Please turn in your Bible, if you would, to the book of Acts chapter 16, Acts chapter 16. Last week, Stacy and I had the opportunity to go and visit a sister church in Willis, Texas, Grace Covenant Baptist Church. I was able to cover for their pastor's vacation time, my good friend, Matt Stahl, and I was able to minister the word to them, and it's really good to be able to go to see saints and to visit Sister Church, our Sister Church there, but it is always good to be home. So we are glad to be back here with you this morning. It's a blessing and a bit of a mystery how the Lord fits us together as a local body of believers, but We feel that when we're absent, when we're out. And I hope that you feel that when you are out and get back as soon as you can. I've been looking forward to being back this morning and to opening this text for us today. I would say this, you're not gonna hear a novel thing today. There will not be a new message. It's the same old message, but I hope that we will hear the same old message. So let me encourage you to engage. I remember reading in the scripture when so many people had walked away from Jesus, he turned to the disciples and he said, will you go away also? And Simon Peter, who had often the wrong thing to say, this time said something profound and really good. He said, to whom would we go? You have the words of life. So as we come to the word, this is not just some book. I mean, we do read it left to right, top to bottom. But it's not just some book. These are the words of life. Acts chapter 16. We'll read verses 25 through 32. If you would follow along in your copy of God's Word as I read. But about midnight, Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns of praise to God. And the prisoners were listening to them. And suddenly there came a great earthquake. So the foundations of the prison were shaken and immediately all the doors were open and everyone's chains were unfastened. When the jailer awoke and saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped. But Paul cried out with a loud voice saying, do not harm yourself for we are all here. And he called for lights and rushed in. and trembling with fear, he fell down before Paul and Silas, and he brought them out. After he brought them out, he said, sirs, what must I do to be saved? They said, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved, you and your household. and they spoke the word of the Lord to him together with all those who were in his household. Our focal verse today is verse 30. And the jailer's question, what must I do to be saved? Let us bow and ask God's blessing on our time together. Great triune God of scripture, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, we come before you asking your blessing on your word We ask that you would bless your word to us today. Help us to gaze into the wonder of the mystery of Christ, to see your gracious salvation. God, we pray that you would open eyes of faith, open our ears to hear. We ask that you would bring this question of the ages to the lips of some lost soul here today. Bring them to ask of you salvation with a repentant, believing heart. We pray that you would bless the preaching of your word now. It is in Jesus' name that we ask this, amen. We've worked through this chapter, chapter 16, for several weeks, mining the truths that are here but we intentionally passed over, just almost skipping as it were, this question, this jailor's question. We passed over it so that we might come back to it today and look more closely. We take the title for today's message directly from the question, what must I do to be saved? And we'll try to Wait with the gravity that it deserves. What must I do to be saved? This question has been called by some, the question for the ages. It's been said that every person should ask this question. And I hope as we consider this important inquiry of the Philippian jailer today, that we will find the answer of the gospel. So let us consider in the first place, the source or the root of this question. Where does this question come from? We know so little about this Philippian jailer. We don't know his name. We really only know him by profession, by occupation. He was a Roman soldier and particularly he was assigned to this Roman prison in Philippi. serving in this occupation, serving in this profession would mean that the brutality that we just saw in the verses before meted out to Paul and Silas only hours earlier, this type of brutality was a routine part of this man's life. This man was surely As a Roman soldier and head jailer, he was surely a hard man, a callous man, and a torturer. Surely he was accustomed to telling people what they must do. It wouldn't have been in his vocabulary to ask, What must I do? And notice he says, sirs, what must I do? How far from what is within this man, this seems. Some have suggested that this question came, what must I do to be saved? That this question came, it arose from fear and anxiety of the moment. There was an earthquake that had awakened him from a dead sleep. There was the panic in thinking that all the prisoners had escaped. There was this quick decision that surely came with much emotion and much adrenaline. This decision to take his own life. Then he was stopped. This was no doubt a stressful time. A stressful moment for this man. Some theorize that the question, what must I do to be saved, is rooted in these things. Its source is from these outward events. It's like he's saying, what must I do to be saved from this earthquake? Or what must I do to be saved from the consequences that will come from the Roman government because of the prisoners escaping? The problem with considering these stressors as the source of