace with God? Then believe. Do you wish for Gods Spirit as a comforter, a guide, a strengthener, a sanctifier? Then believe. (W. W. Woodworth.)
Believing on Jesus
I know of a man who, being obliged to sleep in the upper story of a lofty building, keeps a fire escape in his room in the shape of a stout rope ladder. He believes in that ladder. That is, he has perfect confidence in the stoutness of the hemp, the strength of the wooden rounds, and the ability of that ladder to bear his weight. But on some dark night let the cry of fire ring through that edifice, and let him put the grappling irons fast to the window casement, and swing himself out into the air, and he will believe on that rope ladder. He will trust himself to it. When he has done that, he will have exercised saving faith in his fire escape, Not before. Thousands keep gospel truth coiled up in their memories as my friend kept that rope ladder coiled up in one corner of his room. They have heard and read of Jesus, the Atoner for sin; they admire Him, they believe in His Divine qualities, love, etc., and vaguely expect, at some future day, to get to heaven by Him. But they have never for one moment trusted their souls to Jesus. They never have even attempted to escape out of their guilt and danger, by resting their whole weight on what Jesus has done for the sinner, or on His omnipotent grace. Perish they must, if they remain where they are. The act of resting on the crucified Jesus saves.
Saving faith
This answer has three or four properties.
1. It was immediate, and without delay. There was no time required, as in the case of Nebuchadnezzars wise men, when they had to interpret the kings dream. The apostles were well versed in such matters.
2. It was full and comprehensive. It meets the point at once, and contains an epitome of the whole gospel.
3. It is highly satisfactory, affording direct relief in the moment of distress, and giving peace.
4. It is the same answer as all Gods ministers return to inquiring souls, whatever be their previous state or character.
I. The exhortation. The Scriptures speak of various kinds and degrees of faith, but of one only that accompanies salvation.
1. The original source of all true believing is the free grace of God in Christ Jesus. It is His gift, and the effect of His good pleasure.
2. The means of producing faith is the Divine testimony. Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.
3. The immediate object of faith is Christ, as revealed in the gospel.
4. The ultimate end of faith is our happiness, and the glory of God. Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls. It disclaims all merit and sufficiency of its own, and excludes all boasting, only in the Lord.
II. The promise. Salvation comprehends a final and complete deliverance from all evil, natural and moral, and the enjoyment of perfect bliss. It includes, especially, the pardon of sin, the sanctification of our nature, a victory over all our enemies, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting. The connection which this has with believing, will be seen in the following particulars.
1. Though salvation is promised to them that believe, it is neither provided nor bestowed in the foresight of their believing nor had faith any influence on the Divine determination. The ground of all spiritual blessings is the free and unmerited favour of God (2Ti_1:9).
2. Though salvation is promised to them that believe, it is not promised as a reward for their believing, but for His sake in whom they believe. It receives a title to eternal life, but does not give one. Faith is like the eye beholding, and the hand receiving a gift; but however necessary to its enjoyment, the gift itself is free and undeserved.
3. As faith receives a title to eternal life, founded upon the promises of the gospel, so it is that which gives us the actual enjoyment of it. By faith we receive the atonement, and are led to acquiesce in the way of acceptance with God, as full of wisdom, and suited to our sinful and helpless condition. It is not a medicine prepared, but applied, that effects a cure.
4. Faith produces those holy dispositions which form our meetness for heaven, though not our title to it. There can be no enjoyment where there is no congeniality. But true faith purifies the heart, and imbues it with every principle of piety and goodness. (B. Beddome, M. A.)
How to be saved
The sinners prescription. It points out--
I. A fact--salvation.
II. A certain fact--shalt.
III. A personal fact--Thou.
IV. The cause of salvation--Christ, Jesus, Lord.
V. The instrument of salvation--Believe. (W. W. Wythe.)
The all-decisive step
There are some documents of so little importance that you do not care to put any more than your last name under them, or even your initials; but there are some documents of so great importance that you write out your full name. So the Saviour in some parts of the Bible is called Lord, and in others Jesus, and in others Christ; but that there might be no mistake about this passage, all three names come in together.
