What did Paul mean? Three choices 1 It s a promise for everyone that if you believe in Jesus your entire household will be saved. But there have been many believers who have gone to Heaven while their family members have died in their sins. And how should we define household ? Family members only? What about co renters, guests, etc? I think 2 3 are better possibilities 2 Paul is prophesying that this one jailer s household will be saved if he gets saved. 3 Paul is saying that belief in the Lord Jesus is enough for anyone to be saved, whether it s the jailer or his household Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved this promise applies to you if you believe, and it applies to your household if they believe. We should use the Bible to interpret the Bible. Every important Bible doctrine is supported by more than one passage. There are many places that teach that every individual must decide to trust in Jesus. We do not find anywhere else in the Bible that faith in God will automatically be embraced by a believer s entire household. Most righteous kings of Israel Judah had ungodly sons. I don t teach this to add doubt to those of us who have unsaved family I think we all do . But I don t want anyone to be hurt by promises that don t come true because they re not really promises. People invent other promises from the Bible, such as God wants everyone to be rich, when they don t become rich, they get mad at God.