In this message we see that all people, whatever race or culture they are, whether they live sinful or religious lives, are saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone.
Teaching Notes:
Gentiles Cleansed By Faith
Acts 10:1-11:18
In Mt.16:19 Jesus said to Peter, “And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven.” What did Peter do with those keys? He opened the door for the Jews (Acts 2), Samaritans (Acts 8), and this morning we will see how he opened that door to the Gentiles (Acts 10).
Luke regarded this as an extremely important story, because he includes it 3 times in this book: chapter 10, 11, and 15.
This is a huge chunk of Scripture. My goal this morning is not to examine in detail every little nuance of the passage, but to draw out from the passage those major themes and ideas that the Spirit of God has tucked away in it.
1. The Inability of Man:
Caesarea: 10:1. a seaport city named after Caesar Augustus. It is 33 miles north of Joppa, and was the Roman capitol of Judea. It was the headquarters for the Roman occupation force in case the Jews became rebellious.
Centurion: In the Roman army you had Centuries, Cohorts, and Legions. A Century consisted of 100 men. The commander of the Century was called a Centurion. A Cohort consisted of 6 Centuries, and was 600 men. A Legion consisted of 10 Cohorts or 6,000 men. So Cornelius was a military officer over 100 men. As such he must have been disciplined, submissive to authority, reliable and courageous.
Devout: 10:2-3. How is his devotion to God portrayed? In three ways.
1. He Feared God with all his household: He had rejected the many Roman gods in favor of the One True God of Israel. He feared Him. He knew He had Almighty Power and Authority. He knew he was a sinner and would be judged by this God one day. His whole family followed his lead in this regard which shows his strong leadership character. In those days a God-Fearer was a technical term for a Gentile who attached himself to Judaism, attended the synagogue, but had not been circumcised.
2. He gave many alms to the Jewish people: He was very generous, and when he saw Jews in need, he helped them, like the Good Samaritan. It’s interesting that he gave alms to the Jewish people. Evidently his attachment to the synagogue had enabled him to notice the many needs of the Jews. When he saw these needs, he generously met them.
3. He prayed to God continually: He prayed to the God of Israel, not just occasionally, but continually!
Your prayers and alms have ascended as a memorial before God: 10:4. The God of Heaven took note of this Gentile’s alms and prayers. They ascended to him as fragrant incense ascends heavenward.
Righteous: 10:22. This does not mean that he was justified in the sight of God. It simply means that his outward demeanor was free of gross sins, and that he was pursuing a life of obedience to God’s Law.
Well spoken of by the entire nation of the Jews: Although not a full proselyte, the Jews respected and admired this man. That was saying a lot since Cornelius was a leader of the hated Romans who had subjugated the Israelites.
He still needed to be saved! 11:14. But how? By works? No, by grace – Acts 15:11.
Life Application: Religion Can’t Save! This guy was a model non-Christian. In fact, he’s a model Christian! If he lived next door to us, he would put us to shame. He’s very religious. He goes to Church three times a week, takes meals to the homeless, prays night and day. Everyone in the neighborhood loves him and is impressed by him. There’s only 1 problem – he’s lost! Unless he finds God’s remedy for sin he will be lost forever in hell. Cornelius is a picture of the Best of the Best. And he’s still lost. What does that say about everyone else?
We’ve been going door to door in our neighborhood over the past 6 weeks, and have knocked on hundreds of doors, and a pattern has emerged. Most people believe in 1 God, believe that they have sinned, and believe in heaven and hell ad hope they are going to heaven. The rub comes in the next question. When asked, “Why will God allow you into heaven” almost inevitably their answer is “I’m a good person.” They point at themselves as the reason for their salvation. WRONG! Folks, if Cornelius couldn’t be saved by his religion, his effort, his alms, his giving, his devotion, then none of the people in our neighborhood are going to make it either, regardless of how good they think they are. Thank God, that salvation has nothing to do with how good I am. It has everything to do with how good Jesus is, and what He did by dying and rising from the dead to take away my sins.
Not only will religion never save anyone, it often makes it harder for a person to get saved. Why? Because they have become self-righteous. They start trusting in what they have done – going to church, reading the Bible, prayer – so that they think everything is right in their relationship with God. Yet the truth is, if they have not surrendered to Christ, repudiated all their works as a ground of salvation, and trusted alone in what Christ accomplished on their behalf, they are on their way to eternal destruction. They are self-deceived. And a self-deceived, self-righteous person has a much harder time seeing the Truth, than non-religious, guilty old Joe. So, as we are sharing the gospel, we must work hard at shattering a self-righteous person’s ground of confidence. We must enable them to see that their own works of righteousness will never suffice, and that only what Christ has done will avail them on Judgment Day.
