When a Person Gets Saved

22 March 2015 am – Acts 16:25-34 – Scott Childs

Introduction: Several years ago when we lived in PNG, we were awaken about 3:00 am by a strong earthquake.  Our house shook violently, and we heard a loud noise like a freight train.  That frightening ordeal lasted only about a half minute, but it seemed like a half hour.

Our text this morning describes the effects another earthquake had on an unsaved jailor.  Fearing that he was on the brink of death, he cried out for spiritual help.  When he got saved, he KNEW he was a new person in Christ.

If you have truly been saved from your sin and made a child of God, you too ought to know you are a new person in Christ.

Transition: When the Philippian Jailor was saved three major events took place in his life that also took place in your life if you are truly saved.

1.        He felt deep CONVICTION (v.29-30).

The Holy Spirit used Paul’s preaching, singing, and praying to convict his sinful heart (v.25).

a.         The Holy Spirit’s conviction produced urgency.

1)         He “sprang in.”  He rushed in.  This comes from a word that means to leap.

2)         God was working in his heart and he could wait no longer to respond.  He had an overwhelming drive to respond to God’s call.

b.         The Holy Spirit’s conviction produced fearfulness.

1)         He “came trembling.”  He was terrified.

2)         I don’t believe he was terrified by the earthquake as much as his sense of God’s approaching judgment.  Moments before, he was at death’s door, unprepared to meet God. He saw himself doomed to eternal hell.

V   (Hebrews 9:27)  “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:”

V   (2 Thessalonians 1:8) “In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: (9) Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power;”

V   (1 Peter 4:17) “For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?”

c.          The Holy Spirit’s conviction produced humility.

1)         This hardened jailor “fell down before Paul and Silas” and called them “Sirs” or literally lords.

2)         He was admitting that he was guilty and that the gospel message (Christ died and rose again for our sins) was his only hope.  He saw himself as helplessly and hopelessly lost.  I believe that pride will send more people to hell than anything else.  Pride keeps us from admitting our guilt. Please don’t let pride keep you from heaven.

a)         All people are equally guilty before God; some are just more obviously guilty.

b)         Whether you are a religious sinner, a moral sinner, an indifferent sinner, or a wicked sinner, you ARE a sinner, and so am I.

V   (Romans 3:10)  “As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:”

V   (Ecclesiastes 7:20) “For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not.”

V   (Romans 3:23) “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;”

d.         The Holy Spirit’s conviction produced eagerness.

1)         He cried, “What must I do to be saved?” The original grammar indicates that he said this repeatedly.

2)         At the height of conviction, the soul eagerly longs for God’s mercy and grace.

O  Can you look back and remember the deep conviction that the Holy Spirit brought in your life that led you to salvation?

2.        He made a sincere CONFESSION (v.31-32).

a.         He believed he was lost and needed to be saved.

1)         He knew he MUST be changed (Gk: necessary). He knew his sin condemned him and that he was headed for hell.

2)         He knew he needed to be SAVED from God’s judgment; saved from hell.  Grammatically this word “saved” is an aorist, passive subjunctive.

a)               Aorist: True salvation only happens once and can never be lost.

b)               Passive: God saves not man.  Man must receive Christ, but salvation is of the Lord.

c)               Subjunctive: Salvation is conditional, it hinges on our repentance and faith in Christ.

V   (Acts 3:19) “Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord;”

b.         He believed on the Lord Jesus Christ.

1)         Paul and Silas said that he must believe on the Lord Jesus Christ to be saved (v.31).

a)         Believing on the Lord is accepting that he is God.

b)         Believing on Jesus is to admit his humanity.  He became man to die for men.

V   (Hebrews 2:9)  “But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.”

c)         Believing on Christ is to accept his propitiation as your only hope for eternal life.  He is God’s promised Messiah who took the wrath of God for us and offers us eternal life.  He died for every individual.  He arose for their justification.

V   (1 John 2:2)  “And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.”

2)         The jailor did believe and so did his entire household (v.34). When they did, God gloriously saved them.

V   (Romans 10:9)  “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.”

3.        He experienced genuine CONVERSION (v.33-34).

God changed him the moment he repented and believed, calling upon the Lord to save him.  That hard, tough, cruel, Roman jailor was transformed into a Christian.

a.         He had new actions (v.33).

1)         He became kind and tender to those he had treated so roughly hours earlier.

V   (2 Corinthians 5:17)  “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”

²  The world does not think it strange when people wreck their bodies, destroy their homes, and ruin their lives by running from one sin to another!  But let a drunkard become sober, or an immoral person pure, and the family thinks he has lost his mind!

b.          He had new associations (v.33).

1)         He was baptised by immersion in obedience to the Lord’s command.  He was not ashamed of Christ.

2)         By identifying with Christ, he was ready to suffer for him if need be (Remember the authorities just beat and imprisoned Paul and Silas).   He no longer wanted to associate with evil men and their evil ways.

c.          He had new attitudes (v.34)

1)         He had an attitude of hospitality as he housed and fed the condemned preachers.

2)         He had an attitude of rejoicing as there was a new peace and joy in his heart.

Conclusion: Sadly, many who claim to be Christians never experienced  conviction, confession, and conversion.  Without these they are lost.

Have these three major events of salvation taken place in your life?  Did the Holy Spirit truly convict you?  Did you make a sincere confession admiting your guilt and asking God to save your soul?  Have you been genuinely converted so that God changed your actions, associations, and attitudes? There should be no doubt.  If you are not sure that you have been saved as the Bible describes, right now is the time to make sure. If you need to be baptised, talk to me about it today.

Song: 254 Come to the Saviour