Our text this evening will come
from Acts chapter 16. Acts chapter 16. We'll be looking at verses 30 through
34 of Acts 16. In the previous verses, Paul
and Silas had been cast into prison for healing a young girl. And during that time that they
were in prison, there was a jailer that had been charged to keep
them safely there. And we read that at midnight,
during this time in prison, At midnight, Paul and Silas prayed,
and they sang praises unto God. And there was a great earthquake
that shook the foundations of that prison, and no doubt shook
the foundation of everyone that was there. And the prison doors
flew open, and the prisoners were loosed, and the guard He
come in thinking those prisoners had escaped. And he was prepared
to take his life. But Paul and Silas cried unto
him. And they said, Do thyself no
harm. And the keeper of that prison,
he asked this question. Look at verse 30. It says, brought him 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 to 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 he washed their stripes. Those
stripes that he had laid on them, he washed them. And he was baptized. He and all of his, straightway. And when he brought them into
the house, he set meat before them and rejoiced, believing
God with all his house. For just a few minutes here this
evening, I want us to consider this question. It's such an important
question. It's a vital question. What must
I do to be saved? I've just got a few points here.
And the first one is this. What must I do to be saved? Take
my place as a sinner. That's what I am. I am a sinner. I have broken God's law. I believe what God's word says
about me. What does it say? It says all
have sinned and come short of the glory of God. We've sinned. We have transgressed God's law. We've broken his law. 1 John
3 verse 4 says this, Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth
God's law. That's what sin is. It's a transgression
of the law. We've broken His law. And that is true of all of us. That's true of all mankind. When Adam sinned, All the way
back there in the garden, when Adam sinned, we sinned in him. When Adam fell, we fell in him. That's what Scripture says. It
says, by one man, sin entered into the world. And death by
sin. So death passed upon all men,
for all have sinned. Isn't that clear? And as a result
of that sin, we've lost communion with God. And left in that sin, we'll be
under His wrath, under the curse of the law, and that's where
we'll die. I wonder what the garden looked
like before Adam fell. It must have been beautiful.
And Adam was given but one law, one rule. Of the tree of the knowledge
of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it. For in the day
that thou eatest thereof, What? Thou shalt surely die. And Adam took of that fruit.
He ate of it. And his eyes were open, not to
glorious things, but his eyes were open to evil. Open to his
and Eve's nakedness. And immediately, they tried to
cover it. They knew something was wrong.
They were trying to cover it. They tried to cover their nakedness. But their works and their best
efforts could never do that. Could never cover their nakedness.
What must I do to be saved? Take my place as a sinner. Can you say as Jacob of old,
he said this, I am not worthy of the least of all thy mercies
and of all thy truth which thou hast showed thy servant. Can
you cry as that publican of old, what did he say? God be merciful
to me, the sinner. Listen to the words of Isaiah,
he said, is me. I'm a man of unclean lips and
I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips. I dwell amongst
people just like me. What must I do to be saved? Come to him as a sinner. Knowing this, the Lord Jesus
Christ came into the world to save sinners. Second, what must I do to be
saved? Seek the Lord. Seek Him. Twenty-seven times in Scripture
this exact phrase is repeated. Seek the Lord. Somebody tells me to do something
twenty-seven times, that's a pretty good indication that I need to
do that, isn't it? Seek the Lord. Seek Him in His Word. He's revealed
throughout Scripture. Seek Him in the Word preached,
the Word declared. Seek Him around those who know
the Word, who it's been revealed to. Seek Him, Scripture says,
seek Him continually. In Luke 19, there was a man named
Zacchaeus. I know the first thing I think
of when I think of Zacchaeus, I think he was little of stature.
But you know the thing we ought to be thinking about with Zacchaeus
is this, he sought the Lord. It was laid on his heart to seek
the Lord. Jesus entered and passed through
Jericho and behold there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was
chief among the publicans. He was rich. This man was wealthy. But that did not keep him from
seeking the Lord. Men have a tendency to get caught
up in wealth. We have a tendency to get caught
up in a lot of things. But Zacchaeus sought the Lord. It says this,
Scripture says this, he sought to see Jesus, who he was, And
he could not for the press, because he was little of stature, and
he ran before, and he climbed up a sycamore to see him. For he was to pass that way,
and when Jesus came to the place..." I love that. He came to THE place. This is the place where Zacchaeus
is going to... the Lord is going to be revealed
to him. This place has been determined from all eternity. He comes to
the place. I wonder, he probably didn't
have a clue that that's where he was when he climbed up in
that tree. But the Lord Jesus Christ looked
up and saw him and he said unto him, Zacchaeus, make haste and
come down for today I must abide in thy house. And what did Zacchaeus
do? He made haste and he came down
and he received him joyfully. And when the people saw that,
how did they respond to it? They rejoiced with him. What
a glorious thing that the Lord Jesus Christ has just revealed
himself to a sinner, a publican at that. And the people, when they saw
it, murmured. They said, he's gone to be guest
with a man that's a sinner. And Zacchaeus stood and he said
unto the Lord, behold, half my goods I give to the poor. If I've taken anything of any
man by false accusation, I'll restore it to him fourfold. And Jesus said unto him, this
day. Zacchaeus sought the Lord. The
Lord said to him, this day is salvation come to thy house for
so much as he also is a son of Abraham. For the son of man is
come to seek and to save that which was lost. Seek the Lord. In the book of Jeremiah, we read,
and ye shall seek me and find me when you search for me with
all your heart. What must I do to be saved? Take
your place as a sinner. What must I do to be saved? Seek
the Lord. What must I do to be saved? Here's
the third point. Ask God to save you. If a person wants something bad
enough, they'll ask for it. We're coming around that time
of the year. I was going to say our kids,
but we all do, right? If there's something we want,
we ask for it. Men say this. They say, well,
I don't know if I'm God's elect.
