Turn Us O Lord and We Shall Be Saved

Q: What does the Bible say about conversion?

Conversion is a turning to Christ by God's grace, where a person surrenders to His dominion. Conversion, as illustrated in Acts 16 with the Philippian jailer, is a divine act where the Lord turns a rebel to Himself. In the case of the jailer, he moved from a state of despair to seeking salvation, recognizing his need for Christ. The essence of conversion lies in acknowledging one's hopelessness without God, as seen in Ephesians 2:12, where the absence of Christ means having no hope and being alienated from God's promises. It is God's grace that brings about this willing turn, highlighting that we turn to Him because He first turns us.

Q: How do we know the doctrine of salvation is true?

Salvation is revealed through the gospel and the transformative work of the Holy Spirit in a believer's life. The truth of salvation is demonstrated through the preaching of the gospel and the power of God to transform lives. In Acts 16, when Paul and Silas spoke the word of the Lord, it led to the jailer's salvation and baptism, affirming that belief in Christ brings about true transformation. This aligns with Romans 10:17, where faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. The jailer's immediate change from a hardened jailer to one who rejoices in Christ illustrates that salvation is not merely a doctrine but an experiential reality. It showcases the almighty power of God to save those He has chosen, underscoring the historic sovereign grace perspective that salvation is entirely of the Lord.

Q: Why is faith important for Christians?

Faith is essential for salvation and living a life that pleases God. Faith is the means by which we receive salvation, as exemplified when Paul told the jailer to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation. This act of faith is not a mere intellectual agreement but a comprehensive trust in Christ's finished work on the cross. Hebrews 11:6 reinforces that without faith, it is impossible to please God, signifying its importance in the believer's daily life. Faith not only initiates one's relationship with God but sustains it, encouraging believers to trust God's promises and His sovereign grace in all circumstances. As the jailer demonstrated, faith results in action, leading to public confession and a life that reflects the truth of the gospel.

Q: What does the Bible teach about the necessity of light for salvation?

Light is essential for revealing the truth of our condition and our need for salvation in Christ. In the context of the jailer's conversion in Acts 16, the necessity of light is crucial for salvation. The jailer, awakening from sleep, called for a light to reveal his condition, symbolizing the spiritual illumination required to recognize one's lost state. John 8:12 tells us that Jesus is the light of the world, and it is through His light that we see our sin and need for redemption. Without the light that exposes our sin, we remain in darkness, unaware of our dire state before God. The Holy Spirit, acting as the illuminating light in our hearts, brings us to an understanding of the glorious gospel, allowing us to see Christ as our only hope.

Good morning. I'm thankful for the opportunity to be with you all. I'm so thankful for your pastor, what a dear friend and brother in Christ. I'm humbled, truly humbled to be able to just stand here before you this morning. Open your Bibles with me to Acts chapter 16. Let's look, beginning with verse 19. I'm gonna read this and then we'll go back, Lord willing, and look at it. Acts 16, verse 19.

And when her masters saw that the 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 our city. And they teach customs which are not law for us to receive, neither to observe, being Romans, And the multitude rose up together against them, and the magistrates ran off their clothes and commanded to beat them.

And 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 feet fast in the stalks. And at midnight, Paul and Silas prayed, sang praises unto God, and the prisoners heard them. And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundation of the prison were shaken. And immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone's bands were loosed, and the keeper of the prison, awaking out of his sleep and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and he would have killed himself, supposing the prisoners had been fled. But Paul cried with a loud voice saying, do thyself no harm, for we're all here. And 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. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved in thy house. And they spake unto him the word of the Lord. They spake unto him the gospel. And to all that were in his house, and he took them the same hour of the night, and he washed their stripes, and was baptized, he in all his straight way. And when he brought them into his house, he set meat before them and rejoiced, believing in God. And I love this, with all his house.

I want us to look at this together this morning, this Philippian jailer. And this is, for many, this is probably a familiar scripture. Whether it's a familiar scripture or you're hearing it for the first time, I pray that it would be a blessing, a blessing to each one of us. You know, sometimes I think we read these stories, we call them stories, and maybe we lose sight of this. This actually happened. These are real people here, aren't they? This actually, actually happened. And it's a true story, right? This is a real person.

There was actually a jailer that got up out of bed one morning and he went to work, probably like he did every other day of the week. Right, I read those back then, the jailers, they lived, that was their home, they lived in the prison. And he went to work that morning and he probably just same old typical day, right? He got up and he drank his cup of coffee and he walked into work.

