Pastor's Sermon Notes: What must I do to be saved? The Conversion of the Philippian Jailer (Acts 16:25-40)

What must I do to be saved?

The Conversion of the Philippian Jailer

Acts 16:25-40

²⁵ And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them. ²⁶ And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one’s bands were loosed. ²⁷ 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. ²⁸ But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here. ²⁹ Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas, ³⁰ And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? ³¹ And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. ³² And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house. ³³ And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway. ³⁴ And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house. ³⁵ And when it was day, the magistrates sent the serjeants, saying, Let those men go. ³⁶ And the keeper of the prison told this saying to Paul, The magistrates have sent to let you go: now therefore depart, and go in peace. ³⁷ But Paul said unto them, They have beaten us openly uncondemned, being Romans, and have cast us into prison; and now do they thrust us out privily? nay verily; but let them come themselves and fetch us out. ³⁸ And the serjeants told these words unto the magistrates: and they feared, when they heard that they were Romans. ³⁹ And they came and besought them, and brought them out, and desired them to depart out of the city. ⁴⁰ And they went out of the prison, and entered into the house of Lydia: and when they had seen the brethren, they comforted them, and departed.

Introduction:

Where did we leave Paul and Silas?

Why were Paul and Silas really in this prison?

Outline:

I. Singing, Shaking, and Suicide by Sword - Freedom God’s Way! (16:25-27)

II. The Question of the Hour, and the Answer of the Ages - Freedom by God’s Son! (16:28-34)

III. There is a Right Way and a Wrong Way - Freedom on Whose Terms? (16:35-40)

Transition: 

Has your world ever been shaken? 

Have you ever been shook up?

Have you ever been brought to the point where you despaired of life itself?

How would you answer the question, “What must I do to be saved?”

I. Singing, Shaking, and Suicide by Sword - Freedom God’s Way! (16:25-27)

²⁵ And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them. ²⁶ And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one’s bands were loosed. ²⁷ 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.

1. The Prayer and Praise in the Prison - Late Night Listeners (16:25)

2. The Sudden Supernatural Shaking - Set Loose by the Sovereign Liberator (16:26)

3. The Sleeping Sergeant - Contemplation of Suicide by Sword (16:27)

1. The Prayer and Praise in the Prison - Late Night Listeners (16:25)

And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them.

The curtain opens, and the stage is set!

1) When? at midnight

2) Who? Paul and Silas

3) What? prayed, and sang praises unto God

4) So What? and the prisoners heard them

2. The Sudden Supernatural Shaking - Set Loose by the Sovereign Liberator (16:26)

 And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one’s bands were loosed.

Notice the emphases in this verse - …suddenly…great…immediately…every one’s…

1) The Force of the Earthquake

2) The Effect of the Earthquake

1) The Force of the Earthquake

And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken

Notice that foundations is plural.

Acts 4:31 - And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness.

Heb. 12:18-26 -  18 For ye are not come unto the mount that might be touched, and that burned with fire, nor unto blackness, and darkness, and tempest, 19 And the sound of a trumpet, and the voice of words; which voice they that heard intreated that the word should not be spoken to them any more: 20 (For they could not endure that which was commanded, And if so much as a beast touch the mountain, it shall be stoned, or thrust through with a dart: 21 And so terrible was the sight, that Moses said, I exceedingly fear and quake:) 22 But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, 23 To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, 24 And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel. 25 See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven: 26 Whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven.

2) The Effect of the Earthquake

and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one’s bands were loosed

3. The Sleeping Jailer - Contemplation of Suicide by Sword (16:27)

 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.

1) The central thought here  has to do with the jailer’s intent

2) The attendant circumstances around this central thought explain the jailer’s intent

1) The central thought here  has to do with the jailer’s intent -

            he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself

2) The attendant circumstances around this central thought explain the jailer’s intent -

            awaking…seeing…supposing

What was in his mind?

What was he facing?

Why would he take matters into his own hands?

How did he percieve of himself?

What was in control here?

II. The Question of the Hour, and the Answer of the Ages - Freedom by God’s Son! (16:28-34)

 ²⁸ But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here. ²⁹ Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas, ³⁰ And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? ³¹ And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. ³² And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house. ³³ And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway. ³⁴ And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house.

1. The Preamble to the Question of the Hour (16:28-29)

2. The Question of the Hour: What must I do to be saved? (16:30)

3. The Answer of the Ages: Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved! (16:31)

4. The Response to the Preaching of the Word (16:32-34)

1. The Preamble to the Question of the Hour (16:28-29)

²⁸ But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here. ²⁹ Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas,

2. The Question of the Hour: What must I do to be saved? (16:30)

And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?

Compare Mt. 19:16 - And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life? (pp. Mk. 10:17; Lk. 18:18)

Compare Acts 2:38; 4:12; 8:37; 11:13-14; 13:38-39; 15:11.

3. The Answer of the Ages: Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved! (16:31)

And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.

This simple yet profound truth continually comes under attack. It continues to be the focus of an onslaught of attempts to water it down, compromise it, and undermine its truth in our day.

and thy house?

