I will first refresh your memory concerning the story in Acts 16 that was covered on August 22 and then go on, as I said I would do, and give “the rest of the story.”

Paul and Silas had been beaten and thrown in prison. There, in chains, at midnight, they exhibited their faith and trust in God and prayed and sang hymns to God – with the prisoners listening to them! God threw open the cell doors and loosed the chains of all the prisoners by means of the earthquake that He miraculously caused.

The keeper of the prison, seeing the prison doors open and assuming the prisoners had all escaped started to kill himself. Paul however, cried out to him telling him that all the prisoners were still there. On learning this, the jailer fell down before Paul and Silas trembling, asking, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” They answered, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved” (vs.31).

Many stop reading there, and assume that the Jailer was being told that all he had to do was to “believe.” But that is not all of the story. Did Paul and Silas say, “Believe only?” Or, “Only believe?” Or, “Just believe, that’s all you have to do?” Or, “The moment you believe, you will be saved?” Though you may have been taught that he was saved, “the moment he believed,” none of those things were said.

The “rest of the story” is contained in all that is said on the subject of salvation and God tells us in His word that we are not to “take away” any of it that is relevant (Deuteronomy 4:2, etc.). Yes, certainly we must believe as Jesus says in John 8:24. But the Lord also tells us that we must repent of our sins, and if we do not, we will perish (Luke 13:3, 5). Can one repent before they believe? Those who do not repent, not only perish in the sense of dying, but perish in the sense of dying and going to hell. We must all repent or we will perish. We are sinners; we are to die; we shall be lost unless we repent (Barnes, p. 87).

That’s still not all of the story. Jesus also tells us that we must confess our faith in Him. To fail to do so is to deny Him (Matthew 10:32, 33). That’s why the evangelist Phillip asked the man of Ethiopia, whom we read of in Acts 8, if he believed before he would baptize (immerse) him. We must believe, repent of our sins and confess our faith in Christ before we can be immersed as the New Testament teaches. There is not a word said about babies or young children being “baptized”—immersed—in the Scriptures; nor any person being “sprinkled” or having water poured on them.

“The rest of the story” concerning the Jailer of Acts 16 is seen in vs. 32, 33. “Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. The word of the Lord has to be taught before a person can possible know what they must do in order to be saved. After the word of the Lord was spoken to them, we read … “And immediately he and all his family were baptized” (immersed). The next verse tells us that following their being immersed they rejoiced, having believed in God. They believed all that God said they must do and that is shown by their doing all that God said they must do in order to be saved. Then they could rejoice.

Taking all that God says on the subject of salvation and not adding to it or taking from it, we show that we believe in God. To do otherwise is to contradict God’s word. Let’s always read “the rest of the story.”