Acts 16:30-32: "And (the prison guard) brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house."
In this verse, Paul was speaking about those who were living with the guard at his house only (v32). Yet, Paul qualifies that salvation can only come when the Gospel is firstly preached & there is a subsequent belief & acceptance of Christ as their (personal) Saviour. Some believe in "household salvation" whereby the saving of the head of the house, means the automatic salvation of his family as well. Verses cited to support this belief is: the above verse you gave, Acts 2:38, 39 & 1 Cor 7:14. Yet, salvation can only come after each person reaching the age of accountability before God, personally hears, believes & puts their faith in Christ for their salvation. Hence the work with children (e.g. Child Evangelism Fellowship & others) are so very important because even the little ones need to hear & receive Christ.
So, even if one's family no longer resided in the family home & are not included in the meaning of verse 31, they are still personally responsible to respond to the Gospel as the Spirit of God moves them in that direction. I therefore understand Paul's instruction to the guard to mean that "not only you but also your whole family living with you can be saved by believing in Jesus".
Does "your household" include family that no longer reside in your physical home?
Thank you for clearing this up.
Acts 16:30-32: "And (the prison guard) brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house."
In this verse, Paul was speaking about those who were living with the guard at his house only (v32). Yet, Paul qualifies that salvation can only come when the Gospel is firstly preached & there is a subsequent belief & acceptance of Christ as their (personal) Saviour. Some believe in "household salvation" whereby the saving of the head of the house, means the automatic salvation of his family as well. Verses cited to support this belief is: the above verse you gave, Acts 2:38, 39 & 1 Cor 7:14. Yet, salvation can only come after each person reaching the age of accountability before God, personally hears, believes & puts their faith in Christ for their salvation. Hence the work with children (e.g. Child Evangelism Fellowship & others) are so very important because even the little ones need to hear & receive Christ.
So, even if one's family no longer resided in the family home & are not included in the meaning of verse 31, they are still personally responsible to respond to the Gospel as the Spirit of God moves them in that direction. I therefore understand Paul's instruction to the guard to mean that "not only you but also your whole family living with you can be saved by believing in Jesus".
This comment thread is locked. Please enter a new comment below to start a new comment thread.
Note: Comment threads older than 2 months are automatically locked.
Do you have a Bible comment or question?
Please Sign In or Register to post comments...
Report Comment
Which best represents the problem with the comment?