Paul and Silas, Who Held a True Hope (21st Anniversary of the Church’s Founding)

In Philippi, Paul and Silas are beaten and thrown into prison for setting free a slave girl possessed by a demon. At midnight, as they pray and sing hymns, a great earthquake throws open the prison doors, and every prisoner’s fetters come loose. They could have escaped, yet Paul stays where he is and holds back the jailer, who was about to take his own life.

What people do when the chance of release comes shows what their faith really is. The earthquake struck prisoners and jailer alike, but only those who had been born again could make an honest and holy choice even in that moment. Only after seeing this did the jailer ask what he must do to be saved.

Told that if he believed in the Lord Jesus, he and his household would be saved, the jailer and his whole family were baptized that same night. Paul preached the gospel, but it is God who brings a person to faith. So the one who proclaims it is not answerable for the outcome; it is enough to be faithful to the calling entrusted to them. Once out of prison, Paul and Silas went back to Lydia’s house, that is, to the church, where they saw the brothers and encouraged them.