I. Who is this being that you want me to believe in? Men sometimes come to me with certificates of good character, but I cannot trust them. There is some dishonesty in their looks. You cannot put your hearts confidence in a man until you know what stuff he is made of. No man would think of venturing his life on a vessel going out to sea that had never been inspected. And you cannot expect me to risk the cargo of my immortal interests on board any craft. Well--
1. Christ was a very attractive person. Christ did not tell the children to come to Him. Suffer little children to come unto Me was not spoken to the children, but to the disciples. The children came without any invitation. Christ did not ask John to put his head down on His bosom; John could not help but put his head there. When people saw Christ coming they ran into their houses and brought their invalids out that He might look at them. They could not keep away from Him.
2. In addition to this softness of character, there was a fiery momentum. How the old hypocrites trembled before Him! How the kings of the earth turned pale! He was a loving Christ, but it was not effeminacy. Lest the world should not realise His earnestness, this Christ mounts the Cross. Oh, such a Christ as that--so loving, so self-sacrificing--can you not trust Him?
II. Many say, I will trust Him if you will only tell me now. Just as you trust anyone. You trust your partner in business. H a commercial house give you a note payable three months hence, you expect the payment of that note. You go home and expect there will be food on the table. Have the same confidence in Christ. He is only waiting to get from you what you give to scores of people every day. Confidence. If these people are more worthy, more faithful, if they have done more than Christ, then give them the preference; but if Christ is as trustworthy as they are, then deal with Him as fairly. Oh, says someone, I believe that Christ was born in Bethlehem, and that He died on the Cross. Do you believe it with your head or your heart? I will illustrate the difference. You read in a newspaper how Captain Braveheart on the sea risked his life for the salvation of his passengers. You say, What a grand fellow he must have been! You fold the paper and, perhaps, do not think of that incident again. That is historical faith. But now you are on the sea, and asleep, and are awakened by the shriek of Fire! You rush out on the deck. Down with the lifeboats! cries the captain. People rush into them. Room only for one more man. Who shall it be? You or the captain? The captain says, You. You jump and are saved. He stands there and dies. Now, you believe that Captain Braveheart sacrificed himself for his passengers, but you believe it with grief at his loss, and with joy at your deliverance. That is saving faith. You often go across a bridge you know nothing about. You do not know who built the bridge, nor of what material it is made; but you walk over it, and ask no questions. And here is an arched bridge blasted from the Rock of Ages, and built by the Architect of the universe, spanning the dark gulf between sin and righteousness, and all God asks you is to walk across it; and you start, and you come to it, and you stop, and you go a little way on and you stop, and you fall back and you experiment. You say, How do I know that bridge will hold me: instead of marching on with firm step, feeling that the strength of the eternal God is under you.
III. What is it to be saved? It means--
1. A happy life. It is a grand thing to go to sleep at night, and to get up in the morning, and to do business all day feeling that all is right between my heart and God.
2. A peaceful death. Almost all the poets have said handsome things about death. There is nothing beautiful about it. Death is loathesomeness, and midnight, and the wringing of the heart until the tendrils snap and curl in the torture unless Christ be with us. Unless there be some supernatural illumination, I shudder back from it. But now this glorious lamp is lifted above the grave, and all the darkness is gone, and the way is clear. What power is there in anything to chill me in the last hour if Christ wraps around me the skirt of His own garment: What darkness can fall upon my eyelids then, amid the heavenly daybreak:
3. A blissful eternity. To be saved is to wake up in the presence of Christ. You know when Jesus was upon earth, how happy He made every house He went into. (T. De Witt Talmage, D. D.)
The kings highway opened and cleared
When the children of Israel were settled in Canaan, God ordained that they should set apart certain Cities of Refuge, that to these the man-slayer might flee for security. We are told by the rabbis that once in the year, or oftener, the magistrates of the district surveyed the roads which led to these cities: they carefully gathered up all the stones, and took the greatest possible precautions that there should be no stumbling blocks in the way. We hear, moreover, that all along the road there were hand posts with the word Refuge written legibly upon them. Now God has prepared a City of Refuge, and the way to it is by faith in Christ. I propose to go along it, and to remove any impediment which Satan may have laid. There is--
I. The recollection of the past life. But all thy sins, be they never so many, cannot destroy thee if thou dost believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. The blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, cleanseth us from all sin. It is not the greatness of the sinner that is the difficulty; it is the hardness of the sinners heart. Remember, too, that all the while thou dost not believe in Christ, thou art adding to thy sin.
II. Consciousness of hardness of heart and the lack of what is thought to be true penitence. But dost thou read that those who have hard hearts are not commanded to believe? The Scripture says, Whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish, etc. Now, if thou believest, though thy heart be never so hard, thy believing saves thee; and what is more, thy believing shall yet soften thy heart. If thou canst not feel thy need of a Saviour as thou wouldst, remember that when thou hast a Saviour thou wilt soon find out how great was thy need of Him, Many persons find out their needs by receiving the supply. Have you never looked in at a shop window and seen an article, and said, Why, that is just what I want?
III. Consciousness of weak or little faith. Ah, there you are again looking to yourself. It is not the strength of thy faith that saves thee, but its reality. What is more, it is not even the reality of thy faith that saves thee, it is the object of thy faith. A grain of mustard seed is the smallest of all seeds, and yet if thou hast but that quantity of faith, thou art a saved man. Remember the poor woman who touched but the fringe of Christs garment, and she was made whole. Remember a little child belongs to the human race as much as the greatest giant; and so a babe in grace is as truly a child of God as is Mr. Greatheart, who can fight all the giants on the road.
IV. The existence of many doubts and fears. My answer is, He that believeth shall be saved, be that faith intermingled with multitudes of doubts and fears. You remember that story of our Saviour in the storm, and the poor disciples were full of fear--Lord, save us or we perish. Here were doubts. Did Jesus say, O ye of no faith? No; O ye of little faith. So there may be little faith where there are great doubts. At eventide, even though there is a great deal of darkness, yet there is light. And if thy faith should never come to noonday, if it do but come to twilight, nay, if thy faith is but starlight, nay, candlelight, nay, a spark--if it be but a glow worm spark, thou art saved. Think of John Knox, on his dying bed, troubled about his interest in Christ. If such a man have doubts, dost thou expect to live without them? If Paul himself keeps under his body lest he should be a castaway, how canst thou expect to live without clouds?
V. Fear of death. There are many of Gods blessed ones who, through fear of death, have been much of their lifetime subject to bondage. And this is accounted for, because God has stamped on nature that law, the love of life and self-preservation. And again, it is natural that you should scarce like to leave behind those that are so dear. But you are testing yourself by a condition in which you are not placed. You dont want dying grace in life, but you will have it when you want it.
VI. The absence of joy. But remember it is not he that is joyful shall be saved, but he that believeth shall be saved. Thy faith will make thee joyful by and by, but it is as powerful to save thee even when it does not make thee rejoice. VII. A grievous sense of imperfection. What, will you not believe in Christ until you are perfect? Then you will never believe in Him. You will not trust the precious Jesus till you have no sins to trust Him with? Then you will never trust Him at all. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Alexander MacLaren 1905 · Public Domain On v30
Acts
THE RIOT AT PHILIPPI
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THE GREAT QUESTION AND THE PLAIN ANSWER
Act 16:30 - Act 16:31.
The keeper of a Macedonian jail was not likely to be a very nervous or susceptible person. And so the extraordinary state of agitation and panic into which this rough jailer was cast needs some kind of explanation. There had been, as you will all remember, an earthquake of a strange kind, for it not only opened the prison doors, but shook the prisoner’s chains off. The doors being opened, there was on the part of the jailer, who probably ought not to have been asleep, a very natural fear that his charge had escaped.
So he was ready, with that sad willingness for suicide which marked his age, to cast himself on his sword, when Paul encouraged him.
That fear then was past; what was he afraid of now? He knew the prisoners were all safe; why should he have come pale and trembling? Perhaps we shall find an answer to the question in another one. Why should he have gone to Paul and Silas, his two prisoners, for an anodyne to his fears?
The answer to that may possibly be found in remembering that for many days before this a singular thing had happened. Up and down the streets of Philippi a woman possessed with ‘a spirit of divination’ had gone at the heels of these two men, proclaiming in such a way as to disturb them: ‘These are the servants of the Most High God, which show unto us the way of salvation.’ It was a new word and a new idea in Philippi or in Macedonia. This jailer had got it into his mind that these two men had in their hands a good which he only dimly understood. The panic caused by the earthquake deepened into a consciousness of some supernatural atmosphere about him, and stirred in his rude nature unwonted aspirations and terrors other than he had known, which cast him at Paul’s feet with this strange question.
