Bible Questions Answered:
“I don't
understand, I believe yes but other family members do not. I am
saved are not they saved also?...”
Rodrigo/ Mexicali,
Baja California Mexico
Bible Answer:
Bible Texts:
You are in
misunderstanding of Acts 16:31, as many before you and as will
be many after you.
The Story: The Philippian Jailer
Converted, And His House.
Acts 16:16-34 KJV (Paul and Silas
thrown into prison.)
16 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:
17 The same followed Paul and us,
and cried, saying, These men are the servants of
The Most High God, which shew unto
us the way of salvation.
18 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.
19 And when her masters saw that the
hope of their gains was gone, they caught Paul and Silas, and drew
them into the marketplace unto the rulers,
20 And brought them to the
magistrates, saying, These men, being Jews, do exceedingly trouble
our city,
21 And teach customs, which are not
lawful for us to receive, neither to observe, being Romans.
22 And the multitude rose up
together against them: and the magistrates rent off their clothes,
and commanded to beat them.
23 And when they had laid many
stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailor to
keep them safely:
24 Who, having received such a
charge, thrust them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast
in the stocks.
25 And at midnight Paul and Silas
prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard 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 every one's bands were
loosed.
27 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.
28 But Paul cried with a loud voice,
saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here.
29 Then he called for a light, and
sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas,
30 And brought them out, and said,
Sirs, what must I do to be saved?
31 And they said, Believe on The
Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.
Acts
16:31 AMP
And they answered, “Believe in The
Lord Jesus [as your personal Savior and entrust yourself to Him] and
you will be saved, you and your household [if they also believe].”
Adam Clarke's
Commentary
Believe on the Lord Jesus" -
Receive the religion of Christ, which we preach, and let thy
household also receive it, and ye shall be all placed in the sure way
to final salvation.
Continued:
32 And they spake unto him the word
of The Lord, and to all that were in his house.
33 And he took them the same hour of
the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all
his, straightway.
34 And when he had brought them into
his house, he set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in God
with all his house.
One may easily see
the proper rendering of verse 31, by the Amplified Bible and Adam
Clarke's commentary, the proper interpretation of Acts 16:31.
Acts 16:31 AMP
And they answered, “Believe in The
Lord Jesus [as your personal Savior and entrust yourself to Him] and
you will be saved, you and your household [if they also believe].”
Acts 16:32-34
KJV The Philippian Jailer And
His Family.
32 And they spake unto him the word
of The Lord, and to all that were in his house.
33 And he took them the same hour of
the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all
his, straightway.
34 And when he had brought them into
his house, he set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in God
with all his house.
There were no
babies or small children in the jailer's house. How do we know that,
we know that because...
Verse 32 Paul
preached to them all (they all heard and understood, what he
taught them.)
Verse 34 And all
of his house believed.
Verse 33 Because
they all heard and believed Paul's teaching, they were all baptized.
Verse 34 After they
all turned to The Lord, and were baptized, and they all rejoiced in The
Lord!
What does The Word
say regarding Salvation?
Salvation:
Belief, Repentance, Confession:
Proverbs
28:13 KJV
He that covereth his
sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh
them shall have mercy.
Matthew 4:17 KJV
From that time Jesus began to
preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at
hand.
Matthew 9:13 KJV
But go ye and learn what that
meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to
call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.
Mark 1:14,15 KJV
14 Now after that John was put in
prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom
of God,
15 And saying,
The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand:
repent ye, and believe the gospel.
Mark 6:10-12 KJV
(Jesus)
10 And He said unto them, In what
place soever ye enter into an house, there abide till ye depart from
that place.
11 And whosoever shall not receive
you, nor hear you, when ye depart thence, shake off the dust under
your feet for a testimony against them. Verily I say unto you, It
shall be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of
judgment, than for that city.
12 And they went out, and preached
that men should repent.
Luke 13:3 KJV
(Jesus)
I tell you, Nay: but, except ye
repent, ye shall all likewise perish.
I John 1:9 KJV
If we confess
our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to
cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
“Pastor are there
any exceptions to this rule?”
Yes, babies and
small children are under the age of accountability, if they were to
die, they would be redeemed, because of their innocence before The
Lord.
King David said of
his “unbaptized new born, that died.”
II Samuel 12:23
KJV
But now he (David's
newborn) is dead, wherefore should I fast? can I bring him
back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me.
For all others,
salvation is not an auto-matic event, for there must be Belief,
Repentance, and Confession.
How wonderful the
Philippian Jailer and all his family, received and rejoiced in The
Lord!
If our family does not believe, it is our duty to pray for them as
Christians, and to witness to them, and that is a twofold mission.
Witnessing by The Word, if they will receive it, and or by The Fruits
Of The Spirit.
II Timothy 4:2
KJV
Preach The Word; be instant in
season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long
suffering and doctrine.
Galatians
5:22,23 KJV
22 But The Fruit Of The Spirit is
love, joy, peace, long suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
23 Meekness, temperance: against
such there is no law.
Ephesians 5:9
KJV
For The Fruit Of The Spirit is in
all goodness and righteousness and truth;
Ephesians 6:18
KJV
Praying always with all prayer and
supplication in The Spirit, and watching thereunto with all
perseverance and supplication for all saints;
Be sure to read the blog posting ....
