A Necessary Step

Acts 16

29 The jailer called for lights and ran to the dungeon and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. 30 Then he brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

31 They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved, along with everyone in your household.” 32 And they shared the word of the Lord with him and with all who lived in his household. 33 Even at that hour of the night, the jailer cared for them and washed their wounds. Then he and everyone in his household were immediately baptized. 34 He brought them into his house and set a meal before them, and he and his entire household rejoiced because they all believed in God.

In every conversion account found in the book of Acts, we find one common thread: immersion (baptism). The jailer asks plainly what must be done in order to be saved (verse 30). Paul & SIlas tell him that he must believe in the Lord Jesus (v. 31) and then they “shared the word of the Lord with him and with all his household” (v 32). We don’t have the exact words used by Paul and Silas as they shared the Gospel, but we do see the immediate response of the jailer and his entire household: they were immediately baptized. Let’s set aside any nonsense about the role of baptism in salvation. It is clearly a necessary step.