Faith and Obedience
“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. And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptised, he and all his, straightway. And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in God, with all his house,” etc. — Acts xvt. 81-40.
CAN” faith save you, then, without works? Suppose a man should “believe in the Lord Jesus Christ,” and continue to exhibit a profane and impure life, will he be saved by his sound faith in spite of his wickedness? This question does not deserve an answer. It is a foolish question: it assumes an impossibility.
Suppose one should address to an eminent physician the question, Pray, sir, tell me, is the blood necessary to life? and he should answer, It is. Suppose the questioner then proceeds to say, But if a great artery is cut, and all the blood of the body escapes, and the man still lives and acts with undiminished vigour, do you persist in your opinion that the blood is necessary to life? The physician will not answer. You have put a foolish question, and he treats it with contempt. Or, if he answer at all, he will say, First show me a living man with no blood in his body, and then I shall consider the causes of the phenomenon.
Such treatment he deserves who inquires, Shall I be saved if I believe in Christ, though I live in sin? The supposition is an impossibility. To believe in Christ as that jailer believed is the death-blow to the reign of sin in your members, as the letting out of the heart’s-blood puts an end to the life. People who, with a whole heart, merely talk on the subject,
Faith and Obedience. may suggest many objections to the doctrine; but when a man is convinced of sin by the secret power of the Spirit, and closes with Christ as his sacrifice, substitute, righteousness, and intercessor, he is at that moment and by that act placed in enmity with his own sin as fire and water are at enmity. When he is in Christ, he is a new creature.
Surely, if people would apply their minds to the subject, it should not be very difficult to comprehend that actual obedience by the man — that is, his good works — must be withdrawn from the ground of his hope, and take a place as the fruit of his faith.
Here is a water-channel that has been dry all the summer. Straws and leaves and dust have accumulated in it. To make all clean and clear again, you do not say, Let a stream of water be poured through it from the fountain-head, and let all the straws and leaves be gathered up and carried away. Let the water from the fountain-head gush into the neck of the channel, and it will sweep away the miscellaneous rubbish that encumbered the course. Thus it is in the spiritual life. It is not faith and good works together that make salvation sure. Faith, when it begins to flow, carries works in its train. Faith in Christ as your substitute, your peace with God, will make short work of the ten thousand encumbrances which blocked the channels of your heart and life. “This is the victory which overcometh the world, even your faith.”
Even in the brief sketch given here of the jailer’s conversion, you see beautiful bunches of fruit quickly ripening on the branch as soon as it is in the Vine: “He took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes, and set meat before them.”
The current of this man’s life is reversed. He could not but see that the flesh of his prisoners was lacerated by the rods. He did not ask whether they were hungry. As the easiest way of securing his own safety, he thrust them into the inner prison, and pinioned their feet in locks of iron. He then went to bed, and slept so soundly that no psalm-singing disturbed his rest. He did not awake till the earthquake awoke him. All care in the evening was for himself; and his selfishness was cruel. Now, when the midnight scene has passed, he has no care about himself; all his attention is devoted to his prisoners. Not a thought now about the possible displeasure of the magistrates, if they should learn that he had invited these notable prisoners unguarded into his own house. In the evening he was heedless of the apostles’ wounds and hunger: now he washes their wounds and gives them bread. Behold the good works that his infant faith was already bearing! These were the first duties that lay to hand. Give me the subsequent history of that Christian, and I will show you in it other things to match them. Every creature after its kind; and the new creature is not an exception to the rule. His faith in the Lord J esus Christ saved him; and that faith instantly reversed the volume of his life, as the rising tide of the ocean meets and flings back the river’s stream.
This is a crucial case as to the power of faith in Christ to save a sinner. It is parallel with the example of the thief on the cross. The man was taken in the very act of murder. He intended to take away his own life; and according to the principles which the Lord laid down, the intention carried within it the guilt of the deed. Suppose now that Paul’s cry had been one minute too late — that the uplifted arm had fallen, and that the dagger had severed a vital artery. Suppose that the wound is mortal, but that the life-blood takes an hour to ebb away. It is not conceivable that the preacher would in that case have made
Faith and Obedience. any change in his terms. The word would still have been, “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.” Thus an offer of free pardon would have been made to the murderer while the blood of his victim was still flowing warm. The murderer might within the hour have believed, and at the end of it have entered into rest. There is glory to God in the freeness and fulness of his mercy.
“By terrible things in righteousness wilt thou answer us, 0 God of our salvation” (Ps. lxv. 5). The earthquake was the answer to the prayer which Paul and Silas, lying on their backs, hymned upward to God in heaven. But although the earthquake could open the doors of the prison, it could not break the bonds in which the jailer’s soul was held. In that sense God was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a still small voice from the lips of the imprisoned missionary; and God was in the voice — God our Saviour. Before the power of that voice the heathen’s heart gave way, and flowed down like water.
When a man begins to care for his own soul, he instantly cares also for those who are dear to him. Knowing this law of human nature, Paul provides, in the same breath, comfort in regard to himself and in regard to his house. On the same terms the jailer’s family will be received; and accordingly the word of the gospel was spoken to him and to all that were in his house. It is good when every family is a small church, and every church a large family.
The magistrates of the city, having been hurried into the arrest by the daring attitude of the mob, determined next morning to desert the diet and discharge the prisoners. Accordingly, an officer was sent to the prison, with an order for their release. The jailer joyfully proceeded to execute the order of his superiors; but Paul saw meet to stand on his rights, and declined the offer. It is now pretty generally acknowledged that Paul did not enjoy the privileges of a Roman citizen in virtue of his birth in the free city of Tarsus. Although the city was free, its freedom did not confer the dignity of Roman citizenship on all its population. It is more probable that the honour was conferred on some of the apostle’s ancestors for services rendered to the State. It was the custom of Roman governors so to reward loyal services in the provinces. Alarmed at the claim of Paul, the magistrates acceded at once to his demand. They came in person to the prison, and gave the prisoners a public and honourable acquittal.
This was not a display of pride or of vengeance. The apostles did not court suffering. Eather, for their work’s sake, they desired to avoid it. They saved their lives at one time by flight, and at another time by invoking the protection of imperial law against the excesses of particular magistrates. There is no fanatical rashness in their conduct. Their conduct is guided by wisdom and courage and common sense.