Acts 16: 16-34

Theme: Salvation

THE BIGGEST QUESTION

It was about midnight in the bowels of a putrid dungeon. Several prisoners were kept there. All of them for various crimes and offenses against the state. Among the prisoners that night were Paul and Silas and perhaps Timothy and Luke. They had been arrested, stripped of their robes and beaten with rods. When the beating had inflicted sufficient injury, they were cast into the prison and the jailor was warned to keep them secure. Yet, with their bodies hurting, crusted over wounds, foul air, cold, Paul and Silas began to sing hymns. They were singing praises to God and Luke said that the prisoners were listening to them. Can you imagine how inspiring that must have been to some and how irritating to others?

It was in a vision that Paul saw a man appealing to him to "come to Macedonia and help us." Paul believed that God was directing his path. So, he changed his plans and crossed the Aegean Sea and for the first time, Paul entered Europe. He went to the Roman city of Philippi. Philippi was one of the leading cities in Macedonia. We still hear of Macedonia today where the potential of war is a constant threat to world peace.

It was the custom of Paul to look for a Synagogue, but apparently there wasn’t one in Philippi. However, he did find a group of women who were meeting by the river on the Sabbath for prayer. Among the women was Lydia. Lydia believed in God but she was not a Jew, she was not a convert. We get the impression that she was a seeker. The text says that she was listening intently. In that moment, God opened her mind and she understood the gospel and she responded by faith. In fact, she and all of her family believed in Christ and were baptized. She prevailed upon Paul, Silas, and Luke to stay at her house. And it was there that the church at Philippi was started.

It must have been a refreshing event in the life of Paul and Silas. They preached, she responded and believed, she and her family. A Church was born. But, a few days later, an event took place that was to interrupt his joy.

One day a slave girl began to follow Paul around. This slave girl was possessed by a spirit. In fact the term in the Greek is Python spirit. This reference was to a snake in classical mythology which guarded the temple of Apollo and the Delphic oracle at Mount Parnassus. Apollo was thought to be embodied in the snake and would inspire his female followers with clairvoyance. They would cause animals to speak. These "prophetesses" would speak revelations from Apollo. Some thought that they were ventriloquists while others, like Paul regarded them as demon possessed (Stott, The Spirit, The Church, & The Word, 264).

The slave girl kept following Paul around saying, "These men are slaves of the Most High God and they are proclaiming to you the way of Salvation." Apparently she followed Paul around for several days saying the same thing over and over again. Finally it greatly annoyed Paul and he turned to her and cast out the spirit in the name of Christ. Many commentators believe that not only did he cast out the spirit, but that she also became a believer.

In just a few days two women became believers. One was well off, a seller of purple, a woman with a household staff. The other owned nothing, she was a slave, she was owned by others. And that is what got Paul into trouble. Her owners used her to make money. She would tell fortunes and they would charge them for her services. Apparently, they were making a lot of money. But, when Paul cast out the demon, their source of revenue dried up. So they grabbed Paul and Silas and dragged them to the Agora, the marketplace where the city officials would gather to deal with the city's business. "These men are Jews and they are preaching a religion that has our city in an uproar, they proclaim customs that are unlawful for Romans." Well, this would not do. These strangers were upsetting things. So, without trial, they stripped Paul and Silas and beat them with rods and then threw them into the darkest of prison cells. There, their bodies covered with deep cuts and whelps and in great agony, they were placed in the cold darkness, in stocks, and locked into place.

All they did was preach the gospel and set a tormented servant girl free of her torment. And the authorities deprived them of their rights, beat them and cast them into jail. They were not even foreigners, but fellow Romans–Romans were not supposed to be treated this way. To me, it would be a time to despair. What was the use? You go to your fellow countrymen and offer them the word of life and set a poor slave girl free and your reward is to be severely beaten and thrown into a ghastly prison. But, Paul was not so easily demoralized. He and Silas began to sing hymns of praise to God. They knew that God was in control of all things and that nothing had come to pass without his permission. If they were in a prison for preaching the Gospel, then God must have had a purpose.

After a while, the prison began to shake and the gates swung open and the stocks fell off their feet and the manacles tore from the walls. The jailor was awakened from his sleep and he went to see what was the trouble. When he got there, he found all the gates opened. He knew that his life would be forfeited if his prisoners had escaped and thinking that they had, he despaired and drew out his sword and was about to commit suicide. Paul quickly called out, "do yourself no harm, we are all here."

Jailors were often retired, battle hardened, Roman soldiers. It took a lot to shake them up but in this case, the jailor was rattled to the core. The jailor rushed in and fell at Paul's feet. Perhaps the jailor had heard why Paul was in jail. Maybe he had heard Paul's message. Luke said that he brought them out and asked them, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? In the middle of Paul's suffering and humiliation, God brought forth a powerful witness through their suffering and deliverance. That witness caused this old jailor to ask them how to be saved. Paul said, "believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved . . ." That very night he believed, he and his whole household. He took them to his house and washed their wounds and fed them and Paul baptized them. The church at Philippi had some new members!

I believe that in the midst of life's great tragedies, Christians can bear the best witness. It is because people who have faith in Christ have something real. You can't hide real faith and you can't fake it either. God is in us and God is our hope. We are filled with the Holy Spirit and we have been changed into Kingdom People. It was natural for Paul and Silas to sing hymns of praise at midnight.

God used the events of Paul and Silas to get the attention of a hardened ex Roman soldier and his family. These extraordinary events caused this man to ask the most important question any human could utter, "What must I do to be saved?"

Paul’s response was clear and direct, "Believe in the Lord Jesus and you shall be saved. You and your household." These words are repeated all over the New Testament. Undoubtedly the jailor had heard Paul preach about Jesus. Jesus was God in the flesh who came to die for our sins. Later on Paul would say that when we come to Jesus by faith, it means that his death on the cross was our death and his resurrection was our resurrection. This is what is needed to save us. When we come to faith in Jesus, we die with him on the cross and are raised with him to new life. He gives us a new life in Christ, a life that is described as eternal life, a life with God forever. What must I do to be saved? Trust Jesus, believe in him and you shall be saved.

The biggest question one will ever ask is, "what must I do to be saved?" The answer is not, do good works or be a good person, or stop this or stop that. It is more radical than that. We need to be converted, changed and the only way that can happen is that we "Believe in Jesus."

Have you asked the question? How did you answer?