Several years ago, I was preaching at a church near
Nashville. Brother Scott Richardson and
I and several others were preaching. It was in June in Nashville. Scott Richardson got up to preach
and somebody mistakenly turned on the heater instead of the
air conditioner. Got up to about 110 and Scott had preached for
seven minutes and he says, well, I'm done. And he walked down off the pulpit
and I was sitting on the end of the bench and he walked by
me and he said, well, at least I said substitution. It got hot. It's hot. Jim asked me if I was going to
take off my coat. I always do because I don't like
to preach on. But I'm wearing black because
it complements my figure. Everything has changed. I haven't
gained any weight or lost any weight in the last several years,
but I noticed I did drop some a few months ago, but it didn't
look any different. All of it's fallen down to this
area right here. This is actually my Adam's apple. It's a delight to see you, to
see many of you whom I've known since we were children, young
babes. It's a delight to be here. Acts
chapter 16. The title of my message tonight
is, To Be Saved, To Be Saved. We'll begin reading with verse
19, read through verse 31. And when her masters, that is
speaking of those who were God makers and made money off religion,
that found that things were not going well because of Paul and
Silas' preaching, when their master saw that their hope of
their gains was gone, they caught Paul and Silas and drew them
into the marketplace under the rulers, and brought them to the
magistrates, saying, These men, being Jews, do exceedingly trouble
the city, and teach customs which are not lawful for us to receive,
neither to observe, being Romans. And the multitude rose up together
against them, and the magistrates rent off their clothes, and commanded
to beat them, When they had laid many stripes upon them, they
cast them into prison, charging the jailer to keep them safely. Who, having received such a charge,
thrust them into the inner prison and made their feast fast in
the stocks. And at midnight, Paul and Silas
prayed and sang praises unto God. And the prisoners heard
them, and suddenly there was a great earthquake. so that the
foundations of the prison were shaken, and immediately all the
doors were opened, and everyone's bands were loosed. And the keeper
of the prison, awakening out of his sleep and seeing the prison
doors open, drew out his sword and would have killed himself,
supposing that the prisoners had been fled. But Paul cried
with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm. We are all here. Then he called for a light and
sprang in and came trembling and fell down before Paul and
Silas and brought them out and said, sirs, what must I do to
be saved? And they said, believe on the
Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved in thy house. And they
spake unto him the word of the Lord and to all that were in
his house. And he took them the same hour
of the night and washed their stripes and was baptized. He and all his straight way. And when he had brought them
into his house, he set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing
in God with all his house. Now up to this time in this passage
of Scripture, in this chapter, Timothy has been circumcised.
Paul has been forbidden by the Holy Ghost to go preach in Asia
Minor. He has had a vision to go to
Macedonia, and there meet a man, but there he met a woman named
Lydia, whom God opened her heart. He's cast out demons from a girl
who was crying supposedly to help them in their ministry,
but it wasn't much help, knowing the devil can quote scripture
for his own purpose. And the economic gain to the
business of religion, these men who make idols, has brought wrath
and beatings and imprisonment, and then this wonderful deliverance
by God Almighty. We come to this instance when
this jailer asked a question. He asked a question. The question
is found in verse 31. Verse 30 says, ìSirs, what must
I do to be saved?î ìWhat must I do to be saved?î This is the
only time in the Word of God that this question is asked.
Now one man did come before the Lord. Many believe it was Saul
of Tarsus and said, ìWhat must I do to inherit eternal life?î
But I think the emphasis should be on the word, I. What must
I do? Because he confessed that he'd already done all he was
supposed to do. He was saying, I know you're talking about eternal
life. What must I do to get it? What must I do since I've already
done all this other stuff? But this man sincerely asked,
what must I do to be saved? It's like I said, it's the only
time in the Word of God that this question is asked, as well
as the only time that this answer is given in all of the Word of
God. And such singularity requires
our attention, especially when it is in direct reference to
the salvation of a man's soul. We look at the thief on the cross.
It's only one time that a man died thusly, one instance, one
deathbed confession, if you will. One man said it's one so that
none would despair, one so that none would presume. But this
singularity, our text here, teaches us basically two things. One
is that the words of Paul and Silas are not general words. They are not common phraseology
in the preaching of the gospel. Because you don't hear it anywhere
else but here. They were an answer to a specific
question asked by a specific person. Secondly, if this question
is asked, If this question is asked, the right and proper answer
is, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.
This question is asked out of desperation and out of need.
