saved?’ ” (Ac 16:29, 30). Then Paul announced to him the forgiveness of all his sins. He said to him, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household” (v. 31). That was all Paul and Silas did. “They spoke the word of the Lord to him” (v. 32). When they said to him, “Believe,” that was not a harsh command which he must obey; it was not laying down a condition which he must meet. It was an invitation to accept a blessing which God had prepared for him. It was this word which