Paul and the Second Missionary Journey (3): Paul in Philippi – II

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[Prayer] Father we thank Thee for this day and for the opportunity to consider things from the word of God during it. We thank Thee for the beauty of it and for the significance of the fact that thou has created us and made it possible for us to enjoy fellowship with the triune God. We are grateful for the blessings of life and especially for the forgiveness of sins, for justification, for membership in the family of God and in the body of Christ. We thank Thee for a great High Priest whoever lives to make intercession for us, and who also advocates when we sin. We thank Thee for the hope that we have as believers and Lord we are grateful for the word of God which is a light unto our feet, a lamp unto our path, which is sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and the spirit; is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

And we thank Thee too Lord that it is with this word that we have to do. Thou has given us every opportunity every privilege every incentive to please Thee in our lives and to serve Thee faithfully. We pray that our thoughts may be directed by the Holy Spirit constantly to Thee and that we may truly cleave, as Barnabas exhorted the church in Antioch to Thee. May our study tonight contribute to that end, we pray in Jesus name. Amen.

[Message] We are looking at the apostle’s second missionary journey and particularly at his ministry in the city of Philippi. Paul evidently regarded this as rather significant ministry because he alludes to it; not only in the epistle that he later writes to the Philippians, but even in other places he alludes to the experiences that he had here in Philippi and so we assume that he regarded this as a rather significant time in his ministry. And particularly when we remember that this is the coming of the gospel to the content of Europe we can see something of the importance of it.

Now, in our last study we were looking at the conversion of Lydia the seller of purple from the city of Thyatira, who is the first of the converts in Europe through the ministry of the apostle who has with him remember Silas, and Luke and probably several others. Now, we’re coming now, to the occasion of the jailer’s conversion and we’re going to begin reading at verse 16, and I’m going to read verse 16 through verse 24 in which we have the experience of the apostle and his friends with the woman who had the spirit of divination. So, Acts chapter 16 and verse 16 through verse 24 we read:

“And it came to pass as we went to prayer a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying: The same followed Paul and us and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the Most High God, which show unto us the way of salvation. And this did she many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour. And when her masters so that the hope of their gains was gone, they caught Paul and Silas, and drew them into the market place unto the rulers, and brought them to the magistrate, saying, These men, being Jews, do exceeding trouble our city, and teach customs, which are not lawful for us to receive, neither to observe being Romans. And the multitude rose up together against them: and the magistrate rent off their clothes, and commanded to beat them. And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailer to keep them safely: Who, having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks.”

We probably, when we think of Paul’s ministry in Philippi think most of the time and probably first of all, of the fact that this passage has to do with the most important question in life. With different phraseology, it’s the question that was asked in the apostolic age by others. For example, the lawyer asked it when he said, “What good thing must I do to inherit eternal life?” The rich young ruler asked it in much of the same words. Nicodemus asked it, really he didn’t get his words out for our Lord interrupted him, but it’s evident from our Lord’s reply that he intended to ask a similar question. And Peter’s congregation on the Day of Pentecost asked it because they too said men and brethren what shall we do.

The 20th Century might phrase it somewhat differently, what is the cure for alienation or what are the things that will enable us to come to understand who we are? But basically, the question that the jailer asked the apostle Paul is an acknowledgment of the fact that there is something wrong between man and God. There is some separation between them, some barrier that exist between men and the Lord and they are asking questions out of a sense of it. Even though the may not understand fully what is involved in it.

The answers of our age are lessons in irrelevance. Well, what we really need; is to have all of the churches join together, and if we all join together we’ll be much stronger. And thereby we will experience, no doubt the equivalent of the New Testament salvation. And many times I have referred to the fact that Martin Lloyd Jones, the great British preacher use to say, “Throwing all of the same ecclesial corpses into the same grave will not bring about a resurrection.” [Laughter]

Now, that’s really the basic fact of the matter and one notices now, that after several of the churches have untied together there is still no significant difference in church life. Others think that what we need is racial integration or to carry on war on poverty or be engaged in urban renewal or all out revolution. These are as relevant to the removal of evil from the heart of man as a band-aid is to cancer. For relevance we need the word of God and there is no relevant word than the Word that the apostle said to the jailer when he said, “Sirs what must I do to be saved?” And they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shall be saved and thy house.”

