@Titus
No problem on your misprinting something you did not mean to say, that does happen with all of us occasionally. You were gracious enough to correct it, that does speak of well your character.
Titus, please consider carefully what I will now say concerning your next point. Yes, I
do teach according to the word of God, that
regeneration proceeds believing. That truly should go without having to spend much time on this point, but we will. Not sure i'll finish this morning since I must leave to go to the doctor by 7:45, to be there by 8:00.
Titus this in no way contradict sound Bible teaching, it truly is just the opposite. Let us consider your scriptures you provided.
Titus, you are going after sound bites instead of trying to seek its true senses, based upon the overall scriptures teaching on the given subject under consideration. You and I no doubt agree that the scriptures are one cohesive whole, teaching the same truth on the given subject from Genesis to Revelation. You are using the words save/saved/salvation in only
one sense, and that is salvation from sin and condemnation, by doing so, you are leaving yourself open to be put to shame by any person who understands that we
must seek the sense of the words of what we are reading, and
never rely only sound bites, for God's truth is hidden under the words that he in His wisdom decided to use, in order to confound men, who come to his word with a preconceived notion of what they want to believe, concerning a god that they have formed in their own hearts of the kind of God they think the God of the scriptures should be if they were God.I have met many of such folks over my years serving God, defending his word to the best of my limited powers, which is less than most.
Acts 16:29
"Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and
came trembling, and
fell down before Paul and Silas, and brought them out said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? they said,
believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house."
The change in the jailor
is dramatic and drastic ~
greater than even the earthquake and its effects. Of course he trembled, awaking out of sleep and immediately being pressed to suicide is traumatic. Titus, consider wisely the incredible change that occurred in this pagan Roman from suicide to salvation. He believed and obeyed Paul in a matter of panic and life-threatening danger … from a prisoner. He rushed to Paul and Silas and trembling from the severe situation fell down at their feet. After they raised him up, he brought them out and
respectfully asked for salvation in some sense. The change in this man was by t
he grace of God. Contrast others that did not change with miracles present (John 9:30 11:47; Acts 4:16; 6:8-7:30; Consider carefully Luke 16:31! etc., etc.).
Some would think that Paul and Silas had been singing, “Just As I Am,” that invited the jailor!
The jailor that had thrust them into the inner prison and locked their feet hours earlier now bowed.
This is the change! This is salvation! This occurred
before any exchange between Paul and the jailor.
Titus, please consider: this is
very similar to what happened to a cursing thief crucified by Jesus ~ totally
changed by God.
Total depravity, or by any other terminology, denies this response in spiritual sincerity by nature. The truth is that even a resurrection from the dead will not persuade a dead sinner (
Luke 16:31).
And he brought them out, and said.
He must only have brought them out of the inner prison, or dungeon, for they were still in the prison. At some moment before this, a great change had taken place for this pagan man to beg them for help. Many scriptures demands this to be so. Romans 3:9:18; 7:18; 8:7,8; etc.
Sirs, what must I do to be saved?
Titus, it is a shame Arminian have abused this text as a cry for regeneration by the
sound of words.
But I have heard them use
Rev 3:20, so
well know they are capable of
any corruption of sense. If they were consistent, they would build an evangelistic tool from Peter’s words (
Matt 14:30)! Denying man’s depravity and
adoring freewill, they think all are an earthquake from salvation! They forget that Jesus said even a resurrection from the dead will not persuade (
Luke 16:31). Other earthquakes have had an entirely different effect, hardening men (
Lu 23:30; Re 6;16; 9:6).
If this was a sincere question for spiritual truth about God and salvation, he was already born again. The reason being is so clear from other scriptures, that a person must purposely close his eyes to them, which many do in protecting their bias doctrine against God's word.
There are none that fear God or seek God naturally,
so any true fear or seeking were by God! A broken and contrite heart that got the apostle’s
sincere response was
a result of regeneration! Jesus answered insincere persons with provocative and confusing answers (john 6:24-66; 8:30-59). Since the time of his regeneration is not identified, we do not know on what side of Paul’s cry. Spirit regeneration is like the wind, it blows where it wills, and we only see evidence (John 3:8).
What in the world was the jailor seeking? Can we find the sense (Nehemiah 8;8; 2nd Timothy 2:15)? We do not settle theological or sotierological issues by historical accounts of speculations by pagans! Nebuchadnezzar declared he saw a man in the fiery furnace like the Son of God (Daniel 3:25)! We first know this speculative guess is wrong by the rest of scripture (Luke 1:35; John 1:14. We second know this speculative guess is wrong by the ignorance of the speaker (Daniel 3:1-6). And in this particular case of Nebuchadnezzar, the context explains he saw an angel (Daniel 3:28).
The jailor’s request was not that of a theological student but rather a terrified pagan Roman.
Consider first the things that by the context and scriptural declarations about man he was not asking. He was not a weekend theological student like Martin Luther asking for justification by faith. He had not read Billy Graham’s book about the new birth and was asking to be born again. The jailor was not asking Paul and Silas to hear more about Jesus Christ by their fine singing. The jailor was not asking Paul and Silas to repeat his favorite sermon that he had heard earlier. He was not asking to hear more about the streets of gold that he had heard them singing about.
He did not know God’s holy claims against him by Adam and his sins and need of deliverance. The jailor was not asking Paul and Silas how they cast out the damsel’s devil with a Name.
Consider then the things that by context and scriptural declarations of grace he might have thought. He may have feared the earthquake and spoke like Peter (
Matt 14:30), but we grant him more. He was afraid of the consequences of prisoners escaping, but we give him credit for more here. The creation reveals God’s eternal power, and regeneration makes it convicting (Romans 1:18-23). The providence of the situation also revealed divine power, which is further convicting as above. The conscience of the man, the candle of the Lord, was pricked by Paul’s response (Acts 16:28). With the longings of Cornelius, but much more ignorant, he sought hope toward God and life. Under great fear and conviction, he was seeking peace with God and hope for a hopeless life. Maybe he knew the frequent testimony of the devil-possessed damsel about the men (Acts 16:17). He likely had vague notions, made lively by regeneration, of God and coming eternal judgment. He did not do more than what God expects your conduct to solicit from others (1st Peter 3:21). As shown above, and as could be proved by many scriptures, he was already born again before faith. I must stop and come back and make one more posit shorty on this verse. I did not want to go over this verse in a rush, you and others deserve it to be address thoroughly, besides, this is my manner overall, at least one time around, after that I will not do so again.
Acts 16:31 And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.
