What Must I Do to Be Saved?

The night was supposed to be like any other, as the jailer made his rounds, checking on the hardened criminals in their cold, dimly lit cells. He had done this routine countless times before, ensuring that those who deserved punishment would stay confined.

But tonight was different.

Tonight would forever alter the course of his life.

The rhythmic sounds of prayers and hymns echoed through the corridors, disrupting the stillness of the prison walls. It was those two malcontents. Why were they singing?

They were troublemakers, spouting off about Jesus and salvation and such. But none of that really mattered to the jailer. These men had been arrested and turned over to his care. They were now his responsibility.

He remembered the brutal flogging they received and how the magistrates of Philippi insisted these men be kept as securely as possible. He put them in the inner prison and fastened their feet in stocks. They were being treated as hardened criminals, and yet…

They were singing.

Suddenly, a violent earthquake shook the foundations, causing panic to ripple through the inmates. Chaos ensued. And then, to his horror, he saw that the doors of all the cells had been thrown open and every one’s bands or restraints had been loosed.

He had been in this business long enough to know that neither Roman nor local authorities tolerated failure. Earthquake or not, he had failed in the eyes of those above him. His life was now forfeit.

His heart pounding with fear and dread, the Philippian jailer reached for his sword.

“Stop!” It was one of the two men. What was his name? Paul!?

“Don’t harm yourself! We’re all still here!”

Still here? Impossible?

But, sure enough, the prisoners had all remained in their cells. No one was escaping.

It was then the jailer realized he was the one truly in prison.

And that these two men knew how he could be freed.

Trembling, the jailer brought Paul and Silas out from the inner prison and fell at their feet, pleading with them to answer one simple question:

“Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

Like the Philippian jailer of the first century, we often feel like we’re in control of our lives. Yeah, we have some things to manage and some stuff to deal with that we often don’t like to deal with, but as long as we keep everything in its proper compartment… as long as we’re able to satisfy whoever we need to satisfy… life will be okay.

But will it?

I mean, do we really have as much control as we think we do?

That earthquake changed everything for that jailer.

Sometimes, God will bring an earthquake into your life (and mine), teaching us that we aren’t in as much control as we think we are. That, in fact, it is we who are often being controlled — by events, people, or circumstances. And that we have no idea what might happen tomorrow, the next day, next year, or even the next second.

At that moment, the jailer realized the following:

He didn’t have control over his life
He didn’t have control over the future
His life could be taken at any moment
The two prisoners he held in bondage were able to sing praises to their God even while in prison, because really…they weren’t.
He needed salvation from this life.
And he knew the God of Paul and Silas was the One who could provide it.

The jailer realized all of that (and probably more) when he asked Paul and Silas how he could be saved.

Their answer?

“Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.” (Acts 16:31)

The “and thy house” refers to the fact that the promise of salvation extends to everyone, including the man’s loved ones.

Have you realized what the Philippian jailer realized? Do you recognize that you’re not immortal, that you’re not really in control, and that you don’t have all the answers? Do you understand that you need the God of Paul and Silas?

If so, then the way of salvation is Jesus. The Bible is clear on this point:

Jesus saith unto him, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.’ (John 14:6)

Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved. (Acts 4:12)

That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. (Romans 10:9)

For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time. (1 Timothy 2:5-6)

And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. (1 John 5:11-12)

Of course, when one hears the word “saved” (or “salvation”), the obvious question is to ask what we’re being saved from.

Well, for starters, we need to be saved from the eternal consequences of our sins. This was stated as the clear mission of Christ right when the angel appeared to Joseph in a dream:

And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins. (Matthew 1:21)

We need to acknowledge our sinful condition and our need for a Savior. As the Apostle Paul writes in his epistle to Rome:

But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.
Romans 3:21-26

In the case of the Philippian jailer, the Bible doesn’t record that he had a robust theological understanding of soteriology, but he did know he needed to be saved from a life of emptiness and futility. He needed meaning, fulfillment, and security that transcended the events, circumstances and apparent benefits or pleasures of this life.

As Augustine once said: “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in You.”

To be clear, I accept you as my neighbor no matter your choice. I strive to love my neighbor (as Jesus commanded), and that includes my neighbors who disagree with me. I am not better than you or anyone else. And I don’t see people who differ from me as “the other” or “less than” in any way.

What’s more, in a legal, social, and political context, I accept and respect the freedom of thought, conscience, speech, and religion of all people.

Nonetheless, as a servant of Jesus Christ, and because I care about you and all those in the path of my life, I must be honest with you. And, therefore, it’s important you understand what the Bible says about sin and the sacrifice that can save you from your sins. What you do with that information is between you and God.

But it is between you and God. That is an important fact to keep in mind. We will all one day face God. All of us.

Are you ready to face Him?

If you want to know what it takes to be saved, look to Jesus, “the author and finisher of our faith” (see Hebrews 11:2). Jesus is the Truth (see John 14:6). And remember that only the truth can and will set you free (see John 8:32).

May God bless you on your spiritual journey. Feel free to reach out to me with any questions.

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