And before that day was over, the Lord showed mercy to him. The Lord was merciful to him. And I don't doubt this fellow was a good prison guard. And not everybody can run a prison. It kind of takes a special person to do that. And I see this man as an old guard that was probably hardened by the work that he did, hardened by the responsibility that he had. Paul and Silas had just healed a young girl. Now you think about this. They had just healed a young girl and when that happened, the magistrates commanded that they be beaten, beaten for that, beaten for healing a girl and cast into the prison.

And when that jailer heard this, we just read that, it says he thrust them into the innermost part of the prison. And you look up that word thrust, it's not like when we come home at the end of the day and we kind of throw our keys down maybe on a certain place on the table, like we just toss them to a particular place. That word thrust, it means to throw or let something go, not really caring where it lands. whether they landed on their head or wherever they landed. He threw them in there, and he wanted them to know who was in charge of that, who he thought was in charge of that prison, right? Real people. These things actually happen. This jailer, again, he's a hard man. He's a sinful man. Maybe I can identify with him. Maybe some of you can.

Paul wrote in Ephesians 2.12, turn there with me, hold your place, but turn to Ephesians chapter two.

Ephesians 2.12.

He said, at that time, You were without Christ, aliens from the Commonwealth of Israel, strangers from the covenant of promise, having no hope, and without God in this world. Could there be a worse place to be in? Without Christ? Aliens from the Commonwealth of Israel, strangers from the covenant promise, having no hope. A man that is without God has no hope. That's a dark and terrible description, isn't it? And this jailer, there's nothing to indicate that he was seeking God. Nothing that would indicate that. He's at, again, he's at, he's at work. Remember, remember Matthew when he was, he was sitting at the, we read, he was sitting at the receipt of custom.

Same place he was every day doing, doing what he always did. And the Lord on, On one particular day, he was pleased to pass by in mercy. What a wonderful day. That the Lord would pass by in mercy. And he just looked at him and he said, follow me. Follow me. And he did, didn't he? He left it all and followed Him. He heard, isn't that what God's sheep do? He said, they hear my voice and they follow me.

Well, again, here in our text, Acts 16, true story. And this passage is like all scripture. It's a declaration of Jesus Christ. These words, why are these words written? John, you said, this is our whole purpose, isn't it? This is all that really matters. Hard for us to keep that in perspective, isn't it? We quickly think so much is just about me, right? It's just about him.

These things are written, why? For our learning. That's what we read in Romans 15, verse 4, it says, Whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scripture might have hope, might have hope, eternal hope, a living, A living hope, a blessed hope, Christ who is our hope. Acts 16 and I don't know about your Bible but in mine at the top of the page it says this, Paul and Silas at Philippi and then it says this, the jailer converted, converted.

And here in just a few verses, we're gonna read the conversion of this jailer. Again, he's going about his day like he probably did every day, giving no thought for it. And again, the Lord's gonna show, don't we love that when the Lord's pleased to show mercy? He's gonna accomplish his purpose in saving not just this jailer, but we read his whole family.

Conversion is a turning, turning of God's elect, turning us to Christ by His power, by His grace, and it's a, listen, Willing, a willing turn. How is a rebel made to turn? It can only be by His power. It can only be by His grace. This jailer is gonna turn. He's gonna surrender to Christ's dominion, to God's dominion. We turn to Him because He turns us.

This is illustrated, but turn to Jeremiah 31. I just want to read a few verses of scripture here. Jeremiah 31. Look beginning with verse 18. I've surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself thus, thou hast chastised me. And I was chastised as a bullock unaccustomed to the yoke. Turn thou me. And if you do that, I shall be turned. For thou art the Lord my God. Surely after that, he says, I was turned. And I repented, and after that I was instructed.

I smote upon my thigh. I was ashamed, yea, even confounded, because I did bear the reproach of my youth. Is he from my dear son? Is he a pleasant child? For since I spake again, I do earnestly remember him still. Therefore my bowels are troubled for him.

I will surely have mercy upon him, saith the Lord. An object of God's mercy turned Oh that he would turn us, turn me from idols, turn me from myself to turn us from idols to serve the true and living God. Psalm 80 This request is brought before the Lord, before His throne a few times. We would be all wise, we would all be wise to ask the Lord to do that for us, to turn us. Turn with me there to Psalm 80. Just a few verses there, Psalm 80. Look at verse 3, Psalm 80 verse 3.

Turn us, O God, and cause thy face to shine, and we shall be saved. Look down at verse 7. Turn us. Turn us again, O God of hosts, and cause thy face to shine, and we shall be saved. Look at verse 19. Turn us again. Turn us again. O LORD God of hosts, cause thy face to shine, and we shall be saved.

