I see a heartbreaking picture in my mind: a man, angry at God because God didn't keep His promise to him. God didn't save his wife, the most intimate member of his household. You see, his wife passed away not too long ago, and she was not a believer, despite his constant prayers and attempts to convert her for many years. He had become a believer in the middle of their marriage, which caused some tensions. But he hung on to a verse which, he believed, was a promise from God (Acts 16:31). He believed that when he had come to Christ, the rest of his household would also do so. But it never happened. The promise wasn't kept.
I have read and heard of stories like this happening to people, and it deeply grieves me; not only because a person of someone's family passed away without knowing Christ, but also because another person remains on earth confused, resentful, and angry at God—all because of bad teaching, and bad theology. Some may find this topic very sensitive, and maybe even hurtful if it brings back unwanted memories (which I apologize for), but I find this topic to be of the utmost importance because it is one that can cause, and has caused, some people to fall away from the faith. And since one of my missions is to share God's truth with others in an informed way (despite controversies), I share this truth with you now...
God Does Want All People To Be Saved
Regardless of where you stand in the whole Calvinist/Armenian debate, I think we can all agree that God–because of His love–at least desires that all people come to Him; after all, He did create each and every one of us. 1 Timothy 2:4 says, "[God] desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth." Again in 2 Peter 3:9, the Scripture declares, "The Lord is not slow to fulfill His promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance."
God extends His saving grace and gift, Jesus Christ, to all who would believe in Him; He leaves no one devoid of the privilege of believing in Christ. John 3:16 says, "God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life." Whoever includes anyone in the world; so, yes, God does want everyone to be saved, and has provided The Way, but...
God Has Given Us Free Will
God does want all people to be saved, but that doesn't mean that all people will be saved, even if the head of the household believes in Christ and is saved (as some take Acts 16:31 to mean, like in my example above). For God loves us so much that He gave us free will, even to the point that we can willfully reject His gift, Jesus Christ. Speaking to the Jews who rejected Jesus, Stephen said to them in Acts 7:51, "You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you."
John 1:12 says, "But to all who did receive Him, who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God." Whether people have the choice to believe in Christ, or not, throughout their entire lives is debatable, as some think that we are only truly free when God gives us the ability at a specific moment in time to believe in Christ. I believe God does, however, give us many chances to make that decision—but believing in Him must be done before physical death.
Our Verse's Context (Acts 16:31)
The verse where many people get the idea that if they believe in Christ somehow their whole house will also believe is found in Acts 16:31. It reads, "And they said, 'Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.'" This was said to a Philippian jailer who was in charge of guarding Paul and Silas as they were imprisoned. His life was never going to be the same again.
Paul and Silas were imprisoned after having cast out a demon from a girl who was being used by her masters to make money. The masters seized Paul and Silas and brought them to the magistrates, accusing them of disrupting the Roman city with their teachings. Paul and Silas were beaten and then taken to the prison.
While they were praying and singing to God in the prison cell, there was an earthquake that caused the prison doors to open, and miraculously, everyone's bonds were unfastened. When the jailer saw this, he was about to kill himself because he supposed that the prisoners had escaped under his watch (the penalty of death would be his fate). But all of the prisoners were there, and Paul told him not to harm himself.
The jailer, after hearing Paul, fell at Paul's and Silas' feet and asked them what he must do to be saved. They told him–and, subsequently, all who were in his house–the Word of the Lord (the Gospel), and told him that he and his household would be saved if they all believed. The jailer and his household believed, he and his family were baptized, and he took care of Paul and Silas in his home.
So, What's The Confusion?
Many people see verse 31, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household," and take it to mean that if a person believes, he/she and his/her family would be saved—basically automatically. But this is a gross misunderstanding of the text (and betrays the rest of Scripture). Perhaps it would help if the phrases were moved around a bit: "Believe in the Lord Jesus, you and your household, and you will be saved."
Still, others take it to mean that when a person believes in Christ, his or her household will also necessarily believe, whether in that moment or in the years to come. But that interpretation is also not supported by Scripture—at least not from this verse. The fact that one person in the family–even if it is the head of the family–believes in Christ, does not mean, in and of itself, that everyone else will believe. Everyone has free will, and everyone has to believe in Christ individually.
All this verse is saying is that if the jailer believed–and the members of his household also believed (which they did)–then they would all be saved. And this is true: if they all believed, then they would all be saved. But that is a totally different idea than saying that if he alone believed, his whole family would also be saved. There is no such thing as transferred salvation, or "head-of-household" salvation, whereby the faith of a family member would be enough to save another family member.
It's All In The Greek
The phrase, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household" in the Greek, shows us that our interpretation is correct. Broken down, the phrase reads: "Believe [singular, only the jailer] in the Lord Jesus, and you [singular, only the jailer] will be saved, you [singular, the jailer] and your household [everyone else who believes in his house]. It can't get any clearer than that.
If the other interpretation were correct, the Greek would read: "Believe [singular, only the jailer] in the Lord Jesus, and you [plural, everyone in his house] will be saved, you [singular, the jailer] and your household [everyone else because of his decision]. That is not what the Greek says, and it is not what the rest of the Scripture teaches.
Salvation Is For Those Who Believe
The Bible makes it clear that each and every single person is solely responsible for believing in Christ, and making a decision to follow Him. No one else can make this decision for anyone else, even for the closest member of the family. Romans 10:9 says, "if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved." Only you, and not anyone else will be saved if you believe.
Jesus said, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." Each one of us comes to God only through Jesus, and not through anyone else; not through the belief of our our parents, spouse, or anyone else in the family. Jesus also says, "Truly, truly, I say to you, the person who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life" (John 5:24). For more verses on the topic of salvation, click here.
Reflection
The next time you hear someone saying–especially, for some reason, in the hispanic culture–that the Bible says that if you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, you and your household will be saved, kindly direct them to the truth—it can save them, and others, from possible despair. Although the verse sounds nice when interpreted in that fashion, it is not true; if it were, the whole world would already be saved!
Now, is it true that when an influential member of a family comes to Christ, many will become intrigued and want to know more about their Jesus? Perhaps, especially if the person displays a genuine love and faith in God and others, is active in evangelizing, and shares the Gospel with them. So, do not take this article to mean that you cannot still be a key part in someone else's decision for Christ—you may very well be the only Bible they ever see...so continue being the light in the world and your family! And continue praying for those you love!
May God bless you as you share the Truth with others.
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