Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and Thou Shalt Be Saved

"And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house" (Acts 16:31).

While driving down the highway one day I noticed a large billboard on the side of the road which said "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved" (Acts 16:31). I wondered at what those who read the billboard might think. Undoubtedly some would think that belief in Jesus Christ is the only prerequisite for salvation. Is that really the case? Let's take a look at the Bible at see what it has to say.

The Psalmist said, "How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! How great is the sum of them!" (139:17).

And again, "The sum of thy word is truth; and every one of thy righteous ordinances endureth for ever (119:160, ASV).

In both of these passages the Psalmist illustrates the value of the "sum" of God's word. The "sum" refers to the total of a thing's many parts. When one studies the Bible one must take great care not to ignore the many parts of the Bible. One that ignores any part of the Bible in his or her exegesis of any one particular passage will not arrive at the “truth” for the “sum” of God’s word is truth. Very often it is the case that a verse will be illuminated by another scripture and thus made more easily understandable. One should be very careful not to stake one's soul on any verse to the exclusion of the whole. Such is the sad case concerning Acts 16:31. So many have taken this verse and made its instruction the sole condition for salvation.

Let us test this hypothesis. If one was to base one’s idea of the plan of salvation solely on Acts 16:31 then one would not have to believe that God the Father exists. One simply needs to believe that Jesus Christ is Lord for the Father is not mentioned in this passage. Neither is repentance mentioned in this passage. Are we to exclude that from God’s plan of salvation as well? Certainly not. Are we to exclude baptism as a condition for salvation because it is not mentioned even though a plethora of other passages speak to its necessity? To do so would be to do despite unto the word of God. That which proves too much, proves nothing.

If such is NOT the meaning of Acts 16:31 then what DOES it mean?



The word translated believe is the word πιστεύω (pisteuō) and can be used many different ways.

1. It can be used to refer to the mental assent that a fact is true: the Hebrew writer says that in order to be pleasing to God one must “believe that He is” (Hebrews 11:6). This simply means that one must assent to the fact that God exists. Paul was told that there were divisions in the church at Corinth. Upon hearing this news he wrote “I partly believe it” (1 Corinthians 11:18). Paul had heard a report and he received it as credible. Christ prophesied that there would come a time when false Christ’s would arise and men would say “Lo, here is Christ” (Matthew 24:23). Christ charged His hearers to “believe it not.” When another says “Here is Christ” one is not to accept that statement as true.

2. This word can also involve the idea of trust: Paul said of the apostles that they had been put in “trust” with the gospel (1 Thessalonians 2:4). The Master of the unjust steward asked him “If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches?” (Luke 16:11). While on earth Christ did not “commit” (KJV) or “entrust” (ASV) Himself to men because He knew that their intentions were not in accordance with God’s divine will (John 2:24).

3. The same word can also be used to mean obey. “He that believeth (pisteuō) on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not (apeitheō) on the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him” (John 3:36). The King James Version did us no favor in its translation of this verse because it translated two different words using the same term, “believe.” The former (pisteuō) means to believe but the latter word (apeitheō) is the negative form of the word peitheō which means to obey. Therefore the meaning of the word apeitheō is to disobey. One can cross reference Romans 2:8, 9 to see the use of these words in the New Testament: “But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey [apeitheō] the truth, but obey [peitheō] unrighteousness, indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile” (2:8, 9). Now understanding the definition of these words one can better see the contrast in John 3:36. The ASV reads as follows: “He that believeth on the Son hath eternal life; but he that obeyeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him.” What happened? Why mention the believers in the first half of the verse and then the disobedient in the latter half? The reason is because disobeying is the opposite of believing. One that believes is one that obeys and that is the use of the word in John 3:36. Notice also, “And it came to pass in Iconium that they entered together into the synagogue of the Jews, and so spake that a great multitude of Jews and Greeks believed [pisteuō]. But the Jews that were disobedient [apeitheō] stirred up the souls of the Gentiles, and made them evil affected against the brethren” (Acts 14:1, 2 ASV). Here again belief is contrasted with disobedience. To disbelieve is to disobey and to believe is to obey. They are used synonymously here.

