Articles
What must I do to be saved?- Acts 16:30
30 Then he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” 31 And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” 32 And they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. 33 And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their wounds; and he was baptized at once, he and all his family. Acts 16:30-33 ESV
Text: Acts 16:25-34.
Literally in the darkness of their imprisonment and while they were in shackles, Paul and Silas sang praises to God.
Was it a mere coincidence that suddenly there was a great earthquake which shook that prison? Some might think so but it would be a strange earthquake indeed that shook everything and yet the only other effect was that it opened locked cells and unfastened the chains which held the inmates.
Yeah, it was a miracle!
It was a divine jailbreak!
Something like this had happened before.
Remember Peter and his deliverance from execution by Herod? (See Acts 12).
Acts 16:30-31 is a popular passage of scripture for Calvinists to use to promote the false doctrine of "salvation by belief only" or "…faith only."
Here we see someone asking Paul and Silas, "…What must I do to be saved?" to which they answered "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved…".
Doesn’t this teach that one is saved by faith only?
No it does not and here is why.
When we read the whole story of this man's conversion we can see that there was more involved in his salvation than merely consenting with the fact that Jesus is the Christ.
Let's look at the whole transaction.
First, the jailer was in fear for his physical life when the jail was miraculously opened and all those who were in his charge were set free. We know that at least it was Paul and Silas who were in jeopardy of escaping and probably there were others incarcerated for various reasons. If they and any others had escaped, then the jailer's life could have been in danger, not only from the violent desperation of the escaping prisoners but from the authorities who had entrusted the prisoners to him. Often the guards and the jailers were put to death for letting a prisoner escape (See Acts 12:18-19). This is why the jailer drew his sword and was about to kill himself, rather than wait for the authorities to execute him for losing the prisoners.
So they gave the jailer an assurance that his life was not in jeopardy of anyone escaping telling him that they were all still in the jail. When he heard that, it was then the jailer begged the mercy of Paul and Silas to do him no harm during their escape. It was the physical threat which prompted his concern for being "saved". The jailer's immediate concern was the loss of his life, not a spiritual inquiry about how he could be delivered from some eternal judgment.
The Calvinist might ask, "Well than why did they mention "Believing in the Lord Jesus" if it wasn't about eternal judgment?
The response was to the jailer's question and yet much more than his question because after Paul gave assurance it says, "And they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house." (Acts 16:32). Paul assured them as to how believing in the Lord Jesus would save them. Certainly God would protect them from any harm which they might have otherwise suffered.
Notice also, that the jailer and his household did more than merely consent. Their belief was accompanied by their immediate baptism in water and they rejoiced over their new found faith in God (Acts 16:33-34).
So clearly this passage is not an example of "SALVATION BY FAITH ONLY"!
Ironically, it was the jailer whom God set free and he received ETERNAL LIFE in the process when he did believe and obey the word which the Apostles preached to him.
Even when the Apostles were in prison, the gospel was not chained.
Michael Franklin
