The story of the Philippian jailer is found in Acts 16. The jailer was in charge of Paul and Silas, who had been arrested on false charges by the owners of a slave girl. They had cast a demon out of the girl, depriving her owners of the money they made by exploiting her (16:20-21). Because of this, Paul and Silas were arrested, beaten, and put into the innermost prison, with their feet in the stocks. The jailer was to keep them safely until the officials could deal with them.

Beaten and bleeding and locked in the inner prison, Paul and Silas prayed and sang praises to God even though it was midnight (16:25). Suddenly an earthquake shook the prison. Awakening from sleep, the jailer was ready to kill himself rather than face his superiors because he was sure that the prisoners had escaped. When Paul calmed him, assuring him that the prisoners were still there, “He called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas, and brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” (16:29-30). Paul and Silas answered very simply: “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house” (16:31). Since the jailer was not told to be baptized, does this mean that he was saved before baptism? Consider the rest of his story.

(To be continued)

Bob Prichard — from smithvillechurch.org