The Most Important Question in the World
Introduction: There is a question that is upon every thinking person’s mind, but inhibitions prevent many people from putting it into words. It’s the question being asked by thousands of people who are laid off from their jobs. It’s the question on the lips of countless farmers who are facing bankruptcy. It’s the question facing thousands of refugees, drug addicts, and alcoholics. I’ll guarantee it’s being asked by everyone who has contracted aids. And, most importantly, it is the question asked by those who think about eternity and realize they aren’t ready for it. The question is, “What must I do to be saved?”
You say, “Well, now, that’s a very strange thing to say, because I’ve been around a lot of people lately and I’ve never heard anyone ask that question even once.” Well, they may not be using those exact words, but that’s what’s on their minds. “How am I going to get out of the mess I’m in? How can I save my financial security? How can I save my farm? How can I beat this awful habit I’ve developed? How can I deal with this terminal illness I’m facing? How can I prepare for life after death?”
True, there are no theological overtones in the question for many people. But there are very definite theological overtones to the answer, and with so many vulnerable people around, the tragedy is that most are not getting the answer to the question that’s on their mind. The politician can’t answer it, the economist can’t, the educator can’t, the military machine can’t. They all try, and they all offer temporary, stop-gap measures, but they have no ultimate answer for the mess we’re in.
But there is an answer, and the answer is found in our Scripture text today, as we continue our journey through the book of Acts. Paul’s first missionary journey took him and Barnabas into Asia Minor, where they shared the Gospel for the first time outside the confines of Palestine and neighboring territories. Today we find that his second journey, this one with Silas, took him into Europe. That wasn’t his intention, for there were still many cities to reach in Asia, but, as we read earlier, the Holy Spirit closed the door for him twice in Asia and opened the door to Greece through the Macedonian vision.
During the early part of this journey Paul and Silas picked up another traveling companion, Timothy, and just prior to crossing into Greece Dr. Luke joined the trio. That is indicated to us in verse 10 of chapter 16, where for the first time the author of Acts uses the first person “we.” Since Luke wrote the book, we would assume that he joined the missionary team at this juncture.
The first stop in Europe was the city of Philippi, where three different individuals are singled out as being among Paul’s converts. They differ so much from one another that it seems Luke’s point in selecting them was to show how the saving name of Jesus proved its power in the lives of the most diverse types of men and women. We are going to look quickly at the first two and then concentrate on the third, the Philippian jailer, who verbalizes the question that was undoubtedly on the mind of the other two as well, the most important question in the world—”What must I do to be saved?”
In Philippi we find a religious woman with an open heart, a slave girl with a demon-possessed heart, and a hard man with a fearful heart. I want us to examine each of these in the same way, looking at the person described, the Apostle’s ministry, the Lord’s activity, and the resultant change.
A religious woman with an open heart (11-15)
So after setting sail from Troas, we ran a straight course to Samothrace, and on the following day to Neapolis; 12 and from there to Philippi, which is a leading city of the district of Macedonia, a Roman colony; and we were spending some days in this city. 13 And on the Sabbath day we went outside the gate to a riverside, where we were thinking that there was a place of prayer; and we sat down and began speaking to the women who had assembled.
14 A woman named Lydia was listening; she was a seller of purple fabrics from the city of Thyatira, and a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to the things spoken by Paul. 15 Now when she and her household had been baptized, she urged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house and stay.” And she prevailed upon us.
When Paul and his foursome arrived in Philippi, they found a militarily strategic Roman colony situated on a hill on the northern coast of the Aegean Sea. It was named after Philip of Macedon—the father of Alexander the Great—who was keenly interested in the city because of the nearby deposits of gold and silver. But one thing Paul didn’t find was a synagogue. Apparently, the Jewish population was very small, for it only took ten male Jews to justify a synagogue. Finding none they went a short distance outside the city gate to a river, where they supposed there might be a place of prayer.
Why near a river? Because Jewish people needed water for their ritual washings, and where there was no synagogue that was the most likely place to find Jewish people. Even though he was now the Apostle to the Gentiles, Paul continued to take the Gospel to the Jew first. His supposition was rewarded in that he found a woman’s prayer meeting. Only one woman is mentioned by name and that is Lydia.
The woman described. Lydia was a businesswoman from Thyatira, a city in Asia Minor. An immigrant to Greece, she was engaged in selling one of the principal products of her native city, where purple dye was made. We are also informed that she was a worshiper of God and a careful listener to what the apostles had to say.
The Apostle’s ministry involved speaking to the women at the river. Undoubtedly, he focused on the Gospel of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, for that was Paul’s constant theme whenever he preached.
