In this passage we see three very different
people who are saved by the Gospel.
And after she was baptized, and her household as well, she urged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay.” And she prevailed upon us.
Acts 16:15 ESV
And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.”
Acts 16:31 ESV
In these two verses we see an important characteristic of the Gospel. The Gospel is active and flows from person to those around them. The Gospel does not contain itself to one person. It must spread out and overflow into others.
About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them,
Acts 16:25 ESV
Most people sleep at night, but we see here that prisoners are listening to Paul and Silas singing and praying to God.
One who heard us was a woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple goods, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul.
Acts 16:14 ESV
Lydia was a worshiper of God, and therefore a Christian, yet she needed the Gospel. We may worship God, but we still need to hear the Word. We are redeemed sinners that need the Gospel.
Also, Paul had not sought out a certain group of people to preach. He came across these ladies and started to tell them about the Gospel.
As we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had a spirit of divination and brought her owners much gain by fortune-telling.
Acts 16:16 ESV
The next person that is saved by the Gospel is the slave girl who makes money from an evil spirit. There are many people who use evil to profit, but the Gospel is for them too. Criminals are still responsible and will need to pay their debts to society, yet they are not our enemies. God loves them as he loves us. The Gospel is for them as well.
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. But Paul cried with a loud voice, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here.”
Acts 16:27-28 ESV
The third person that is saved by the Gospel is the prison guard. Paul could have let the guard kill himself, but instead Paul stopped the guard from killing himself. Paul did not run away but stayed to give the gospel to a person who was persecuting him.
God needs to soften our hearts. It takes hard tools to break up the soil to allow seeds to grow in the soil. It can be hard on us as God softens our hearts. We sometimes just focus on the sin and not on loving the sinner. The Holy Spirit has given us the power to love others, the others who may be unlovable.
We should not focus on the fact that in this passage Paul was freed from prison and he praised God while in chains. The focus should be that nothing can stop the Gospel.
Our lives are not guaranteed to have happy endings or an easy life.
And after she was baptized, and her household as well, she urged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay.” And she prevailed upon us.
Acts 16:15 ESV
And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.”
Acts 16:31 ESV
In these two verses we see an important characteristic of the Gospel. The Gospel is active and flows from person to those around them. The Gospel does not contain itself to one person. It must spread out and overflow into others.
About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them,
Acts 16:25 ESV
Most people sleep at night, but we see here that prisoners are listening to Paul and Silas singing and praying to God.
One who heard us was a woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple goods, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul.
Acts 16:14 ESV
Lydia was a worshiper of God, and therefore a Christian, yet she needed the Gospel. We may worship God, but we still need to hear the Word. We are redeemed sinners that need the Gospel.
Also, Paul had not sought out a certain group of people to preach. He came across these ladies and started to tell them about the Gospel.
As we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had a spirit of divination and brought her owners much gain by fortune-telling.
Acts 16:16 ESV
The next person that is saved by the Gospel is the slave girl who makes money from an evil spirit. There are many people who use evil to profit, but the Gospel is for them too. Criminals are still responsible and will need to pay their debts to society, yet they are not our enemies. God loves them as he loves us. The Gospel is for them as well.
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. But Paul cried with a loud voice, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here.”
Acts 16:27-28 ESV
The third person that is saved by the Gospel is the prison guard. Paul could have let the guard kill himself, but instead Paul stopped the guard from killing himself. Paul did not run away but stayed to give the gospel to a person who was persecuting him.
God needs to soften our hearts. It takes hard tools to break up the soil to allow seeds to grow in the soil. It can be hard on us as God softens our hearts. We sometimes just focus on the sin and not on loving the sinner. The Holy Spirit has given us the power to love others, the others who may be unlovable.
We should not focus on the fact that in this passage Paul was freed from prison and he praised God while in chains. The focus should be that nothing can stop the Gospel.
Our lives are not guaranteed to have happy endings or an easy life.
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