I’ve never heard any ‘mid-Acts-er’ comment on Paul and Silas ministering the gospel to the entire household of the prison keeper:
Acts 16:25-34 And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them.
26 And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one's bands were loosed.
27 And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled.
28 But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here.
29 Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas,
Since ‘mid-Acts-ers’ don’t refer to it, they must not like the salvation message contained in the verses:
30 And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?
31 And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.
‘Mid-Acts-ers’ make a big issue out of Paul’s words "by the word of the Lord" in
1 Thess 4:15. They say that phrase, proved that it was Paul’s ‘mystery’ message given only and directly to him by the Lord. Well, wonder why they don’t apply that same principle to what Paul (and Silas) spoke to the jailer and his relatives? Would ‘mid-Acts-ers’ call THIS ‘word of the Lord’ part of Paul’s special revelation? No, they don’t!
32 And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house.
33 And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway.
34 And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house.
‘Mid-Acts-ers’ decide which ‘word of the Lord’ they want from Paul and which ‘word of the Lord’ they don’t want from Paul. They pick-and-choose.
When you come out from all that ‘mid-Acts’ mess, then you can appreciate the joy when a whole family hears the truth and believes it together!
This is David Dowell, saying, "Think about it!"
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