Now do you think that the jailer’s question was a piece of foolish superstition? I daresay some of you do, or some of you may suppose too that it was one very unnecessary for him or anybody to ask. So I wish now, in a very few words, to deal with these three points-the question that we should all ask, the answer that we may all take, the blessing that we may all have.
I. The question that we should all ask.
I know that it is very unfashionable nowadays to talk about ‘salvation’ as man’s need. The word has come to be so worn and commonplace and technical that many men turn away from it; but for all that, let me try to stir up the consciousness of the deep necessity that it expresses.
What is it to be saved? Two things; to be healed and to be safe. In both aspects the expression is employed over and over again in Scripture. It means either restoration from sickness or deliverance from peril. I venture to press upon every one of my hearers these two considerations-we all need healing from sickness; we all need safety from peril.
Dear brethren, most of you are entire strangers to me; I daresay many of you never heard my voice before, and probably may never hear it again. But yet, because ‘we have all of us one human heart,’ a brother-man comes to you as possessing with you one common experience, and ventures to say on the strength of his knowledge of himself, if on no other ground, ‘We have all sinned and come short of the glory of God.’
Mind, I am not speaking about vices. I have no doubt you are a perfectly respectable man, in all the ordinary relations of life. I am not speaking about crimes. I daresay there may be a man or two here that has been in a dock in his day. Possibly. It does not matter whether there is or not. But I am not speaking about either vices or crimes; I am speaking about how we stand in reference to God. And I pray you to bring yourselves-for no one can do it for you, and no words of mine can do anything but stimulate you to the act-face to face with the absolute and dazzlingly pure righteousness of your Father in Heaven, and to feel the contrast between your life and what you know He desires you to be. Be honest with yourselves in asking and answering the question whether or not you have this sickness of sin, its paralysis in regard to good or its fevered inclination to evil. If salvation means being healed of a disease, we all have the disease; and whether we wish it or no, we want the healing.
And what of the other meaning of the word? Salvation means being safe. Are you safe? Am I safe? Is anybody safe standing in front of that awful law that rules the whole universe, ‘Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap’? I am not going to talk about any of the moot points which this generation has such a delight in discussing, as to the nature, the duration, the purpose, or the like, of future retribution. All that I am concerned in now is that all men, deep down in the bottom of their consciousness-and you and I amongst the rest-know that there is such a thing as retribution here; and if there be a life beyond the grave at all, necessarily in an infinitely intenser fashion there. Somewhere and somehow, men will have to lie on the beds that they have made; to drink as they have brewed. If sin means separation from God, and separation from God means, as it assuredly does, death, then I ask you-and there is no need for any exaggerated words about it-Are we not in danger? And if salvation be a state of deliverance from sickness, and a state of deliverance from peril, do we not need it?
Ah, brethren, I venture to say that we need it more than anything else. You will not misunderstand me as expressing the slightest depreciation of other remedies that are being extensively offered now for the various evils under which society and individuals groan. I heartily sympathise with them all, and would do my part to help them forward; but I cannot but feel that whilst culture of the intellect, of the taste, of the sense of beauty, of the refining agencies generally, is very valuable; and whilst moral and social and economical and political changes will all do something, and some of them a great deal, to diminish the sum of human misery, you have to go deeper down than these reach. It is not culture that we want most; it is salvation. Brethren, you and I are wrong in our relation to God, and that means death and-if you do not shrink from the vulgar old word-damnation. We are wrong in our relation to God, and that has to be set right before we are fundamentally and thoroughly right. That is to say, salvation is our deepest need.
Then how does it come that men go on, as so many of my friends here now have gone on, all their days paying no attention to that need? Is there any folly, amidst all the irrationalities of that irrational creature man, to be matched with the folly of steadily refusing to look forward and settle for ourselves the prime element in our condition-viz., our relation to God? Strange is it not-that power that we have of refusing to look at the barometer when it is going down, of turning away from unwholesome subjects just because we know them to be so unwelcome and threatening, and of buying a moment’s exemption from discomfort at the price of a life’s ruin?