There is no salvation apart from an individual exercise of faith in Christ in response to the preaching of the Word of God. See the next verse. There is absolutely no basis here whatsoever for the false teachings of infant “baptism”, or “covenant children”. These errors of covenant theology’s doctrine of paedobaptism are man-made, and not to be found in the Word of God. They are erected on imagined implications and false assumptions without any exegetical warrant.

Notice in the next verse the teaching consistent with the truth of this one in what follows:

1) All that were in his house were preached to

2) All his were baptised

3) All his house believed in God and rejoiced

Salvation is based on faith and faith alone, and baptism is of believers and believers alone. The Word of God is preached, the response of faith on the Lord Jesus Christ follows, and those who do so are then baptised.

4. The Responses to the Preaching of the Word (16:32-34)

³² And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house. ³³ And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway. ³⁴ And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house.

Notice the priorities here, along with the evidences of faith in the spiritual responses:

1) Preaching - And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house.

2) Ministration - And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes;

3) Baptism - and was baptized, he and all his, straightway.

4) Hospitality - And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them,

5) Joy - and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house.

III. There is a Right Way and a Wrong Way - Freedom on Whose Terms? (16:35-40)

 ³⁵ And when it was day, the magistrates sent the serjeants, saying, Let those men go. ³⁶ And the keeper of the prison told this saying to Paul, The magistrates have sent to let you go: now therefore depart, and go in peace. ³⁷ But Paul said unto them, They have beaten us openly uncondemned, being Romans, and have cast us into prison; and now do they thrust us out privily? nay verily; but let them come themselves and fetch us out. ³⁸ And the serjeants told these words unto the magistrates: and they feared, when they heard that they were Romans. ³⁹ And they came and besought them, and brought them out, and desired them to depart out of the city. ⁴⁰ And they went out of the prison, and entered into the house of Lydia: and when they had seen the brethren, they comforted them, and departed.

1. The Order to Release the Prisoners (16:35-36)

2. The Problem with the Order (16:37)

3. The Resolution of the Problem (16:38-40)

1. The Order to Release the Prisoners (16:35-36)

³⁵ And when it was day, the magistrates sent the serjeants, saying, Let those men go. ³⁶ And the keeper of the prison told this saying to Paul, The magistrates have sent to let you go: now therefore depart, and go in peace.

Why would this have been done?

This is all about politics!

They answered both to the people, especially the prominent citizens like the rich masters of the slave-girl, and to the Roman officials. They may have been attempting to avoid both another mob scene, and the embarassment they would face if this case went any further based on what had actually transpired. During the interim they may have done some checking into what brought the mob scene about in the first place. They may also have sought counsel about how to defuse this issue, and tried to come up with ways where cooler heads would prevail.

2. The Problem with the Order (16:37)

But Paul said unto them, They have beaten us openly uncondemned, being Romans, and have cast us into prison; and now do they thrust us out privily? nay verily; but let them come themselves and fetch us out.

When government is in the wrong

Paul is “playing the Roman Citizen card”!

3. The Resolution of the Problem (16:38-40)

³⁸ And the serjeants told these words unto the magistrates: and they feared, when they heard that they were Romans. ³⁹ And they came and besought them, and brought them out, and desired them to depart out of the city. ⁴⁰ And they went out of the prison, and entered into the house of Lydia: and when they had seen the brethren, they comforted them, and departed.

The tables have been turned and Paul and Silas have the initiative.

They left Philippi on their own terms, and would not hesitate to return again.

Conclusion:

Nothing in heaven or on earth can resist the shaking of Almighty God!

Do you expect God to do the unexpected?

Does the Gospel of Salvation by Faith in Jesus Christ seem to simple to you?

This incident has been the subject for many hymns that seem appropriate as “The Hymns of the Philippian Jailer”!

“What must I do?” the trembling jailer cried,
When dazed by fear and wonder;
“Believe on Christ!” was all that Paul replied,
“And you shall be saved from sin.”

Refrain

Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ,
Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ,
Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ,
And you shall be saved!

What must I do! O weary, trembling, soul,
Just turn today to Jesus;
He will receive, forgive and make you whole—
Christ alone can set you free.

Refrain

His blood is all your plea for saving grace,
The precious fount of cleansing!
O come, accept His love, behold His face,
And be saved forevermore.

Refrain [1]

Here is another example of a hymn based on the words of this text:

O! what shall I do to be saved
From the sorrows that burden my soul?
Like the waves in the storm
When the winds are at war,
Chilling floods of distress o’er me roll.
What shall I do? what shall I do?
O! what shall I do to be saved?

O! what shall I do to be saved
When the pleasures of youth are all fled?
And the friends I have loved,
From the earth are removed
And I weep o’er the graves of the dead?
What shall I do? what shall I do?
O! what shall I do to be saved?

O! what shall I do to be saved
When sickness my strength shall subdue?
Or the world in a day,
Like a cloud roll away,
And eternity opens to view?
What shall I do? what shall I do?
O! what shall I do to be saved?

