My text, as you may have guessed,
will be verses 30 and 31 here in Acts 16. You have here a very plain answer,
a straight answer. That's the title of my message.
Have you read the article in the bulletin? That article or
rather this message is an extension of that article. That's a subject
that's been on my mind very much. But here you have a straight
answer to a very important question. I want the right answer to this
question, don't you? That this jailer asked. What must I do to be saved? Can there be a more important
question asked than that? What must I do to be saved? I've read commentaries who wanted
to dissect this man's question. Said, well, he was a rank Armenian. Well, I dare say we all were
by nature before God saved us. It's amazing how as we become
further and further removed from the time that God saved us, we
become more and more knowledgeable looking back on that time to
where we can almost give the impression, well, I never was
in darkness. I knew everything, understood
everything. No, we didn't. No, we didn't. Our Lord said,
everyone that has learned of the Father, Does what? He comes to me. He comes to me. God, as old Barnard said, gets
a man lost. He's got to know that. He's got
to know that. And then he asked this question,
sirs, what must I do to be saved? And thank God there's an answer
to that question, Mike. There's an answer. And it's not
a multiple choice answer. with one being just as good as
the other? No, there's only one answer and
Paul gives it to him. The answer that God himself gives,
the answer that the God who is our savior gives, what's his
answer? The one who was named Jesus,
the salvation of God, what's his answer to the question, what
must I do to be saved? when he appeared to his disciples
and they followed him on Mount Olivet for the last time after
his resurrection, before their very eyes, before he was caught
back up to heaven, seated on the throne of absolute dominion,
he said, boys, stay right here till I get back. I'm coming back
and I'm telling you to stay right here till I get back. What do
you mean, Larry? He said, go preach the gospel,
nothing else. Stay right there, stay put until
I get back. In answer to the question, what
must I do to be saved? Our Lord said, go ye into all
the world and preach the gospel to every creature, he that believeth
and is baptized shall be saved, and he that believeth not shall
be damned." That's a straight answer, isn't it? That's a straight
answer. This man that we read about in
Acts 16, this jailer, this keeper of the prison, lived with his
family in the prison compound. Look again, if you will, at verse
23 and 24. We read it together a few moments
ago, but look at it again. Picture this as we read the words,
and when they had laid many stripes upon them, that sometimes would
kill a man just to beat him. They cast them into prison, charging
the jailer to keep them safely. And having received such a charge,
the jailer thrust them into the inner prison and made their feet
fast in the stocks. That's a picture, I think, of
what Paul describes in Ephesians 2. Listen to this. This man and
his family, this jailer, what we just read there in Acts 16
is a picture of this. Remember, that ye being in times
past Gentiles in the flesh who are called uncircumcision, by
that which is called the circumcision in the flesh made by hands, that
at that time ye were without Christ. God help me never to forget that.
that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the
commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise,
having no hope, and without God in the world. That's what this
is a picture of in those verses we read. But now, if you will,
look on down in the chapter at verses 33 and 34 in Acts 16. Are you there with me? Verse
33. Now this same man, this is the same fellow. Well, it is
and it isn't. Verse 33, and he took them, this
jailer, the same hour of the night and washed their stripes. Isn't that something? He washed
their stripes. Before, he didn't pay any attention
to their stripes. He just threw them in the inner
prison. put there and locked him up in change in the stocks.