this question is that the earthquake, the escaped prisoners, these things were no longer stressors. When he asks the question, the earthquake is over. There's no need to be safe from the earthquake because it's past. And the prisoners had all been accounted for. Remember, this is not immediately when he thinks the prisoners are escaped that he asks, what must I do to be safe? But after they say, we're all here, after he goes in with lights, and after he brings Paul and Silas out, then he asks the question. So the question could not have come from a sense of fear from these outside sources. This question indicates that the jailer had, in this moment, a deep concern for his soul. He is asking, what must I do to attain full and final salvation for my eternal soul." So as we consider the source of this question, it didn't come from the jailer's own heart. It didn't come from outside stresses. Consider your own heart. How many of us know that as lost we would never ask this question on our own. Friends, when I was lost in sin, I would never have asked, what must I do? For the first thing, I already knew the Sunday school answers. I already knew all those. And secondly, I wasn't looking for salvation for my soul. Maybe you remember the questions that you asked in your lostness. Perhaps some of you are here today and you are still lost and you are still asking questions. What must I do to satisfy my own flesh? What must I do to avoid the consequences of my actions? What must I do may have many questions in the lost person, but it's never what must I do for my soul to be saved. This question would never have come from within me. This question would never come from the heart of a lost person because of our depravity. And this question did not come from the heart of the jailer. This question comes from God. The question, I mean, it comes from the jailer's lips, but that question is placed in his heart from God. No lost man left to himself but inquire after his soul. Friend, if you're listening now and you are concerned with your soul, The good news is that that concern is a gift from God. Like the jailer who was troubled for his soul, I would tell you, don't let it go. Don't let this question go. Don't rest until you have the greatest need for your soul, until the salvation that is found in Jesus Christ and only in Him is yours. Amen. Note the singular focus and determination of the jailer's question. So many things. This jail, who knows what kind of damage was done with the earthquake? All the chains had fallen off. Were they damaged and now have to be replaced? And this would not be going down to Lowe's and buying a new chain. This would involve much more. This was an involved process that he would surely have on his plate for responsibility. Is he concerned about that? He's not concerned about those things. Is he concerned with his own health? Is he concerned with what the Romans can do to him? No, he's not looking out for his health. He's not looking out for his employment. He's not wondering about his political position. The only thing that matters in that moment to this jailor is this. What about my soul? How can my soul be saved? It's a singular determination of his heart. And this newly found concern for his soul is a blessed gift from God for that jailer. And we need to recognize that this is God's work, but we also need to recognize this conviction of lostness is not salvation. This is a gift from God, this conviction salvation. We will see more of the necessary elements of salvation as we work through this text. But as we look at this question, what must I do? That's what the jailer asks. And we'll see that he's not really asking the right question. What must I do. That's his question. And we shouldn't be surprised at this question. This is a natural thing. The nature of human, human nature, human nature, human desire is that we assume I must do something and we want to do something. because of the universal nature of man to make his own salvation. And because of this, all false religions, every religion, every religion is a false religion except true Christianity. And all those false religions have an element of doing. That's the nature of lost men. We want an element of doing and every false religion. When asked the question, what must I do? Every mosque, every synagogue, every false church has an answer to the question. This is what you must do. the question is answered by false religions but no salvation no salvation of the soul comes because the rules and rituals of of man's salvation. The ceremonies and sacrifices of all man-made, man-centered religions, all of these can never save a man's soul. What must I do may be a natural question, but it's the wrong question. Some have suggested that the jailer may be asking a question that is particular to him, something specifically about him. Many commentators agree that the jailer may have had some idea, some idea of what Paul and Silas had preached. Lydia was saved. Others were saved, but this jailer, what must I do? After all, it was this jailer who had just brutally beaten Paul and Silas. It was he who left their backs torn to ribbons, uncleaned, unbandaged, untreated completely. It was he who put them in stocks And now he asks, what must I do? You preach salvation, the demoniac girl, the demon possessed girl. Remember the demons had declared these men preach a way of salvation. You preach a way of salvation, but after what I've done, what must I do? Surely I, than those others who didn't brutally beat, than those others who didn't do these cruel things. I think this also comes from the nature of man, believing that my sin is worse than everybody else's sin. I don't know how many times I've been asked this