I don't know if I'm one of God's elect. I've heard men say, I
don't, well, I just, I really don't know enough about the scriptures. I need to be taught more. I hear men say this. I just,
I just don't know if the Lord will save me or not. Have you asked him? Have you asked him? Have you
asked the Lord to save you? Rest assured of this, only he
can. No one else can. Only he can. Turn to John chapter 16. John
chapter 16. Look at verse 23 of John 16. In that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you,
whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, He will give it to you. Hear the two, have you asked
nothing in my name? Ask and ye shall receive, that
your joy may be full. Ask and ye shall receive. Turn to Matthew chapter eight. A few more pages back, Matthew
chapter 8. Look at verse 1, Matthew 8 verse
1. Here we read where the Lord came
down from the mountain. Our Lord came down from the mountain
and a great multitude of people followed him. And behold, there
came a leper and worshipped him saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou
canst make me clean. Behold, behold. We hear that word, there's something,
there's definitely something worth paying attention to here.
Behold, there came a leper. In Luke's account, it says that
this man was full of leprosy. Completely full of leprosy. I
don't know that there's a clearer picture in God's Word of what
a sinner is than this leprosy, huh? A poor, vile sinner. Full of sin. Full of iniquity. A man, and this man's brought
to see himself as he is. He knows he's a leper. He knows
he's in need of healing. And this man comes to the Lord
Jesus Christ. He comes to the only one that
can heal him. He comes to him for pardon. He comes to him for cleansing.
This leper, he came and he worshiped him and he said this, Lord, if
thou will, thou canst make me clean. I don't know how much he knew
about the Savior, but he definitely knew something
of his power. He was fully assured of his power,
that he could make him clean. Man couldn't make him clean.
The law couldn't make him clean, but he was persuaded that the
Lord Jesus Christ could. and he humbly submits to him. He humbly submits to his will. And he says, Lord, if you will,
if you will, you can justify me, you can cleanse me, you can
save me by your grace. Despite my vileness, despite
my unworthiness, despite my sin, Why don't we just ask? Lord, if you will, you can make
me whole. And Jesus put forth his hand
and he touched him and he said, I will. I will be thou clean and immediately
Immediately his leprosy was cleansed. What must I do to be saved? Ask. Ask God to save you. In Luke 23 verse 41, our Lord
hung on the cross between two thieves. I don't read in scripture
with regard to what their crime was. But I do know this one of
them, he knew he was worthy of death. He said, we receive the due reward
of our deeds. Is that man a hopeless cause? He's getting what he deserves,
isn't he? Death. What's the due reward of our
deeds? Scripture says this, the wages of sin is death. But it doesn't end there. There's
a comma there and there's something to follow. But the gift of God
is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. I'm a sinner. Am I a hopeless cause? Do you still have Luke 23? Look
at verse 42. Luke 23, verse 42. And he said unto Jesus, Lord,
remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. What must I do? What must I do
to be saved? Ask the Lord to save you. The thief did. He said, Lord, remember me. And what was our Lord's reply to
him? I tell you, it wouldn't have
been very comforting if our Lord would say what men say. If he'd looked at him and said,
you know what? I appreciate you asking, but truly, you need to
get your life together. You need to get your life straightened
out, and then you come to me. Been no hope for that thief on
the cross, would there? What if he'd said, you need to
walk down to the front of the church? He's hanging on a cross. What
if he'd said, you need to do some good works? That thief can do nothing. And you know what? We're in the
same place. we can do nothing. The Lord said
unto him, oh what words of comfort, verily I say unto thee today,
this very day you're going to be with me in paradise. Turn with me to Luke chapter
11. Luke 11, verse nine. These are the words of our Lord.
Luke 11, verse nine. I say unto you, ask, and it shall
be given you. Seek, and you shall find. Knock, and it shall be opened
unto you. For every one that asketh, receiveth. He that seeketh, findeth. To him that knocketh, it shall
be opened. And then he gives this illustration.
He says, if a son asked bread of any of you that's a father,
would you give him a stone? Or if he asked for a fish, Will
you, for a fish, give him a serpent? Would you give him a snake that
bite him? Or if you ask an egg, would you offer him a scorpion?