As the apostle carried on his ministry there were in Philippi three significant conversions, and no doubt they have some symbolic significance. For example, the first convert is a rich Jewess, I say rich because she was a business woman, she was not at home; she obviously had a household large enough to entertain the crowd and entertain them on the spare of the moment, she invited them all into her house. She was a seller of purple we might say a person is a dealer in diamonds or in gold and usually they are individuals who have a little money so she was a rich Jewess. And the next person with whom the apostle deals is the exploited Greek slave girl. Whether she was converted or not, the passage does not really clarify that. The final one is the Roman official, and he is of course, the jailer, and must have been a rather significant man in the little city of Philippi.

So that right here in the beginning of the apostles ministry in Europe, we have something that reminds us of his significant words that he writes in Galatians chapter 3 and verse 28; “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female, for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.” The apostle refers there of course, to the spiritual relationship that we all have in Christ, we are all equal, whether we be bond or free, whether we be male or female, whether we be Jew or Gentile, we are all one in Christ Jesus.

Now, Luke in the account of the incident; now, remember Luke probably joined the apostle at Troas, made the journey across the Aegean Sea with the apostle, and is now with the apostle and as soon as we leave Philippi he will again in his account write in the third person. So we assume perhaps that Luke remained in Philippi after he and Paul and the others had come there, perhaps to follow-up on the ministry of the apostle.

He writes about a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination. Exactly what kind of a young lady she was we are not absolutely certain but most of the students feel that this expression a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination refers to a demon possessed ventriloquist who’s involuntary utterances were thought to be the voice of God. The expression that is used pluthone is related to the python and pythoness and pytho was associated with a Delphic oracle, and since we have here now a situation in the land of Greece it is likely that is the case that she was something of a ventriloquist and since the utterances were somewhat strange they were thought by the people to be the voice of God. So that was the kind of person she was.

Well, she brought her masters much gain by soothsaying and she began to follow Paul and she was crying out, “These men are the servants of the Most High God which show unto us the way of salvation.” You might have thought that the apostle would have reasoned something like this, “Well, she’s speaking the truth we are of the those who have the way of salvation and we are seeking to show the way of salvation to others and so let’s leave her alone, she is expressing the truth of the word of God.” But notice the apostle is very grieved over that. He’s grieved over the fact that people who do not know the Lord may use terms that are true to scripture.

I’m sure that if we look to this from the standpoint of human reason, we’d reason the other way. We would say, “Leave her alone she’s preaching the gospel by the Words that she’s speaking.” The apostle didn’t like that he knew that any kind of alliance with the evil one was more dangerous than antagonism. And so he did not countenance it for a moment he was grieved, he turned and said to the spirit, “I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” So he will not have any alliance with evil even when true testimony in word is being given.

Now, one must remember of course, the preaching of the word of God the speaking of the word of God is not sufficient for salvation, a person who is converted is converted not simply through the word of God but through the word of God as applied by the Holy Spirit. So when we talk about the preaching of the gospel we must if we are to have true preaching of the gospel we must have the expression of the message but we also must have that message applied by the ministry of the Holy Spirit. We are converted through the Word and through the Spirit. That’s the reason, when the Word is preached some people respond and some do not. We cannot say it was the Word because the same is given to all. Some respond and some don’t to the same message of the Word. There is something else involved and that is the evacasions ministry of the Holy Spirit who brings conviction and conversion. That’s why the Bible says we are not simply born through the Word but we are born of the Spirit. So we’re born of the Spirit through the word of God, and this woman crying out, “These men show unto us the way of salvation.” Is totally insufficient for the ministry of salvation because she does not have a proclamation of the message that she was proclaiming the ministry of the Holy Spirit.