2. The Initiative of God:
God Sends An Angel to Cornelius: Acts 10:3-6. God sent an angel to deliver a message to Cornelius. He was told to send some men to Joppa to get Peter who would deliver a message to him by which he would be saved (11:14). A little side note: I find it interesting that God sent the angel to tell Cornelius to send for Peter to tell him the gospel. God could have saved a lot of time and energy by just having the angel preach the gospel to Cornelius. Or easier yet, God could have just spoken to Cornelius Himself audibly, or written it in the skies. But, that is now how God has chosen to carry on His work. We have the unspeakable privilege and responsibility of bringing the gospel to every living person on the planet.
God Gives A Vision to Peter: Acts 10:9-20. We might think it strange that someone would go up on the housetop to pray, but that was a common custom in that day because the roofs were flat. It would give someone a good place to go and be alone with God. It’s interesting that God gives Peter a vision concerning things to eat when he is so hungry. Why? That’s where Peter’s mind is, so that’s how God will speak to him! God was getting a message across to Peter. Peter didn’t get it initially, but it finally registered by 10:28, a few days later. The primary message was not that the Jewish dietary laws had changed. The primary message was about people – not animals. God accepts into fellowship all who believe in Christ, including Gentiles.
God Granted Repentance Unto Life: 11:18. How did the Jews in Jerusalem view what had happened? God had granted the Gentiles the repentance that leads to life. God gave repentance. That seems like a foreign concept today. Repenting and believing are the things we contribute; salvation is what God responds with. No, God gives faith and repentance.
Life Application: God Is Sovereign In Salvation: Out of all the Gentiles on the face of the earth, God chose to save Cornelius. God went to great lengths to save him. He sent an angel to Cornelius, and gave a vision to an apostle. You say, “But God was not initiating – He was responding to Cornelius’ prayers.” Well, consider Romans 3:11 – “there is none who seeks for God.” So then, if Cornelius was truly seeking God, it was because God was already seeking him. Jesus said, “No man can come to Me, unless the Father who sent draws him.” I believe we see God stirring Cornelius to seek out the true and living God. Why? Because he is one of God’s elect, chosen from the foundation of the world.
We saw this same thing in the Ethiopian Eunuch, and Saul of Tarsus. God chose the eunuch, then sent an angel to Philip to tell him to go down and preach to him. God chose Saul, and stopped him in his tracks, took him down and pinned him to the mat, blinded him, until Saul surrendered. And God chose Cornelius and his household.
You see, God is always first. God is always the initiator. You can never beat God to salvation. You can never come unless He has already been working in you. In fact, I believe you can’t even believe the gospel unless He first changes your heart and gives you life. The Bible says that He is the Author and Perfecter of our faith (Heb.12:2). It says that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus (Phil.1:6). God gave you faith to begin with, and perfects it every day until you reach heaven.
What this all means is that He is Worthy of all the Glory! He deserves all your praise, adoration, and devotion. If you are a Christian it is because He drew you, He authored your faith, He began a good work in you. Worship Him!
3. The Invitation To All:
Jewish Cultural Background: At this point in history how did Jews view who could be saved? They viewed salvation as Jewish. In other words Jews and non-Jews who became Jews through circumcision could be saved, but no one else. It just didn’t make sense to them that God could receive a Gentile into fellowship with Himself unless he first became a Jew. They saw the Jews as God’s chosen people, His favorites. They saw the Gentiles as unclean, unholy, defiled, unworthy of the message of the gospel. And so for 10 years now, the only ones they have preached to have been Jews. The apostles should have known better. Jesus had told them many times that they were to take the gospel to the whole world: Mt.28:18-20; Mk.16:15-16; Lu.24:46-47; Acts 1:8. But the encrustation of their Jewish culture over hundreds of years made it extremely difficult for them to even imagine taking the gospel to the Gentiles, since any contact with them would defile them.
10:28 – Peter feels so uncomfortable entering the home of a Gentile that he actually blurts out an insult. It would be like for a visitor to come into your home and say to the wife, “I’m coming into your home even though I consider it very dirty!” Further, Peter confesses that God had finally gotten through to him in the vision. He showed him that he shouldn’t call any man unholy or unclean. In other words, no one is too unclean, or unholy to hear the gospel. God doesn’t rule anyone out, based on their ethnicity, color, or culture.
10:34-35 – God doesn’t show partiality. He is not interested in only 1 nation, but every nation. He loves all men and Christ died to pay a ransom sufficient for all their sins. Notice “in every nation”. God is pleased with any one from any nation who will fear Him and obey Him.
10:36 – He is Lord of all – not just Lord of the Jews, but Lord of every human being.
10:37-41 – Peter preaches the gospel. It consists of 3 features: The Life, Death, and Resurrection of Jesus.
10:42 – Peter tells of the Great Commission Jesus had given them. In 10:42 & 43 Peter declares that Jesus will be either your Judge or your Savior. Turn or burn. Repent or perish. Heaven or Hell.