But now we read, in the midnight hour, he washes their stripes and was baptized, he in all his
straight way. And when he brought them into
his house, he set meat before them. Can you picture them sitting
at the table together? This jailer, And Paul and Silas,
he set meat before them and rejoiced, rejoiced, believing in God with
all his house. What happened? What happened? Is this the same man? What happened? Again, those verses we just read
are a picture of this. Again, I'm reading from Ephesians
2. concerning those who were once afar off, without God, without
hope, but now, but now, this is the caption under that second
picture in Acts, but now in Christ Jesus, ye who were sometimes
far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. That's what happened. But God,
John, that's what happens. Every time a sinner is saved,
I'm not talking about getting religious. That doesn't take
any work of the Holy Spirit. All that takes is a little persuasion
from a soul winner or somebody. When a man walks out of darkness
that he's been living in and loving all of his life into the
light, the glorious light and the liberty of the children of
God, it takes a miracle. It takes nothing less than an
operation of the mighty God to perform that. That's exactly
right. That's exactly right. That's
what happened to this man, but God. Isn't that a wonderful picture
here in Acts 16? Who but God could bring this
all about? Who but God could bring this
all about? Who would have ever thought when
this jailer was given command to keep Paul and Silas in the
inner prison, that God Almighty had arranged all this that we
read about for the salvation of that very man. Who would have
ever thought when that poor possessed woman followed Paul and Silas,
who would have ever thought that God was going to use that, use
that to bring them to this place, to preach the gospel to this
jailer. Isn't that amazing? Who would have ever imagined
that this man, or we see Lydia converted at the Riverside, But
who in Philippi that day would have ever thought that this jailer
would have been an object of God's mercy, a vessel of mercy? He wasn't on the street hearing
Paul preach. He wasn't at the riverside. He
was in prison. That's where he had his headquarters. chosen is in prison, and faith cometh by hearing,
so to prison does his messengers go. Who but God could bring this
all about? This man was charged with their
imprisonment. We read that, didn't we? The
authorities turned them over to him, and they said, you're
responsible for them. You're responsible for them.
We charge you with their keeping. They're your responsibility.
If anything happens, you're going to answer for it. He knew that.
That's why he was going to kill himself when he thought they
were gone. This man received the charge. But there was somebody
else in charge that day. It wasn't their charge. And it
wasn't the magistrates. And it wasn't this jailer. No,
no. He may have thought he was in
charge, but he wasn't. No. The great shepherd of the
sheep that day, that very day, the great shepherd of the sheep
looked down from his throne of universal dominion. Let that,
let that soak a minute. Child of God. Our Redeemer sets on a throne
of universal dominion. He's never caught off guard.
He's never unaware. And that mighty God and Savior
says to you, believing sinner, no man shall ever pluck you out
of my hand, no matter what, no matter what. He being Lord over
all, and as he himself said, having power over all flesh,
and that includes the jailers, said, arrest that man. Arrest that man. Again, I ask
you, isn't this wonderful? Isn't this amazing grace? I have
loved thee with an everlasting love, therefore, Therefore, with
loving kindness have I drawn thee." No wonder the psalmist said,
this is the Lord's doing and it's marvelous in our eyes. In
our own experience as we walk through this world, make our
pilgrimage through this world, we don't see much of the inner
workings of God's providence. We know that all things work
together for good and we find comfort in that, but we're not
given an insight into all the things God does. But here, we're
allowed to see, see how God works all things together for our good,
for the good of this jailer. And as the psalmist again said,
this is the Lord's doing. What other explanation could
it be? The jailer got up that morning and thought, Somebody
said, this is going to be his lucky day. As you know, I hate
that word. There ain't no such critter.
There is no such critter. No, no, no. What happened that
day? What happened that day? It was God Almighty who had chosen
that rebel before he ever created the heavens and the earth. This
is what the book says. chosen him in Christ before the
foundation of the world and Christ lived for him and died for him
and now he says he's gonna be mine. He's mine and I'm gonna
make him know that he's mine when I call him by my grace. I find so much comfort in that.
Don't you? Don't you, mom? Don't you, dad? Don't you, grandma, grandpa?
Don't you find comfort in that? When you look at that rebel child
and you think, will he ever be brought down? Absolutely. If
God Almighty wills it, he'll come down. He'll come down just
like this hardened jailer came down. What a picture. God moves, Cowper wrote, God
moves in a mysterious way his wonders to perform. He plants
his footsteps in the sea, and he rides. Doesn't he, Lord? No problem. No problem. He rides upon the storm, deep
in unfathomable minds of never-failing skill. He treasures up his bright
designs and works his sovereign will. Yes, Paul and Silas were
locked in. They were locked in. thrown deep
in the inner prison, and their feet made fast in the
stocks, locked in. But Jesus Christ,
whom they served and whose they belonged to, was not locked out,
was he? As this apostle himself would
write, what can separate me from the
love of God that is in Christ Jesus? Shall tribulation? No. She'll distress? No. She'll persecution? No. She'll anything that might
be invented in the future? No. What about death? Paul says no. Bless his name,
a few prison bars are not going to keep Jesus Christ from his
beloved. He says, I'll come to them. Turn,
if you will, back to John's gospel, John chapter 14. Our Lord says
this very thing, and he says it to every child of God. He
says it to every believer. In John chapter 14, verse 18, I will not leave you
comfortless. I will not leave you comfortless.