So the apostle cast the demon out of her and her masters when they saw that the hope of their gain was gone they caught Paul and Silas and drew them into the market place unto the rulers and brought them to the magistrate saying, “These men being Jews, do exceeding trouble our city and teach customs which are not lawful for us to receive neither to observe being Romans.”

Now, isn’t it interesting? It may be that this young lady or girl was truly converted; no clear statement of that is given, but the demon was cast out of her. Now, the men who were making money off of her do not speak the truth the don’t say, “Now, we’ve lost our source of income.” They want to find some reason which will justify them in having the magistrates throw Paul and his company into prison and so they lie about it, as is so often the case, they drew them into the market place to the rulers, they brought them before the magistrates and they said, “They teach customs which are not lawful for us to receive or to observe since we’re Romans and their Jews,” of course, their apostle was a Roman too. They don’t quite realize that no doubt yet but nevertheless it is true. Their mercenary motivation leaves them to appeal to prejudice. They say their Jews and also to the pride of citizenship, we are Romans and so we don’t follow the things that they are talking about. As A.T. Robertson said it was all sound and fury. But the devil is defeated when he imprisons Christians.

I’ve often wondered about places over the globe now, where Christians are absolutely forbidden from giving testimony. If they just went ahead and gave testimony and wound up in prison they might discover that God is able to save souls when they’re in prison. And this is of course extended biblical illustration, but there are others in the experience of men.

Well, now we have the description of the jailer’s conversion, the jailer evidently lived near the prison. It was customary for that to be the case and so his home, so far as we can tell was on the side of the hill near the jail.

I imagine the apostle at this point had some second thoughts it’s always natural even for apostles to have second thoughts and surely for ordinary men. Remember he had that vision in Troas of the man of Macedonia who said, “Come over into Macedonia and help us.” And the apostle and Luke expresses it said, “That we assuredly gathered after we had seen the vision that we should go over and help those who were in Greece.” But there he finds himself in prison, and he must have had some second thoughts. And I can imagine Silas even kidding him a little bit, “Ah Paul are you true you saw that vision was that a man of Macedonia that you saw, you told us all about?” Or, “Paul you certainly have strange guidance, what you need to do is to read Gary Freison’s book on how to find spiritual guidance because you’ve led us over here and now we’re in prison.”

So I can imagine that they had some interesting conversations in the prison but Luke describes what happened, and at midnight. Notice in verse 24 that, “They are cast into the inner prison and their feet are made fast in the stocks and at midnight Paul and Silas prayed and sang praises unto God and the prisoners heard them.” Now, I gather from that that the apostles stayed up late at night and that’s one of the reasons I like to stay up late at night of course, because it’s apostolic to stay up late at night [Laughter]. Here he is praying and singing at twelve o’clock at night. He’s not like some of you who look at the evening news and you could hardly see the end of it you fade off a little bit when the sports news come and you struggle into the bedroom and fall on the bed and go to sleep, when the night is still young when you can really think, great lucubrations occur [Laughter] around twelve, one and two o’clock. If you just stay up a few times like that you might get some brilliant insights into life, and business and occasionally into the Bible too.

Well, someone said anyone can sing outside of prison and also when you’re in good health, but these birds could sing in a darkened cage. Imagine; here are apostles singing in the stir or caroling in the clink [laughter] as someone might put it. I wonder what they were singing, were they singing the psalms of the Old Testament? That’s likely that they were singing some of those psalms. It’s even possible they were singing some of the New Testament psalms. New Testament scholars point to several passages that were in the New Testament which were probably originally hymnic. That is they were songs that the early Christians sung like 1 Timothy chapter 3 and verse 16, and Colossians chapter 1 verse 15 through verse 20, and Philippians chapter 2 verse 5 through verse 11. You can find a New Testament scholar who thinks that all of these passages were originally Christian hymns and that the apostle has incorporated them into his letters that he wrote to those individuals.