Thus the answer is not a general instrument of the preaching of
the gospel because the preacher has no preconceived notion that
those he preaches to have a need for what he is saying. You see,
thirst and hunger, are results, not actions. They are results,
not actions. Something causes both thirst
and hunger. Something causes need. The old puritans used to say,
the sinner is a sacred thing, the Holy Ghost has made him so.
And so it is. The reason for the question,
because of what transpired afterward, is that this man had a true interest
A desperate need to be saved. That was the question. What must
I do to be saved? We cannot create hunger. We cannot
create thirst or need in anyone. Men have sought out many inventions
to do so. Sad stories full of pathos and
angst, long invitations with gotcha questions, and a backpack
for the guilt trip. Religious experiences are big. They are designed to bring awe
and inspiration. Men use threat of punishment
and promise of reward, and thinking that desiring the salvation of
the lost will somehow eventuate in the salvation of the lost,
it will not. Do we care for the lost? We do. But if we do, we never compromise
the gospel. for fear of confusing the people. The truth is, the elect will
not be deceived. Tell them the truth. The reason
for the question is that this man needed something. Now I can
say to man, I can say to you tonight, believe on the Lord
Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. But if you're not hungry
or thirsty, the words will mean nothing to you. I heard of Ralph
Barter one time was preaching and a fellow stood up and said,
I don't believe what you're saying. He says, well, I'm not talking
to you. And if you don't believe the gospel, in reality, I'm not
talking to you. I'm not. In Isaiah chapter 55
in verses 1 and 2 it says, Ho, everyone that thirsteth, come
to the water and drink. That word ho is a very interesting
little word. It actually means you've come
to the point. That's what the word means. You've
come to the point. What point? The point starts,
or the reason for the point starts back in Isaiah 52 in verse 7.
when what is what Paul quoted in Romans chapter 10, how beautiful
upon the feet of the mountain of them that publishes peace
and bring us salvation, that bring good tidings of good things,
saying, thy God reigneth. It starts right there. There, after that, it speaks
of the Lord Jesus Christ being marred in his crucifixion, a
very violent death, but also that he would prosper or prosper
prosperously. Then the prophet goes on to say,
who has believed anything we've said? And to who is the arm of
the Lord revealed? And he goes on to teach who Jesus
Christ was, a man of sorrows, acquainted with griefs. He bore
our shares. We did see him and esteem him
stricken of God and afflicted. With his stripes we are healed.
He had his death among the rich. He was stricken for God's people.
He shall see the travail of his soul, of the travail of his soul,
and shall be satisfied for by my servant's skills he shall
justify many. Then he goes on in chapter 54
to tell all the glorious things that that means. The last thing
being said, no weapon formed against you shall prosper. And
then the word ho. What does he say? Does this interest
you? Does this mean anything to you?
Are you inclined to be interested in what I've just said? You're
at the point. And if you're thirsty, come and
drink. If you're thirsty, come and drink. Thirst is created by God. Thirst
for righteousness. And you know if you're thirsty.
You know if you're hungry. You know if you have a need.
And it's not going to do me any good up here to tell you have
one, because I don't know whether you have one or not. It's kind
of foolish to me to say, Gary, you're thirsty. He'll say, no
I'm not. I'll say, yes you are. Take some
water. I don't want any water. I'm not
thirsty. You're thirsty, but preachers
stand all day long and say, You need Jesus! You need Jesus! And they say, I don't need Him. I don't need Him. But if you're thirsty, and if
God has created a need, The mention of His blessed name through the
preaching of His gospel, you'll say, I want that, I want that,
I've got to have that. Get out of my way, I'm going to get that. Our Lord never told someone they
had a need. Look it up. He never told someone
they had a need. He asked sometimes if folks were
thirsty. But He did based on removal of
any other possibility. Our Lord said in Deuteronomy,
I put before you life and death. Choose life. He didn't say choose
between the two. He didn't say there was an option
here. He says, I put before you life
and death. Choose life. That's a command from God. Our
Lord said, Come unto Me, all of you in labor and heavy labor,
and I'll give you rest. When did He say that? After He
said, I thank Thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that
Thou hast hid these things from the wise and the prudent, and
revealed them unto me. No man knoweth the Father, but
the Son. No man knoweth the Son, but the Father. And he to whomsoever
the Son will reveal Him. Well, that just shuts it up,
doesn't it? It's a grace. Well, come unto Me, if you're interested. If you're laboring, if you're
heavy laden, and I will give you rest. What was the Lord's
answer to unbelief? I know people moan and groan
about nobody accepting Jesus in this day and age. What was
the Lord's answer? Twice he was confronted with people that didn't
believe on his name and openly. And he knew it and he mentioned
it. One place in John chapter 6 he said this, He looked at
the Pharisees and says, you don't believe what I say. You don't
believe I'm the man that come down from heaven. And I just,
I'm broken hearted over there and I just wish you'd let me
save you. Did he say that? You don't believe me, but all
that the Father giveth me shall come to me, and him that cometh
to me I will in no wise cast out. For I came down from heaven
not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.
