It was the day that Paul and Silas were put into prison and singing praises to God, that there was a mighty earthquake. It was at this time that “immediately all the doors were opened, and every one’s bands were loosed. And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled. But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here. Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas, and brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” (Acts 16:26-30) And again, all this happened after they had already been beaten and wiped with many stripes. So even being in much pain, these two disciples continued in the strength of God. So I am sure that after this earthquake, they would have loved to leave the jail, but instead they did not. And it was important they didn’t, for if they did, the keeper of the prison would not have heard the good news of Jesus Christ and asked to be saved. Now, we will get to what they said to the man about what it takes to be saved, but just think about how strong these two men must have been in the faith. They were always ready to tell people about Jesus unto salvation, no matter what.
It was this that they said to this man about being saved. “And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house. And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway. And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house.” (Acts 16:31-34) So we learn that for him to be saved, he needed to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. And what happened next is the next part of every person’s salvation. It is when we put on Christ in baptism. It is said that he and his whole family then got baptized. This is in line with what Jesus taught His disciples to do also. He said, “go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.” (Mark 16:15,16) Praise God that this direction from Jesus was heeded by His disciples. Baptism is significant, for it is when “we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.” (Romans 6:4) Therefore, it is important that we lead people to believe in Jesus and then get baptized. This is God’s will for every true believer.
Let us pray:
Oh Lord, I pray for more salvations. That more people will call upon Your Name, Jesus, and be saved. That they will come to faith that You are the Lord of their lives and allow You to take control. Only then, can these good people come to terms with what it means to be saved? Of which entails the Holy Spirit leading them and not the flesh. And it all begins with a little faith and the waters of baptism. This is where You are able to change that person and give them a new life. Yes, God, the moment I came out of the waters is when I became a new creation in Christ Jesus. You filled me with the Holy Spirit and my sins of the past were all washed away. Thank You, God. I would not be the person I am today if I never went in and out of those waters. I would still be desiring to know You, but never know You the way I do now. My flesh would be in control and not You if I never went forth and got baptized. Something amazing happened that day, and I believe that You truly put the Holy Spirit in me as I came out of those waters. I was not able to remove the pornography addiction from my life until I was baptized. Lust took over my life before this time and I had no way out. Before the Spirit came, I could not remove this sin on my own. Therefore, I am so grateful that the Spirit came that day. I no longer have to worry about removing any bad habits on my own any longer. For as long as I follow You, those bad desires are immediately removed. Wow! I am amazed at all You have done for me and are doing for millions of others in this world. I give You glory and praise. You desire our respect and honor, this day and forever. I believe in You, Lord. I love You. Amen.
