THE KING’ S BUSINESS
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say we believe on a doctor, we mean that we put confidence in that man as a doctor and if we are sick we put our case in his hands. I f we say we believe on a banker we mean that we put confidence in that man as a banker, and if we have money to deposit we put it in his bank. If we say we believe on a teacher we mean we put confidence in that person as a teacher and if we wish to be taught we go to school to him. Just so to believe on the Lord Jesus is to put confidence in the Lord Jesus as what He claims to be and what He offers Himself to be. In other words, it means that we receive^ Him or take Him to be to us what He offers Himself to be to any body who will take Him (cf. John 1:12). He offers Himself first o f all as our sin bearer, the one who took our place and died in .our stead (Matt. 20:28; cf. Isa. 53:6; 1 Peter 2:24; Gal. 3:13). I f we believe on Him we put confidence in Him as the one who bore our sins in our place, we “ receive” Him, or take Him to be our Sayiour (who died in pur place) and trust God to forgive us because He died in our place. He offers Himself to us. as the One who rose again to be our Lord and King and to deliver us from sin’s power (Acts 2:36; Heb. 7:25). If we believe on Him we put confidence in Him as our Lord and King and as the One who has power to deliver sis day by day from the pointer of sin, and we take Him to be our Lord and King and to deliver us from the power o f sin. He offers Himself to us as a Teacher sent from God who spoke the very words o f God (John 7:16; 12:49; 14:24; 17:8). I f we believe on Him we put con fidence in Him as a Teacher sent from God who spoke the very words o f God, and we stand ready, if the whole world says one thing and He says another, to believe Him against the whole world. W e receive Him to be our Teacher, believing every thing that He says. To put what it means to believe on the Lord Jesus in still another way, it is to commit ourselves and all that we have to Him (2 Tim. 1 :12). Cast your self unreservedly upon Him, leave all with
Him, and you will be saved. Any one who really believes on the Lord Jesus is saved the moment He believes. That very moment every sin he has committed is for given and blotted out, he is justified from all things (Acts 13:38, 39; 10:43; Rom. 8 :1 ; 4 :5 ; 5 :1 ). Believing on the Lord Jesus not only brings salvation to the one that believes, it brings salvation also to his house. It is the privilege o f every true •believer in the Lord Jesus to have his chil dren saved. It is true many believers do not live up to their privilege, nevertheless that is their privilege. v. 32. "And they spake unto him the wopd o f the Lord (the word of the Lord unto him), and to (with) all that were in his house.’’ Paul and Silas did not stop with merely telling the jailer to believe on the Lord Jesus, they gave him something as a foundation upon which he could build his faith, they “spake the word” unto him (cf. Rom. 10:17; John 20:31). It is at this point that many workers make a mistake; they tell, and rightly tell, people to believe,” but they do not give them the word about Christ crucified and risen to enable them to believe. It is not enough to: tell people to believe, you should do as Paul does here, give him the word regard ing Jesus, for example, Isa. 53:6; Heb. '7:25.; Acts 2 :36. As the whole house was' to be saved, they spake the word o f the 1 Lord to the whole house. They were not to be saved by the jailer’s faith, but by their own, and it was necessary that they hear the Word in order that they might believe, for faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word o f God (Rom. 10:17). v. 33. And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptised, he and all his, straightway (immediately) ’ It does not take long to get a man saved if he is in earnest. The jailer seemed a hard and hopeless case, he was brutal, he was indifferent, he was utterly ignorant and entirely' godless, but in an hour he had passed out o f suicidal despair into the rejoicing gentleness and abounding hospitality o f a baptized believer
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