29 Then he called for a light, ran in, and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. 30 And he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” 31 So they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.”
16:29
Then he called for a light, ran in, and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas.
The jailor needed a light to see in the destroyed jail at night. He rushed into the ruins falling down beforePaul and Silas.
16:30
And he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”
After escorting the gospel team out of the crumbled prison, the jailor asked what he needed to do to be “saved.”
16:31
So they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.”
Both Paul and Silas gave a pithy, precise response to how the Jailor could be saved—”believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.”
PRINCIPLE:
The only qualification to become a Christian is to believe in Christ’s salvation.
APPLICATION:
The only qualification for salvation here is “believe,” not accept Jesus as Lord then believe. It is unnecessary to put the Lord in control of every aspect of our lives to become a Christian. Lordship salvation insists on two acts to become a Christian: 1) believe and 2) make Jesus Lord of one’s life.
Recognition of Jesus as Lord of our lives is necessary for a yield life of sanctification. No passage in Acts shows it is required to make Jesus Lord of one’s life before one can be saved or at the point of decision.
The word “Lord” in the phrase “the Lord Jesus Christ” carries the idea of deity; we acknowledge Jesus as God when we believe in Him. He has the right to grant eternal life.
Note that faith precedes regeneration, not regeneration precedes faith, as some claim. God will not save people before they believe.
