In Acts chapter 16, we read of the missionary exploits of the apostle Paul and his associate Silas. At one point, they were arrested, beaten, jailed, and chained by the authorities for preaching Christ. The text tells us that at midnight they sang praises to God and a divine intervention occurred that opened the prison doors and released them from the stocks. The jailer who had been tasked with keeping them secure saw the open doors and assumed that they had fled. Knowing the horrors of his discipline for allowing prisoners to escape, he prepared to kill himself. But Paul called out from the jail cell assuring him that they were still there. The jailer was badly shaken but deeply grateful that they had remained. He fell down before them and uttered a question that stirs in every human heart, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” (Acts 16:30). He didn’t need a lecture about his reprobate condition. He knew intuitively the truth of Rom 3:23, “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” After all, he was a Roman jailer. And he needed to be saved.
His truly is a universal question, one I remember asking myself as a child. I knew there was a God and I knew I was a sinner–even as a kid. But I did not know how to be saved. I kept asking and looking. Fortunately for the jailer, Paul answered him directly saying “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shall be saved . . ..” (Acts 16:31). That is a simple, direct, specific response. The Bible is a big book. It spans centuries of time and was produced by over 40 different writers. It covers a lot of ground. But it seems to me that this question and the corresponding response is at the heart of the Bible. Let’s unpack Paul’s reply.
The first thing the apostle says is “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.” The term translated here as “believe” is often rendered by the word “faith.” They are used interchangeably in the New Testament. It includes intellectual agreement but involves much more than that. It means to trust, to lean on, to hope in. After all, James tells us that “even the demons believe in God and they tremble” (James 2:19). So, saving faith is more than just believing in Jesus from the shoulders up. It means believing and trusting that He is the one and the only one who can save us. People sometimes say things like, just have faith and everything will work out. But, believing that your 1960 Ford Edsel can transport you seamlessly and safely from coast to coast might produce a disappointing outcome. Believing is no guarantee of success. Our faith needs a reliable object. In this case the object of our faith is Jesus Christ.
Why is Jesus reliable? Because He is the one and only Messiah. Notice the qualifiers connected to the name Jesus–Lord and Christ. Sometimes the term Lord means something like “sir” or “master.” However, it may also denote more than that. In 1 Tim 6:15 and Revelation 17:14, and 19:16, we read that Jesus is King of Kings and Lord of Lords. He is preeminent over all other authorities and powers. No one can alter or change his decrees. This is one reason he is reliable. The term Christ is a title. It’s an eschatological reference to His position as the Messiah, the Savior, the Son of God. The Christ refers to the only one sent by God to deliver us, providing forgiveness and salvation. No one else could do what Jesus did. He humbled himself and became a man (Phil 2:5-11). He lived a sinless life and then willingly offered it for us, dying on the cross in our place, being punished for our sins (2 Cor 5:21). He had no sin of his own for which to give an account. Thus, he was the perfect spotless sacrifice–the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. No one else can do that either. As the Christ, Jesus fulfilled the greatest search and rescue mission in history. And when he had fully paid for sin on the cross, he cried “it is finished”(John 19:30). In Greek that is just one word. It was a common word used in business. It literally meant “the debt is paid in full.” Jesus is the reliable object of our faith because he did what no one else could ever do. He paid our debt–He took our bullet.
He is the only one who can save us because he alone performed the work required for salvation. The apostles John and Paul are in complete harmony on this issue. John wrote, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes (trusts) in him, should not perish but have everlasting life” and a few verses later he reiterated “He that believeth on the Son has everlasting life . . ..” (John 3:16 and 36). Such commentary could be multiplied over and over again from the New Testament pages. As a matter of fact, John tells us directly that sharing this message was the whole reason he wrote his gospel, “But these things are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you might have life through his name” (John 20:31). The answer to the question posed by the jailer is not a mystery. It is specific, concrete, and clear. Salvation is not based on what we can do for God but upon what God has done for us, sending his Son to rescue us. Salvation is a gift not a reward as we read in Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
But how does one specifically express saving faith? Once I believe, what must I do? John explains, “But as many as have received him (Jesus), to them he gave the right to become the children of God, even to them that believe on his name” (John 1:12). It’s akin to what Paul says in Romans 10:13, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Saving faith is expressed in a simple, humble, sincere prayer in which we admit our need and call out to Jesus, trusting him as our sin-bearing, risen, Savior. In that moment, a lot of things happen behind the scenes. Things of which only heaven is aware. The Holy Spirit instantly baptizes, indwells, regenerates, and seals the new believer (1 Cor 12:13, 1 Cor 6:19, Titus 3:5, Eph 1:13 and 4:30). After one is saved, works and service become a valuable part of the equation. God wants to involve us in his plans and reward us for faithful service. But that is a separate matter from the moment of salvation. Our works and service become part of a lifelong journey of transformation, often referred to as sanctification. Some 52 years ago, Acts 16:30-31 was instrumental in helping me find the answer to my own question “what must I do to be saved.” For those seeking, I pray that it may help you, too.
With my best wishes,
RFS, PhD