question, or maybe it's said like this, but preacher, you don't know I had one dear lady come sit in my living room with a list of her sins. I hear what you're saying about Jesus forgives sins, but you don't know what I've done. You don't know how bad my sin is. Will Jesus forgive me? There's a doubt. Not really a doubt that Jesus saves, but a doubt in the availability of that salvation to me. Friends, sinner, the salvation revealed in the gospel that was available to this jailer, it's the same gospel, it's the same good news for you today. Jesus forgives sin. And you have not sinned greater than the grace of God. You have not run far enough or fast enough to outrun the limits of the love of Christ. Jesus is the Savior. He's the only Savior, the only Redeemer, and you are not outside His power to save. Perhaps this jailer was feeling the weight of his own sin. What must I do? And I hope today that you feel the weight of your sin. That you feel and your need for a Savior. So the jailer asks, what must I do to be saved? So let's bring that question to the Bible and ask of Scripture, what can a man do to save his soul? If we ask this question, what must I do to be saved? If we ask this question of Romans 8, 7, we read this, the mindset on the flesh is hostile toward God. It does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so. The answer from Romans 8 is that man is not able Man, it's not able. There's nothing here for us to do. We are unable and unwilling. So let's ask the question of John 6, 44. What must I do to be saved? And there Jesus says, no one can come to me. No one can come to me. unless the Father who sent me draws Him. So in and of ourselves, what must I do? The Scripture answers back. No one can come. No one is able. I love when the Holy Spirit leads me to a passage of scripture. And then we read that scripture that Brother Jeff chose in our worship service. Matthew 19 that we read earlier, the story of the rich young ruler, who comes and he asks Jesus, it's the same question. He asks, what good thing can I do to inherit eternal life? What good thing can I do to inherit eternity? Do you see that's the same question? What must I do to be saved? It's the same question. And the rich young ruler comes and he went away sad. The disciples hearing Jesus, this is where Jesus says, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. Perhaps. You've heard a preacher preach on that passage and explain to you how it is possible for a camel to go through the eye of a needle because the eye of a needle was not the eye of a needle. The eye of a needle was something else. Listen. Jesus is not saying there, it's really hard. That's the explanation that I've heard. And I know we're not in that passage. The explanation that I've heard for a camel to get down and to crawl through the city gate, that's what they're talking about. That would be Jesus saying for a man to enter the Kingdom of God is really hard. And that's not what He was saying. Because the disciples, when they heard Him say this, they knew He's saying no one can be saved. Because He's talking about a camel going through the eye of a needle. And the disciples asked, then who can be saved? And Jesus answered, with man it is impossible. It's not really hard. It's not vastly difficult. It is impossible. With man it is impossible. Glory be to God and the gospel in His Son, that with God all things are possible. When we bring this question to the scripture and we ask, What must I do to be saved? The answer from Scripture is singular and it is very clear. There is absolutely nothing that any person can do to save yourself. There's nothing you can do. What must I do? There's nothing you can do. But there's another question that we need to ask. There's another way that we need to approach this. What must I do? There's nothing you can do. But what must be done? What must be done for a lost sinner to be saved? Well, there we have to look at the problem of sin. And to really see the problem of sin and rightly measure the problem of sin, we need to see it against the backdrop of the holiness of God. God is so pure. He is so holy. He is so much without sin that sin cannot exist in His presence. Sinful men cannot be in the presence of God's holiness. That's why sin is such a problem for every one of us. In order for man to be in God's presence, in order for us to be in heaven, in order for us to be saved, there has to be no sin. So when we have the idea, and I think we all have this idea from time to time, how do we balance out the good and the bad? No, no sin. What's the standard? Well, I'm better than some of you. And if we want to look at other people, those out there people, wow, we're all better than them. Is that the standard? To be in the presence of holy God? No sin. None. That's the only way. Not only no sin, to be in the presence of holy righteous God, we must be righteous. We must be righteous. So we have a problem. Sin is a problem. The lack of righteousness There must be an expunging of our sin, not a glossing over, not a passing by it, not an overlooking of sin. There must be the removal. We say it this way, sin must be paid for. knew no sin to become sin on our behalf, to become sin for us. To take our sin that is in our account and remove it completely, expunged from our account and laid it in his account. put it on Christ that He would become sin for us. That we might become the righteousness of God in Christ. This is the Gospel that Jesus Christ went to Calvary and He was crucified as the sin of all those who would believe was laid on Him. And He bore our sin there until the price was paid in full, until He could say, it is finished. He became the sacrifice. The perfect sacrifice for the sins