Audio Download

Act 16:22-40  Sirs, What Must I do to be Saved?

[Study Aired June 4, 2023]

Act 16:22  And the multitude rose up together against them: and the magistrates rent off their clothes, and commanded to beat them.
Act 16:23  And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailor to keep them safely:
Act 16:24  Who, having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks.
Act 16:25  And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them.
Act 16:26  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.
Act 16:27  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.
Act 16:28  But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here.
Act 16:29  Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas,
Act 16:30  And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?
Act 16:31  And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.
Act 16:32  And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house.
Act 16:33  And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway.
Act 16:34  And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house.
Act 16:35  And when it was day, the magistrates sent the serjeants, saying, Let those men go.
Act 16:36  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.
Act 16:37  But Paul said unto them, They have beaten us openly uncondemned, being Romans, and have cast us into prison; and now do they thrust us out privily? nay verily; but let them come themselves and fetch us out.
Act 16:38  And the serjeants told these words unto the magistrates: and they feared, when they heard that they were Romans.
Act 16:39  And they came and besought them, and brought them out, and desired them to depart out of the city.
Act 16:40  And they went out of the prison, and entered into the house of Lydia: and when they had seen the brethren, they comforted them, and departed.

Our last study ended with Paul casting a spirit of divination out of a young woman who “brought her masters much gain by soothsaying”:

Act 16:16  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:
Act 16:17  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.

Notice that the author says, “The same follow us”, including himself among Paul’s entourage. This is one of several times Luke lets us know that he was traveling with Paul as Paul also lets us know when informing Timothy of the apostasy that was already under way when so many of his faith “fellow servants” were “forsaking” him while Luke remained faithful to the apostle:

2Ti 4:9  Do thy diligence to come shortly unto me:
2Ti 4:10  For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and is departed unto Thessalonica; Crescens to Galatia, Titus unto Dalmatia.
2Ti 4:11  Only Luke is with me. Take Mark, and bring him with thee: for he is profitable to me for the ministry.

It is argued by many that Crescens and Titus were sent by Paul to Galatian and Dalmatia respectively, but if that were true, why didn’t Paul simply say so as he specifically says of Tychicus in the very next verse:

2Ti 4:12  And Tychicus have I sent to Ephesus.

Crescens and Titus are lumped in with Demas who he explicitly tells us “hath forsaken me”. Paul does not tell us, ‘Crescens have I sent to Galatia, Titus have I sent to Dalmatia, and Tychicus have I sent to Ephesus’. These three formerly faithful men were once considered “fellowlabourers” of the gospel and they have now been given of the God who is working all things after the counsel of His own will, to forsake the Lord’s apostle for a more comfortable life in “this present world”.

Notice how Paul referred to Demas in earlier epistles:

Col 4:14  Luke, the beloved physician, and Demas, greet you.

Phm 1:24  Marcus, Aristarchus, Demas, Lucas, my fellowlabourers.

Experiences such as this event where Paul and Silas were beaten and jailed in Philippi were no doubt a part of the reason that Demas, Crescens, and Titus all preferred the comforts of “this present world” to the cross of Christ.

Paul no doubt agreed with what this young lady was saying, but this verse of scripture reveals that her motives and her actions were not commendable:

Pro 27:14  He that blesseth his friend with a loud voice, rising early in the morning, it shall be counted a curse to him.

Gratitude towards those who “labor in the Word” is proper and commendable. However, our focus should always be on Christ Himself and not on His messengers:

1Ti 5:17  Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honour, especially they who labour in the word and doctrine.

Rev 19:10  And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.

Rev 22:8  And I John saw these things, and heard them. And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which shewed me these things.
Rev 22:9  Then saith he unto me, See thou do it not: for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God.

The apostle Paul tolerated this young lady’s feigned adulation “many days” until he was given to discern the spirit he was dealing with. At that point he spoke directly to the evil spirit and commanded it to come out of the woman:

Act 16:18  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.

It truly does “grieve any humble person to be praised every day before everyone. Especially when it is coming from the same person. The fact that we are told that Paul tolerated this feigned adulation “many days” sets us the example that we should not be hasty to condemn anyone. The young lady’s words were true, but it became obvious with time that her motive was self-aggrandizement and self-service, rather than serving the Lord and serving the Lord’s servants.

Act 16:19  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,
Act 16:20  And brought them to the magistrates, saying, These men, being Jews, do exceedingly trouble our city,
Act 16:21  And teach customs, which are not lawful for us to receive, neither to observe, being Romans.

Paul and Silas were ‘drawn’ into the marketplace to the rulers in the same way the spirit draws us to Christ. They were dragged there against their own will by a mob of angry Roman citizens.

Joh 6:44  No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.

The Greek word for ‘drew’ here in Acts 16:19, and for the word ‘draw’ in John 6:44 is the same:

G1670
ἑλκύω, ἕλκω
helkuō    helkō
hel-koo’-o, hel’-ko

Probably akin to G138; to drag (literally or figuratively): – draw. Compare G1667.

