Acts 16:31

‘And they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your house.” '

The reply came back immediately. Paul and Silas declared to him that the way in which both he and his house could be saved was by response to ‘the Lord, even Jesus'. That was the ‘Lord' he should look to. Only in Jesus, ‘the Lord' (which would be recognised by a Gentile as denoting someone who was divine), was there safety, security and salvation. Note that the saving of all depended on the belief of each. This is speaking of those of an age to respond. All who believe will be saved (compare Acts 11:14; Acts 16:15; Acts 18:8; 1 Corinthians 1:16; 1 Corinthians 16:15). In those days it would be normal for the household to follow the lead of its head, and we must remember that this was a time of especially powerful working of the Holy Spirit.

In Roman Acts 10:9 Paul declares, if you will confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved'. For that is the essence of what is necessary for salvation. It is the same message as here. A recognition of the Lordship of Christ, and the fact that as the risen Lord He can save. This is not a question of whether we see Jesus ‘as Saviour or as Lord' as though there was an alternative. We are not talking here about our petty responses and attitudes. We are talking about a recognition of the One with Whom we are dealing. Salvation is by faith, and it is only as we see Him as the Lord with power to save that we will respond for salvation. We may then leave to Him both the saving and the exertion of His Lordship. If we have truly responded He will bring about both. If He leaves us still in our chains we need to ask what we wanted from salvation. If we want it simply as a fire insurance we need to read the fine print.