The Lord’s activity is mentioned in verse 14: “The Lord opened her heart to respond.” That may be a rather inauspicious statement, but it is packed with profound meaning. Do you realize that there can be no salvation unless and until the Lord opens the heart, for the human heart in its natural state is affected with Satanic blindness? The preacher or the teacher can speak very eloquently and can make the Gospel clear with impeccable logic and still no positive response will be forthcoming unless the Lord opens the heart. I wonder if rather than praying that the pastor will have freedom to preach a clear message, the focus of our prayers shouldn’t be: “Lord, open hearts to respond.” Perhaps both would be better.
The resultant change is somewhat difficult to ascertain inasmuch as we don’t know much about the Lydia before conversion, but we do know that she and her household were baptized. Since her husband is nowhere mentioned, it is assumed by most commentators that she was probably a widow, so the household mentioned here probably included her servants and any grown children she had. They, of course, would not have been baptized unless they too believed.
The reality of Lydia’s faith was demonstrated not only in her baptism but also in her hospitality. She prevailed upon the missionary team to stay at her house, which indicates that she had the means and the space to match her hospitable spirit.
A slave girl with a demon-possessed heart (16-23)
It happened that as we were going to the place of prayer, a slave woman who had a spirit of divination met us, who was bringing great profit to her masters by fortune-telling. 17 She followed Paul and us and cried out repeatedly, saying, “These men are bond-servants of the Most High God, who are proclaiming to you a way of salvation.” 18 Now she continued doing this for many days. But Paul was greatly annoyed, and he turned and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her!” And it came out at that very moment.
19 But when her masters saw that their hope of profit was suddenly gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace before the authorities, 20 and when they had brought them to the chief magistrates, they said, “These men, Jews as they are, are causing our city trouble, 21 and they are proclaiming customs that are not lawful for us to accept or to practice, since we are Romans.”
22 The crowd joined in an attack against them, and the chief magistrates tore their robes off them and proceeded to order them to be beaten with rods. 23 When they had struck them with many blows, they threw them into prison, commanding the jailer to guard them securely.
Sometime later as Paul and his fellow-missionaries were going to the place of prayer at the river, they were met by this girl.
The girl described. She had a spirit of divination, i.e., she was a clairvoyant, having the ability to predict the future with an accuracy that was superhuman. It was not, however, divine but Satanic in origin, and the owners of this girl were making a considerable living off of her fortunetelling. Paul may not have paid her much mind had she not gone into the advertising business on behalf of his evangelistic efforts. The text indicates that she followed them around crying, “These men are bond-servants of the Most High God, who are proclaiming to you the way of salvation.”
The Apostle’s ministry is seen when, after this situation continued for many days, Paul at length had had enough. Turning around, he addressed the spirit (not the girl) and commanded it in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. That he had not done so earlier may have been due to the fact that he recognized the peril into which an exorcism of this kind might bring him and his friends. Yet to fail to cast out this demon was to encourage the notion that Paul was himself affiliated with the spirit, who seemed to know him and his mission so well. Similarly, on many occasions Jesus rebuked and exorcised the spirits that confessed Him as the Holy One of God, e.g., Mark 1:24,25. Testimony from such a source was not a desirable endorsement.
The Lord’s activity is seen in the last phrase of verse 18: “And it came out at that very moment.” Paul may have ordered the demon to come out, but he had no inherent power to bring it about. The Scriptures do not say, “Greater are you than he that is in the world,” but rather “Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world.” The Lord delivered the girl from the evil spirit
The resultant change finds the girl in her right mind and her owners minus an easy source of income. It also finds Paul and Silas in court. I find it curious that the book of Acts records only two incidents in which Paul was harmed or threatened by Gentiles (all other incidents involve Jews), and both times the issue is economic (the other incident being that of Demetrius the silversmith in Ephesus). The pagan world was unconcerned about a new religion so long as it didn’t affect their pocketbook. Maybe that’s not too different from the paganism we know today. The average American is more concerned about his financial security than he is about his spiritual condition, and most will not bother to oppose the Gospel—just ignore it, unless Christianity begins to make an impact on their living. When that happens the abortionist or pornographer or drug dealer will fight back for all he’s worth.
The apostles are charged with trying to introduce Jewish customs among those who were Romans. It was a blatant appeal to local anti-Semitic prejudice. The racial overtones are seen too in the fact that Paul and Silas were arraigned, but not Timothy or Luke. Luke was, of course, a Gentile, and Timothy was half Gentile. Apparently, their ethnic origins spared them.
The authorities didn’t bother to investigate the charges, but just assumed the guilt of the missionaries, perhaps being paid off by the pimps who kept the pitiful girl for profit. They tore the robes of the prisoners and ordered them beaten with rods, one of three times Paul suffered that particularly painful humiliation. Then they were thrown into the local dungeon, with special orders given to the jailer to make sure they were guarded securely. (Oddly, Greece is where democracy was born, but the attitude of the authorities there toward the Gospel has not changed much over the past 19 centuries).