This jailer on this particular day He's gonna be turned. He's gonna be converted. What's it say up there at the top? The jailer, a jailer converted. And the Lord willing, I'd like for us to see just five or six things here this morning about the conversion of this jailer. Turn back to Acts 16. Verse 25, at midnight, Paul and Silas prayed, and they sang praises unto God, and the prisoners heard them. And suddenly, there was a great earthquake, so that the foundation of the prison were shaken. And immediately, all the doors were opened, and everyone's bands were loosed." Here's the first point. Their foundation, his foundation, it was shaken. Gabe, you told us last night about that young man. He was on solid ground. That foundation wasn't shaken, was it?

But our foundation, that which by nature we take confidence in, that on which we stand, that on which we feel secure, it has to be shaken, doesn't it? We have to be shown that That's not true, that's not a sure foundation. Paul writing to the Corinthians, he said, other foundation can no man lay than that which is laid. What is that foundation? Who is that foundation? It's the Lord Jesus Christ. And every other foundation has to be shaken. It has to be torn down, it has to be destroyed. The Lord Jesus Christ is the foundation. There is no other foundation. He alone is our wisdom. He alone is our righteousness. He alone is our sanctification. He alone is our redemption. He's all.

The Lord God spoke in Isaiah. He said, behold. Pay attention. Listen to what's being said here. Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation, a stone, a tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation. He that believeth shall not make haste. The foundations of this world are going to be shaken. They're going to be proven to be false foundations. But that foundation which the believer stands on, it's eternal. It's a sure foundation. We've read it, it's a tried stone. And that foundation is Christ. Well second, second here in our text we see this, the necessity of light. What is the absence of light? It's darkness, isn't it? We must have light, naturally we must have light. Spiritually, we have to have, we have to have light.

Look with me, still in our text, look at verse 27. It says, the keeper of the prison, awaking out of his sleep and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword. He would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled, but he cried with a loud voice saying, do thyself no harm, for we're all here. Now there's a lot there, but listen, I see this, he called for a light.

We gotta have light. And he sprang in and he came trembling and he fell down before Paul and Silas. You ever been in darkness and not even realized you were in darkness? I need light. We must have light. Back in Genesis, How'd that darkness covered the face of the deep? And then Almighty God spoke these words. He said, let there be light. And there was light. Apart from light, we don't have life.

Lord, deliver me from darkness. Deliver me from ignorance. GIVE ME THE LIGHT OF THE GLORIOUS GOSPEL OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST, THE GOSPEL OF GOD'S GLORY IN CHRIST. HE WHO IS THE EXPRESS IMAGE OF HIS PERSON. LET ME SEE HIM. HE'S GOD IN HUMAN FLESH. HE'S THE SUM AND SUBSTANCE OF THE GOSPEL.

And we must have, if we're going to have life, we must have Him. We must have Christ who is our light. In Acts 26, we read that Christ should suffer and that He should be the first to rise from the dead and that He should be light. He's going to show light to His people and to the Gentiles. Light reveals things. Light reveals my sin. Light reveals my great need. Light to show me the way. God, who commended the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts to give light of the knowledge of the glorious gospel of Christ. Look at verse 30, again in Acts 16, here's the third point. Here we see a great need revealed.

This man, he was in a terrible spot, wasn't he? He was prepared to take his own life. He saw his condition and he comes lost and he comes trembling. Brought him out and he said this, this was his question. Sirs, what must I do to be saved? Now, if I'm asking that question, then I must know something about my condition, right? I'm lost, I'm dying. I'm helpless, I'm hopeless. What must I do to be safe? I need salvation. And I can't provide it. If you leave me to myself, I am lost, I am dying, I am dead in trespasses and sin. Don't leave me there. Please don't leave me there. What must I do to be saved?

If we rewind this just a little bit, now you think about this, just a few hours earlier, this jailer, he despised Paul and Silas. despised what they had done, despised their message, but now he sees himself as lost and perishing. And he now desires to hear what they've got to say.

I wonder, I wonder if at any point he had heard about why those fellows there, about that damsel. that they had healed and how she'd been possessed with that spirit. Back at Acts 16, look at verse 17. I wonder if he remembered or heard anybody say this.

He said, these same followed Paul and us and cried, saying, these men are the servants OF THE MOST HIGH GOD WHICH SHOW UNTO US THE WAY OF SALVATION. THAT FOR WHICH HE CAST THEM INTO THAT PRISON HE NOW DESIRES TO KNOW." Here's the fourth point. The gospel is preached and revealed. Look at verse 31. Here was their reply. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. And thou shalt be saved. And what I'm telling you, I'm telling your whole house. And they spake unto him. They spake unto him the word of the Lord and to all that were in his house believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Not just some facts and some historical truths. Jesus Christ is the Son of God. He's the Messiah. He's that one that come down in the flesh and suffered for people. He died and he rose again and he's in heaven at the right hand of God.