O! Lord, look in mercy on me,
Come, O come and speak peace to my soul:
Unto whom shall I flee,
Dearest Lord, but to Thee,
Thou canst make my poor, broken heart whole.
That will I do! that will I do!
To Jesus I’ll go and be saved! [2]

I. Singing, Shaking, and Suicide by Sword - Freedom God’s Way! (16:25-27)

1. The Prayer and Praise in the Prison - Late Night Listeners (16:25)

2. The Sudden Supernatural Shaking - Set Loose by the Sovereign Liberator (16:26)

3. The Sleeping Jailer - Contemplation of Suicide by Sword (16:27)

II. The Question of the Hour, and the Answer of the Ages - Freedom by God’s Son! (16:28-34)

1. The Preamble to the Question of the Hour (16:28-29)

2. The Question of the Hour: What must I do to be saved? (16:30)

3. The Answer of the Ages: Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved! (16:31)

4. The Response to the Preaching of the Word (16:32-34)

III. There is a Right Way and a Wrong Way - Freedom on Whose Terms? (16:35-40)

1. The Order to Release the Prisoners (16:35-36)

2. The Problem with the Order (16:37)

3. The Resolution of the Problem (16:38-40)

[Sermon preached 10 AUG 2014 by Pastor John T. “Jack” Jeffery at Wayside Gospel Chapel, Greentown, PA.]

Resources on Acts:

G. K. Beale and D. A. Carson, eds., Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2007), pp. 513-606.

Paul Barnett, The Birth of Christianity: The First Twenty Years, After Jesus, Vol. 1 (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2005).

Darrell L. Bock, Acts, Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament, eds. Robert W. Yarbrough and Robert H. Stein (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2007).

                                                  

F. F. Bruce, The Acts of the Apostles: The Greek Text with Introduction and Commentary, 2nd ed. (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1951, 1952).

I. Howard Marshall, Acts: An Introduction And Commentary, Vol. 5 in Tyndale New Testament Commentaries, gen. ed. Leon Morris (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1980; 2008 reprint).

David G. Peterson, The Acts of the Apostles, The Pillar New Testament Commentaries, gen. ed. D. A. Carson (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2009).

John B. Polhill, Acts, Vol. 26 in The New American Commentary, gen. ed. David S. Dockery (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman, Publishers, 1992).

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Resources on Paul:

Kenneth E. Bailey, Paul Through Mediterranean Eyes: Cultural Studies in 1 Corinthians  (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2011).

F. F. Bruce, Paul: Apostle of the Heart Set Free (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1977).

D. A. Carson, The Gagging of God: Christianity Confronts Pluralism (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1996), pp. 496-501.

W. J. Conybeare and J. S. Howson, The Life, Times and Travels of St. Paul, 2 vols. in 1, unabridged American ed. (New York: E. B. Treat U Co., 1869); on Google Books at http://books.google.com/books?id=Bn1CAAAAIAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false [accessed 12 FEB 2013].

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Bruce N. Fisk, “Paul: Life and Letters”, in The Face of New Testament Studies: A Survey of Recent Research, ed. Scot McKnight and Grant R. Osborne (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2004), pp. 283-325.

Richard B.Gaffin, Jr., "Acts and Paul", 46 lectures (MP3 format), WTS Resources Media Center on Westminster Theological Seminary at http://wts.edu/resources/media.html?paramType=audio&filterTopic=5&filterSpeaker=10&filterYear=2005 [accessed 20 MAR 2013].

Frank J. Goodwin, A Harmony of the Life of the St. Paul According to the Acts of the Apostles and the Pauline Epistles (New York: American Tract Society, 1895); on Google Books at http://books.google.com/books?id=YgpEAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false [accessed 12 FEB 2013].

Richard N. Longenecker, The Ministry And Message Of Paul (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1971).

Richard N. Longenecker, Paul, Apostle Of Liberty (New York: Harper & Row, 1964).

Richard N. Longenecker, ed., The Road From Damascus : The Impact Of Paul's Conversion On His Life, Thought, And Ministry (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1997).

Richard N. Longenecker, Studies In Paul, Exegetical And Theological (Sheffield : Sheffield Phoenix Press, 2004).

J. Gresham Machen, The Origin of Paul's Religion: The James Sprunt Lectures Delivered at Union Theological Seminary in Virginia (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1925).

Leon Morris, The Apostolic Preaching of the Cross (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1955).

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Stanley E. Porter, Paul in Acts, in Library of Pauline Studies, gen. ed. Stanley E. Porter (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., 1999; 2001 reprint of The Paul of Acts: Essays in Literary Criticism, Rhetoric and Theology, in Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament 115, by Mohr Siebeck, Tubingen).

W. M. Ramsay, The Cities of St. Paul: Their Influence on his Life and Thought (New York: A. C. Armstrong and Son; London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1908); on Google Books at http://books.google.com/books?id=JryEbmKool0C&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false [accessed 13 FEB 2013].

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Udo Schnelle, Apostle Paul: His Life and Theology, trans. M. Eugene Boring (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2003; trans. from Paulus: Leben und Denken, Berlin: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co., n.d.).

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[1] Avis M. Christiansen, 1920.

[2] J. W. Holman, 1852.