Paul and Silas did not just willingly volunteer to go before the magistrates to be falsely accused and publicly beaten. They were being dragged by a mob of very angry Romans.

Christ has promised that if we remain true to His words, “Ye shall be hated of all men.” Now Paul is not only being withstood by “they of the circumcision”, signifying the established church of his day, but now he and Silas are also being persecuted by the Romans, signifying the society of that day, for teaching things which are also contrary to Roman customs. If we are serious about following Christ, then our life and our principles will inevitably offend both the religious and the secular of this present society:

Act 16:22  And the multitude rose up together against them: and the magistrates rent off their clothes, and commanded to beat them.

Compared to the laws of Rome, the law of Moses was very merciful, as the beating endured by our Lord at the hands of the Romans demonstrated. The law of Moses did not permit beating one to death. Beatings were restricted to “forty stipes”:

Deu 25:2  And it shall be, if the wicked man be worthy to be beaten, that the judge shall cause him to lie down, and to be beaten before his face, according to his fault, by a certain number.
Deu 25:3  Forty stripes he may give him, and not exceed: lest, if he should exceed, and beat him above these with many stripes, then thy brother should seem vile unto thee.

The Jews self-righteously decided that “forty stipes” were one too many and decreed that the judges were to administer no more than “forty stipes save one.” Paul tells us that he was both beaten “in stripes above measure” and “of the Jews five times [he] received… forty stripes save one.” Here we are told that these Roman magistrates beat the apostle and Silas “with many stripes”, the very words used in Deuteronomy 25:3 to contrast with “forty stripes.” Since these Philippian rulers are Romans, it is very likely that the stripes they administered upon Paul and Silas were indeed “above measure.” Notice how Paul separates the beatings “of the Jews” from “stripes above measure”:

2Co 11:23  Are they ministers of Christ? (I speak as a fool) I am more; in labours more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft.
2Co 11:24  Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one.
2Co 11:25  Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep;
2Co 11:26  In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren;
2Co 11:27  In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness.
2Co 11:28  Beside those things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches.

From a carnal perspective it is understandable why Demas, Crescens, and Titus all forsook the apostle and all this persecution and hardship for the love of “this present world” instead. The spiritual kingdom of God is as much a thing of the future as was Esau’s birthright, and the sufferings and persecutions for the gospel’s sake are just as present an experience as was Esau’s hunger when he sold Jacob his birthright for a cup of pottage (Gen 25:29-34)

The fact that Paul gives us the number of times He was beaten of the Jews as “five times” is a witness to the work of “grace through faith” which is at work in the lives of “every son whom [the Father] receives”:

Heb 12:3  For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds.
Heb 12:4  Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin.
Heb 12:5  And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him:
Heb 12:6  For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.
Heb 12:7  If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?

Act 16:23  And when they had laid many stripes [Deu 25:3] upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailor to keep them safely:
Act 16:24  Who, having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks.

As always, whether with Joseph being cast into the prison in Egypt, the three Hebrew children being cast into the fiery furnace of Nebuchadnezzar, or Daniel being cast into the lion’s den by Darius, the Lord is the one who is working all these disasters for the very purpose of demonstrating His power to deliver and comfort His elect who truly place their trust in Him and do not “faint in the day of adversity”:

Pro 24:10  If thou faint in the day of adversity, thy strength is small.

The strength of Demas, Crescens, and Titus was apparently small, as is the strength of all men who do not give themselves over to Christ and depend upon His strength in their lives.

Act 16:25  And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them.
Act 16:26  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.
Act 16:27  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.
Act 16:28  But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here.

Paul was used by the Lord to literally save this jailer’s physical life, and then to introduce him to life eternal through knowledge of Christ and His Father:

Joh 17:3  And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.

Act 16:29  Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas,
Act 16:30  And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?
Act 16:31  And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.
Act 16:32  And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house.
Act 16:33  And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway.

As anyone who has been given the mind of Christ would want, as this jailer wanted, this jailer wanted to express his gratitude for the blessing of life he has received through the agency of these two men.

There was far more than a mere ten-second ‘sinner’s prayer’ involved in this conversion. This conversion included Paul and Silas praying and singing praises to God at midnight despite their restrictions. It included a great earthquake that was so strong that all the bands binding all the prisoners were broken, and yet, miraculously no one had broken out of the prison.

Act 16:34  And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house.

The Lord gave this jailer the ability to discern that Paul and Silas were men of God who were being unjustly persecuted and that their prayers and songs of praise to God at midnight were connected to the miraculous earthquake and the miracle of keeping all the prisoners in the prison even after their bonds were broken off.

This Philippian jailer was no doubt even more convinced when the morning came, and the magistrates sent word to “Let those men go”:

Act 16:35  And when it was day, the magistrates sent the serjeants, saying, Let those men go.
Act 16:36  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.
Act 16:37  But Paul said unto them, They have beaten us openly uncondemned, being Romans, and have cast us into prison; and now do they thrust us out privily? nay verily; but let them come themselves and fetch us out.