A few years back I was looking at this again this afternoon, I’m sorry that I did not really call Bob Theme on the telephone. I really just didn’t have time. But, you know a few years back in Menlo Park in California, this appeared in Christianity Today, and I have the clipping before me so my authority is Ed Plowman, a former student of mine hear in Dallas, who is one of the editors of Christianity Today. A few years back a number of individuals in Menlo Park California which is not too far from San Francisco were gathering together in a home and were having Bible studies.

Now, these individuals were listening to tapes of Bob Theme and Baraka church, and as you know Bob is an arch-conservative and has many, many, friends among the rightist of the right-side of the political spectrum. And these were some of them, some of them were former followers of George Wallace in his earlier days, some of them had been associated with the Nazi Party in the United States, and two or three others had been involved in various types of things of a similar character. And so the word got out about them that they were having these meetings and so the police came and they arrested a number of them.

Now, they arrested a number of them and they also incidentally confiscated some guns and other things because the man in whose home they were meeting was a lover of guns, just as Bob Theme is, there’s nothing wrong with that. And so they confiscated these things, picked up some of the Nazi literature, which one of the fellows, maybe the man who also was having them in his home, had in his house, because at one time there was some association of them with the Nazi Party, but they’d all had been converted and they were studying the Bible. Well, the police fell on them and brought them into prison, and the first thing that happened was when they got into prison three of them were bitten up by the prisoners, evidently they were giving testimony.

But now, this is what Christianity Today says, “None regularly attends church because they can find no preacher to match Theme — all are heavy smokers, several are gun collectors, some occasionally drops profanity all neighbors speak well of them. Lake, Petty and Smith were the three of the men who were there were bitten by other prisoners after the arrest but by the second night they had turned the jail into a revival hall, they read from the Bible, testified, and led inmates in singing hymns and patriotic songs.”

Well, of course, they were released and I don’t know what really happened to them, they were charged with some things and that’s what I wanted to call Bob about, but the article concludes with, “Meanwhile the Bible study thrives with fifty persons cramming weekly into the McGee home–that’s not Vernon McGee– and many of the old regulars are meeting else where some to disassociate themselves from the group others to escape harassment. Well, that’s almost a modern equivalent of what happened in the jail in Philippi, they sang hymns, they gave praise to the Lord and a number were converted.

Well, we read in verse 26:

“And suddenly there was a great earthquake so that the foundations of the prison were shaken and immediately all the doors were open and everyone’s bands were loosed. (The Lord touch the land and it trembled so the Old Testament says and that is what we happened here.) And we read immediately all the doors were open and everyone’s bands were loosed and the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep and seeing the prison doors open he drew out his sword and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled.”

[Message] I can just imagine him saying something like, “Oh Zeus they’re gone.” And of course, if you let someone, being a jailer, if you let someone out of prison and you were expected to take care of them you would lose your life. If you look back to chapter 12 verse 19 when Peter was in prison and when he escaped from prison by the power of God we read in chapter 12 and verse 19, “And when Herod had sought for him and found him not, he examined the keepers and commanded that they should be put to death.”

So it was a very serious thing to let prisoners escape so it’s no wonder that the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep and seeing the prison doors open drew out his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had all escaped. But Paul cried with a loud voice saying, “Do thyself no harm for we are all here.” Well, the jailer then called for a light, he sprang in came trembling fell down before Paul and Silas and brought them out, imagine out to the light and said, “Sirs what must I do to be saved?”

One wonders how did he come across a question like this, “What must I do to be saved?” Well, it’s possible that he had heard about the woman, that little girl that had the spirit of divination, who was going all over town following the apostle and his company saying, “These men show unto us the way of salvation.” So he may have heard about it from her or it may have been simply the cry of the dim consciousness of all of us lying dormant in all men the need of salvation.

