But when her masters saw that their hope of profit was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to the authorities.20 And they brought them to the magistrates, and said, “These men, being Jews, exceedingly trouble our city; 21 and they teach customs which are not lawful for us, being Romans, to receive or observe.” 22 Then the multitude rose up together against them; and the magistrates tore off their clothes and commanded them to be beaten with rods. 23 And when they had laid many stripes on them, they threw them into prison, commanding the jailer to keep them securely. 24 Having received such a charge, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks.25 But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. 26 Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were loosed. 27 And the keeper of the prison, awaking from sleep and seeing the prison doors open, supposing the prisoners had fled, drew his sword and was about to kill himself. 28 But Paul called with a loud voice, saying, “Do yourself no harm, for we are all here.”29 Then he called for a light, ran in, and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. 30 And he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”31 So they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.” 32 Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. 33 And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their stripes. And immediately he and all his family were baptized. 34 Now when he had brought them into his house, he set food before them; and he rejoiced, having believed in God with all his household. Acts 16:19-34
So far in this chapter we have seen Paul witnessing in different ways. First, he goes to the religious people who believe in God but don't understand the gospel and reaches Lydia's heart. This is akin to modern day preaching in churches, crusades, media - you have religious people gathering but some aren't saved and are reached with the gospel. I'm always amazed when a pastor gives an invitation and some go forward for salvation. I think to myself, "why is someone who isn't saved getting up at 9 in the morning on Sunday to attend church?" But they do and the Spirit opens their heart to believe and receive. This takes us back to the previous passages where I said that just because a person believes in God doesn't mean they are saved. They must believe the gospel of Jesus.
Second, he street evangelizes. We have some guys in our church that go into Gatlinburg and preach in the streets. This usually gets people in trouble because someone will always complain about solicitation and the law will intervene. There was a guy that preached at the Island in Pigeon Forge and he's no longer there and I can only assume he's been told not to. I mentioned in the last blog about ABC making people take down religious signs at College Game Day. Paul and Silas likewise got in trouble for street preaching. Let's never criticize street preachers because they have more guts than the rest of us.
Third, Paul witnesses in prison. In the dungeon, in shackles, publicly humiliated, physically abused, not knowing what would become of him while committing no crime, he is up in the middle of the night worshipping and praising Jesus. Being people of thanksgiving, content in whatever state we are in is a testimony to those watching - and they are watching. Do you only praise God when He's blessing you? I saw on twitter a Cubs fan hating on Brewer fans saying they just support the team in times of success. They call this "fair weather fans". Are we fair weather Christians? We garner worldly respect when we follow Christ in the good and the bad. Because of this, when the earthquake came and everyone was freed, no one ran. They listened to Paul just like they will on the shipwrecked boat in the future, because they saw something real.
Fourth, Paul witnessed to a man who was about to give up on life. We reach people at rescue ministries, recovery ministries, jail ministries, food banks, homeless shelters where people who are no longer deluded by the lie that this world offers hope and meaning congregate. I get to speak Monday at a meal for the poor and share the way of salvation. This jailer wasn't financially downtrodden, but he thought life was over for him. We need to reach out to people going through divorce, job loss, bankruptcies, foreclosures - anyone going through life trauma is open to the gospel because their self-sufficiency shield has been cracked and has made a way for the gospel to sneak in.
Lastly, Paul does child evangelism. It says that the whole family believed and were baptized so I can only assume that there were kids in the house. Presbyterians use this passage to justify infant baptism except it says that they believed. Reaching kids is the easiest because they have child-like faith. They just need to hear it in a language they can understand and either Paul, Silas, or Luke were able to do this. Are you attempting to reach kids with the gospel? I got saved at a backyard Bible club one summer. How about organizing a one-day VBS at your house and invite the neighborhood. All they can do is say, "No".
The point is, every moment of every day we should be looking for opportunities to witness as we walk in moment-by-moment communication with our Lord. Don't miss opportunities! Paul sure didn't.
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