It was an act of desperation. In just a matter of minutes, the jailer had been on a roller coaster of emotions. An earthquake had shaken the ground, and he had expected the worst: His prisoners would be gone and he would lose his life. In hopelessness and despair, he had drawn his sword to take his own life. When suddenly, a prisoner had called out, “Don’t harm yourself! We are all here.” At that life-or-death moment, the only question on that jailer’s mind was the most important question in life, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” (Acts 16:30) I hope you’ve asked that question. I hope you think often about how you can be saved. About what will happen when you die. The problem is that human beings have come up with a lot of different answers. What must I do to be saved? “Shape up your life.” “Follow our rules.” “Wear these clothes.” “Eat this food.” “Stop hanging out with those people.” In this world, there are countless ideas for what we can do to be saved—to be close to God. Nobody in the world, however, could have thought up what that jailer’s prisoner said in response to his question: “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household” (Acts 16:31). Believe in Jesus. It’s that simple. Believe in Jesus. In the whole world, there are really only two religions: All the religions that turn people to themselves to earn salvation and the one religion—Christianity—that points us to Jesus our Savior. “Believe in the Lord Jesus…” That’s the message of the Bible. In fact, the apostle John once wrote, “These are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name” (John 20:31). Your salvation doesn’t depend on your doing. It doesn’t depend on your goodness. It depends on your Savior Jesus. By faith alone.
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