THE CODE 18 JUNE 2025 www.goodnewsfl.org Good News • South Florida Edition “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved” (Acts 16:31 NKJV). It is okay to ask questions. ln fact, there are more than 150 questions recorded in the gospels that came from the lips of our Lord Himself. And these are only the ones that were recorded and found their way into the sacred writ. Jesus was always asking questions. It did not matter whether He was in a one-on-one conversation, in a small circle of people, or in the midst of a gathering crowd, He probed the hearts of His hearers by asking questions. He was not asking questions because He was seeking answers. He is not only omnipotent (all powerful), but He is omniscient (all knowing). He knows everything about everyone — their actions, their omissions, even their thoughts. Never once do we come upon Him in the Bible exclaiming, "Wow, that was a surprise. I didn't see that coming!" Never. He is all-knowing. He asked questions not for answers but in order for us to see for ourselves, to think for ourselves, in order to come into a "knowledge of the truth." Questioning Jesus People often approached Him with questions of their own. Once, Nicodemus, a learned member of the Jewish supreme court, came to Jesus in the evening hours and was told by the Lord that he needed to be born again. Not understanding Christ was referring to a spiritual birth, he asked, "How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb?" (John 3:4). Christ was once sought out by a lawyer with the intent of testing Him with what he perceived to be a hard question. He asked, "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the law?" (Matthew 22:36). Jesus replied by saying that we should love the Lord God with all our being and that a second commandment was like it - to love others as we love ourselves. After the resurrection and upon hearing Him speak of the coming of the Holy Spirit, the disciples asked, "Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?" (Acts 1:6). And who can forget the question of the apostle Paul on the Damascus Road: "Lord, what do You want me to do?" (Acts 9:6). A question we should all ask But, the most pointed question ever asked in the Bible is the question asked by a jailer in the city of Phihppi, which immediately preceded the promise of salvation of this chapter. Having witnessed a great earthquake that shook the very foundations of the prison and opened all its doors, he fell at Paul and Silas's feet, asking, “What must I do to be saved?" (Acts 16:30). And there you have it. This is the question that should be asked by every person who has ever lived. It is pointed, penetrating, personal and extremely pertinent. Without batting an eye or thinking for even a moment, they answered him — and us — by saying, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved” (Acts 16:31). What is it we must do to be saved? In a word, believe! This promise of salvation is found in the context of Paul and Silas's incarceration. The Jailor, after having beaten their backs with a whip until they were striped with deep lacerations, securely locked them in the inner depths of the prison. At midnight he heard the two prisoners singing songs of praise at the top of their lungs. Then, suddenly, the place was shaken by a great earthquake, which resulted in the prison doors flying off their hinges. Knowing his own fate would be death if the prisoners escaped his care, he was about to fall on his own sword when he realized that Paul and Silas were still there, although they could have easily fled. He fell on his knees in conviction before them, asking, “What must I do to be saved?" (Acts 16:30). The jailor wondered what he had to do to be saved. But the truth is, he could not do anything to be saved. It had already been done. Christ's death on the cross is what saves. Many today fall into this same trap. It seems so logical in our performance-driven culture. Some seem to think salvation is spelled d-o when all the while, it has been spelled d-o-n-e. It is available for any and all of us through the finished work of Christ on the cross. The answer The apostle wasted no time in pointing out the answer—"Believe!" That is it — "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved." This faith to believe is built on fact of the death, burial and resurrection of Christ. Note carefully, the instruction was to believe "on" the Lord. Prepositions in Greek are powerful and expressive. Paul did not use the preposition we translate "in" (en). Nor did he use the Greek preposition eis, which describes "into," that is, a movement toward something that had not necessarily reached its destination. He used a preposition in Greek (epi) that means "upon." The promise is for those who believe "on," who lay their trust on the Lord Jesus. I may believe in George Washington, but I don't believe on him. I do not trust my life to him. And the word believe is recorded here in the aorist tense, meaning it is punctiliar — at a set moment of time he believed, he transferred his trust to Christ alone to save him. Salvation is not something we grow into. It is a crisis moment, experienced in a moment of time when we believe on the Lord and transfer our trust from ourselves to Him alone for our salvation. A beautiful encounter ensues before this story ends: this redeemed jailer “took them the same hour of the night and washed their stripes” (Acts 16:33). Just hours earlier he had lashed their backs until they were bloody; now he gently washed the wounds he had put there. Only the gospel can instantaneously change our hearts like this. You and I have a precious promise, the promise of salvation. “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved.” Claim it… right now. “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17). Lord, thank You for the reminder that there is nothing I can do to earn or merit Your favor. Through Your work on the cross and victory over the grave it has already been done for me. I believe on You. In Jesus’ name, amen. Taken from The Promise Code by O.S. Hawkins. Copyright © 2022 by Dr. O.S. Hawkins. Used by permission of Thomas Nelson. O. S. Hawkins is the Legacy Pastor of First Baptist Church of Fort Lauderdale and chancellor of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He has served pastorates, including the First Baptist Church in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and the First Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas, for more than 25 years. A native of Fort Worth, Texas, he has a BBA from Texas Christian University and his MDiv and Ph.D. from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. For almost a quarter of a century, he served as president of GuideStone Financial Resources, with assets under management of $20 billion, serving 250,000 pastors, church staff members, missionaries, doctors, university professors, and other workers in various Christian organizations with their investment, retirement and benefit service needs. He is the author of more than 40 books and regularly speaks to business groups and churches nationwide. All of the author’s royalties and proceeds from the Code series support Mission:Dignity. You can learn more about Mission:Dignity by visiting MissionDignity.org. - Dr. O.S. Hawkins - Chancellor, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary The Promise of Salvation Ancient prison setting, jailer asking Paul “what must I do to be saved?” - AI generated
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