The story of the slave girl leads directly into the third vignette of the chapter.
A hard man with a fearful heart. (23-40)
We’re referring to the Philippian jailer, of course. Listen to the account as found in 16:23-40:
When they had struck them with many blows, they threw them into prison, commanding the jailer to guard them securely; 24 and he, having received such a command, threw them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks.
25 Now about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns of praise to God, and the prisoners were listening to them; 26 and suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone’s chains were unfastened. 27 When the jailer awoke and saw the prison doors opened, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, thinking that the prisoners had escaped. 28 But Paul called out with a loud voice, saying, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here!” 29 And the jailer asked for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear, he fell down before Paul and Silas; 30 and after he brought them out, he said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”
31 They said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” 32 And they spoke the word of God to him together with all who were in his house. 33 And he took them that very hour of the night and washed their wounds, and immediately he was baptized, he and all his household. 34 And he brought them into his house and set food before them, and was overjoyed, since he had become a believer in God together with his whole household.
35 Now when day came, the chief magistrates sent their officers, saying, “Release those men.” 36 And the jailer reported these words to Paul, saying, “The chief magistrates have sent word that you be released. So come out now and go in peace.” 37 But Paul said to them, “After beating us in public without due process—men who are Romans—they threw us into prison; and now they are releasing us secretly? No indeed! On the contrary, let them come in person and lead us out.” 38 The officers reported these words to the chief magistrates. And they became fearful when they heard that they were Romans, 39 and they came and pleaded with them, and when they had led them out, they repeatedly asked them to leave the city. 40 They left the prison and entered the house of Lydia, and when they saw the brothers and sisters, they encouraged them and departed.
The man described. His hardness is seen in that he received these bruised and bleeding prisoners and threw them into the inner prison, fastening their feet in stocks. Stocks were uncomfortable in the best of times, but when one’s back is cut and bleeding, it would be excruciating to have to sit in the same position without even being able to wipe the oozing blood. Not only that, the jailer went to sleep.
The apostle’s ministry consisted of praying and singing hymns of praise to God, even at midnight. Now let’s not gloss over this too quickly. We all enjoy praying and singing hymns when we gather on Sunday morning, but we’re all in reasonably good health; most of us had a reasonably good night’s sleep; and most of us are here by choice. Praying and praising in times of great trial, however, provide a powerful witness to one’s faith, as it did for Paul and Silas. Verse 25 indicates that the other prisoners were listening, a factor that may have affected their decision to hang around when the jail fell victim to an earthquake.
The Lord’s activity. In verse 26 we read, “Suddenly there came a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison house were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone’s chains were unfastened.” Now an earthquake, in and of itself, is not a miracle, especially in that area of the world. But the timing and effects of it were miraculous and the effects were miraculous. That it should come at the very time Paul and Silas were singing and praying and that it should open the prison doors and unfasten their hands and feet without the roof caving in and killing them was indeed miraculous.
The jailer, once hardened by years of dealing with the dregs of society, was now full of fear. Supposing the prisoners to have escaped, he prepared to commit suicide, since the penalty for letting a prisoner escape was death anyway, no matter what the reason. Better to die at his own hand, he reasoned, than at the hand of another. But just before he was to plunge his dagger into his heart, Paul cried out with a loud voice, “Do yourself no harm, for we are all here!” It is not hard to see why Paul and Silas stayed around, for they were bent on starting a church in town, but how about the rest of the prisoners? We can only surmise that the timing of the earthquake along with the prayers and singing they had heard made them docile to Paul’s request that they all stay put.
The ultimate question and the ultimate answer. The question was undoubtedly asked by Lydia. And though the slave girl was too much under the control of the Evil One to verbalize her own heart desires, there is little doubt that the same question was in her mind. But the Philippian jailer expressed it in the simplest possible terms when, rushing in and falling down trembling before Paul and Silas, he said to them, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”
What did he mean by that question? I can’t tell you for sure, but I believe he was saying, “I have come to the end of my wretched rope. I do not have what it takes to face life or the future. I need something that you seem to have. Give me the ultimate answer to life.”
Paul didn’t hesitate. He told the man, “Believe on the Lord Jesus and you shall be saved, you and your household.” Notice the utter simplicity of that response. The Apostle didn’t go into a theological discourse; he didn’t try to prove anything logically; he didn’t tell the man more than he wanted to know. The man wanted to know how to be delivered from the futility of his life and Paul told him how to be delivered: believe, put your trust in Jesus Christ.
He didn’t tell him to believe and repent of every known sin; he didn’t tell him to believe and be baptized; he didn’t tell him to believe and join the church being formed down on the river; he didn’t tell him to believe and behave. In fact, he didn’t tell him to do anything; he simply said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus and you shall be saved.”
