"Sirs, What Must I Do To Be Saved?"

 [This talk was delivered by me June 1, 2025 at St. Christopher's New Carrollton; based on Acts 16:22-34, John 17:20-26; Revelation 22]

The jailer falls down before Paul and Silas and asks:
“Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

Some Christian groups maintain that baptism is required before a person can be saved; some say that only those baptized in their denomination or in a certain way will be saved. Some say that you have to be well-schooled in a catechism prescribed by their denomination before you can be considered a candidate for salvation. And some denominations teach that once you are saved, you can be lost.

But how did Paul respond? Any body?

"Believe on the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household." Let everyone say it together!

He did not say: Well, first, you have to sign up with our church and commit to tithe or otherwise your membership will be declined. Then you must complete 20 hours of doctrinal learning and pass the test at the end. If you cannot pass the test, you may need to repeat part or all of the class. And then, perhaps, we can talk about baptizing you so that you can be saved.|| Nor did Paul say – oh, well, you weren’t born into the –name the particular Christian denomination – I mean, you worshiped idols! We’re going to have to take this under advisement to figure out if you are even a candidate for salvation. And neither did Paul say – oh, your lifestyle does not sync up with Christian values; you have to change your lifestyle before we can even continue the discussion about how to be saved.

No - none of that was said nor implied. Why? Because the Holy Spirit had already positioned the jailer for salvation. You see, it was not a coincidence that Paul and Silas wound up in this particular jailer’s prison. Let’s see what God’s Word says about this. If you have your Bible or a Bible app on your phone, go to Ephesians 2. We are going to look at verses 1-10. Ask for a reader. Now as we read this passage let’s allow the Holy Spirit to teach us.

“Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” Grace and faith. Paul writes that twice in case we didn’t get it the first time. The Grace gives us the ability to believe, the faith gives us the ability to act. We humans can presume and tell ourselves that “someday I’ll get around to ‘formalizing’ or settling into my salvation – right now I need to focus on my career/my university education/sowing my oats before I can take that next step” – as if salvation is something to be attained on a checklist of things to-do.

Believing here means committing our life to Christ. We are willing to sacrifice our perceived ‘lordship’ to make Christ our Lord and Sovereign. So the question that is begged to be asked is “what are we being saved from?” What do we think we are being saved from? Let’s look again at verses 1-3. Ask for a reader.

The same Holy Spirit moved Paul to write in Romans 6:20-23, that we are all born spiritually dead because of Adam’s sin DNA we carry. We are born slaves to sin. But by grace through the faith we receive, we are saved by the blood of Christ, and given new life (called regeneration or being born again as Jesus spoke about in John 3) – you see God is the author of our faith and of our salvation, so that no one can boast about how she or he won God over. Say Amen if you believe because what God has done in you?

In our Gospel lesson in John 17, Jesus tells us that in addition to His praying for us – yes He sits at the Father’s right hand and intercedes for us (Rom 8:34) who have been chosen and saved by the Father, Jesus put His Spirit in us – not for ornamental value or to lord over someone, but rather to humble us so that we may be one and love one another as He loves us. In the preceding verses of John 17, Jesus indicates what He is praying to the Father for us: protection in Jesus’ name and protection from the evil one; to have Jesus’ joy in us; and that the Holy Spirit would sanctify us by the truth of God’s word and the transformative work the Spirit would do in us, and that we may be with Him and see His glory.

I’d like to share a story with you that I came across. There was a man who had been convicted rightly of murder, and subsequently found guilty and sentenced to death. He was put on death row in prison. He admitted his guilt and knew that the state’s response was life for life. As his appointment to his execution grew nearer, something began stirring within him. Most of his life was a fight against the goads, and he had hurt or harmed others just as others had done to him. But one day, a noise-cancelling quiet came over his cell. When you are on death row, quietness is a luxury that you did not have, yet at that point in time, all the surrounding noise was silenced. He hears a voice that asks him why is he here? The voice not so much audibly as internally speaks his name and asks again, why are you here, and tells him that he had fought against Him much of his life. The voice begins to sound like thunder, and the cell vibrates; no one else heard it or felt it but the man. For the first time in his life the man experienced a fear that he could not fight against. It must be a dream he reasoned. Then a strange bright light engulfs the cell and the Voice says: I Am Jesus whom you have been fighting against. Now, in this place, I have chosen you to serve me and teach my word to those fellow prisoners here who are lost and to whom I will direct you, so that they may experience the release from the real prison – the prison of sin and death. I declare you righteous and have freed you and I am sending you to others in this place so that the Holy Spirit will be in you and will guide you to bring back to me those men who have been in a life-long prison like you. In this place I will use you to plant my church. Very soon you will hear footsteps that are coming to your cell to tell you that your execution has been permanently stayed and that you will be relocated to another area where I will show you all you will need to accomplish the work I have for you. Long story short, the light fades and the man hear the footsteps. Still in awe and a fear inexplicable, he watches the warden open the cell door, and tells him the news about the execution pardon. What had once been a pathway to hell, was now a mission field for God. The man asks for a good study Bible and is mentored by another prisoner who also became born again in the prison, and together they establish a prison ministry that was both challenging and rewarding.

Like Paul and the man in the story, we have all been at war with God at some time in our lives. Some of us are still kicking against the goads. These last 7 weeks have been a repeated opportunity from God, a repeated summons from the Holy Spirit God and the Bride of Christ – His Church – to Come. To come into real relationship with Jesus, to be one in Him and in the Father, and desire, thirst for Him. To Come, and drink in the water of Jesus’ truth for sanctification as His saints or people separated unto Him to be remade in His image. To be blessed with the healing tree of life that Adam and Eve forfeited. To respond to the voice who has been asking you, why are you here, still stuck in your unrighteousness? Jesus says He is coming soon, and His reward is with Him to repay according to everyone’s work. Jesus – whose very name means salvation – and in whose Name by God’s will we too will know the awe and inexplicable joy of His salvation.

In the mustard seed of faith given us by God we ask: Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And Jesus tells us, COME BELIEVE ON ME, YOUR LORD JESUS. LET ANYONE WHO IS THIRSTY COME. LET ANYONE WHO SEEKS ME COME AND TAKE THE LIVING WATER FREE–it is already paid for! AMEN! HALLELUJAH!

 We’ve come this far by faith…