Acts 16:30-31 the jailer said, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" And they said, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you shall be saved, you and your household."

When the Jailer asked Paul and Silas what he had to do to be saved the answer was short and sweet. All the Jailer and his household had to do was believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. This passage in the book of Acts tells us they did explain more to him and his household. The text also tells us the Jailer and his household did believe. Although I will dig into this a little deeper I want you to recognize the simplicity of the Gospel. You do not have to be a theologian to go to heaven. You only need Jesus Christ. Acts 4:12 "And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men, by which we must be saved." I believe a good place to start this discussion is to see what the words saved and salvation actually mean.

Webster's Collegiate Dictionary tenth edition
SAVED 1.  a: to deliver from sin b: to rescue or deliver from danger or harm c: to preserve or guard from injury, destruction or loss
SALVATION 1. a: deliverance from the power and effects of sin.

SALVATION:          Deliverance from the power of sin; redemption.
In the Old Testament, the word salvation sometimes refers to deliverance from danger <Jer. 15:20>, deliverance of the weak from an oppressor <Ps. 35:9-10>, the healing of sickness <Is. 38:20>, and deliverance from blood guilt and its consequences <Ps. 51:14>. It may also refer to national deliverance from military threat <Ex. 14:13> or release from captivity <Ps. 14:7>. But salvation finds its deepest meaning in the spiritual realm of life. Man's universal need for salvation is one of the clearest teachings of the Bible.  (from Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary)

The term saved and salvation means that we are rescued and delivered. So a logical question would be rescued and delivered from what? When we turn to Christ we are saved from receiving God's wrath.

Rom 5:8-9 "God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him.

John 3:36
"He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him."

1Thes 1:9-10 For they themselves report about us what kind of a reception we had with
you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve a living and true God, and to wait for
His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, that is Jesus, who delivers us
from the wrath to come.

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