Now, remember that everybody has been created in the image of God and so there is a knowledge of the existence of God in the heart of every human being. The trouble with human beings is that since the fall they always seek to suppress the knowledge that they have. They frequently discuss among themselves, the frequently think about the Lord God. There isn’t a man who created in the image of God who does not at one time or another think about his relationship to God. But of course, he gets into the habit of suppressing it and so he continues to suppress until finally it’s necessary for divine retribution to take place.

Remember the apostle writing in Romans chapter 1 speaks about the fact that the wrath of God has been revealed from heaven upon all the ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who are holding down the truth in unrighteousness. So all of us have the since of the presence of God. What the theologians have called asinceadatotis; that is, the knowledge of the existence of God we all have that.

And so here is a man who may have because of that because of that dim conciseness existence of God having some since of his need or it may be that since he was not so far away from them and he heard them singing those songs that that created in him a desire to know the way of salvation. At-any-rate, he did come and he fell down before the apostle and he said, “Sirs what must I do to be saved?” Of course, he was not talking about the earthquake, saved from the earthquake. Someone had suggested that he was thinking about the salvation in a physical since, saved from the earthquake. But remember the earthquake had already taken place.

And then of course, so far as salvation from the Romans is concerned some have suggested he came in and he was fearful because he was going to lose his life, “Sirs what must I do to be saved?” Well, there was no reason to be disturbed because the prisoners were all there still. So he had nothing to fear from the Romans he had nothing to fear from the earthquake. What he is talking about clearly is spiritual salvation.

Now, the apostle’s message to him is extremely pointed. He didn’t say, “Now, I wonder if you ever heard of the four spiritual laws? I wonder if you realize that there is a barrier that exist between God and men? I wonder if you realize that men are alienated from God? What we really need is a new adjustment in our life. Actually what we really need sir is to know ourselves, do you really know yourself?” And another thing he didn’t even say, “You must acknowledge the Lordship of Christ and make him Lord in your life.” He didn’t say that. The message that he gave is a very simple message and it’s a very adequate message all he said was, “believe” and notice it’s they, they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shall be saved and thy house.”

Now, that is the gospel message that is as simple as you can possibly give it, this answer is more amazing than the earthquake in it’s simplicity and thrilling through it like an anthem is the infinite music of the gospel as Campbell Morgan puts it. “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shall be saved.” Voltaire once said, speaking of philosophers and including himself among them, “We have never cared to enlighten cobblers and maidservants — that’s the work of apostles.” Well, it’s one of the greatest of the works that could possibly be done to enlighten cobblers and others.

I like the statement that James Denny made. Mr. Denny as you know was professor of New Testament at the University of Glasgow and a distinguished one, one of the most distinguished of his day, this is what he says about Paul, “To say that Paul is unintelligible or that he presents Christianity in a way which does it every kind of injustice and is finally unacceptable to us –incidentally, that’s what Thomas Jefferson said just to give you an example, he’s one who said the Pauline Christianity is a distortion of the gospel of Christ; but Mr. Denny says– is to fly in the face of history and experience there have always been people who found Paul intelligible and accepted the gospel as he preached it; there are such people still. If not in theological classrooms, then in mission homes, on street corners, in lonely rooms, it is not historic scholarship that is wanted for the understanding of him and neither is it the insight of genius, it is despair. Paul did not present or did not preach for scholars not either for philosophers, he preached for sinners.”

I might mention of course, that he preached for philosophers who knew they were sinners and he preached for scholars who knew they were sinners. He’s not saying he didn’t preach for philosophers as if philosophers cannot be saved they can be saved and scholars can be saved it’s a little harder, but nevertheless, they all can be saved, we can all be saved but the apostle’s message is not directed toward them, “He had no gospel except for men whose mouths were stopped –Professor Denny continues– and who were standing condemned at the bar of God. They understood him and they find him eminently intelligible still. When a man has the simplicity to say with Thomas Chalmers, “What could I do if God did not justify the ungodly, he has the key to the Pauline gospel of reconciliation in his hand.'”

