And Thy House

[PATrobas]

Reminders - And Thy House

            Scripture shows us that the house of God today is not a temple built with hands, but rather, we are the house of God. ^{1 Corinthians 3:16, 6:19} But there is another use of the word “house” which refers to a person’s family or their household. Some Scripture verses, when taken out of context, seem to offer salvation to a person’s family once he himself believes. In Acts 16, Paul and Silas had just been freed from the stocks by a miraculous earthquake in a Philippian jail. Supposing that all had escaped, the jailer was about to kill himself when Paul and Silas stopped him. The jailer took them home and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.” ^{Acts 16:25-31} Some teach that once you are saved, the words “and thy house” guarantees the salvation of the rest of your family. It does not. The whole of N.T. Scripture teaches that salvation comes only to individuals by their personal trust in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. So why did Luke include Paul and Silas’ words “and thy house” to this promise of personal salvation?

            After being released from the jail, Paul and Silas went to the jailer’s house, and proceeded to preach the Gospel to not only the jailer but all that were living under his roof - his household. Then, the jailer and all his family both heard and believed the Gospel and were saved. ^{Acts 16:34} Salvation cannot be obtained by association, but only by God saving those who believe and trust Him. “But as many as received him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name: Which were born, not of blood, (that is, not by being born into a Christian family,) nor of the will of the flesh, (that is, not by willpower or good works,) nor of the will of man, (that is, no man, religious or otherwise has the power to save another person,) but of God.” ^{John 1:12-13} Salvation of “thy house” can only come when those in “thy house” hear and believe the Gospel.

            Final Thoughts:   1 Corinthians 7:14 & 16 says this, “For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband: else were your children unclean; but now are they holy. For what knowest thou, O wife, whether thou shalt save thy husband? or how knowest thou, O man, whether thou shalt save thy wife?” The issue here is not whether the unbelieving spouse is saved or made holy by simply being married to a believer, but rather that the unbelieving spouse is privileged to have a sanctified partner whose influence is likely to be positive and conducive to his or her salvation. The children of such a marriage between a believer and an unbeliever are also privileged to have at least one parent who will guide them by Godly principles and pray for their salvation. We see the same principle in 1 Peter 3:1, “Wives, likewise, be submissive to your own husbands, that even if some do not obey the word, they, without the word, may be won by the behavior of their wives.”  By this we learn that actions often speak louder than words.

[Neighbor]

14 hours ago, PATrobas said:

Acts 16:25-31

Hi, I do not know why anyone will stop at verse 31 when reading  to at least the near context of verse 34 makes the statement clear. There seems to me  no controversy to resolve if the passage is read in at least it's greater immediate  context.

"The Philippian Jailer Saved

 But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them.  Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were loosed.  And the keeper of the prison, awaking from sleep and seeing the prison doors open, supposing the prisoners had fled, drew his sword and was about to kill himself.  But Paul called with a loud voice, saying, “Do yourself no harm, for we are all here.”

Then he called for a light, ran in, and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. 30 And he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

 So they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.”  Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house.  And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their stripes. And immediately he and all his family were baptized.  Now when he had brought them into his house, he set food before them; and he rejoiced, having believed in God with all his household."  -Credit Bible gateway