This third definition of believe, by way of synecdoche, is the prominent definition of believe in the book of Acts.

A synecdoche is a figure of speech in which the whole is named when a part is intended or where a part is named when the whole is intended. We use this figure of speech even today. When one takes a “head count” one is not interested in how many heads are present but one wants to know how many people are present. One might say to another concerning his or her new car, “Nice wheels.” It is probably the case that one is not commenting on the actual wheels of the car but rather the car as a whole. This figure of speech is often employed in the Bible. Speaking of Noah and his family Peter mentions how that “eight souls were saved by water” (1 Peter 3:20). Does that mean that their bodies perished in the flood? Of course not. One part of man (his soul) is named when both body and soul (cf. Matthew 10:28) are intended. This is the case when only “belief” is named. Because belief is the initial and foundational act of obedience it is often used as a synecdoche to represent the whole of one’s obedience to God. Notice its use in the book of Acts:

When Peter preached the first gospel sermon recorded in Acts chapter 2 he was speaking to Jews who were “devout men, out of every nation under heaven” (2:5). It is safe to say that they believed in God the Father. As Peter preached he preached Christ crucified and resurrected (2:22-35). His conclusion was this “Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ” (v.36). It is apparent that their conscience was stirred and they believed on the Christ for the Bible says of them, “Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?” (v.37). “Then Peter said unto them, Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins…And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation. Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day were added unto them about three thousand souls” (vs.38, 40, 41). How did Luke sum up their obedience? “And all they that believed were together, and had all things in common” (v.44). Was Luke ignoring their repentance and their baptism? Of course not. By way of a synecdoche he epitomized their obedience by naming them “they that believed” for without belief no one will be obedient to God.

As punishment for their bold preaching, Peter and John were imprisoned “Howbeit many of them which heard the word believed; and the number of the men was about five thousand” (4:4). Is there any doubt that these five thousand included the three thousand (cf. 2:41) which were baptized on Pentecost? Why then should “believe” mean anything different here than it did there? Belief is again used to describe the total obedience of those that heard the preaching of Peter and John.

As Paul passed through Ephesus he found certain disciples and “He said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost?” (19:1, 2). Notice Paul’s response: “And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye baptized? And they said, Unto John’s baptism” (v.3) Did Paul change the topic? No he did not. He asked the same question in different words. When Paul asked them about their belief it necessarily included their baptism.

Now we come to the text with which we began, Acts 16:31. Paul and Silas were imprisoned for their efforts in spreading the gospel of God’s kingdom (v.23). While imprisoned they sang praises to God and the prisoners heard them (v.25). Then came a mighty earthquake which loosed the bonds of the prisoners and opened wide the doors to the prison (v.26). The jailer, thinking the prisoners had fled, sought to take his own life in lieu of awaiting the Roman axe. Paul shouted “Do thyself no harm: for we are all here” (v.28). The jailer then asked the question “What must I do to be saved?” (v.30). Paul and Silas answered “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house” (v.31). They then proceeded to preach Christ unto the jailer and his household. The jailer’s response to the gospel was a positive one. He took Paul and Silas and washed their wounds (indicating a penitent heart) and then he and his household were baptized “straightway” (vs.32, 33). Question: if belief is all that is necessary for one to be saved, why ought one to be baptized? Such a question merits some consideration. Afterward, the jailer brought Paul and Silas to his house, set food before them, and rejoiced. Notice, it was only after he and his family were baptized that they were said to be “believing in God” (v.34). Their belief necessarily included their repentance as well as their baptism.

The evidence is overwhelming. While belief sometimes refers to the acceptance of a fact or indicates the idea of trust, it can also indicate one’s total obedience and submission to God’s holy will. When considering the “sum” of God’s word (cf. Psalm 119:160 ASV) one can see that belief is not the only condition for salvation.