"And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved...” (Acts 16:31)
Beloved, Once again we are going to look at what it means to believe. In this account from Acts 16, we see the Philippian jailer who, because of the divine activity of God, finds himself in a most desperate circumstance. With no other options available, the jailer asks Paul and Silas what he must do to be saved. The answer is rather simple, believe on the Lord Jesus. This does not mean that he could use God as a divine slot machine where he could expect to have whatever he needed pop out of the slot. Rather, he recognized God’s activity that was drawing him into God’s presence and he accepted his desperate condition by turning to God in utter dependence. What is interesting is what preceded this conversation. God had shaken the jail house, all the doors were opened and all of the chains were loosed. There is no other explanation for this other than God’s intervention. But why would God have done this? At other times, God had freed the disciples from jail without all the fuss, why the production now? Simply, it was not just to get Paul and Silas out of jail, it was to free them in such a way that the impact on the jailer would draw him into salvation. God was working in everything to save this man. God used everything about the jailer (his up-bringing, professional training, skills, position, the confusion of the event…) to put him in a position of utter desperation; a position that caused the jailer to embrace salvation as an absolute last resort. Make no mistake about it; God was controlling all that happened. It is hard to say what God had in store for the Philippian jailer. Perhaps he was one of the people who was key to the formation of the church there; the same church that Paul praised for their love and devotion. Ultimately, we don’t know but what we do know is that on that night God was the One active in saving this man. We also know that the requirement for his salvation was belief. Not a shallow, “get me out of hot water belief” but rather a desperate, no-holds-barred belief; a belief born out of utter dependence upon God to intervene on his behalf. I don’t think God has stopped shaking lives like He shook the jailer. I think people today have just become too self centered and prideful to see God at work in their circumstances and too prideful to admit that they are desperate for His intervention.
Word for the weak
Saved, (4982). σώζω [sĂł̄zō]; safe, delivered. To save, deliver, make whole, preserve safe from danger, loss, destruction. Specifically of salvation from eternal death, sin, and the punishment and misery consequent to sin. To save, and (by implication), to give eternal life. Especially of Christ as the Savior, to bring someone safely into His kingdom. Generally, “For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost”; Hence as a part., those being saved, those who have obtained salvation through Christ and are kept by Him.
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