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, and thy house. Acts 16:30,31
We all enjoy listening to testimony meetings, in large part because we can relate so well with the stories that are told. We understand so well when we hear someone tell of their original indifference to God’s love for them, of God’s dealings with them in bringing them under conviction of sin, and of the way in which they were brought to appreciate the work of the Saviour to pay for their sins. It’s a road that we all had to travel to reach the point of trusting Christ. So when we read of the conversion of the Philippian jailor, we enter into his experience easily. We may not understand his terror at the earthquake, or his hopelessness at finding the prison doors open, or his desperate resolve to commit suicide. But we do know the feelings that led to his famous and all-important question, What must I do to be saved? And we have experienced the relief at discovering that salvation lay in simply believing on the Lord Jesus Christ. It is a simple and powerful Gospel. But it is not the popular Gospel of today.
Simply put, our text has a question, and a response. The question arises from a heart that is in desperate need, and the response is a revelation that the need has been met. No sinner can come to God without understanding their desperate need to deal with their sin. The Lord Jesus declared that except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish (Luke 13:3,5). But repentance is almost ignored in much of the so-called Gospel preaching around us these days. Sin is seldom mentioned, and its awful burden and consequences are downplayed. Without conviction of sin, there is little urgency on the part of sinners to seek a Saviour. So the modern day gospel does not present a Saviour, it presents a solution. It presents the benefits of salvation without introducing the Benefactor. It offers a formula to complete instead of a faith to convert. The Gospel is reduced to a sales approach of convincing people that salvation is wonderful, so they should sign on. The methods vary. Some will urge the recital of a particular prayer that will do the trick. Others insist that a baptism is needed, or a pledge card must be signed, or an invitation given to Jesus to enter their heart. Nothing of faith; all of self, and not of Scripture. Sadly, this so-called Gospel is becoming the norm in many so-called evangelical circles. Its product is a high percentage of false professions. Many of these folks continue on in a nominal way in their denomination, but they have no spiritual life. Therefore, they have no zeal in the Gospel, no interest in Scriptural doctrines, and no commitment to anything of real value. They offer no objection to the abandonment of truth or the introduction of error. There is little wonder that such places are dying or corrupt?
Repentance from sin and faith in Christ is the only Gospel that works. May we preserve it! -Jim MacIntosh