Lord’s Library editors offer this Acts 16:31 meaning and commentary with supporting Scriptures for your edification.
To obtain a Acts 16:31 meaning, see the verse in Scripture: “And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.” This verse, spoken by Paul and Silas to the Philippian jailer, presents the core message of salvation—by grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone. The jailer, having witnessed an earthquake that freed Paul and Silas from their chains, fell before them and asked the question of a lifetime in Acts 16:30: “And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”
The response was clear and direct.
Salvation is imputed and comes through belief in Christ’s Finished Work on the Cross, not through religious deeds.
The word “believe” in this context is not merely an intellectual exercise but a realized trust in Jesus Christ as Savior. See Romans 10:9: “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.” Faith is the means by which one is justified before a Holy God.
Acts 16:31 Meaning
See next Romans 5:1: “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:” In this way, it cannot be about human effort, for Ephesians 2:8-9 illustrates it: “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” Salvation is entirely the work of God, received through faith alone.
The object of faith is specific: the Blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. Many believe in God in a general sense, but salvation requires trust in the Finished Work of Jesus Christ—His death, burial, and resurrection.
See the important 1 Corinthians 15:1-4: “Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:”
See what Jesus said in John 14:6: “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” Peter extends this Scriprure in Acts 4:12: “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.”
The promise in Acts 16:31 extends not only to the jailer but also to his household. This does not mean that his family would be saved automatically, but rather that the same offer of salvation was available to them if they, too, believed.
Later in the chapter, one can see that the jailer’s household heard the Word, believed, and was baptized. See Acts 16:32-34: “And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house. And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway. And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house.”
This affirms that salvation is a personal decision but enabled by God—each individual must place in His Finished Work through Christ. The Philippian jailer believed and was saved, and that same promise is extended to all who put their faith in Christ today.
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