“Then he brought them out and said, ‘Sirs, what must I do to be saved?’ And they said, ‘Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.’” – Acts 16:30-31
Yes, it really is that simple! Overwhelmed by the power and presence of God, the Philippian jailer wanted what Paul had – salvation! That night salvation came to his entire household as they all listened to Paul explain the gospel, they all believed, and they were all baptized before breakfast.
When you consider how simple their story is, you realize how much we humans like to complicate things! We want to add things to the gospel to prove we have value, give ourselves an illusion of control, or provide safeguards to the faith which God didn’t ordain. That isn’t the gospel – there’s nothing we can add to the work Christ did on the cross. There’s nothing we can ever do to earn, deserve, or merit salvation in the slightest bit. There are no mandatory rules, rituals, or prolonged training that we should put between people, belief, and baptism.
Believe, be saved, and be baptized – it really is that simple! That’s the Good News!!!