I will come to you. I will come to you. Verse 21
in John 14. He says, He that hath my commandments
and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me, and he that loveth
me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him and will
manifest myself unto him. Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot,
Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us and
not into the world? Jesus answered and said unto
him, if a man love me, he will keep my words and my father will
love him and we will come unto him and make our abode with him. Every Christian here this morning,
And if this place was packed to the rafters with believers,
every one of them could stand and give a hearty amen to what
we just read. Has he ever left you? Has he
ever forsaken you? Look back on your history. In
your darkest hour, has he not proved again and again, I will
not leave you comfortless. I will come to you. Nothing can keep me away. Nothing. You're mine. I've loved you everlastingly. Back in Acts 16 verse 25, look
at this, look at this. At midnight, Paul and Silas prayed,
my soul, and sang praises to God. They're still bleeding. They've been thrown into prison
unjustly on a trumped-up charge. And they're singing praises to
God and praying. They're not shouting, somebody
get us out of here. This is not fair. This is unjust. Get me a lawyer. Get me the Alabama
hammer. I want him on my case. This is
not right. No, they're praising God. Why? Why? Because Paul knew. that his great God and Savior
works all things together for their good, for those who love
God, to those who are the called. Paul knew this was a part of
God's purpose. God hadn't suddenly taken a vacation
or stepped off the throne and let somebody else run things.
Paul knew who was in charge. Before this jailer ever cried,
sirs, what must I do to be saved? Our Lord said, in the world you'll
have tribulation. No doubt about it. But be of
good cheer. I've overcome the world and I
will come to you. They sang, they were singing. I wonder if they were singing
something like we did a moment ago. When peace like a river
attendeth my way. or sorrows like sea billows roll,
whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say, it is well, it is
well with my soul." Would you find comfort in sorrow, a good
hope in your trials? Then look to Paul's God. He's
your God too, and that gives us comfort. Mike, the captain
of my salvation, And when I say this, when I say this, I'm rejoicing
in heart knowing that what I'm about to say in no way depends
on me. It's all up to Him. The captain
of my salvation never abandoned ship. Never. Never. And I find great comfort in that.
When I lie down tonight, whenever that may be. And I look back
over today and see how little, how little of my thought I've
given to my God and Savior, how much I've failed, how much I've
sinned in word and thought and deed. My comfort will lie in
this, that I am still His and He is still mine. He that loved
me says, He'll never let me go. And my eternal salvation, just
like my present salvation, it's all one, it's all the same salvation. Someone said, Augustus Toplady,
when a believer dies, he just goes to church. He goes from
the church below to the church above. And so it is. But my comfort lies here. The honor, the glory, the very
word of my Savior is at stake if this sinner that trusts Him
is not brought home. It won't be my fault, Lord. If
I perish, it won't be my fault. If I trust Him and I believe
in Him, If I've really been called to him by his grace and I perish
after all, it will be his fault. Never happen. It'll never happen,
will it? No, no. That soul that the Jesus
has slain for repose, he will not, he will not desert to expose. That soul, though all hell, should
endeavor to shake, he'll never, no never, no never forsake. Brother Bob Pontzer had been
very sick for the last several days. He was sitting in his chair at
home, so weak, so feeble, and Sally heard him pray, And he helped him, John. He helped
him. And I'll tell you what, he doesn't
need that walker today. No, does he? He doesn't need
it now, does he, Mike? He's walking arm in arm with
Jesus Christ in glory. Thank God we have such a good
hope. In verses 26 through 29, we read
of the earthquake and the doors being opened and the jailer Calls
for a light, verse 29. He called for a light and sprang
in and came trembling and fell down before Paul and Silas. I
think another light had already sprung up, don't you? The light
that shineth out of darkness and shines into our hearts. He
comes trembling again. Can you picture that? He came
trembling. I dare say, I don't think it
would be a stretch to say that that probably rang a bell with
the Apostle Paul. Seeing that jailer who just a
few hours before had thrown them into the inner prison, now he falls down like a whimpering
child, trembling, fearful. Then Saul, yet breathing out
threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went
unto the high priest and desired of him letters to Damascus, to
the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they
were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem. And
as he journeyed, he came near Damascus, and suddenly there
shined round about him a light from heaven. And he fell to the
earth and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest
thou me? And he said, who art thou, Lord?
