What was the real dilemma of the jailer in Acts 16?
The jailer's real dilemma was not merely that his prisoners were loose and could flee; it was his own soul. God sovereignly showed him Paul and Silas held the answer to his deeper problem, leading him to ask, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?"
Les explains that the jailer faced a dilemma: all his renegade prisoners were loose and ready to flee, yet they were not; they stayed. But Les teaches the real dilemma was deeper. Sovereignly, God let this pagan Gentile jailer know that Paul and Silas were the answer to his problem, and it would be more than a bunch of prisoners—it would be the man's own soul. The jailer had called for a light, sprang in, came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas. Then he brought them out of the dungeon and prison and asked, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" Les contrasts this with Peter preaching in Acts 2, where the covenant nation of Israel asked what the nation must do. Gentiles are not dealt with on covenants but as individuals, and every individual must ask that same question, "What must I do to be saved?"