Read Acts 16:25-34

The Urgency Of Salvation

“What must I do to be saved?” (Acts 16:30). Is there a more important question when it comes to spiritual matters? Is there a more important question at all? The Philippian jailer may not have even understood how important that question was when he asked it.

Paul and Silas told the jailer the first step on the path to salvation: “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household” (Acts 16:31). Why didn’t these gospel preachers tell the jailer about repentance? What about the good confession? Why not command him to be immersed?

The answer to these questions is quite simple: he wasn’t ready to hear those things. He had to learn about Jesus first. He had to learn what Jesus had accomplished for him at the cross. He had to come to a knowledge of the Savior before he could act on anything else. Once he was told about the Lord, Paul and Silas proceeded to give him further instructions. How do we know this?

Luke tells us about his repentance! “And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their stripes” (Acts 16:33). The jailer repented of the torture he had inflicted upon these innocent men by treating their wounds.

Luke tells us also about his immersion, and the urgency of it! “And immediately he and all his family were baptized” (Acts 16:33). Why were they baptized “immediately”? Why not set up an appointment for the next Sunday? The answer to this is also simple: the jailer was not promised a “next Sunday.”

No one knows how much time they have left in this life. If you believe what you have read in the Bible and you trust the Lord to do what He has promised, obey Him without delay! Repent and be baptized to have your sins forgiven forever and live a life of service for the Lord!

Read Acts 16:11-15

What Kind Of Heart Do You Have?

When Paul arrived in Philippi, he went to the riverside on the Sabbath Day to meet with some women. In cities in which there were not ten Jewish men, a synagogue was not erected. Instead, those of the faith met at the river for prayer. Lydia was one of those people.

Luke tells us that Lydia “was a seller of purple from the city of Thyatira” (Acts 16:14). Her occupation indicated that she was likely a wealthy woman, as purple was a very expensive dye used in fabrics in the first century. The gospel truly is for all people: male and female, rich and poor. All it takes is an honest heart willing to obey in faith, and that is exactly what Lydia had.

She was already a worshiper of God, but when she heard the gospel, Luke says, “The Lord opened her heart to heed the things spoken by Paul” (Acts 16:14). This is the type of person Jesus was talking about in Luke 8, as he explained the parable of the sower. “But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience” (Luke 8:15). Sometimes it may take a person a while to allow themselves to believe, but if they possess that “honest and good heart” and the teacher is “longsuffering” (2 Timothy 4:2), they will get there.

There are others, though, like Lydia, who will come to an understanding and acceptance of the truth sooner. When she heard the truth, she obeyed the truth! Luke records that “she and her household were baptized” (Acts 16:15).

Do you have this type of heart? Or have you hardened yourself against the gospel because of bad experiences in the past? I encourage you to allow God to teach you through His Word and through His servants in the Lord’s church. Study with them. Learn what He requires of you, and in humility submit to His commands.

Read Acts 13:13-52

Jesus Is The Answer

The man who was formerly one of the most feared persecutors of the disciples of Jesus became one of the most fearless proclaimers of the truth concerning the Son of God. In Antioch of Pisidia, during his first missionary journey with Barnabas, Paul appealed to the historical background of the Messiah as well as the proof of fulfilled prophecy in Jesus’ life.

Paul concluded his message by identifying Jesus as the answer to man’s biggest problem: sin. Because of sin, man’s relationship with God is severed (Isaiah 59:1-2). Because of Jesus, man can be reconciled to God! “Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that through this Man is preached to you the forgiveness of sins; and by Him everyone who believes is justified from all things from which you could not be made justified by the law of Moses” (Acts 13:38-39). Man can be forgiven and justified in the sight of the Almighty!

What was the response to this message? The Gentiles received the message and desired to know more. “So when the Jews went out of the synagogue, the Gentiles begged that these words might be preached to them the next Sabbath” (Acts 13:42). There were also “many of the Jews and devout proselytes” who “followed Paul and Barnabas” and “persuaded them to continue in the grace of God” (Acts 13:43).

However, there were other Jews who “were filled with envy; and contradicting and blaspheming, they opposed the things spoken by Paul” (Acts 13:45).

The same is true today. Some will receive the word like the Gentiles who “were glad and glorified the word of the Lord” (Acts 13:48), while others will “reject it, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life” (Acts 13:46). Each individual must make the choice: receive or reject the gospel of God; turn to Jesus as the answer or turn away from Him and continue in rebellion. What is your choice?

Read Acts 10:1-11:18

The Gospel Is For All

Under the Old Law, the Jews were God’s people. If you were a Gentile, few Jewish people would have anything to do with you. There was a process of proselytization, but that was not typical for Jews to actively promote such among Gentiles.

The prophets of old, however, told of a day when “the mountain of the LORD’s house shall be established on the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow to it” (Isaiah 2:2). Jesus told His apostles that they were to be His witnesses “in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8). Even Peter himself, when he preached that first gospel sermon on the Day of Pentecost, said that God’s promise was for the Jews (“to you and to your children”) and the Gentiles (“to all who are afar off”) (Acts 2:39).

It seems that the early church didn’t really understand these things, or perhaps they simply weren’t paying close attention. When the church was established, it took a while for them to get out of Jerusalem. In fact, it took “a great persecution” to get them out of Jerusalem. “At that time a great persecution arose against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles” (Acts 8:1). You may recall that Philip was the one who took the gospel to the Samaritans.

Fast-forward a bit to Acts 10, where we are introduced to the Gentile Cornelius, described as “a devout man and one who feared God with all his household, who gave alms generously to the people, and prayed to God always” (Acts 10:2). Cornelius was not a Christian, nor was he a Jew. But he had the heart of one who would accept the truth when he heard it.

Peter was sent to preach to Cornelius, and the apostle admitted, “In truth I perceive that God shows no partiality. But in every nation whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him” (Acts 10:34-35). Cornelius and his household were immersed, and the Jews recognized that “God has also granted to the Gentiles repentance to life” (Acts 11:18).