That Very Hour of the Night | Eastside church of Christ

The conversion of the Philippian jailer is often used by those who wish to argue that belief is the only requirement God places upon man for his salvation. They try to find any passage they think will support their idea that baptism is not necessary for salvation. Yet this example that they often cite does not support their belief at all. In fact, it shows the great importance of baptism. Notice the context:

“And after he brought them out, he said, ‘Sirs, what must I do to be saved?’ They said, ‘Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household’” (Acts 16:30-31).

If we stop here (and many want to stop here), it may appear as though Paul told the jailer that belief is the only prerequisite to salvation. Yet when Paul told this man to believe, he did not know what to believe. He was not acquainted with the gospel. So Paul taught him.

“And they spoke the word of the Lord to him together with all who were in his house. And he took them that very hour of the night and washed their wounds, and immediately he was baptized, he and all his household. And he brought them into his house and set food before them, and rejoiced greatly, having believed in God with his whole household” (Acts 16:32-34).

This man and his household were baptized “that very hour of the night.” Why? If baptism was not necessary for salvation, why be baptized at such an inconvenient hour? Why not wait until morning, wait until the church assembled, or not do it at all? If baptism was not necessary for salvation, then it was completely unnecessary for these baptisms to occur in the middle of the night. But they were baptized in the middle of the night because baptism is something that one must “do to be saved” (Acts 16:30; cf. Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38; 1 Peter 3:21). After being baptized, he “rejoiced greatly, having believed in God” (Acts 16:34). When Paul told him originally that he needed to believe to be saved, he was not telling him that as long as he mentally acknowledged the Lordship of Jesus, he would be saved. Belief is used comprehensively here to include not just mental acknowledgement but also an obedient trust in God. We can be saved today as the Philippian jailer was if we will believe God and submit to His instructions. If you have not been baptized for the remission of your sins, you urgently need to be, just as this man and his household urgently needed to be and were baptized “that very hour of the night.”