15 October | EVERYONE
"Then he called for a light, ran in, and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. And he brought them out and said, ‘Sirs, what must I do to be saved?’ So they said, ‘Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.’” Acts 16: 29-31
The earth shook and the prison walls collapsed. All was confusion, screaming, and desperate wailing. After a few seconds, which felt like an eternity, the jailer got up in a daze from the impact and, perceiving that the walls were torn down, thought that the prisoners had fled and panicked. He had been warned that Paul and Silas were highly dangerous prisoners and that if they fled, he would pay with his life. From his point of view, there was no way out for him but death. So he took his own sword and was about to commit suicide when he heard the voice of the apostles saying to him, “Do yourself no harm, for we are all here” (Acts 16:28).
Instantly, the jailer called for a light and went to the back of the prison. There were the apostles, serene and trusting in God's protective care, while he was tormented by the raging waves of anguish and despair. What was it about those men who, with their backs lacerated, wounded, and threatened with death, were able to sing in the shadows of the prison? How could they have peace in the midst of the storm? Then, trembling, he fell at the feet of Paul and Silas and asked them what he must do to be saved.
The question was not quite right. No one needs to do anything to attain salvation. It is by grace. Jesus shed His blood so that we would be free from condemnation. The word “grace” means that you pay nothing. Salvation is free. Maybe that is why it is hard to accept it in the business-driven world we live in. Our unconscious believes that the more we pay for a product, the better; but in the spiritual world, we were not redeemed with gold or silver but with the precious blood of Jesus.
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You may have noticed that believers often complicate salvation a lot. Look at the answer that Paul and Silas gave to the jailer in Philippi, it is quite simple!
Believe in Jesus too, and you will be saved (and everything else is a consequence of that).