So to understand Paul one must understand one’s lost condition, this man understood it. He came in trembling and saying, “What must I do to be saved?” And for such a man the message is simple, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shall be saved.”

There are many answers that are given today: “Saved, forget it, that’s just a superstitious guilt complex that you have, cold morality; if you’ve gone wrong do your best from now on; then, some there’s no need to talk about things like this, eat, drink, and be merry, hang Puritanism or the ecclesiastical gospel come be baptized receive grace through the water of regeneration. The apostle’s answer is very simple but very much to the point. I want you to notice also how authoritative it is set up by Luke, he says, “And they said.” I think that must mean that not simply the apostle but all of them chimed in affirming that this is the gospel that they believe. It’s very much like the apostle’s experience in Jerusalem when Jerusalem and Antioch, remember were having there questions in the city of Jerusalem and Peter stood up and Peter said giving the apostle’s creed, “But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved even as they.”

So here, they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.” Not surrender to the Lord, not believe and be baptized, not make Christ Lord of your life. I think one of the most, subtle errors present in our evangelicalism is the insistence of some that one must make Christ Lord of one’s life before they can be saved. That to me is a total confusion of sanctification and justification.

Now, of course, we’re not talking about acknowledging that Jesus Christ is the Lord. I don’t think anyone can be saved who does not acknowledge that Jesus Christ is the Lord and you’ll notice he says believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. So that is essential we must recognize his divine status before the Lord and his divine nature. But to make him Lord of our lives in a sense that he becomes practically Lord in all the experiences of life that doesn’t happen while we’re here on this earth. That is the work of sanctification to bring us more into conformity to the Lordship of Christ.

I think that’s very, very wrong, one of the reasons for it is that there are lots of people around who said I believed in Christ and their lives are totally unchanged. That’s an error too, it’s an error to believe in the Lord only in the sense that you acknowledge intellectually that Jesus Christ is the Lord. That doesn’t save. Saving faith involves not simply knowledge not simply assent it involves also trust or reliance. To rely upon him, to rely upon him as the one who has offered the atoning sacrifice, that’s what it means to believe in Christ. You’re no longer trusting in your good works or your church, whatever it is that you were trusting in, but now you are simply trusting in him. That’s what it means to believe on our Lord. It’s very simply, but works are totally excluded it means too you’re not relying upon your decision upon your free will, because if you are relying on that you are confused and your mixing grace and legalism.

So to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ is very simple. The illustrations that the Bible gives us clarify it. Our Lord said, “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness even so must the Son of Man be lifted up that whosoever believeth in him shall not perish but have everlasting life.” Now, what did they do in Moses day? Well, they looked at the serpent of brass, that’s all; they simply looked. And so he says, “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness even so must the Son of Man be lifted up that whosoever believeth in him.” It’s the look to him. “Look unto me and be ye saved all the ends of the earth,” the prophet Isaiah says.

So to look to the objective work of the Lord Jesus Christ as the one who died for sinners is to be saved. That’s what saving faith is. It’s not trusting in ourselves it’s simply trusting in him.

The Westminster Confession of Faith as put it very well I think, it says –I have this in small print that’s why I have to wear my glasses, [Laughter] you understand– “Faith in Jesus Christ is a saving grace whereby we receive and rest upon him alone for our salvation.” That’s a good statement, “Faith in Jesus Christ is a saving grace, –later the confession acknowledges it is a gift of God– is a saving grace whereby we receive and rest upon him alone for our salvation.” That’s what it means to believe in Christ, not surrender but believe.

Now, notice it’s exclusive, believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, not in the church, not in your good works, not in professor so-and-so or doctor such-and-such, but believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. It’s personal, it’s; believe on the Lord Jesus, a person. Now, there’s nothing wrong in believing a doctrine, but in believing a doctrine if it were only a doctrine then you might not have true saving faith, but if you believe in a doctrine as the expression of what a person has done for us and your faith rest upon him as the doctrine explains him that’s saving faith.