And this is my Father's will which is in me. Of all he's given
me, I shall lose nothing but raise him up again the last day.
There were some more Pharisees that stood by him one day and
said, well, if you're the Christ, tell us plainly. He said, I've
already told you. You wouldn't hear me. You know why you didn't
hear me? Because you're not my sheep.
That's the way to answer unbelief, isn't it? We don't have the guts
to do that, but he did. You don't, you don't, you don't,
because you're not my sheep. That's why you don't believe
me. You see, my sheep hear my voice, and they follow me, and I give
to them eternal life, and they'll never perish. That's how he answered
unbelief. My mom sometimes says, Tim, you're
too hard. Now, she says that because mothers
want their children to be loved by everybody. But I told her recently, I said,
Mom, you know, I've met preachers, false preachers, many of them,
sat down with them and talked with them. I've never called
one a viper. Have you? I've never looked at
one and said, you're just an open grave full of dead men's
bones. I've never done that. I've never told one, you're a
child of hell, and every one of you converts are two-fold
more the child of hell than you are. I've never said, you're
blind men, leave them blind. I've never said, I ain't hard
yet. I ain't hard. He was. And here's the question. Asked by need, what must I do to be saved? This
singularity thus becomes a kind of formula for salvation, I think.
A word from heaven about God's manner of salvation. It is true
that this man asked, but he did not just pop up with the question. What made this man ask this question?
Some things happened. Some providential occurrences
took place. The simple answer is this, God
made him ask. Look at what brought this man
to his place. First of all, he was no different than any of
the other people that were in that prison or any of the men
who cast these men into prison. He cast his lot with the gospel
haters that beat and laid out lying accusations against Paul
and Silas. In verse 24, the word thrust
tells us this man's attitude toward the servants of God. The
word literally means to toss and throw a thing away, not caring
where it landed or what happened to it afterward. He thrust them
into prison. Threw him in there. Threw him in there. This is the
privacy of the soul. Obeys hatred and disdain for
the things of God. The natural man receiving not
the things of God. They are foolish and stupid.
Neither can he know them nor discern them. The carnal heart or the
carnal mind is enmity against God. It's not subject to the
law of God. Neither indeed can be. He was just like everybody else.
Like you and me. Born God-haters. The second thing
is God interrupted his life. God intruded. One man said, God
is too much of a gentleman to go against your will. Well, ain't no cure for stupid. God intruded in this fellow's
life, didn't he? He interrupted in a big way.
He sent an earthquake. He shook the place. And everywhere
in scripture is God's judgment. And when God judges with an earthquake,
men fall down. They fall down. And everyone
who knows God knows this. When the foundation is shaking,
men get serious about their soul. In 1968, I was in Tachikawa,
Japan. We were flying sorties in and
out of Vietnam. And I was stationed in a place
called Yamato. That's where they billeted me.
That's where I slept. And I just got off the bus after a 12-hour
shift of being inside a fuel tank of a C-130, smelling of
JP-4. Went and took off my fatigues
and threw them in a bucket of water to let it soak the kerosene
out of them. Laid down on my bunk, closed
my eyes, and all of a sudden I was in midair. flung out of
my bed and onto the floor. My bunk bed turned over, my lamp
fell over, and I didn't know what was happening. I'd never
known anything lately, but it scared me. And I ran outside
my barracks, and I looked in between the barracks, and the
ground looked like the ocean. It was rolling. And I got scared. I grabbed ahold of a great big
old tree, and that tree was going up and down with me all day long.
I got serious about life right then. I didn't give a hoot 30
minutes before, but right then I was serious. Why? Because my
foundations were shaken. I had no secure ground to stand
on. I was scared for my life. This
man was too. His foundations were shaken.
And men get serious when that takes place. Why? Because God
interrupted. And you better pray God interrupts
your career too. Because old Barnard used to say,
you'll go to hell if you can. And you will if you can. And if God don't interrupt your
course, you will. Thirdly, the man who asked this
question was awakened. He said he awakened out of his
sleep by the earthquake. He was awakened. What a picture
that is. To be awakened. What did the
Lord say in Ephesians chapter 2? who were dead in trespasses
and sin, and awakened, he realized that he was an utter failure.
