Are we to understand from the passage above referred to that the ship and all that sailed with Paul were spiritually saved, as some contend, and formed the first church in Rome? or did Paul mean the Lord had given him their lives to be saved from the watery grave? Certainly the latter. It has been true in all the ages of the past that God has saved temporarily, from temporal danger, various persons, because of the holiness of some one person. For instance, not all of Noah's children were good. They were saved because of their relationship to their father. Job's three friends were saying some pretty hard things, that brought upon them the disfavor of the Lord, but they were saved and blessed because Job prayed for them. Doubtless by Daniel's prayers men were delivered from peril. There will come a time in the last great judgment-day when every man must stand for himself, and tho Noah and Daniel and Job were in the land, they should save only themselves by their righteousness. They could not save others. See Eze. 14:14. God by His gracious goodness wanted to show to the sailors and those on board the ship that the one who had taught Jesus the crucified, was indeed a mighty man, and therefore He gave him for temporal salvation, in order that they might have opportunity to seek God, those who were in the ship.