So it is an authoritative word, it’s a simple word, it’s an exclusive word, it’s a personal word. And, notice how individual it is to, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou, you must believe, and you will be saved, you cannot believe for someone else. And certain you shall be saved not you might be saved or perhaps you will stumble over salvation. And furthermore, the apostle broadens it out and he says it’s not simply a message that I give to you but I give it to your house, your whole house.

Now, foolishly some people have thought that this is justification for baptizing infants. The apostle so far as I can tell never taught any such doctrine of the baptism of infants and occasionally this text has been pointed to as supporting this, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shall be saved and thy house.” He must have had some infants, and when we read about them being baptized here we read in verse 33, “He took them the same hour of the night and washed their stripes he and all his straightway.” So all his infants were baptized because he was baptized, and so they, by being baptized, came under the power of the covenant of grace.

Well, it’s old view that goes back to covenant theology; does not go back to the apostles however, covenant theology was constructed in Holland not in heaven, remember that [laughter] and the apostles teaching is not necessarily covenant theology, it’s helpful to remember that and you must of course, understand the history of the rise of various theologies to understand that it’s far more significant to be sure your theology is grounded in the theology of the Bible.

Now, if you will just read the next verse you will understand what the apostle is teaching: “And when he had brought them into his house he set meat before them and rejoiced believing in God with all his house.” In other words, the reason all his house was baptized not because he had some infants and they were baptized because he was saved. But rather, all his house were baptized because they all believed. So he’s not talking about infant salvation. No presumption of infant salvation as Abraham Kuyper believed, presumption regeneration is not taught in the Bible, although, it was taught in Holland by some individuals.

Now, the apostle says or rather Luke says as he describes what happens. He says verse 33, “That the jailer took them he washed their stripes.” He was baptized he and all his, that’s the way you express your faith, he was baptized, he didn’t raise his hand, the apostle said, “Now, let’s have an altar call I see this man has been touched by the Spirit of God will you men please now, sing again, sing just as I am without one plea and we’ll grind this man out.” No. “And when he brought them into his house he set meat before them.” That’s a very interesting expression that really means he set a table before them. I think of that passage in Psalm 23: “Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of my enemies.” So here the apostle in the midst of his enemies, thrown into prison, sees the mighty power of God work in the prison and here is the jailer entertaining him in his house and setting a table before him. Can you not imagine them looking around the table and said who would have thought this would have happened. And I imagine they said, “You know it was worth it, to beaten up a little bit and to get imprisoned to see what has happened.”

Well, the rest of the chapter tells of the consequences of his conversion, I’ll just read it because our time has now passed.

“And when it was day, the magistrates sent the sergeants saying, Let those men go. And the keeper of the prison told this saying to Paul, The magistrates have sent to let you go: now therefore depart, and go in peace. But Paul said unto them, They have beaten us openly uncondemned, being Romans, and have cast us into prison; and now do the thrust us out privily? nay verily; but let them come themselves and fetch us out. And the sergeants told these words unto the magistrates: (and now, it’s the turn of the magistrates to be afraid) and they feared, when they heard that they were Romans. And they came and besought them, and brought them out, and desired them to depart out of the city. And they went out of the prison and entered into the house of Lydia: and when they had seen the brethren. (That’s interesting it shows that there were others who had been converted. Perhaps through the testimony of Lydia, but at-any-rate) they had seen the brethren, they comforted them, and departed.”

[Message] What a magnificent experience and it’s an experience that transpires down through the years as the believers boldly express their faith, let’s close our session with a word of prayer.

[Prayer] Father we are grateful to thee for the inspiration that comes to us as we reflect upon the boldness of the apostle and upon the providential care that guards and girds the saints of God as they are obedient…

[TAPE ENDS ABRUBTLY]