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Church Singing July 12, 2013
What must I do to be saved?
The jailer at Philippi asked the Apostle Paul and Silas this question in Acts 16:30. This is the most important question that anyone could ever ask. What could be more important than eternal salvation? Paul and Silas responded by saying “believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household” (Acts 16:31). Most people stop at this verse, and say that Paul taught the jailer that belief in Jesus was enough for him to be saved. If you read the next two verses, however, you’ll discover that more needed to be done. Paul and Silas spoke the word of the Lord to him, and he was baptized that very night.
In Acts 2 the Apostles preached to the men gathered at Jerusalem on Pentecost. After they heard that sermon, they asked the Apostles, “brethren, what shall we do?” in verse 37. This is essentially the same question the jailer asked Paul and Silas in Acts 16. The Apostles had just accused them of being responsible for Christ’s death. The verse says when they heard this they were “pierced in their hearts,” and they wanted to know what they needed to do to make things right? In Acts 2:38 we read “Peter said to them, ‘Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.'”
Why would Peter and Paul give different answers to essentially the same question? The reason is that these men were at different levels of awareness when they asked the question. The men in Acts 2 just had a complete Gospel sermon preached to them about Jesus. Peter didn’t need to tell them to believe in Jesus. They already believed. The jailer had not been taught about Jesus yet. Paul told him to believe in Jesus ─ believe all the things he was about to tell him concerning Jesus. The jailer listened to the words, believed, and was baptized for the forgiveness of his sins as well. All three of these measures were appropriate steps to take to be saved ─ believe, repent and be baptized.
What must you do to be saved? You must take the very same steps the Apostles told all these people to take to have your sins forgiven. You must believe in Jesus (John 3:16). You must repent of your sins (Luke 13:3). You must confess your faith in Jesus (Romans 10:10). Before the Eunuch was baptized in Acts 8:37 he confessed ─ “I believe that Jesus is the Son of God.” And you must be baptized to have your sins forgiven ─ to “wash away your sins.” This is exactly what Ananias told Paul (then known as Saul) that he “must do” in order to be saved (Acts 9:6; 22:16). And now, why do you delay? Contact us with your questions or comments.