A Study of Acts 16:31 — Eternal or Temporal Salvation?

Depiction of the Philippians jailer with Paul and Silas

Several posts ago I explained that believing, by definition, is a work (i.e something that one does), hence why believing cannot be the ground, cause, or condition of ones eternal salvation. When explaining this concept to people, many questions naturally arise, specifically surrounding certain texts that talk about “salvation” in connection with believing. I have already dealt with Romans 10:9 and its surrounding context. I have also written a post explaining the differences between eternal and temporal salvation which is a good suppliment to those other posts. Today I’d like to look at another text which is popularly quoted, but severely misunderstood. That text being Acts 16:30–31:

Acts 16:30–31 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.

Does this text teach that eternal salvation hinges upon believing? Let’s examine the context in order to discern the answer.

Paul and Silas had evangelized and baptized Lydia, and stayed at her house (Acts 16:14–15). After this, they went out to pray and a woman possessed by a devil began following them around and harrassing them:

Acts 16:16–18 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.

After Paul cast out the unclean spirit, and the woman was healed, the men who were making money off of her were displeased and sought to get Paul and Silas into trouble:

Acts 16:19–21 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.

The magistrates promptly obliged and charged a particular jailer with the task of keeping watch over them:

Acts 16:22–24 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.

While in prison, Paul and Silas made good use of their time, praying and singing praises unto God:

Acts 16:25 And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them.

Notice that while Paul and Silas were praying and singing, the prisoners heard them. Luke does not say that the jailer heard them. In fact, it is quite certain that the jailer did not hear them, given what the text goes to say:

Acts 16:26–27 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 ones 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.

Notice that the jailer was sleeping the whole time. He had been awoken out of his sleep as a result of the earthquake. He wasn’t listening to anything that Paul and Silas were saying. Moreover, far from being concerned about his eternal destiny, sin, salvation, or anything of the sort, he was ready to kill himself because he thought the prisoners might have escaped. This was because back then if prisoners escaped on your watch, then you could be put to death, as is seen back in Acts 12:

Acts 12:18–19 Now as soon as it was day, there was no small stir among the soldiers, what was become of Peter. (19) And when Herod had sought for him, and found him not, he examined the keepers, and commanded that they should be put to death. And he went down from Judæa to Cæsarea, and there abode.

If a man had a family, significant harm could potentially come to them as well. Thankfully, Paul and Silas remained in the prison with the rest of the prisoners:

Acts 16:28–29 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,

Why was he rushing to them, falling down on his face and trembling? Was it because he had regard for his eternal salvation? Hardly. As the context shows clearly, he was afraid that the prisoners had escaped and was ready to kill himself to escape punishment from the magistrates. Moreover, even after he sees that all of the prisoners are still present, he remains terrified, trembling and falling down before Paul and Silas, likely afraid that the prisoners would still take opportunity to escape, thus incurring judgment upon himself. It is in that context that we read:

Acts 16:30–31 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.

What I find especially interesting is that when Arminians and Calvinists alike quote this verse, they never seem to quote the entirety of verse 31. If they would quote the whole thing, that would probably tip them off to the fact that this verse has nothing to do with eternal salvation. Usually we hear Paul quoted as saying “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved”, but that is not what he says. He says “Believe on the Lord, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house”. The jailer’s act of believing would save not only himself, but also his family. I have never heard a preacher proclaim that whoever believes on Christ would save himself and his family from eternal damnation in hell. Yet Paul tells the jailer to believe in order to save both himself and his house.

This begs the question: what was the jailer desiring to be saved from? The context shows that he was in fear for his life as a result of the prison doors all being opened and the potential existing for the prisoners to escape, even after Paul had assured him that they were all still present. Now some may ask, why would Paul advise the man to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ in order to be delivered from death? The answer is simple, because whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

God is a savior from violence and enemies to those who trust in him:

2 Samuel 22:3–4 The God of my rock; in him will I trust: he is my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower, and my refuge, my saviour; thou savest me from violence. (4) I will call on the LORD , who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies.

1 Chronicles 5:20 And they were helped against them, and the Hagarites were delivered into their hand, and all that were with them: for they cried to God in the battle, and he was intreated of them; because they put their trust in him.

Psalms 37:39–40 But the salvation of the righteous is of the LORD : he is their strength in the time of trouble. (40) And the LORD shall help them, and deliver them: he shall deliver them from the wicked, and save them, because they trust in him.

God saved Daniel from death when he was thrown into the lion’s den:

Daniel 6:23 Then was the king exceeding glad for him, and commanded that they should take Daniel up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no manner of hurt was found upon him, because he believed in his God.

God even spared some heathens on a ship who called upon his name in the midst of a storm when Jonah attempted to flee from God and brought judgment upon himself:

Jonah 1:14–16 Wherefore they cried unto the LORD , and said, We beseech thee, O LORD , we beseech thee, let us not perish for this mans life, and lay not upon us innocent blood: for thou, O LORD , hast done as it pleased thee. (15) So they took up Jonah, and cast him forth into the sea: and the sea ceased from her raging. (16) Then the men feared the LORD exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice unto the LORD , and made vows.

Thus, it is entirely reasonable that Paul was admonishing the jailer to trust in the sovereign king for his deliverance from danger and judgment, whether from the emperor or from God himself. After he had done this, a door was then opened to share the Gospel with him and his house:

Acts 16:32–34 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.

Notice that it was after verse 31 that Paul preached the Gospel to this man and his family. He preached the Gospel after he had told him to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Clearly the man had not heard the Gospel yet, which shows that the command in verse 31 served a different purpose. A preacher does not admonish someone to believe something that they have never heard before. The jailer had heard that Paul and Silas preached Jesus, but didn’t hear the content of the Gospel.

We don’t know if anyone did end up escaping, but the next day we find that the magistrates show favor to Paul and Silas by commanding to let them go:

Acts 16:35–36 And when it was day, the magistrates sent the serjeants, saying, Let those men go. (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.

In conclusion, the immediate context of Acts 16:31 does not seem to favor the view that Paul was giving the jailer instructions about how to gain eternal life. Nothing in the context suggests that the jailer had ever heard or known the gospel up to this point, and in fact the evidence strongly points in the opposite direction given that he was asleep and therefore wouldn’t have heard anything that Paul and Silas were saying. Nor does the context suggest that he was even concerned about spiritual matters or his eternal destiny. Moreover, Paul’s answer indicates that the jailer’s trust in the Lord would result in deliverance not only for himself, but also for his family, which makes absolutely no sense if the verse has reference to eternal salvation. Finally, we see that it is only after the incident in verses 26–31 that we find Paul and Silas sharing the Gospel with the jailer and his family, after which they are converted. It is simply odd and out of place to think Paul commanded the jailer to believe the Gospel prior to actually explaining the Gospel to him. We don’t find this pattern anywhere else in the book of Acts.