Do you remember that old story of the way in which the prisoners in the time of the French Revolution used to behave? The tumbrils came every morning and carried off a file of them to the guillotine, and the rest of them had a ghastly make-believe of carrying on the old frivolities of the life of the salons and of society. And it lasted for an hour or two, but the tumbril came next morning all the same, and the guillotine stood there gaping in the Place. And so it is useless, although it is so frequently done by so many of us, to try to shut out facts instead of facing them. A man is never so wise as when he says to himself, ‘Let me fairly know the whole truth of my relation to the unseen world in so far as it can be known here, and if that is wrong, let me set about rectifying it if it be possible.’ ‘What will ye do in the end?’ is the wisest question that a man can ask himself, when the end is as certain as it is with us, and as unsatisfactory as I am afraid it threatens to be with some of us if we continue as we are.
Have I not a right to appeal to the half-sleeping and half-waking consciousness that endorses my words in some hearts as I speak? O brethren, you would be far wiser men if you did like this jailer in the Macedonian prison, came and gave yourselves no rest till you have this question cleared up, ‘What must I do to be saved?’
There was an old Rabbi who used to preach to his disciples, ‘Repent the day before you die.’ And when they said to him, ‘Rabbi, we do not know what day we are going to die.’ ‘Then,’ said he, ‘repent to-day.’ And so I say to you, ‘Settle about the end before the end comes, and as you do not know when it may come, settle about it now.’
II. That brings me to the next point here, viz., the blessed, clear answer that we may all take.
Paul and Silas were not non-plussed by this question, nor did they reply to it in the fashion in which many men would have answered it. Take a specimen of other answers. If anybody were so far left to himself as to go with this question to some of our modern wise men and teachers, they would say, ‘Saved? My good fellow, there is nothing to be saved from. Get rid of delusions, and clear your mind of cant and superstition.’ Or they would say, ‘Saved? Well, if you have gone wrong, do the best you can in the time to come.’ Or if you went to some of our friends they would say, ‘Come and be baptized, and receive the grace of regeneration in holy baptism; and then come to the sacraments, and be faithful and loyal members of the Church which has Apostolic succession in it.’ And some would say, ‘Set yourselves to work and toil and labour.’ And some would say, ‘Don’t trouble yourselves about such whims. A short life and a merry one; make the best of it, and jump the life to come.’ Neither cold morality, nor godless philosophy, nor wild dissipation, nor narrow ecclesiasticism prompted Paul’s answer. He said, ‘Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.’
What did that poor heathen man know about the Lord Jesus Christ? Next to nothing. How could he believe upon Him if he knew so little about Him? Well, you hear in the context that this summary answer to the question was the beginning, and not the end, of a conversation, which conversation, no doubt, consisted largely in extending and explaining the brief formulary with which it had commenced. But it is a grand thing that we can put the all-essential truth into half a dozen simple words, and then expound and explain them as may be necessary. And I come to you now, dear brethren, with nothing newer or more wonderful, or more out of the ordinary way than the old threadbare message which men have been preaching for nineteen hundred years, and have not exhausted, and which some of you have heard for a lifetime, and have never practised, ‘Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.’
Now I am not going to weary you with mere dissertations upon the significance of these words. But let me single out two points about them, which perhaps though they may be perfectly familiar to you, may come to you with fresh force from my lips now.
Mark, first, whom it is that we are to believe on. ‘The Lord,’ that is the divine Name; ‘Jesus,’ that is the name of a Man; ‘Christ,’ that is the name of an office. And if you put them all together, they come to this, that He on whom we sinful men may put our sole trust and hope for our healing and our safety, is the Son of God, who came down upon earth to live our life and to die our death that He might bear on Himself our sins, and fulfil all which ancient prophecy and symbol had proclaimed as needful, and therefore certain to be done, for men. It is not a starved half-Saviour whose name is only Jesus, and neither Lord nor Christ, faith in whom will save you. You must grasp the whole revelation of His nature and His power if from Him there is to flow the life that you need.
