Acts 16:31

[Rupert]

Acts 16:31 is a verse from Scripture (a former favourite of mine) where Paul tells the jailer "Believe upon the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved, you and your entire household".

The question the jailer had asked Paul was "What must I do to be saved?"

I heard a sermon once, however, which stated that this was only the first step towards being saved. I disagree, because Paul didn't say - The first step to being saved was .....

I think the gift of grace from Christ is as simple as Paul says - just believe in Jesus.

In fact, at one stage I thought this was so simple, that surely it was insufficient, surely Jesus wants more from us than to be thankful for his death on the cross and resurrection?

So, I thought I would put it out there. Is believing in Jesus enough, or is there more one must do.

 

[PhoenixRising]

There's got to be a recognition as a sinner.

There must be genuine repentance before God.

Believing in and accepting Jesus as Lord and Saviour.

Full immersion Baptism: Peter: Acts 2:38 "Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins"

***** Just accepting Jesus is NOT enough, regardless what feel-good preachers or "well-intentioned" soul savers are spouting!! *****

 

[Boanerges]

These are just my view on the subject:

Act 2:21 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

Never underestimate the power of His grace.
If gave your heart to Christ and tripped on the way to the baptismal you would still be saved.:shade:
Jesus came to baptize us with the Holy Ghost and fire (Mat 3:11) .
One cannot receive the oil (the Holy Spirit) until one is washed in the blood.
One can be baptized in water and be only a wet sinner but one cannot be in Christ and remain unrepentant.

If is by faith we receive God's grace and the awesome power of Christ's substitutionary sacrifice.

If you are drawn to Christ He has already by His Spirit convicted you of sin and brought you to your knees in humility.
Tit 3:5 Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;
Tit 3:6 Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour;
Tit 3:7 That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

Water Baptism is (in my opinion) an act of obedience and obedience is a great joy to any believer. While I do not believe the water itself is magical I do believe it is representative of what happened on the cross and it's application in our own life. Death with Christ to self, burial with Christ and resurrection with Christ.
But these are just my views and I do respect yours.
Many blessings in Jesus most wonderful Name,
your brother Larry.

 

[Boanerges]

Heb 4:10 For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his.
Heb 4:11 Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.

That labor spoken if in verse 11 is defined as faith in verses 1, 2 and 6:
Heb 4:1 Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it.
Heb 4:2 For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.


Heb 4:6 Seeing therefore it remaineth that some must enter therein, and they to whom it was first preached entered not in because of unbelief:

So while works do not necessarily produce faith, faith in Christ will always produce works.

 

[Giggles4God]

When I think about this type of thing...I go back to the thief on the cross. Did he have time to say a prayer, admit sins, be baptized?

Let's see.

Luke 23 says

26 Now as they led Him away, they laid hold of a certain man, Simon a Cyrenian, who was coming from the country, and on him they laid the cross that he might bear it after Jesus.
27 And a great multitude of the people followed Him, and women who also mourned and lamented Him. 28 But Jesus, turning to them, said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for Me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. 29 For indeed the days are coming in which they will say, ‘Blessed are the barren, wombs that never bore, and breasts which never nursed!’ 30 Then they will begin ‘to say to the mountains, “Fall on us!” and to the hills, “Cover us!”’[g] 31 For if they do these things in the green wood, what will be done in the dry?”
32 There were also two others, criminals, led with Him to be put to death. 33 And when they had come to the place called Calvary, there they crucified Him, and the criminals, one on the right hand and the other on the left. 34 Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.”[h]
And they divided His garments and cast lots. 35 And the people stood looking on. But even the rulers with them sneered, saying, “He saved others; let Him save Himself if He is the Christ, the chosen of God.”
36 The soldiers also mocked Him, coming and offering Him sour wine, 37 and saying, “If You are the King of the Jews, save Yourself.”
38 And an inscription also was written over Him in letters of Greek, Latin, and Hebrew:

THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.

39 Then one of the criminals who were hanged blasphemed Him, saying, “If You are the Christ,[j] save Yourself and us.”
40 But the other, answering, rebuked him, saying, “Do you not even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation? 41 And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this Man has done nothing wrong.” 42 Then he said to Jesus, “Lord,[k] remember me when You come into Your kingdom.”
43 And Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.”


Just a thought...to see this from a different perspective.

I DO believe in what the Bible says. IF you have the chance...repent, be baptized...BUT I see these verses...

A man on a cross...knowing FULL WELL he got what he deserved...and noticed Jesus...hanging there. And speaking to him...

Such love Jesus had for even those who hung with him! Such love he has for us.

I DO believe in Jesus. I know satan believes, too. BUT I got one up on satan! Hallelujah! I was bought with a price...never know the cost of the cross. I have a personal relationship with Jesus.

So simple really...yet we sometimes make it more complex than it needs to be.