I am Jesus. Not Jesus an imposter, King Jesus. Not Jesus a deceiver like you
think, Paul. Oh, no. I'm the Lord and God
whom thou persecutest. It is hard for thee to kick against
the pricks. And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what
wilt thou have me to do? Oh, I'm so glad. that God saves
great sinners. Aren't you? Aren't you? Is there
any believer here this morning that doesn't fit that category?
Well, I know you think you're the sinner. You're the sinner.
We all think that. We all should think that. And
that's why I'm so glad that God saves great sinners. I'm surprised and amazed how
he sets them free. But the biggest surprise in God
saving old sinners is that he would save an old sinner like
me. This jailer asked Paul, Sirs,
what must I do to be saved? This all-important question.
This was the issue with this man. This was the issue. I can't help, even while I make that statement,
recall that all around us, I'm talking about in churches. I'm
not talking about in the beer joints and their brothels. I'm
talking about in churches. Men are standing and they're
telling rebels, sinners, everything but that. They're making the
issue out of social reform, moral reform, politics, all this. The issue is, how can I be just
with God? That's the issue, Joe. That's
what this man wanted to know. He wanted salvation. He wanted
salvation. He wanted the forgiveness of
all of his sins. That's what he asked. What must
I do to be saved? I don't see anything wrong with
that. Do you? I don't see a thing wrong with
that question. Oh, I would to God that someone I preach to
would cry out, Preacher, what must I do to be saved? I pray to God to hear that. And
I'll give them the same answer Paul did. Believe on the Lord
Jesus Christ. and thou shalt be saved." I know
some come here from time to time when it's convenient, they don't
have nothing better to do, or they want to stay in bed another
hour or two. They come and they've never asked this question. They're
lost. They're undone, and they have
never asked this question, what must I do to be saved? Something's wrong with them.
Something is desperately wrong. They don't know God. They don't
know Christ. They've never experienced His
grace, and yet they've never asked, what must I do? What must
I do? Oh, God. Wake them up. Wake them
up. Wake them up. They sit under
the gospel and sleep. God Almighty, wake them up. Wake them up until they wake
up and lift up their eyes in hell. My God, wake them up. Wake them up. That's what I pray
for. I want sinners to come hear the
gospel, don't you? I hope you invite them. Black,
white, red, yellow, invite them to hear the gospel. I want them
to hear because I know it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching
to save those that believe they won't be saved apart from that. I want them to come and listen
to the gospel of God's grace concerning His Son. Come and
welcome. Come and welcome. But don't ask
me to baptize you. Don't ask me to allow you to
join this church while you remain a rebel against God. But if you're
brought to the place where from your heart of hearts you cry
out, what must I do to be saved? Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ
and thou shalt be saved and I'll be more than happy to baptize
you. every sinner that comes to Him. I won't deceive anyone
by giving them a false hope. No, no. By the grace of God,
I'll pray and preach, and pray while I'm preaching, God strip
them from that false hope that they're already Embracing, just
strip them. Knock the spiritual props out
or rather the religious props out from under them. Bring them
down. Reveal to them that they don't
know you. Bring them down. Jeremiah, the
Lord said to him, in his day, the prophets and teachers and
the priests have dealt deceitfully and falsely. falsely with the
people. Why? What did they do? Listen,
does this sound familiar? They healed also the herd of
the daughter of my people slightly saying, peace, peace, when there
is no peace. Doesn't that sound familiar?
If you'll take the first step, God will take the rest. False
peace. If you'll come up here and shake
my hand, you'll be saved. That's a false peace. If you'll
believe five points of Calvinism, you'll be saved. That's a false
peace. Christ said, come to me. Come
to me and be ye saved because I'm God and there is none else. I want people to come to a person,
not a position. Not a position, but to a person.
And that brings us to this blessed, blessed answer. The only answer
to the question, how can I be just with God? Here's the answer.
Here's the answer. Paul says, believe on the Lord
Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. That's it. That's it. That's all he said. He didn't say anything else.
