09/12/2023
Do you worry about the salvation of your family members? Are you one of the believers who doesn't trust that their households are saved? Well, take heart, your belief has more than likely saved them all. By your faith and your example you are bringing the Word of the Lord into your home, and by doing that you are influencing the rest of your family.
“Then he brought them out and said, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" And they said, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household." And 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 wounds; and he was baptized at once, he and all his family.”
Acts 16:30-33 ESV
Paul and Silas had been thrown in prison and during the night a great earthquake shook the ground and opened every door and broke the bonds of the prisoners. The jailer, fearing the prisoners had escaped, was about to kill himself but Paul called out to him with these words...
“But Paul cried with a loud voice, "Do not harm yourself, for we are all here."”
Acts 16:28 ESV
Jesus is like Paul in the prison, we may chain Him and keep Him hidden away within us, but even though He could walk away... He stays. Then, during some moment of crisis when we feel undone or in danger, we finally realize that He has not abandoned us and fall on our knees before Him. At that moment we cry out "what must I do to be saved?"
We ask for the promise of our salvation; this is good, and if you are not a believer He will come speak to you, and through your belief in His Word you will be saved. Then in baptism, already having been saved, you will take the next step of faith. This is miraculous in itself, but the promise doesn't stop there. Paul's next sentence gives us the most amazing promise... "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household."
How is this possible? How is it that our believing can lead to the salvation of our household? How can our conversion save our spouses, our children, grandchildren, mothers, fathers, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, and cousins? It is by bringing the Word of God into our home and the gospel of Jesus to our family.
My mother's family is strong in faith, and I can trace that strength back to at least my great grandparents. They brought faith into their household and the waters of baptism followed. This might not have occurred as suddenly as in the story of Paul, but I recall, on more than one occasion, the phone ringing and an excited voice telling my mother that one of her family members had come to the Lord and subsequently been baptized. It was a time of celebration and answered prayer. It was a continued affirmation of the promise that Paul makes to the jailer.
Salvation doesn't come from being baptized, perfect, righteous, or holy... it comes from the simple act of believing that Jesus is the Son of God, and only then is followed by baptism. We are first of all saved, and then our walk with Jesus Christ begins, by this, the other things are made possible. In the case of the jailer, he believed that Jesus was indeed the Son of God, and brought his family to that belief as well by bringing Paul to speak the Word of the Lord to them... and to baptize them.
Many of us fail our families, and Jesus too, by expecting more of our children at conversion than is required for salvation. We look for them to make a total unwavering commitment, and to lead a pure and righteous life before we will allow them to say they are saved, and to be baptized. Paul tells us that the requirement for salvation is simply that they believe, and once they did he baptized them. If you ask any member of your family who Jesus Christ is, they will most likely tell you that He is the Son of God. If you ask them if they believe that God is true they will more than likely say yes, so stop right there and pray with them. Then, once they realize for themselves that they are saved, and possess the promise of eternity, lead them to baptism.
How many have been turned away by pastor's who didn't preach and realize the simplicity of salvation? How many souls will they have to account for at judgement? How many members of our families have we written off because we didn’t see them as capable of becoming the finished products of a life with Jesus?
“Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother.”
Romans 14:13 ESV
Read the words of Paul over and over again. Ingrain them, and make their expectation of salvation your own. You are not saved by becoming perfect... you are perfected by being saved. So teach your children well, and save your household.
Prayer:
Father I thank you for the simplicity of salvation. I thank you for loving us so much that just the mere belief in you and your Son leads us to salvation. Holy Father, it is in this belief we are saved, and in this belief that our walk with you begins. Our childlike belief is the door upon which you knock, it is the outermost door of our home, and until we open it then you can go no further. Lord help us understand these words of Paul and open all the outer doors of our household. Help us Father to show each member of our family that they have begun their walk with you by simply believing who you are. This truth will then become their hope, and the fruit of that hope becomes their faith, righteousness, holiness, and all of those great things of a relationship with you... but it is all predicated upon a simple belief in who you are and the salvation that the belief in Jesus brings. Delivering our households to you is our hope, our joy, and the crown of our boasting... thank you for your simple knock at our door. Father, I hear Paul's words to the Thessalonians ringing in my ears...
“For what is our hope or joy or crown of boasting before our Lord Jesus at his coming? Is it not you? For you are our glory and joy.”
1 Thessalonians 2:19-20 ESV
And I hear the words of Jesus as He speaks in the Gospel of John…
““For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.””
John 3:16-17 ESV
You save us Lord, not by our perfection, but by our belief that begins like a mustard seed of faith within us, and then begins the great work of growing us into tall trees of righteousness… saved by our tender roots, and made fruitful by our tall trunk and spreading limbs.
Rich Forbes