The first thing he did, what did he want to do? I woke up,
took my sword and I'm going to kill myself. He despaired for
his life to the point of suicide. To him, all was lost. He had
been made to know that he was not in control of anything. And
it's important to note that when God interrupts a man's life,
that man intrinsically knows, first off, he must die. God interrupts your life and
reveals to you what you are in the light of Jesus Christ. You
have to say in your heart, I'm worthy of death. I should die. And that's what this man said. And he took out his sword and
was going to plunge it into his own chest. The preacher told
him, whatever preacher tells one who is without hope in this
world, who confesses it, who cries in despair of life, He
said, don't harm yourself. Fear not. Fear not. How often does our Lord say that
to men who are afraid? Fear not. Fear not. Also, verse 29 is a beautiful
picture of the seeking sinner. Verse 29 says, then he called
for a light. He called for a light and sprang
in. and came trembling and fell down
before Paul and before Silas. He called for a light. Why? He
needs to see why he should not fear. He needs to see though
he is an utter failure, he needs to see why he should not die.
He is not flippant, nor does he trot down an aisle, nor does
he believe that this may be put off to another time. It says
he's spraying in. He's spraying in. The kingdom
of God suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force,
Scripture says. Just get out of people's way.
You ain't got to cajole, you ain't got to beg, you ain't got
to plead. All you got to do is get out
of people's way. When you preach the gospel, it
will do its job. It always does its job. It's
always triumphant when the gospel is preached. God said that. It
always smells like a sweet smelling savor under him. That's a picture
of that sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ. That substitutionary
work that propitiated God. Smells good to him. Now to some
it'll smell like death. To others it'll smell like life.
And we're not sufficient for these things, but God is. He sprang in, and his posture
is a picture of what's going on in his heart, trembling. He hit the dirt and took up his
headquarters in the dust. Also, he realized something,
that governments, nor armies, nor the hatred of men, can't
hinder God. The prison that men made to lock
up the gospel, the shackles and stocks that men applied to hold
back the truth, had met with a painfully obvious failure. This was no longer a prison.
It was an open, peaceful parlor. And he asked this question, Sirs, What must I do to be saved? What must I do? Paul and Silas
answered him, believe, oh come on, surely believe on the Lord
Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. And he even says, the
house. And that's not a phrase that
suggests reformed covenant theology, complete with infant baptism.
I heard a story of a preacher one time, who this fellow who
believed in infant baptism told the preacher that this passage
of scripture was proof of infant baptism. And the old preacher
says, well, you know, the Philippians youngest son was 18 years old.
And the other preacher said, where'd you get that? He said,
the same place you got infant baptism. What this is saying, if he believes
he will be saved and if those of his house believed, they will
be saved too. Did he believe? Not just yet. Not just yet. He must know who to believe. You remember the old blind man
in John 9? You're talking about a religious experience. Boy,
that fella had one. It was such a great religious
experience that the religionists couldn't stand him. They threw
him out of church. Threw him out of the synagogue. And our
Lord floundered him and put his hand on him and said, Son, do
you believe in the Son of God? And he said, who is he? I said,
I might believe on him. He says, it's me. It's me. This man's had a tremendous experience.
There's no doubt about that. People have experiences. I've
had a few. I don't know whether they were
alcohol-induced or whatever. or too big a hamburger before
I went to bed. You know, I don't know what my
religious... I've had plenty of religious experiences. I used...
They used to call me Mr. Rededication at Antioch Baptist
Church in Winston-Salem. I was down front so much. I did
so because I was so guilty. I was always in trouble. And
I cried, and they'd pat me on the back, and I'd feel good for
a while, and then I'd be back to what I was doing. I've had
experiences. Don't ever question somebody's
experience. People have experiences. It's true to them. But put their spirits in a test
against the Word of God. See if what they felt or what
happened lines up with the Word of God. And be honest with them
if it doesn't. But this man had an experience,
an earthquake. He had seen metal shackles break
off of men's hands. He had seen the ground shake
and prison walls and doors fly open. He had seen things probably
no man had ever seen. Isn't that enough? Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ
and thou shalt be saved. Well, what else does he need?
