seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Acts 16:16 Once when we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a female slave who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling. 17 She followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved.” 18 She kept this up for many days. Finally Paul became so annoyed that he turned around and said to the spirit, “In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!” At that moment the spirit left her.
19 When her owners realized that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to face the authorities. 20 They brought them before the magistrates and said, “These men are Jews, and are throwing our city into an uproar 21 by advocating customs unlawful for us Romans to accept or practice.”
22 The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates ordered them to be stripped and beaten with rods. 23 After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully. 24 When he received these orders, he put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.
25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. 26 Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everyone’s chains came loose. 27 The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped. 28 But Paul shouted, “Don’t harm yourself! We are all here!”
29 The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. 30 He then brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”
31 They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.” 32 Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house. 33 At that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his household were baptized. 34 The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them; he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God—he and his whole household.
35 When it was daylight, the magistrates sent their officers to the jailer with the order: “Release those men.” 36 The jailer told Paul, “The magistrates have ordered that you and Silas be released. Now you can leave. Go in peace.”
37 But Paul said to the officers: “They beat us publicly without a trial, even though we are Roman citizens, and threw us into prison. And now do they want to get rid of us quietly? No! Let them come themselves and escort us out.”
38 The officers reported this to the magistrates, and when they heard that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens, they were alarmed. 39 They came to appease them and escorted them from the prison, requesting them to leave the city. 40 After Paul and Silas came out of the prison, they went to Lydia’s house, where they met with the brothers and sisters and encouraged them. Then they left.
Check out the information I found in the commentary. They seized Paul and Silas: Paul and Silas were singled out not only because they were the leaders of the evangelistic group, but also by their appearance, as they were the most obviously Jewish. This is indicated by how they began their accusation: “These men, being Jews.”
i. Luke was a Gentile, and Timothy was only half Jewish. Paul and Silas looked Jewish, and “Anti-Jewish sentiment lay very near the surface in pagan antiquity.” (Bruce) The objection that these men were Jews is even more interesting knowing the Jewish community in Philippi was small.
Now check out verse 31. Paul told the Jailer that all he needed to do was Believe and he would be saved.... But then Paul added the whole family to the Salvation. Now I hadn't noticed this the first couple hundred times I heard it from the pulpit over the 50 years I attended services in a brick-and-mortar church. When I read it... I said "What?!?". I hadn't finished my first cup of coffee and I was confused already. Salvation is a personal thing. Not a group hug kind of thing. One person can't show up for another person's Salvation. It's personal.
Now check out what the commentary has to say.
You and your household: Thisaul seems to be a specific promise for that Philippian jailer. Under inspiration by the Holy Spirit, Paul told the keeper of the prison that his household would trust Jesus just as he did.
i. This was a promise made specifically to the keeper of the prison. But it is a promise that the Holy Spirit may well make alive to us, helping us to trust Him for the salvation of our families.
ii. However, the jailer’s household was not saved merely because he was; Paul came and spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. They were all saved because they all trusted the word of God and the Jesus revealed to us through the word.
OK... here's how it works. Once there is a Christian in the house, they become an example and others see the change in them. Then members of the household make the personal decision for themselves.As a matter of fact, it occurs to me that anyone who meets a true Christian is called to make a personal decision as well. They have to choose to follow Christ or ignore the Christian in the room. There's just something irresistible about a true Christian.
I think it's kind of ironic that Paul was "telling the future", for the jailor's family. He didn't have "fortune teller" in his resume, but he told the jailor his family would be saved. He just ran the fortune telling demon out of a slave. That's what got him in that position in the first place, and now he's foretelling the future himself?!?
Don't get confused. Salvation is personal. You can't save your family. You can't save your husband. You can't save your children or your grandchildren. You can only be a great example of a true Christian. Let Jesus do what Jesus does. You just be a good example. Some people never get the call. It's not on you. Just be the best Chrisitan example you can be.
It's personal.