 

[PhoenixRising]

The verse you quoted is very relevant because it shows that Jesus had NOT yet given up the ghost, the veil hadn't been rent and God's grace had not yet flooded the earth. Jesus spoke those compassionate, loving words because He is kindness and compassion personified.

He also saw the thief's heart and knew if He didn't make the promise right there and then, the man would have no other way or chance to be reconciled with God. Out of the goodness and grace that is Him, Jesus spoke those reassuring, comforting words to the man who would die soon after He gave up the ghost.

Jesus is just all around wonderful. Everything He did and all he's still doing for us is out of pure love, compassion and mercy.

Let's not also forget what Jesus himself said in Luke 13:3-5 that unless a man repents, he will not know the salvation of the Lord.

So, NO. No one is making anything complicated, we're simply following the dictates of our Lord.

And I repeat, there HAS to be repentance on the part of the person looking to get born-again. Jesus already did the "hard work", why can't WE properly and reverentially ask Him into our lives?

The things that mean the most aren't always easily come by. We know that just by getting up and going to work every single day. Please ask any woman who's ever given birth how "easy" it was to do so.

YET, Jesus DID make it easy to come to Him.

All WE have to do is follow His instructions. What's complicated about that?

 

[SaviorNChrist]

Romans 10:9 explains how to be saved perfectly.

Romans 10:9 That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

The key part is "believe in your heart". Many people can just say it and not mean it. I believe those are not truly saved because their heart is still wicked and unrighteous. It is up to us Christians to inform them of the supporting Truth's to help them find eternal peace such as we found.

 

[Veracity]

If a person 'believes' that would automatically induce repentance, question is did the mustard seed ever take root. John 16 explains that His spirit will lead the believer to all truth. Some people just get happy where they are and never go any farther. So did they really ever repent? Are they still repentant or are they thinking they have liberty to continue in sin? Are they even sure what sin is?

When someone really believes, they grow, they see things in the word that is a revelation to them. If Jesus said it, if the apostles did it, why do Christians today still refuse to accept it? That's the question I have. Has anyone read Isaiah and all that God had to say about Himself and the Christ? Compare the voice of God there to many things Jesus said, I hear the same voice, but many people hear a different voice. When the Holy Spirit speaks to me, I still hear the same voice.

Matthew 7;21-23
“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’

I wanted to know for sure what is the will of God? What did Jesus teach? How did the early church respond to that? What did the apostles do in the days after the Spirit fell on them? How did they do it? Some people never even read the bible, just go with what the Pastor says. Search out the truth. Jesus is the authority. It's there and and still many do not believe.

If you see a cake, is that all it is? Or is it all of the ingredients in the cake? Would it still be the intended cake without all the ingredients?

Matthew 13:33
Another parable He spoke to them: “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal till it was all leavened.”

We have to get all the ingredients in us, we have to follow the whole recipe. Believe it all.

 

[Giggles4God]

And let's not forget that even satan believes in God.

We have to take it a step farther than just believing...we have to believe...to make Jesus Lord and Savior of our lives. To give Him everything we are...to worship Him. To do what satan detests! Worship.

So, it isn't just about belief. It is about relationship.

 

[SaviorNChrist]

Great information G4G! I never really thought about that but you're absolutely correct. It's also about how we live our life for Christ. Thanks for pointing that out.

 

[Giggles4God]

No problem.

All throughout the Bible it speaks of relationships. Not just those we have with other people, but the one we have with God.

How awesome it must have been to have a relationship with God like Moses, Daniel, Ruth, Esther, Hannah, etc...people we know stories from the Bible, but I also think there is more to the stories. But what we have is a glimpse of the full story.

To think...walking with God in the cool of the day wasn't enough...*sigh*

Relationship is key...the thing satan threw away and the thing satan uses and flips around.

I try to make sure I spend my day in God's presence. Not just part of it.

 

[Jaareshiah]

Upon being asked: "Lord, are those who are being saved few ? ", Jesus answered succintly: "Exert yourselves vigorously to get in through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will seek to get in but will not be able."(Luke 13:23, 24) In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus told his Jewish audience: "Go in through the narrow gate; because broad and spacious is the road leading off into destruction, and many are the ones going in through it; whereas narrow is the gate and cramped the road leading off into life, and few are the ones finding it."(Matt 7:13, 14)

Hence, the road to life everlasting is "cramped", with the challenges of measuring up to God's holy standards that "few are the ones finding it." Many attempt to please God, being sincere, but still fall short of gaining his approval. Jesus further said: "Not everyone saying to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter into the kingdom of the heavens, but the one doing the will of my Father who is in the heavens will."(Matt 7:21) Who are the one's "doing the will of (the) Father", being "no part of the world" (John 15:19), those alienated from God and that make up the corrupt political, commercial and religious "system of things" ?

