Spiritual Light

Acts 16

Having said these things concerning Romans 10:9-10, the famous verses from Acts 16:30-31 should need but scant attention. The context (vv. 16-34) clearly shows that the jailor's question, "What must I do to be saved?" should not be taken to mean, "What must I do to be converted?" Feeling the tremendous force of the earthquake, he thought his city (and himself in particular) was being destroyed by God for their mistreatment of Paul and Silas. Consequently, in this scene, he came running into the innermost prison to plead with Paul and Silas for instructions on how to escape the wrath of their God. Paul's response was complete:

Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, and your house."

No doubt, the jailor was at that moment willing to do just that. My guess is that at that dreadful moment, he would have been willing to believe anything Paul said. It is only conjecture, but when Paul told him to believe in Jesus, the terrified man probably replied, "I do believe! I do believe! . . . Who is he?"

The jailor needed to know who Jesus was and what he demanded of him. Paul must have thought so, too. Verses 32-34 tell us that Paul went to the jailor's house and "spoke unto him the word of the Lord." Subsequently, the jailor and his household were baptized (with the Spirit).14 Thus the jailor began "believing on God with all his house" (v. 34). And having begun to believe, the promise that he should be saved was his, if he continued in the faith.

Paul and Timothy

A good way to demonstrate the differing attitudes of biblical saints and modern believers concerning salvation is in this manner. Paul wrote to his beloved fellow-laborer Timothy:

"Take heed to yourself, and to the doctrine; continue in them. For in doing this, you will both save yourself and those who hear you."

(1Tim. 4:16)

Had Timothy been a typical modern believer, he might well have written Paul this response:

Dear Brother Paul,

I know I'm already saved, and nobody can make me doubt that! Don't you remember? You taught me that salvation is not of works (Eph. 2:8-9)?

Love,

Timothy

Saved Through Faith

We are saved by grace through faith; therefore, faith is a very valuable possession. But faith may be weakened or lost through disobedience, neglect, or deception. And with the loss of faith, the hope of salvation is also lost.

Another word for "faith" is "confidence." And, as with faith, confidence is not something we may simply decide we are going to have. It is not something that is of the will of man. Rather, it naturally arises from a clean heart. Guilt replaces faith when disobedience occurs, for guilt itself naturally arises from an unclean heart. Saving confidence, or saving faith, is, therefore, a quality that exists only in the hearts of children of God who live clean, obedient lives.

As a young boy, my father was commanded by his father to have the kindling chopped by the time he returned from work. During the day, he not only chopped the kindling but he also shucked the corn. At sunset, he eagerly was waiting for his father to come home to see what he had done. This eagerness is the biblical equivalent of faith, or confidence. His heart was clear. He obeyed his father's commandment, and then he had "gone the second mile" to do things he knew would please his father. John wrote:

"Loved ones, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God, and whatever we ask, we receive from Him because we keep His commandments and do the things that are pleasing in His sight."

(1Jn. 3:21-22)

The opportunities we have to obey God and then go the second mile to please Him are precious, fleeting opportunities. To neglect to do good is to become destitute of faith, for faith is the spiritual result of doing good. Consider this fatherly, compassionate exhortation found in Hebrews:

"Cast not away therefore your confidence, which has great recompense of reward. For you have need of patience, that, after you have done the will of God, you might receive the promise. For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry. Now the just shall live by faith, but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition, but of them that believe unto the saving of the soul."

(Heb. 10:35-39)

This "saving of the soul" is what we hope and live for. It is the reward of righteousness. It is eternal life and rest. Accordingly, it is the one blessing Satan most envies.

It was not without purpose that the leaders of the earliest saints strictly warned them to be diligent in prayer, faith, goodness, and love, and to be perfect and pure and free from every ungodliness. They knew our salvation depended on it! During and since that time, it has been one of Satan's highest priorities to convince us that this is not true.

If he can convince us that salvation will be given without regard to the quality of our lives, then half the battle of drawing us into godless living is won. If he robs our hearts of the understanding that "the wages of sin is death", then he can easily rob our hearts of the fear of God. And if the fear of God is not a part of our lives, evil will not seem as hateful as it is, for the fear of God creates hatred for evil (Prov. 8:13). And if Satan can deceive us into believing that sin is not as dangerous as it is and that holiness is not as precious as it is, his desire to moderate our zeal for righteousness and obtain salvation will eventually be accomplished.

Your salvation depends upon your deeds in this life. That is the message most hated and dreaded by Satan, for that is the only message which will stir people to seek a holiness before the Lord that they can know about. If people really believe that the kind of life they live will determine their eternal destiny, they will fear to do evil, learn to despise it, resist it, stand up against it, and condemn it, and that is exactly what Satan does not want.

For this reason, he persecutes every person whose life and voice speak out against sin. Jesus told his brothers (Jn. 7:7):

"The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify of it, that its works are evil."

Yet, in the face of the hatred of the world and the suffering which will ensue15, Paul steadfastly commanded God's children to "have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them" (Eph. 5:11).

What many believers have been lulled into neglecting is the hatred of evil and the denunciation of it, both by word and deed. That is an essential element of true holiness. There is no holiness without it. And if no holiness, then no hope of ever seeing God (Heb. 12:14).