What Must I Do to Be Saved?
Acts 16:31 is another common scripture used to support the idea that water baptism is not part of the conversion experience. Let me read it… we will back up just a little bit and begin in verse 15b so you have the context. The Philippian Jailer has just asked an important question…
Sirs, what must I do to be saved?
They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved – you and your household.”
This is Paul’s response to the Philippian Jailer and it comes after that very specific, very direct question. “What must I do to be saved?”
Evangelicals say, “Paul told the Jailer that ‘ALL’ he needed to do (to be saved) was to believe the message.” At first glance, that seems to be true. But in order to make it work, we must completely ignore and disregard the rest of the Jailer’s story. When we put everything in context this erroneous conclusion can’t stand. Think it through. We must take Paul’s statement to “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved – you and your household.” completely out of the broader context in order to reinforce the “belief alone” doctrine.
The longer version of the evangelical’s argument goes like this. “If the Bible ever had a chance, once and for all, to tell us baptism was a part of the salvation experience, this would have been the opportunity. But Paul says, ‘believe and you will be saved.’ This passage says nothing about baptism.” That’s true, so shouldn’t we also note the absence of obedience, repentance, confession and accepting the message? Shall I conclude that, by their absence, they are not a part of the Biblical Plan of Salvation and by extension, the jailer’s belief? Paul does not spell out every single detail involved in belief. But… there are some very curious things which happen in the rest of the story we must not ignore.
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