Belief, Baptism, Blessing

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Acts 16:32-40

And they spoke to him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house.…

The gospel, attended by the Spirit of God, is always victorious; but it is very pleasant to make notes of its victories. The gospel came to Lydia, a devout woman, who worshipped God, although she did not know the Lord Jesus Christ. She was a woman of tender heart, and she was soon won. "Well," says one, "that is an instance of what the gospel does with delicate, tender, gentle natures." Now, here is an old soldier; he has been in the wars, he has earned distinction, and has been appointed to the office of jailer at Philippi, an office of some importance under the Roman Emperor. He is a man who knows the sight of blood; he is of a coarse, though apparently honest, disposition. He keeps prisoners, and that is not an office that brings much gentleness with it; and he is under very stern law. He is as hard as a bit of the lower millstone. What will the gospel do with him? It triumphed as much in the jailer at Philippi as it did in the lady from Thyatira. I want specially to call your attention to this point; the Philippian jailer stands before us as one who was converted and baptized, and who brought forth useful fruit all in the compass of an hour or so. "Straightway," says my text. It also says, "The same hour of the night." In a great many cases conversion may be said to be a slow work. I do not think that it really is so; but it appears to be so. There is the early training, there is the awakening of conscience, there is the seeking to find Christ. We have a great many people round us who are very slow. Why it is, I do not know; for this is not a slow age. People are fast enough about the things of this world. We cannot travel fast enough. I have no doubt that the work of grace is very gradual in some people; it is like the sunrise in this country. I am sure that you cannot tell, on foggy mornings, when the sun does rise. A man cannot be somewhere between condemnation and justification; there is no land in between. The man is either condemned on account of sin, or he is justified through the righteousness of Christ; he cannot be between those two states; so that, after all, in its essence, salvation must be an instantaneous thing.

I. In this Philippian jailer's case everything is sharp, clear, distinct. In considering it, I will first call your attention to the fact that HERE IS A PERSON CONVERTED AT ONCE.

1. There was no previous thought. There is nothing that I can imagine in his previous life that led up to it. He had not been plied with sermons, instructions, invitations, entreaties. Nothing could be a greater contrast than the ethics of Rome and the teachings of Christ. What do you think impressed this man?

2. I think, in part, it may have been the behaviour of Paul and Silas. They had no curses on their lips when he made their feet fast in the stocks. He went to bed that night with many thoughts of a new character. Who were these men? Who was this Jesus of whom they spoke?

3. Then, in the middle of the night, a singular miracle was wrought. The prison was shaken by an earthquake. The idea of being lost has come over him. It is not that he is afraid to die, for he is about to put himself to death; but he is afraid of what is to follow after death. He is a lost man, and therefore he asks, "What must I do to be saved?"

4. Now it is that he is plainly told the way of salvation. It was put with great brevity, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house." Probably he did not understand it when he heard it; and so "they spake unto him the Word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house." It is a happy circumstance that the gospel is so simple. There are certain preachers who seem as if they must mystify it, like the man who said, "Brethren, I have read you a chapter, and now I will confound it." No doubt there are many who are always making out the gospel to be a very difficult thing to understand; philosophical, deep, and so on; but it was meant for the common people, and the gospel is suitable to be preached to the poor.

II. HERE IS A PERSON CONFESSING HIS FAITH AT ONCE. "He was baptized, he and all his, straightway." Should a person be baptized as soon as he believes? As a rule, yes; but there may be good reasons why he should not be.

1. There was no good reason for delay in this man's case, for, in the first place, his conversion was clear as noonday.

2. In his case, also, there was no other reason for delay. In the case of many young persons, there are reasons for delay.

3. In this man's case, note also, that he was not hindered by selfish considerations. Had the jailer been like some people that I know of, he would hove found plenty of reasons for delaying his baptism. First, he would have said, "Well, it is the middle of the night. Would you have me be baptized at this hour?" He would have said that he did not know that there were conveniences for baptism, for it is so easy to find it inconvenient when you do not like it. He might also have said, "I do not know how the magistrates will like it." He did not care about the magistrates. Perhaps he would lose his situation. He did not take his situation into consideration. Then, what would the soldiers in the Philippian colony say when they heard that the jailer had been baptized into the name of Christ? Oh, the guffaws of the guard room, the jokes that there would be all over Philippi! This brave man did not take those things into consideration; and if he did, he dismissed them in a moment.

4. The fact was, this man was in downright earnest, and therefore he would not delay his baptism. He had enlisted in the army of Christ, and he would wear Christ's regimentals straightway.

III. NOW, HERE IS A PERSON USEFUL AT ONCE. Useful? What could he do? Well, he did all he could.

1. He performed an act of mercy: "He took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes." Dear, good men, they were covered all over with the marks of the Roman rods. I do not know that he could have done anything better to show his sincere repentance. He washed their stripes; and when he had done that, and had been baptized, we read that he brought them into his house, and set meat before them.

2. Thus he exercised hospitality. He used his hands and his bath in washing the disciples; now he uses his table, his larder, and his dining room to entertain them. What more could he do? Seeing that it was the middle of the night, I cannot think of anything more that he could do. So now, if you love the Lord, if you have only just believed in Him, begin to do something for Him at once. It is a pity that we have so many Christian people, so-called, who do nothing for Christ, literally nothing. They have paid their pew-rent, perhaps; and that is all Christ is to have out of them! We want to have a Church in which all the members do something, in which all do all they can, in which all are always doing all they can, for this is what our Lord deserves to have from a living, loving people bought with His precious blood.

IV. HERE IS A PERSON PERFECTLY HAPPY AT ONCE. When the jailer bad brought Paul and Silas into his house, "he set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house." Oh, that was a happy, happy time! "He rejoiced, believing in God with all his house."

1. He rejoiced that he was saved. His heart kept beating, "Hallelujah! hallelujah! hallelujah!" As he sat at that table with his two strange guests, he had indeed cause for joy. His sin was forgiven; his nature was changed; he had found a Saviour.

2. And then he rejoiced that all his household were saved. What a delight it was to see all his household converted! There was his wife. If she had not been converted, it would have been a very awkward thing for him to have asked Paul and Silas in to that midnight meal. I do not like it when you count up your household and leave out Mary Ann, the little servant girl, the last you have had in. You treat her as a drudge; but if she has come into your family, reckon her to be a part of your household; and pray God that they may all be converted.

3. The jailer's rejoicing was also a seal of the Spirit upon his fidelity.

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