I was challenged on the interpretation on a verse today, and I am happy. I'm also proud of the person who challenged me, and thankful too. We teachers should be held accountable and if we are wrong, we better be corrected! Now... about the verse:
Acts 16:31
And they said, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household."
You're right in saying that Paul was more talking about the fact that the jailer's family can get in on this whole salvation business too. And I do think it's more of a localized promise rather than something general that is "do A to get B". However, I think we CAN apply this directly. When a person believes, he will show change in his life. Change should be so apparent that non-Christians should not be able to ignore it. And for one's family, the ones who are in contact with the person the most, they are going to feel the impact of the change the most. In addition, that person should not be able to shut up about God. That person, if truly saved, will most definitely want the same thing for his family too. A changed life combined with a passionate desire for others to experience Jesus the same way equals power, power to move the hearts of those close by.
Yes, ultimately it is still God who saves. But if God asked us to be laborers for the lost (Matt 9:37) and even uses us to reach lost souls (Rom 10:14), it only makes sense that a Christian can quite likely influence his family for Christ. On a more personal note, I've seen this for my dad. My Dad! But not for my grandpa, who has already passed away. So I guess I was a bit misleading. Though the fact remains that we are powerful tools in the hands of God, tools to reach our family. This verse, even if it doesn't promise that, reaffirms that through example.