And listen, all these things are true. And we need to know these things. But to look to Him alone for salvation, I have no other hope. I have no other confidence. But to look to Him, to trust in Him, to trust in His finished work, To commit myself and the care of my soul to Him. And to expect, to expect pardon and peace and righteousness and eternal life from Him and Him alone. There is no other name.

UNDER HEAVEN, GIVEN AMONG MEN, WHEREBY WE MUST BE SAVED. And then we read here that they spake unto him the word of the Lord. The gospel of God's free and sovereign grace in the Lord Jesus Christ. He's the author of it. He's the author of eternal salvation. He's the subject matter of it. It's the word of salvation. It's the word of reconciliation and peace, the word of life, of righteousness, the word of faith. Jesus Christ is the power of God. unto salvation. They spake unto him the word of the Lord."

That's what we continue to do, isn't it? Through the foolishness of preaching. Remember Philip? Remember Philip when the Lord sent him to that eunuch? And he said, he said, you understand what you read? Well, how can I? How can I except some man should guide me, except some man should teach me?

And it began at the same scripture. And he preached unto him, Christ, he preached unto him the word of the Lord. The word of the Lord. Paul and Silas spake the word of the Lord to this jailer and to all that was in his house. Every one of them whose foundation had been shaken.

AND HE BELIEVED. HE BELIEVED. HOW DO WE KNOW THAT? HOW DO WE KNOW HE BELIEVED? WELL, LOOK AT VERSE 33. HERE WE SEE, HERE'S THE FIFTH POINT, THERE'S A PUBLIC CONFESSION. VERSE 33, IT SAYS, HE TOOK HIM THE SAME HOUR OF THE NIGHT AND WASHED THEIR STRIPES AND WAS BAPTIZED. He, in all his straight way, a public confession.

That jailer, he and all his house baptized. Why? Why baptize? Well, that's how we identify with Christ. It's a public confession. We identify with Him in His death, His burial, His resurrection. It's what it pictures. A picture of the believer's death. The believer's burial with Christ. And risen, risen again. Buried with Christ. Our sins washed away. Not by that water. by the blood of Christ. It pictures His resurrection, He's raised again to life. And as we die with Christ, we're risen together with Him.

And it's for believers. Baptism is for believers. It's commanded. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved. A jailer of all people. We put our name there, couldn't we? Those whom the Lord's been pleased to send. A jailer converted. His foundation, it had to be shaken, didn't it? It had to be that false refuse has to be removed. We see the necessity of light. Our great need, our great need revealed. The gospel preached a public confession, that jailer baptized.

And then last, in the conversion of this jailer, we see a new man. You know if a man repents, if God's pleased to give us repentance, to turn to Him, He's gonna turn us from our way to his way. Brother Henry, I remember he said, he's gonna be under new management. That's the sixth point here, a new man. A new man with a new master and new manners.

That jailer, just hours, I don't even know if it was hours, just shortly before, he thrust these men in prison and he put their feet in the stalks. And what's he doing now? The stripes he laid on them, he's washing them. This one that came trembling.

And we read here, when he had brought them into his house, He set meat before them and rejoiced. He's got something to rejoice in now, doesn't he? He rejoiced, believing God with all his house. Rejoicing. Rejoicing in the good news. Rejoicing. He's now got peace, pardon, righteousness. Life, salvation, through the gospel, through the Lord Jesus Christ, they rejoiced in Christ Jesus.

You know, the same was told to that eunuch, wasn't it? Remember that? After the spirit caught away Philip, it says that eunuch went on his way, doing what? Rejoicing, rejoicing. That's a true story. And boy, what a happy ending. A jailer converted, made willing. How's that possible? We're made willing, aren't we? When? In the day of His power. All right, I pray the Lord bless His word.

Turn Us O Lord and We Shall Be Saved

Key Quotes

What does the Bible say about conversion?

How do we know the doctrine of salvation is true?

Why is faith important for Christians?

What does the Bible teach about the necessity of light for salvation?

Sermon Transcript

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Turn Us O Lord and We Shall Be Saved

Key Quotes

What does the Bible say about conversion?

How do we know the doctrine of salvation is true?

Why is faith important for Christians?

What does the Bible teach about the necessity of light for salvation?

Sermon Transcript

Comments

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