And note what it is that we are to exercise towards Jesus Christ. To ‘believe on Him’ is a very different thing from believing Him. You may accept all that I have been saying about who and what He is, and be as far away from the faith that saves a soul as if you had never hoard His name. To believe on the Lord Jesus Christ is to lean the whole weight of yourselves upon Him. What do you do when you trust a man who promises you any small gift or advantage? What do you do when dear ones say, ‘Rest on my love’? You simply trust them. And the very same exercise of heart and mind which is the blessed cement that holds human society together, and the power that sheds peace and grace over friendships and love, is the power which, directed to Jesus Christ, brings all His saving might into exercise in our lives. Brethren, trust Him, trust Him as Lord, trust Him as Jesus, trust Him as Christ. Learn your sickness, learn your danger; and be sure of your Healer and rejoice in your security. ‘Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.’
III. Lastly, consider the blessing we may all receive.
This jailer about whom we have been speaking was a heathen when the sun set and a Christian when it rose. On the one day he was groping in darkness, a worshipper of idols, without hope in the future, and ready in desperation to plunge himself into the darkness beyond, when he thought his prisoners had fled. In an hour or two ‘he rejoiced, believing in God with all his house.’
A sudden conversion, you say, and sudden conversions are always suspicious. I am not so sure about that; they may be, or they may not be, according to circumstances. I know very well that it is not fashionable now to preach the possibility or the probability of men turning all at once from darkness to light, and that people shrug their shoulders at the old theory of sudden conversions. I think, so much the worse. There are a great many things in this world that have to be done suddenly if they are ever to be done at all. And I, for my part, would have far more hope for a man who, in one leap, sprung from the depth of the degradation of that coarse jailer into the light and joy of the Christian life, than for a man who tried to get to it by slow steps. You have to do everything in this world worth doing by a sudden resolution, however long the preparation may have been which led up to the resolution. The act of resolving is always the act of an instant. And when men are plunged in darkness and profligacy, as are, perhaps, some of my hearers now, there is far more chance of their casting off their evil by a sudden jerk than of their unwinding the snake by slow degrees from their arms. There is no reason whatever why the soundest and solidest and most lasting transformation of character should not begin in a moment’s resolve.
And there is an immense danger that with some of you, if that change does not begin in a moment’s resolve now, you will be further away from it than ever you were. I have no doubt there are many of you who, at any time for years past, have known that you ought to be Christians, and who, at any time for years past, have been saying to yourselves: ‘Well, I will think about it, and I am tending towards it, but I cannot quite make the plunge.’ Why not; and why not now? You can if you will; you ought; you will be a better and happier man if you do. You will be saved from your sickness and safe from your danger.
The outcast jailer changed nationalities in a moment. You who have dwelt in the suburbs of Christ’s Kingdom all your lives-why cannot you go inside the gate as quickly? For many of us the gradual ‘growing up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord’ has been the appointed way. For some of us I verily believe the sudden change is the best. Some of us have a sunrise as in the tropics, where the one moment is grey and cold, and next moment the seas are lit with the glory. Others of us have a sunrise as at the poles, where a long slowly-growing light precedes the rising, and the rising itself is scarce observable. But it matters little as to how we get to Christ, if we are there, and it matters little whether a man’s faith grows up in a moment, or is the slow product of years. If only it be rooted in Christ it will bear fruit unto life eternal.
And so, dear brethren, I come to you with my last question, this man rejoiced, believing in the Lord; why should not you; and why should not you now? ‘Look unto Me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth.’ A look is a swift act, but if it be the beginning of a lifelong gaze, it will be the beginning of salvation and of a glory longer than life.
Alexander MacLaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture (1904–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
J. W. McGarvey 1914 · Public Domain On vv30–31 See notes on verse 29
See notes on verse 29
J. W. McGarvey (with Philip Y. Pendleton), Commentaries on the New Testament (The Fourfold Gospel, 1914; Acts; and the epistles) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain On vv30–31 (See Scofield "Rom 1:16").
saved
(See Scofield "Rom 1:16").
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v31 16:31-34 Paul and Silas directed the jailer to a…
16:31-34 Paul and Silas directed the jailer to a faith in Christ that brings blessing both to him and to his family. The whole household received Christian instruction, and their response was expressed in baptism and the offering of hospitality to Paul and Silas.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.