If you then, if you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts
to your children, how much more shall your Heavenly
Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him? Fourth, walk in the light that
God gives you. You know, if we walked out of
this building on a Sunday morning and that bright light hits us,
it just about blinds, doesn't it? There's a limit to how much
of that light we can have. Walk in the light God gives you. In Mark 8, there was a blind
man brought to our Lord. And in verse 22 we read that
he come to Bethsaida and they brought a blind man to him and
besought him to touch him. And he took that blind man by
the hand and he led him out of the town. And when he'd spit
on his eyes, he put his hands upon him and he asked him if
he saw aught. And he looked up and he said,
I see men as trees walking." He had vision. It wasn't clear,
but he could see. And after that, the Lord put
his hands upon his eyes and he made him look up, and he was
restored, and he saw men clearly. Sometimes we only see as that
poor blind man did to begin with there. He saw in part. The Lord had healed him. The
Lord had touched his eyes and said he beheld men as walking
like trees. But listen, if I'm the Lord's
and he's began a good work in my soul, he'll show me more in
his time, in his good pleasure. Imagine if we saw all of our
sin at first glimpse. It'd destroy us if we could truly
see our sin, if we could truly see ourselves as we are. But in His time, He'll show us
more of our helplessness, more of our lost estate, more of Christ, more of Christ
alone in the salvation of my soul. Listen, whatever knowledge
of Christ and of the gospel we've received, whatever He's pleased
to give us, let's walk in that. Let's walk in the light that
He's pleased to give, trusting that He'll give us more light
in His time. There'll be times when we're
discouraged, times we feel like we're just standing still and
the world's just going by. But listen, If I know God has
revealed Christ to me, I know whom I have believed, I'll just
hold fast to Him until He's pleased to reveal us a little bit more. Walk in the light that He gives.
And then the last point, turn back to Acts chapter 16. Acts 16 verse 30. brought him out and said, sirs,
said to Paul and Silas, sirs, what must I do to be saved? That's the question. What must
I do to be saved? Well, look here. Look at the
answer they give him here in verse 31. Paul and Silas, they
answered this keeper of the prison, and they said, believe on the
Lord Jesus Christ. and thou shalt be saved in thy
house. What must I do to be saved? Believe. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. That word believe, it means to
credit. It means to have confidence. It means to entrust a thing to
one. It's to believe the record that
God has given concerning His Son. In John 5.11 it says this,
this is the record. This is the record. This is it.
God hath given to us eternal life and this life is in His
Son. What is this record? God, as
a result of His free and sovereign grace, according to the good
pleasure of His will, is pleased to give some, some of the fallen
sons of Adam, eternal life. And that life, that life we lost in the fall,
that life is in His Son. the life of God, the life of
glory and fellowship with God, the life of righteousness and
happiness and peace and being free from sin, free from sorrow
and death forever. It's in Him. God hath given us
eternal life in Christ Jesus. Listen, not just life promised,
not just life purchased, not just life purposed, but life. Life itself in the Son of God. Life in the Lord Jesus Christ. Believe on Him. He's my hope. He's my righteousness. He's my
eternal salvation. It's all in Him. There's no other name. No other
name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved. One way of salvation, the Lord
Jesus Christ. Christ and Christ alone. Not Christ plus our so-called
good works. Not Christ minus our sinful living. Christ. in Christ alone. I've heard men say this, you
know, if I live a good life and I give to those that are in need,
I believe I'll be just fine. Well, they might be fine with
their neighbor. They might be fine with their boss. My friends, in the sight of a
holy God, what does it require? What does
He require? A perfect righteousness. And that can only be found in
one person. That can only be found in the
Lord Jesus Christ. There is no other name given
among men whereby we must be saved. Well, listen to just a
few of these verses of scripture. I'll just read them to you. As
many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons
of God, even to them that what? Believe. Believe on His name. He that believeth on the Son
hath everlasting life. Believe. Believe on the Lord
Jesus Christ. Look to Him alone for life. and salvation, rely upon Him,
trust in Him. I commit myself and the care
of my soul unto Him and Him alone. And in doing so, what's our expectation? Peace, pardon, righteousness,
eternal life, that which He promised. that which He purchased, that
which He provided. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ
and thou shalt be saved. Saved from sin, saved from all
of its miserable consequences, from the curse of the law, from
the power of Satan, from the evil of this world, from the
wrath of God, from hell, from condemnation. to eternal salvation. Isaiah 45, 17 says this, Israel
shall be saved in the Lord with an everlasting salvation. It was said of Abraham, Abraham,
what? Believed the Lord and it was
counted to him for righteousness. What must I do? What must I do
to be saved? Take my place as a sinner. Seek
the Lord. Ask Him. Beg of Him to save me. Ask God to save you. Walk in
the light that He gives. Believe. Believe on Him. You know, that jailer did. He
believed on Him, and what a blessing, along with His whole house. Oh, that the Lord would be pleased
to do that for us, and able us to believe Him, rest in Him.