He needs to hear the word of truth. So it says, they spake unto him
the word of the Lord. You see, judgment will make a
man fear for his soul, but the remedy for that is only found
in the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Judgment will make a
man know he must die, but only the gospel will give him hope
of life, because he knows then that he died in the Lord Jesus
Christ. One must hear the gospel before he calls on God. It's
just so. They say, well, you're trying
to build up your office. Listen, I ain't a greasy spot
on history. I'm out of here before you know
it. You are too. Life is a vapor, goes faster
than a weaver's shuttle. We're all just here, a blip on
the radar called time. But the Bible says, whosoever
shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Doesn't
it say that? It does. But it says, whosoever
shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. But how
shall they call on Him? in whom they have not believed. And how shall they believe on
Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without
a preacher? And how shall they preach except
they be sinned? So faith comes by hearing, and
hearing by the Word of God. This man needed to hear the Gospel.
You and I need to hear the Gospel. Everyone whom God has chosen
will hear the gospel. God will raise up some jackleg
like me to stand on his hind legs and tell them what God has
done for them. And that's what the gospel is.
Gospel is a record. It's a report. It's an account
of something that has taken place. It's not a plea. It's not a wish. It's not a hope. It's not an
invitation. It's an account of something that has happened.
It is history. That's what the gospel is. History
of what? What God has done. And after
Paul told the Ephesian church in chapter 1 of Ephesians, from
verse 3 all the way through verse 12, what the God the Father and
God the Son had done. Not what they would do, but what
they had done. They had chosen them and predestinated
them to the adoption of children by Jesus Christ Himself. They
were accepted in the Beloved. God had given them wisdom. God
had gathered them in the Lord Jesus Christ. God had given them
inheritance. And God was the one who does
all things after the counsel of His own will. And that the
reason He did this is that they would be, that they would exist,
that they would be here. That's a state of being, that
they would be. Do you know that comes from the
words, I am? That's a state of being verb.
That they would be, that's why you are. Why you exist. To the praise of His glory. who
first trusted in Christ, in whom you also trusted. When? After. Not before, not until. After you heard the word of truth. What was that? Good news. Good tidings of good things. the gospel of your salvation. You mean it was mine
before I had it? Yes. It was mine before I knew
about it? Yes. If you are one of God's,
it was yours from all eternity. And what happened when that preacher
stood up and preached it to you? The Holy Spirit took those words
and picked up your telephone and said, this is for you. I'm
here to tell you that God saved you in all eternity. Christ died
for you 2,000 years ago and accomplished your redemption, satisfied God
for your sin, died in your room instead. Ain't that good news? You say, man, that is good news.
You mean I don't have to do anything? No, you can't do anything. It's after you heard the word
of truth, the gospel of your salvation. What good news? Predestinated, elected, oh my,
you can't tell that to people, that will just run them off,
that will, not the elected one. People say, well predestination
is confusing. That's the stupidest statement
that's ever been made. You know that? Predestination
is the thought process of every rational being upon the face
of this universe. It is the thought process. Susanna sang a beautiful hymn
Austin played for her. They just sat there on that pew
and it happened. There he was on that pew and all of a sudden
a voice came out of nowhere and piano keys started moving like
an old player piano. No, what happened? They had to
get up and go there. Why'd they do that? Because there's
where the piano is. There's a predetermined goal. And that microphone was her predetermined
goal. How many of you just sat at your
house tonight at about six o'clock and blinked your eyes and twisted
your nose and here you were? What happened? Well, you're predestinated
to eat some supper. You're predetermined to do that.
You're predetermined to get in your car. Predetermined to open
the car door. Predetermined to put the keys in. Predetermined
the route that you're going to take. Predetermined that you're
going to walk through those doors. Predetermined that you're going to sit in that
place. That's predestination. That's just rational thought.
And to say God doesn't do that? What are you accusing God of?
And to say it's confusing? That's baloney. It ain't hard
to believe. It's hard to swallow. hard to swallow. Did he believe? Yes, he did. Believe on the Lord
Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. Did he believe? Yes, he
did. He did so and so did his household. How do we know? Well, in verse 33 and 34, he
cared for those who told him the truth. And he and his house were baptized,
which is a confession of the Lord Jesus Christ. And that confession
is like the other ordinance of the church, a confession of death. He confessed he died when Christ
died. Just like when we take the Lord's
table, we're confessing his death until he comes again. The gospel
rejoices in the fact that Christ in his life fulfilled the law
in every John title. But he kept it another way. He
kept the law by dying, which was what God required for justice
to be satisfied. He had a clear conscience toward
God. He rejoiced, it says. And I say to you, are you interested Would you like to have this? Do you want this? Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Thou shalt be saved. God bless
you.