What I see here is the profound truth that the solution, not only to the problem of one’s eternal destiny, but also to the greatest frustrations of life, is simple trust in Jesus Christ. What must I do to be delivered? Believe in the Lord Jesus. Are you unemployed? The answer is to believe in Jesus. Do you have an incurable disease? The answer is to believe in Jesus. Are you wracked with guilt because of an addiction to some self-destructive habit? The answer is to believe in Jesus.
I am not saying that faith in Jesus is necessarily going to get you a job immediately or cure your disease or automatically eliminate your self-destructive habit. But I am saying that the only way to face those problems until a solution is found is faith in Christ, for He enables a person to see life through a long-term perspective. He is the one who can prevent suicide when things seem too difficult to go on.
Of course, of far more consequence to us than any of these things is the issue of where we will spend eternity. And what Paul told the jailer is the same thing the Apostle John said in John 3:36: “He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.” The only way to know that you have passed from death unto life and that your sins have been forgiven and that you’re on your way to heaven is to believe in Jesus.
The resultant change in the Philippian jailer was profound. Verse 33 tells us that there were two washings. The Jailer washed the prisoners’ wounds and then by water baptism he and all his family gave testimony to the washing away of their sins. This is hardly an example of one person deciding for a group’s religion, for the next verse makes it clear that the whole household believed.
The washing of the wounds was followed up by hospitality, as the prisoners were brought into the jailer’s house and food was set before them. That was probably a sight not often seen in ancient times, or modern, for that matter.
Just a word might be in order on the postscript of the story, provided in verses 35-40. When the next morning arrived, word came from the city magistrates that the Paul and Silas should be released. What brought about this change of heart is not known. Perhaps they had already received a report about the strange activities around midnight. Probably they had felt the earthquake and wondered superstitiously whether it might be connected with the guys down in the jail. Whatever, when word came to Paul that they were free to go in peace he refused. They were beaten in public and they are not about to be released in private. Let the magistrates come and apologize for having treated Roman citizens as they had done.
Is this a case of stubbornness or revenge on Paul’s part? I think not. I believe their insistence upon their legal rights was for the protection of the infant church they would leave behind. The Roman officials would be far less inclined to take illegal steps against the new believers. The mention of Roman citizenship struck fear in the hearts of the magistrates, for Roman law expressly forbade such treatment of Romans. As to why Paul had not appealed to his Roman citizenship earlier, we can only guess. Perhaps he had tried but had not been given an opportunity to speak. At any rate, the magistrates came and personally escorted Paul and Silas out of jail and appealed to them to leave the city. They instead went to Lydia’s home and encouraged the brethren and then left.
Points to Ponder:
1. When a good door closes, a better one often opens. I believe this is a very important principle to remember. God doesn’t close doors because He enjoys watching us squirm. He closes them because in His own timing He has something better. God once closed a door for me. From the time I can remember anything I wanted to teach at the Bible College my father ministered at for some 28 years. Finally, when I was 28 years old that dream was fulfilled, but in just two years the door was closed. The pain of seeing that lifelong goal being dismantled was excruciating and I could not understand it. But a year later I found myself the pastor of an Evangelical Free Church, a denomination I had never heard of and a job I had never wanted. I believe today that God closed the door on college teaching because he wanted to open a better one for me.
Many of you can recall being in love with the perfect person and losing that person for one reason or another. But today you can see why. When God closes a door, He will open a better one.
2. Every major breakthrough is met with corresponding opposition. When God begins to work, Satan will not stand still. He will fight or he will join, whichever serves his purposes best. In Philippi he tried to discredit the Gospel first by advertising it and then by inspiring hatred against it. But one thing is sure–he will not sit by and watch the work of God prosper without doing something. This causes me to urge extra caution for our Body of believers. God has blessed us remarkably and now we have a contract on a piece of land which could greatly enlarge our ministry. Let us be careful that we not let the Enemy of our souls get a foothold.
3. Praise in hard times reaps a harvest of benefits. I can’t promise that if you’ll pray and sing at midnight when life is toughest that God will send an earthquake to rescue you. But I can promise that the benefits of praise will be far greater than the benefits of pouting. Psalm 42:8 reads, “The Lord will command His lovingkindness in the daytime; and His song will be with me in the night, a prayer to the God of my life.”
A tourist was on her first ocean voyage. The weather was growing bad and the ship pitched and tossed. The passenger caught sight of the captain on his way to the bridge. “Captain! Captain! What’s going to happen?” Reassuring her, the captain, who was a believer, replied, “Don’t worry, Madam. After all, we’re in the Lord’s hands!” “Oh,” she gasped, “is it as bad as that?”
No, it’s as good as that, so we might as well praise and pray.
Tags:
Demon possession
Salvation
Praise