of all who would be saved. So as this jailer asks, what must I do to be saved? We say, well, what must be done? There must be a perfect sacrifice. The Lord Jesus was the perfect sacrifice. And secondly, there must be not only a sacrifice to pay for sin, there must be perfect righteousness. Perfect righteousness. The Lord Jesus Christ took on flesh. He took to Himself a true body and a reasonable soul. He lived in this world This imperfect, sinful world, He lived a perfect, sinless life. He kept the whole of God's law and He earned perfect righteousness. Now wait a minute. I thought Jesus already had perfect righteousness. He did. He didn't earn perfect righteousness because He needed it. He earned perfect righteousness on our behalf. On behalf of all who would believe on Him that we might be the righteousness of God in Christ. He is the perfect sacrifice and He is the perfect righteousness for all those who would place their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ earned the righteousness required for lost sinners to have a right relationship with God, and He died on Calvary to pay the sin debt of everyone who would be saved. These two aspects of salvation, the salvation of sinners, these two aspects are pictured every time we come to the Lord's Supper, to the Lord's table. These two aspects the elements, the bread representing the life, the body and the life of Christ. Some of you think, and we need to correct our thinking, some of us come to the bread and we think this is about Christ's sacrifice on the cross. No, the bread is about His life, that He lived, that He earned righteousness on our behalf, that we are clothed in His righteousness. The bread represents Him as the perfect righteousness. And the cup, that represents His sacrifice on the cross. The shedding of blood. Without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sin. And He shed His blood. Not only did He shed blood, He shed His life's blood, giving His life, being the Lamb of God, the perfect sacrificial Lamb of God that takes away our sin. So we have these two elements of salvation represented even as we come to the Lord's table. And in this question, what must I do to be saved? We've come to see that no person can do anything to obtain their own salvation. But we see that the answer to what must be done, a perfect sacrifice for sin and perfect righteousness, What must be done has been done. That is good news. When we use the word gospel, that's a church word, right? It means good news. That's the good news! That what must be done for us to be saved has been done! Jesus has become the perfect sacrifice. He has earned that righteousness for us. All that must be done for salvation has been accomplished. by the Lord Jesus Christ in His life and in His death. Now that's the answer that I'm giving. In verse 31, we see an answer. What must I do to be saved? And this is the answer that comes from the lips of the apostle. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved. Now we should know that this is a summary. And we see that this is a summary when we read verses 31 and 32 together. If you'll look, they said, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved and your household. But it doesn't stop there. That's not all they said, because it says, and they spoke the word of the Lord to him together with all who were in his house. They said more than just these words, but this is a summary in these words. is the Gospel. The root, the foundation of the Gospel. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. They spoke the Word of the Lord to Him. It means that there was more that needed to be said. It's important. Because this Roman from Philippi, he would have known very little. Maybe he would have known nothing. And certainly, if he knew anything, it would have only been hearsay. about Jesus Christ? What would he have known about Jesus the Christ? So this instruction to believe, the instruction to believe is not really about the believing. Here's what I mean by that. It's not just believe, it's believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. It's not about the believing. It's about believing on Him. There's a message in the world. The world has a message. A message of faith. But that's the only part of the message. It's just a message. Have faith. They say that faith can save you. Faith can make a difference. But listen to me. This is so important. Faith has no power to save you. Faith is powerless. Faith in faith is worthless. Faith is only as good, faith is only as powerful as its object. It is faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved. Not because of the power of your faith. Because of the power of Jesus Christ. It's not about the faith. It's about the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul and Silas told this jailer. And the command of the Gospel is this. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. The Gospel is that Jesus Christ has accomplished all that is required for the salvation of sinners. And the alone instrument of salvation is faith. Friends, faith is not a work that we bring to salvation. Faith is not something we do to bring our part. You know, Jesus did a lot and then I bring my faith. and then salvation is complete. No, that's hogwash. Faith is not a work that we bring. We must exercise faith. Sinner, lost person, believe. That's what you must do. But when we believe, we know that faith is the gift of God. And it is not of works, lest any man should boast. Faith is the alone instrument of salvation. The instruction that Paul and Silas gave to this jailer was not, do something. He asked, what must I do? They didn't really answer that question, did they? They didn't really answer, hey, do this and do this and do that and you will obtain salvation. Rather, they said, stop doing. Stop doing. from striving to be good enough. Stop trying to pile up enough good works to outweigh your sin. Don't attempt to save yourself. Stop working for salvation and believe in the work that was done by the Lord Jesus Christ. Believe what He said and believe in what He did for salvation. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. That's not His first, middle, and last name. Those words, Lord, Jesus Christ, mean something. The Lord. He is the King of kings. He is the Lord of lords. He is the ruler who sits on the throne. Believe on Him as Lord. His name is Jesus. Remember what the angel said? You will call Him Jesus. Because His name means He will save His people from their sins. He is the King of kings and Lord of lords and He is the Savior of sinners. He is the Lord Jesus Christ. The Anointed One. The Messiah. Commissioned before the foundations of the world to redeem sinners. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the basis and the ground of our salvation. The person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. His life, His death, His resurrection. Believe in Him. What He has said and what He has done. Works. Looks to one's own ability. Works looks to one's own capability. Faith, saving faith, looks to the ability of the Lord Jesus Christ. And by God's perfect design, we can lay hold of Christ by faith. The one, the only, the alone instrument of salvation. Spurgeon said this, faith justifies, but not in and by itself. but because it grasps Christ. So as we consider this jailor's question, we've seen his concern for the greatest need of his soul. We've seen some biblical answers and we've worked through the shortcomings of human effort to attain salvation. And we have seen what the Lord Jesus Christ has done to redeem, to save sinners. And finally, we've seen this instruction of Paul and Silas to the jailer, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved. And this is still the command of the gospel. Christian, let this serve as a reminder to you, a reminder that your salvation is not on account of anything in you, anything you have done. That's humbling. We need to be reminded of that. Listen to the words of the hymn writer. Not what my hands have done can save my guilty soul. Not what my toiling flesh has borne can make my spirit whole. Not what I feel or do can give me peace with God. Not all my prayers and sighs and tears can bear my awful load. Thy work alone, O Christ, can ease the weight of sin. Thy blood alone O Lamb of God, can give me peace within. Thy love to me, O God, not mine, O Lord, to you, can rid me of this dark unrest and set my spirit free. It is not what my hands have done. It is what Christ has done on my behalf. Lost friend, I pray that you will know the conviction of sin. That is the work of God's Holy Spirit. I pray that you know this morning that you are in need of a Savior. And now as you hear. These things of Christ's life and death. His resurrection. I pray that you will believe on him. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved. God's not trying to trick you. Do you believe that? That God is trying to pull one over on you? That's the opposite of believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved. means you will be lost. Unbelief says I hear what Jesus has said and I reject it. I see what Jesus has done and I say no. It's to call God a liar. Because God says you're a sinner deserving hell and your only hope is Christ. And unbelief says no, God's a liar. God's a liar. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved. You know what's in your own heart. You know that life without Jesus Christ is futile. And you know in your heart of hearts that it will only lead to eternal death. Some of you have looked at others who are believers in Jesus Christ and you see them and you admire them and you respect them. That's good. But why are you slow of heart to believe? Why won't you believe what the Bible says about Jesus? Why won't you believe what Jesus has done to save sinners? is good for you. Surely this jailer had more questions, right? I mean, he only asked, what must I do to be saved? He gets this answer. He comes to Christ. Surely there were other things that he would later learn. But he didn't wait to say, I want all the answers. I'm going to withhold My faith, I'm going to withhold belief until I get every question answered. Do you have questions? So do I. Don't wait until you get all the answers to every question. If you hear the voice of Christ today, repent of your sin and believe. Do not harden your heart. Don't resist in pride. Today, the Bible says today is the day of salvation. Yesterday is gone and we have no guarantee of tomorrow. I've lived long enough to sit in a church pew with a man and the next time I saw him he was laying in a casket. You have no guarantee. I'll repent and believe in Jesus tomorrow. Another day. Another day. Today, sinner, is the day of salvation. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ today. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved. Dear Jesus, Lord and Christ. The only savior of sinners. We asked that by your Holy Spirit. You would apply these things to our hearts. We pray that you would convict sinners, drawing them to yourself. As your people come to your table, We ask that it would serve for us as a reminder of the life and death of Jesus. Help us as we worship, resting in the finished work of our Lord, of our Savior. God, we pray for the sanctification of the saints, and we pray for the salvation of our loved ones. Glorify yourself now, we pray, for your kingdom's sake and for sake of the king. Amen.