Sirs, what must I do to be saved? This question posed by the prison guard to the apostles Paul and Silas was occasioned by something. There was something that had impressed the guard in the way Paul and Silas had handled themselves when the prison where they were was shaken and they found themselves free of their chains. Instead of continuing to keep out of sight until the coast was clear so that they could facilitate their escape, the two apostles revealed where they were hiding when they saw that the guard was about to harm himself. As individuals who had been on the receiving end of the guard's actions, they might have gladly and willingly let the guard inflict harm on himself. It would have been a sure way of exerting their revenge on him. But they didn’t. Something urged them to intervene. Perhaps it was out of decency that they decided to intervene. It can be that Paul and Silas were decent persons who thought of the implications the death of this guard would occasion. What if he had a family? What if he had people who depended on him for their livelihood? Perhaps it was something that Jesus had said regarding how to treat those perceived as one's enemies that nudged at them (love your enemies and pray to those who persecute you [cf. Matthew 5:44]). Whatever their reasons, Paul and Silas, even as prisoners, had inadvertently brought salvation to the guard. For to the guard, the way Paul and Silas had acted toward him was a mark of being set free, a mark of being saved. And he wanted in: "How can I become like you guys? What must I do to live in freedom such as you are doing? What must I do to live without fear as I have seen you do? What must I do to be set free from hatred, revenge, indifference, jealousy, selfishness, lack and care of concern for the other?" “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ,” Paul and Silas told him.
It might be true that Paul and Silas were decent men. But it is also true that they were believers and for them, their actions were driven by the fact of their identity: they were disciples of Jesus Christ. It was the commission they had received from their master of preaching the forgiveness of sins to the ends of the world that made them to be interested in the welfare of a perceived enemy. Jesus had set them free to love without limits, and it is this that they proposed to the guard: "Believe in Jesus Christ and you will be set free from actions and behaviors that might be detrimental to you and your household."
Salvation from sins which was the content of both John the Baptist and Jesus’ proclamation (cf. Mark 1:4, 15), as well as the disciples’ mission (cf. Luke 24:47; John 20:23), was to be a very practical thing. The lives of the recipients of the proclamations were to be changed for the better. They were to be “saved” from situations which were obstacles in their pursuit of the fullness of life. In the case of the prison guard, the immediate obstacle which he was facing was the threat to his wellbeing (for he had thought that Paul and Silas had escaped while in his custody). Paul and Silas “saved” him not only from the immediate threat to his wellbeing but also proclaimed to him the message of the freedom which believing in Jesus Christ brings. And since he had seen with his own eyes and tasted the good news of having faith in Christ, he did not hesitate to have his entire household baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Paul and Silas, even as prisoners, still managed to proclaim the good news of the salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ.