https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/02\/AdvantagesOfChristianity.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n\tby Jeffrey W. Hamilton<\/p>\n\t
Text: Acts 16:22-35<\/p>\n
<\/p>\nI. There are a lot of religions to choose from in the world, if one was inclined to go\nshopping for a belief, from a claim that “there is no God“ to “everyone is right – at least\nin some fashion.”\n
A. So why be a Christian? What advantage is there?<\/p>\n B. We are going to examine one conversion, that of the Philippian jailer, to make a\nfew points.\n
II. Background<\/p>\n A. Paul and Silas had been in Philippi, a large city in Macedonia. Here they had\nconverted a woman named Lydia – Acts 16:14-15\n B. A woman, possessed by a demon, began pestering them and Paul cast the demon\nout of her – Acts 16:16-18\n 1. There were men who made profit off of this woman’s affliction, who\nweren’t happy to see her cured\n 2. So they filed a complaint with the city officials. Not a matter of quietly\nfilling a form, but taking advantage of Roman dislike for Jews, stirred up a\nmob – Acts 16:19-23\n
C. The focus of our story – Acts 16:24-35<\/p>\n
III. The advantages of being a Christian<\/p>\n
A. It can solve your problems<\/p>\n
1. The release of the prisoners caused the jailor to face a huge problem.<\/p>\n a. Roman law stated that if a prisoner escaped, the guards would face\nthe same penalty the prisoner would have received, even if it meant\ndeath.\n b. The jailer saw all the doors open and knew that all the prisoners\nwere surely gone.\n
c. Rather than face this, he determined to kill himself.<\/p>\n 2. Paul tells him to not harm himself because no one had escaped. That fact\nimpresses him. They had a chance to escape and didn’t take it.\n 3. Realizing that the earthquake and the prisoners not leaving were because\nof Paul and Silas, he desperately needed to know a way out of his\nproblems.\n 4. You might be facing your own problems. It might appear to be hopeless.\nBut in Christ there is a friend who will help you survive – Matthew 11:28-30; Hebrews 6:17-20\n
B. It can help your family<\/p>\n 1. This man could have committed suicide and left his family grief. Instead,\nhe lived and through the gospel brought his family joy.\n 2. You might be facing family problems. Your marriage might be on the\nrocks. Your children could be a pain. Your parents might not be all they\nshould be. But in Christ there are solutions\n
a. God teaches us how to treat our spouse – Ephesians 5:33<\/p>\n
b. How to raise children and how to treat parents – Ephesians 6:1-4<\/p>\n c. God knows about disobedience and rebellion and can help you\nnavigate the rocky waters of a family relationship.\n
d. You should be in Christ because it will make your family stronger.<\/p>\n
C. It can brighten your day<\/p>\n 1. The jailer’s day improved when he realized that he hadn’t lost his\nprisoners.\n a. Going home to those he thought for a moment never to see again\nmust have been special\n b. Learning together about Christ and deciding to be baptized\ntogether, well, they were overjoyed\n 2. No other religion, no other philosophy can do for you what Christ can. – I\nPeter 1:6-9\n 3. Wouldn’t a brighter, happier day feel good to you? Then you need to be a\nChristian.\n
D. It can bring new, better friends into your life<\/p>\n 1. I doubt a jailer had much opportunity to make quality friends. After all, he\nspent most of his life dealing with criminals and other low life.\n 2. But Paul and Silas were different. Despite their harsh treatment, they\ndidn’t cause him problems. And they spent the hours singing and praying!\n
3. We know the other prisoners noticed and this jailer likely did so as well.<\/p>\n
4. He even took them home to meet his family!<\/p>\n 5. The advantage of being a Christians is that you are around people who\nhave high moral standards. \n
a. They are people who value other people – Luke 10:27 <\/p>\n b. They are people who smile and enjoy life, despite its problems and\nchallenges – Philippians 4:4\n 6. Here were people who could sing and pray even while in pain and in\nprison. The jailer had a chance to join them and jumped at the chance.\n
E. It can save your soul<\/p>\n 1. The jailer probably never gave his soul much thought. He was just a hard\nworking man. But the crisis he faced made him realize that life was more\nthan what happens day to day.\n 2. The greatest part of being a Christian is that you don’t have to wonder\nwhat happens to you when you die.\n a. Your trust is in the Savior who already died and who overcame\ndeath\n
b. There is no fear in death – I Corinthians 15:54-57<\/p>\n
IV. So why not you?<\/p>\n
A. The jailor changed his life in one event-filled evening.<\/p>\n
1. He listened to Paul and Silas<\/p>\n
2. He believed the truth that he heard<\/p>\n 3. He changed from a callous man to a kind man who took people home and\ntreated their wounds.\n
4. He changed his outlook on life<\/p>\n 5. Then, along with others in his household who also heard and believed, he\nwas baptized.\n
B. In the midst of crisis he saw that Christ could meet all his needs<\/p>\n
C. He knew he wanted to be a Christian.<\/p>\n
D. How about you?<\/p>\n E. The jailer didn’t wait when he found a good thing, he was baptized immediately,\nthat same hour of the night.\n
F. He became a Christian, and so should you.<\/p>\n
\n
Based on an article by David Thurman<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Acts 16:22-35 I. There are a lot of religions to choose from in the world, if one was inclined to go shopping for a belief, from a claim that “there is no God“ to “everyone is right – at least in some fashion.” A. So why be a Christian? What advantage…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[119,32],"tags":[642],"class_list":["post-61742","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-audio","category-sermon","tag-christianity"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":53106,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/christianity-concentrate\/","url_meta":{"origin":61742,"position":0},"title":"Christianity Concentrate","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 8, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"by Raymond Warfel, Jr. Lessons from Matthew","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":90655,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/real-christianity\/","url_meta":{"origin":61742,"position":1},"title":"Real Christianity","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 21, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Raymond Warfel","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":67358,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-christianity-is-all-about\/","url_meta":{"origin":61742,"position":2},"title":"What Christianity Is All About","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 7, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Text: Ephesians 1 by Don Bunting One (or Two) Chapter Lessons","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":48502,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-christianity-rules-or-a-relationship\/","url_meta":{"origin":61742,"position":3},"title":"Is Christianity Rules or a Relationship?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 26, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"by Tommy Peeler God Has a Plan","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":64155,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/joys-of-christianity-gods-grace\/","url_meta":{"origin":61742,"position":4},"title":"Joys Of Christianity: God’s Grace","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 23, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"by Garry Floyd","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":48631,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-did-christianity-survive\/","url_meta":{"origin":61742,"position":5},"title":"How Did Christianity Survive?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 29, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"by Tommy Peeler God Has a Plan","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61742","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=61742"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61742\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=61742"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=61742"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=61742"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}