Friday, July 15, 2016
Acts, Chapter 16,
verse 27-30
27 When the jailer woke up and saw the
prison doors wide open, he drew [his] sword and was about to kill himself,
thinking that the prisoners had escaped. 28 But Paul shouted
out in a loud voice, “Do no harm to yourself; we are all here.” 29 He asked for a
light and rushed in and, trembling with fear, he fell down before Paul
and Silas. 30 Then he brought
them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”
In
this work of God’s Mercy, Christ frees the jailer from the jail of fear and sin.
Paul was
not overwhelmed by circumstances. The earthquake had not numbed him with fear.
He had no abject terror of death. Paul had his wits about him. He heard the
jailer's cry, heard the sword being drawn - perhaps, he saw the shadow of it
cast by the dim lamplight upon the prison wall and spoke out in mercy to save
the man's life from the consequences of sin.
Our fallen natures continually drag us down. We have little power to withstand the inclination to sin when it is strong upon us. We scarcely live a day of our lives without falling short of the standards we set ourselves let along the standards that God sets. It is very doubtful that the Philippian jailer thought along these lines exactly - nor do most people who are converted! The jailer just knew that he needed saving from the way he was. He compared himself with Paul and Silas and he was disgusted with the life he led. He hadn't the fortitude, inner joy, peace or consideration for others that Paul exhibited. The jailer feared death. He had no sort of relationship with God. He had no hope of life beyond the grave because he had no assurance that God was interested him let alone loved him. The jailer was lost and he knew it.
Paul
and Silas replied to the jailer's question as one: "Believe in the Lord
Jesus, and you will be saved - you and your household." Paul did not
point the jailer to Jesus' saving work but to Jesus himself. This is because in
the first instance the human heart must submit to Jesus. A sinner has to
answer, "I will," to that command of Paul and Silas. Saving faith
involves submitting, surrendering and yielding to Jesus. The rebel has to
shoulder arms and say to the Savior, "I give in. Please rescue me."
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