And that man spent the rest of his life learning about that
great salvation, as you and I do. Oh, but when we come to Christ,
we come as sinners. We come as guilty sinners, begging
for mercy. Our Lord said, before he was
arrested that night, He very plainly tells us what
salvation is, what eternal life is. This is life eternal that
they might know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom
thou did sin. I've had people tell me what
they know, what they know. I know about election. I know
all the great doctrines of salvation. Christ says, come to me. You
can know those things and never have come to Christ. I was talking
to Bruce Crabtree the other day. Some of you may know this lady,
Gene Whitehead, and his church has been a member for many, many
years. And God convinced that woman that she was lost and she
kept saying, I can't be lost. I can't be lost. I believe all
the doctors. I believe totally privity and
unconditional election and particular redemption and perseverance and
preservation. I believe all those things. I
can't be lost. And Bruce said God had to shake
her out of that. Had to shake her out of that.
And she's so thankful that he did. brought her to the place
where she asked, what must I do to be saved? Believe. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.
Oh, brothers and sisters, there's a difference in knowing the doctrine
and knowing Him. There's a difference, a vast
difference. It doesn't much matter whether
you're a freewheeler or a Calvinist. If you don't know Him, what difference
does it make? I read two articles here just
recently. One was by a fellow who, quite
a few years ago, I knew he asked me to preach in his pulpit until
he came to the revelation that only him and three or four others
in the country were preaching the gospel, so I became an outcast. I was an unlearned and ignorant
man. But anyway, I read an article
by him about what you must know to be saved. And he talked about
all the doctrines, all the doctrines of salvation. I don't mean untrue
doctrines, but all the doctrines of salvation in God's Word. Man
must know that. He must understand that. And
I'm reading just a quote. I'm reading, rather, I'm quoting.
Everyone who is brought into the kingdom of God is brought
in intellectually. Well, Louie, where does that
leave me and you? Where does that leave us? And
then I read another article. From this verse, blessed be the
God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who had blessed us with
all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ. And this dear
brother wrote, when the Lord Jesus Christ said, come unto
me and you shall find rest to your souls, He didn't say come
to a particular position on doctrine, come to election, or come to
imputed righteousness, or come to total depravity, or God's
sovereignty. He told sinners, come to me.
Isn't it amazing how that the Lord Jesus Christ talked to sinners
so much differently than we do? He didn't catechism. He said,
come to me. Are you lost? Come to me. Do
you want life? Come to me. Are you thirsty? Drink. That's how he addressed
sinners. And this dear brother wrote,
he told sinners to come to me. Because when a sinner comes to
Christ, they receive all that he did in his work. They receive
his person. The long and the short of it
is that if we have Christ, we have all we need. We're complete
in Him. Do we need righteousness? Christ
is our righteousness. Do we need wisdom? He is that
too. Sanctification? We have that. Redemption? We
have that in Christ. Come unto me, and in coming to
him you will have that which is in him, and you will spend
the rest of your life learning about such a great salvation."
And my heart beats a blessed response to that. I echo amen
and amen. That gives us inner hope. That
gives this sinner hope. That was written, by the way,
by our dear friend in Crossville, Tennessee, Brother Donnie Bale. Without any hesitancy whatsoever,
without stuttering whatsoever, I say any offender, the vilest
offender that truly believes that very moment from Jesus,
a pardon receives. He's able to save to the uttermost. Thank God if he's ever opened
your eyes to behold him. Behold him. Do you behold him? Do you see him? I see doctrine. So does the devil. Do you see
the Lamb of God? Let me close. Look again if you
will at this picture in verse 34. Oh, what a beautiful picture
it is, as I said a moment ago. When I was thinking about this
last night, I thought about old John Newt. You're familiar with
his story. The captain of a slave ship made his living making merchandise
of other men. But after God saved him, he became
an advocate for the freedom of those very men that he enslaved. And as he said, that's amazing
grace. That's amazing grace. That's
what I thought about when I read the story of this jailer. In
verse 34, when he had brought them into his house, he set meat
before them and rejoiced, believing in God with all of his house. Yes, this is the Lord's doing,
and it's marvelous in our eyes. And soon, when we no longer are looking
through a glass darkly, but face to face with Christ our Savior,
oh my, how marvelous would that be. There he sits at the table,
with his children, his family all around him. All believing and all rejoicing. They should, they should. And
they're in glory now. And they're rejoicing. Oh God, bring my family around the table
of your grace. Bring them to see the Lamb of
God. And I heard, as it were, the
voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters,
and as the voice of mighty thundering, saying, Hallelujah, for the Lord
God omnipotent reigneth. Let us be glad and rejoice, and
give honor to him, for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his
wife hath made herself ready. God bless you. God bless you.