Acts 15-16 A Changed Life

^{By Jill Ice}

²⁵ About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them,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 everyone's bonds were unfastened. ²⁷ When the jailer woke and saw that the prison doors were open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped. ²⁸ But Paul cried with a loud voice, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here.” ²⁹ And the jailer called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he fell down before Paul and Silas.³⁰ Then he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” ³¹ And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” ³² And they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. ³³ 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. ³⁴ Then he brought them up into his house and set food before them. And he rejoiced along with his entire household that he had believed in God.

Acts 16:25-34

The trembling jailer accepted the gospel, committed himself to Christ and rose up a Christian man. We see the evidence of this at once in the man’s new spirit and character. “He took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, set meat before them, and rejoiced.” Immediately after believing on Christ, the cruel pagan became gentle. The love of Christ began to work in his heart and to work out through his life. He became kindly and compassionate. At once he began to love the Disciples of Christ and to relieve the sufferings of the men who had told him the way of salvation. At once he made confession of Christ before his family and friends, and was baptized. He also began to rejoice. The songs the prisoners had been singing a little while ago in the dungeon broke now from this new convert’s lips, too. No better proof of conversion can be found than we see in him.