HIS CONVERSION
An All-Important Question.
Perhaps he had heard what the damsel had said, that "These men are the servants of the most high God;" it may be that he had heard them preach, or at least had been told by others what they preached. Probably the earthquake itself had convinced him that these men not only were innocent, but were servants of God. At any rate, he cried out: "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?"
That is the question everybody should ask, and the answer, when truthfully given, everybody should obey.
The Answer.
Note the answer: "Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house." Then the servants of the Lord explained what a true belief is, expounded the "word of the Lord," taught them faith and repentance and baptism; and when the keeper of the prison and his family said they believed the Gospel to be true, he led the elders out, washed their stripes, and was baptized that same night, "he and all his straightway."
Then he took them, not back to the dreary dungeon, but into his own house, and set meat before them. We are told that his heart was filled with rejoicing because he "believed in God with all his house."
By doing right he had opened the windows of his soul, and the sunshine of pure happiness had radiated through his entire being. He was experiencing the truth as expressed in the song:
"Doing good is a pleasure,
A joy beyond measure,
A blessing of duty and love."
Prisoners Released.