“Sirs, What Must I Do To Be Saved?”

Job 11; Job 12; Acts 15; Acts 16
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Scripture

Acts 16

22 A mob quickly formed against Paul and Silas, and the city officials ordered them stripped and beaten with wooden rods. 23 They were severely beaten, and then they were thrown into prison. The jailer was ordered to make sure they didn’t escape. 24 So the jailer put them into the inner dungeon and clamped their feet in the stocks.

25 Around midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening. 26 Suddenly, there was a massive earthquake, and the prison was shaken to its foundations. All the doors immediately flew open, and the chains of every prisoner fell off! 27 The jailer woke up to see the prison doors wide open. He assumed the prisoners had escaped, so he drew his sword to kill himself. 28 But Paul shouted to him, “Stop! Don’t kill yourself! We are all here!”

29 The jailer called for lights and ran to the dungeon and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. 30 Then he brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

31 They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved, along with everyone in your household.” 32 And they shared the word of the Lord with him and with all who lived in his household. 33 Even at that hour of the night, the jailer cared for them and washed their wounds. Then he and everyone in his household were immediately baptized. 34 He brought them into his house and set a meal before them, and he and his entire household rejoiced because they all believed in God.

Observation

I hear people all the time wanting to put the word “Do” in the Gospel! They always seem to want to add something to what Christ did on the cross. Sometimes the way they do it is very subtle and you almost think what they are saying is right, but when they get through it is not the Gospel.

In Acts 15 some Pharisees wanted Christians to be circumcised and they wanted it taught that if a person wasn’t circumcised then they were not Christians. This group followed Paul from town to town and caused major trouble for him. Paul had to go back to Jerusalem and meet with the Church leaders on this issue and they all agreed that salvation is by Grace and Grace alone.

The Gospel is simply what we find in 1 Cor. 15:1-4

“Now let me remind you, dear brothers and sisters, of the Good News I preached to you before. You welcomed it then and still do now, for your faith is built on this wonderful message. And it is this Good News that saves you if you firmly believe it—unless, of course, you believed something that was never true in the first place.

I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me—that Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, as the Scriptures said."

“ …That Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, as the Scriptures said.” This is the Gospel in a “nutshell”, as my pastor Dr. Waylon B. Moore used to say!

The jailer heard this message, that night after Paul and Silas sang up and prayed down and earthquake, he heard it and he believed it and he has his entire household were saved!

The only thing that the jailer and his family did that night was that they believed in God! Period! It was enough for their salvation!

Application

I will never let someone add to the Gospel message without telling them that I think that they are wrong.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, you know how much I love this story. I put myself in that jail wondering what kind of praying and singing Paul and Silas must have done to bring down an earthquake. I know the earthquake was not to set them free. It was to set the jailer free.

Thank you for showing me today how powerful You are. There is nothing too hard for You. I pray that many men would understand the Gospel and believe in Christ. Help me to make the Gospel message clear so people can understand it. Help me today to bring you Glory and Honor.

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