The apostle John wrote: "Do not be loving either the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him; because everything in the world—the desire of the flesh and the desire of the eyes and the showy display of one’s means of life—does not originate with the Father, but originates with the world."(1 John 2:15, 16) He then concludes: "Furthermore, the world is passing away and so is its desire, but he that does the will of God remains forever."(verse 17)

The apostle Paul wrote that God's "will is that all sorts of men should be saved and come to an accurate knowledge of truth."(1 Tim 2:4) Jesus had already said in prayer to his Father: "This means everlasting life, their taking in knowledge of you, the only true God, and of the one whom you sent forth, Jesus Christ."(John 17:3)

Hence, it is essential that person first take in "accurate knowledge" of God and of his Son, Jesus Christ. These then have to make needed changes in both their knowledge of God and his word, the Bible, and have to "strip off the old personality", putting on the "new personality" that is patterned after the perfect example of Jesus Christ.(Col 3:9, 10)

Jesus gave his disciples a commission to "go therefore and make disciples of people of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the holy spirit, teaching them to observe all the things I have commanded you."(Matt 28:19, 20)

This work of making disciples, helping individuals to come "to an accurate knowledge of truth", is laid upon all who call themselves Christian, going to "people of all the nations" with the message of the "kingdom".(Matt 24:14) Hence, more is necessary to gain God's approval and receive life everlasting than just "believing on the Lord Jesus", for even the "demons believe and shudder".(James 2:19)

 

[HisFollower]

Instead of following our own version of what it means to believe, which is by the wisdom of this world, let us rather see what it means to believe according to the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and then we may understand the heavenly definition, and not this world´s definition.
Christ tells us plainly what it means to believe, saying, the person that believes on Him, the works that He does shall they do also(John 14:12).
So to believe according to Christ, and not according to the wise and prudent, is to do the works that He does; that is what it means to believe, and we need not that any man teach us.

 

[RJ]

Acts 16:31 is a verse from Scripture (a former favourite of mine) where Paul tells the jailer "Believe upon the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved, you and your entire household".

The question the jailer had asked Paul was "What must I do to be saved?"

I heard a sermon once, however, which stated that this was only the first step towards being saved. I disagree, because Paul didn't say - The first step to being saved was .....

I think the gift of grace from Christ is as simple as Paul says - just believe in Jesus.

In fact, at one stage I thought this was so simple, that surely it was insufficient, surely Jesus wants more from us than to be thankful for his death on the cross and resurrection?

So, I thought I would put it out there. Is believing in Jesus enough, or is there more one must do.

I would say that first and foremost, you have to ask what it is that you are believing in. For me, It is clearly in what St. Paul said was the gospel that he preached: " The death , burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ.It takes all three; don't take my word for this, study these and make your own decision.

The death of Jesus, God said was for the forgiveness of sins and for the entire world, reconciling man unto himself and that He would look at man's sin no more.
I believe what He says and take it literaly, it is the "finality of the cross", the sin problem is dealt with; it's over.
Further more, God reconciled ( forgave) all mankind; you and I were born forgiven. The finality of the cross is that it forgives, nothing more, it does not save. Your salvation is a result of what you do after the cross, it is one of God's basic truths, which is choice and a result of what you do with the resurrected life of Jesus Christ.

The burial, of course, proves death. God, through His incarnate (God made flesh) son Jesus, inacted His final covenent with man. Paul refers to this covenant as a will. And for a will to take place, the death of the person, who the will is made out on, in this case , Jesus, must be confirmed.

The resurrected life of Jesus Christ is the way of your salvation.
Jesus said: " I am the vine and you are the branches, if you are in me and I in you, you will bare much fruit, apart from me, you can do nothing".
How do you get in Him and He in you? It is by choice, you invite Him in. Jesus said: " I stand at the door and knock and if anyone opens the door, I will come in". This is the miracle of the resurrected life, some how, God makes it possible for Him to live in you and you in Him. It is your decision, your choice. What kind of God would we have if he made us do this? About the cross and the resurrection, St. Paul said it best, If you believe in God and even the cross but you do not believe in the resurrection, recieve God's Spirit in you it, you are to be pitied above all men.

I would like to say one more thing about one of the threads to your post and what is a requirement for salvation: With all due respect and love, one of your responding threads stated the apparent need for baptism, "total immersion". I could'nt disagree more. Baptism out of respect and comitment is one thing but a requirement for your salvation, no!!
The bible says it best: " Your are saved through faith in grace and not of your own works, least you could boast".The grace here, is the gospel, the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. God said that this grace is a gift. If it is a gift, it is free. How can it be a gift and predicated on man doing something? If you live in the need of baptism to gain eternal life, then you live in the old law (the law of doing something) and not through grace which is a gift.
In Jesus Christ you do not get forgiveness, in jesus Christ you are forgive.
The cross forgives, the resurrection gives eternal life and saves.