What Paul did in forcing the authorities to come and ask them to leave is written for our admonition to teach us that there is a time to speak up and witness against the evil we endure, and not always simply ‘resist not evil [and] turn to him the other… cheek”. Appealing to the law of the land is in complete accord with the Lord’s admonition to ‘flee to another city’ when being persecuted. Witnessing to these magistrates of their own lawlessness is not to be conflated with Christ’s commandment that we are not to resist evil when we cannot flee to another city or appeal to Caesar.

Mat 10:23  But when they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another: for verily I say unto you, Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel, till the Son of man be come.

Act 25:11  For if I be an offender, or have committed any thing worthy of death, I refuse not to die: but if there be none of these things whereof these accuse me, no man may deliver me unto them. I appeal unto Caesar.

Act 28:19  But when the Jews spake against it [Being released by the Romans], I was constrained to appeal unto Caesar; not that I had ought to accuse my nation of.

Paul had done the same thing when he was smitten for no reason while beginning to defend himself before the Sanhedrin after the Jews apprehended him in Jerusalem:

Act 23:1  And Paul, earnestly beholding the council [Greek: ‘Sanhedrin’], said, Men and brethren, I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day.
Act 23:2  And the high priest Ananias commanded them that stood by him to smite him on the mouth.
Act 23:3  Then said Paul unto him, God shall smite thee, thou whited wall: for sittest thou to judge me after the law, and commandest me to be smitten contrary to the law?
Act 23:4  And they that stood by said, Revilest thou God’s high priest?
Act 23:5  Then said Paul, I wist not, brethren, that he was the high priest: for it is written, Thou shalt not speak evil of the ruler of thy people [Even when they are having us smitten “contrary to the law”].

Paul’s nephew overheard “above forty men” conspiring to murder Paul, and when the nephew told Paul about this conspiracy, Paul called on “the powers that be” (Rom 13:1) to save his own life (Act 23:12-22). While it is true that Christ said nothing in His own defense at the time of His crucifixion, He did so because He knew His ‘time had come’ for Him to be offered up. Until that moment He had defended everything He had done every time it upset His enemies. Christ defended His actions of eating wheat while passing through the fields on the sabbath day, and He also defended His right to heal on the sabbath day (Mat 12:1-8, Mat 12:9-14, Luk 14:1-6).

It was for their own good that Paul insisted the rulers of the city of Philippi should themselves come and bring him and Silas forth out of the city. Paul and Silas were both free Roman citizens, and the rulers of Philippi had beaten them both illegally and could have been taken before the courts. Paul did not prosecute or retaliate against his persecutors, but he knew these rulers needed to learn a lesson, and he used this opportunity to do so for their own good.

Act 16:38  And the serjeants told these words unto the magistrates: and they feared, when they heard that they were Romans.
Act 16:39  And they came and besought them, and brought them out, and desired them to depart out of the city.
Act 16:40  And they went out of the prison, and entered into the house of Lydia: and when they had seen the brethren, they comforted them, and departed.

In departing the city, Paul was not forsaking the church at Philippi. He was temporarily leaving, and in doing so, He was accommodating both the rulers of the city and the words of Christ:

Mat 10:23  But when they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another: for verily I say unto you, Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel, till the Son of man be come.

Avoiding evil should never be conflated with resisting evil:

Mat 5:38  Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth:
Mat 5:39  But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.

It is a wise thing to hide ourselves from evil if possible. This is such an important Truth that it is twice repeated in the book of Proverbs:

Pro 22:3  A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself: but the simple pass on, and are punished.

Pro 27:12  A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself; but the simple pass on, and are punished.

When we are in a position such as Paul and Silas, to give instruction or teach a lesson even to people of this world, then we ought to do so and not just let it slide telling ourselves that we are obeying the Lord by turning the other cheek. Neither Paul nor Silas fought back while being beaten, but it was for their own good that Paul told these magistrates:

Act 16:37  But Paul said unto them, They have beaten us openly uncondemned, being Romans, and have cast us into prison; and now do they thrust us out privily? nay verily; but let them come themselves and fetch us out.

These hypocritical Roman leaders of Philippi had beaten and imprisoned Paul and Silas publicly, and for their own education and edification they needed to come personally and lead Paul and Silas out of that prison publicly. There is a time to tell the leaders of this world that they are acting unlawfully. Christ Himself had more to say to the Roman, Pilate, than He had to say to those who had condemned Him:

Joh 19:10  Then saith Pilate unto him, Speakest thou not unto me? knowest thou not that I have power to crucify thee, and have power to release thee?
Joh 19:11  Jesus answered, Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above: therefore he that delivered me unto thee hath the greater sin.
Joh 19:12  And from thenceforth Pilate sought to release him: but the Jews cried out, saying, If thou let this man go, thou art not Caesar’s friend: whosoever maketh himself a king speaketh against Caesar.

Pilate knew Jesus was a threat to no one, but he was intimidated with the threat of being accused of favoring Christ as a king over Caesar and he caved to the threats of the mob. Christ did not cave to the mob and neither did Paul nor Silas. They stood up to the mob and were rewarded for doing so:

Pro 16:7  When a man’s ways please the LORD, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him.