Acts 16:25-40: The Simplicity of the Gospel Call

"And the jailer called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he fell down before Paul and Silas. Then he brought them out and said, 'Sirs, what must I do to be saved?' And they said, 'Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.'" Acts 16:30-31

Let me be honest with you all this morning: I think we often make the Gospel way too confusing. Actually, no, let me rephrase that: I think I often make the Gospel way too confusing. Although there are heights and depths of the Gospel that we will still be plunging into for all of eternity, oftentimes we lose the simplicity of the Gospel. Though the Gospel is certainly complex (for it is a story of a God who came down in human flesh to pay the sacrifice for our sins--how can it be?), we forget that it is also simple, simple enough for a child to understand. It is simply about a story how God, by his Son Jesus Christ, came to save sinful humanity. And though it is much more than this, it certainly isn't less.

In Acts 16, we find a great story about Paul, Silas, and a Phillipian jailer. Y'all have probably heard it before, but let me refresh your memories. Paul and Silas are in prison, praying and singing hymns (as one does when imprisoned), and in the middle of the night, a great earthquake shakes the foundations of the prison, leaving the prison doors wide open for the prisoners to walk out. The jailer, awaking at the earthquake and seeing the doors opened, quickly attempts suicide, realizing that if the prisoners escaped, his life was over. Yet, Paul cries out for him not to harm himself, because none of the prisoners had left.

The jailer, hearing the voice of Paul, fell down at Paul's feet and asked a marvelous question that we see only a few times in scripture: "What must I do to be saved?" In the climax of the moment, the jailer realizing he was on his last straw in life and in need of something eternal, he fell on his knees and asked how he could be saved. His heart being so compelled to ask so, he was ready to respond obediently to whatever Paul said to him.

At this point in the story, let us pause and realize what Paul didn't say. He could have answered by telling the man, "Come to church with me on Sunday." Or "start reading your Bible." In other words, he didn't give him a work that he had to do in order to buy his way into heaven, but this wouldn't have been the Gospel. Furthermore, Paul didn't reply with a comprehensive soteriology (soteriology = the study of salvation) on how one becomes a Christian. Rather, he responded simply: "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved."*

My point here is this: so often we make the Gospel more confusing than it has to be, and we thus hinder others from accepting it. Now once again, I am not denying the great complexity and study that the Gospel requires. But what I am saying is that we need to present the Gospel in a way that God would have it, not in a way that makes ourselves look wise, smart, and intellectual. The Gospel is about God, not us, and if we seek to impress people with our knowledge of scripture when we present the Gospel, we do nothing but puff ourselves up rather than display the glory of God.

So what's the solution to this? Answer: presenting the Gospel in a way that is clear, and faithful. We must simply encourage sinful men that the opportunity of salvation is for anyone who believes in the name of Jesus Christ. The offer of salvation is not complex. Simply, in order to be saved, one needs to believe in the name of Christ, repenting of our sins and calling upon the only one who can save. This is the simplicity of the Gospel: that God saves all men who call upon his name (Rom. 10:13).

So, who can you simply share the Gospel with today? Who is that one person on your heart that the Lord has been drawing you to, but you have been hesitant to share with? Let me encourage you today to find a way where you can share the Gospel with him, and do it simply. Don't wax eloquently about all of the things you know about the Bible, so as to puff up yourself. Rather, show the sinner than he is a sinner in need of a Savior, and show him how that Savior offers free forgiveness to those who simply believe in him. Who knows--perhaps in response to your faithful Gospel presentation that man or women, and even his entire household, might be saved.

*Yes, I realize that in this story Paul says that along with himself, his household would be saved. This is a difficult text to exegete, but let us realize: this is the exception, not the norm. This text is describing for us what did happen, not prescribing for us what usually happens. Nevertheless, we know from other scriptures that the jailer's faith did not "save" his household in the respect that they didn't have to believe for themselves. The faith of one man cannot save another. Yet God, by his mysterious providence and grace, caused the entire family of this jailer to believe due to this moment, and not just the jailer himself. What a gracious God we serve!