10:43 – This is the striking sentence of Peter’s sermon: “everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins.” Everyone – not just Jews. And notice the single, indispensable condition of forgiveness is not circumcision, or becoming a Jew. It is faith in Jesus Christ.
10:44-48 – So What Happened? The Holy Spirit interrupted Peter’s sermon! How? The Gentiles he was speaking to began speaking with other tongues. What was the tongues an evidence of? The Holy Spirit had fallen (44), the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on them (45), they had received the Holy Spirit (47). Evidently, when Peter got to that point in his sermon about everyone who believes receives forgiveness of sins, they believed and they were forgiven! How do we know? Acts 15:7-9. God cleansed their hearts by faith. So, as Peter was preaching, they believed in Christ, and God gave them the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Why Did God Evidence Faith This Way? When the Eunuch and Saul were converted, nothing like this took place. The key is 10:47. God gave the Gentiles exactly the same thing as He gave the Jews on Pentecost. We can call this event “The Gentile Pentecost.” God incorporated the Jewish believers into His Church on Pentecost. God is incorporating Gentile believers into His Church on this other Pentecost. But since that fact is so difficult for Jewish believers to accept with their hundreds of years of taboos & traditions, God makes it easy for them. God gives the Gentiles the exact same gift He had given the Jews. Now the Jews understand that God had received the Gentile believers and given them the exact same privileges and status He had given the Jewish believers. What would have happened if the Gentiles had just believed in their hearts, with no supernatural outward manifestation? The Jews would never be quite sure whether they were really saved or not! They would always be a little unsure if they should really fully accept them into the Church. But when God gave a sign that was obviously supernatural, it left the Jews with no doubt. Acts 11:17.
Life Application: Anyone Can Be Saved Through Faith Alone: Notice that these believers were baptized, but only after it was evident that they had been saved and received the gift of the Holy Spirit. The Church of Christ believes that these Gentiles received the gift of the Holy Spirit, but were not saved until they were baptized. However, I can’t find a single other instance of someone in the New Testament who was baptized in the Holy Spirit, or who received the gift of the Holy Spirit who wasn’t saved at that time. No, the Holy Spirit falling on them was proof God had saved them and incorporated them into the Body of Christ. Now Peter asks, “If God has saved them, how can we not baptize them?!” Baptism was a result of salvation, not a condition of salvation.
So here are 2 glorious truths: 1) Anyone from any nation under heaven regardless of his race, language, gender, skin color, or age may be saved if he/she believes in Jesus Christ. 2) The only human condition for salvation is faith. Note how Paul ties all this together in Romans 3:27-30.
We Are Saved By Grace Alone, Through Faith Alone, In Christ Alone!! Grace – not human merit. Faith – not human works. Christ – not Anyone else! We can go to any human being on the planet, and tell them that if they will trust alone in Jesus Christ, they will be saved! What a glorious truth!
4. The Iniquity Of Racism:
You see all the way through this story how hard it was for Peter and then the Jews in Jerusalem to accept the truth that Gentiles could be saved through faith alone, and that God would regard them exactly the same as Jews who believed. Notice 10:14-16; 19-20; 28; 34; 47; 11:2-3. To them, Gentiles were “dogs”, created to fan the fires of hell. Further, they would never eat with a Gentile. Their dietary laws made any table fellowship impossible. If they touched a Gentile at the marketplace they would become unclean. Their prejudices were so deep and strong that it took 4 Divine hammer blows to release them:
1. The Hammer Blow of a Divine Vision: 11:4-10.
2. The Hammer Blow of a Divine Command: 11:11-12
3. The Hammer Blow of a Divine Preparation: 11:13-14
4. The Hammer Blow of a Divine Action: 11:15-17
Peter and the other Jewish believers were wrong to hold these prejudices against the Gentiles. It was sin. It was great sin!
Life Application: Racism is a Great Sin! One of the reasons Jesus died was to break down the barriers that divided Jews and Gentiles. For the Jews to erect that barrier again was to defiantly oppose God!
In America there are still all Black, and all White churches in the same town, same neighborhood! Recently, when we were doing our door to door ministry we invited a Black woman to our Church. She nervously and repeated asked again and again, “Are you sure it’s OK for a Black person to come to your church?” The reason she asked is that she and her husband tried to fellowship with a white church and were told that the pastor didn’t like Blacks, and it would be better for them to find a different church. That made my blood boil! God doesn’t look at the color of our skin – he looks at our hearts. Have they been cleansed by the blood through faith? That’s all that matters.
Romans 15:7 “Therefore, accept one another, just as Christ also accepted us to the glory of God.” It has been said “You get to choose your friends, but you don’t get to choose your family.” Well, every child of God is part of your family. You don’t get to choose whether you accept them or associate with them. They’re family! That means that you are going to have to learn to love people you normally wouldn’t hang out with. Here’s a test. Are there other believers you have trouble fully accepting for any reason? Maybe it’s their race, skin color, or gender. Maybe it’s their past. Maybe they were gay, lesbian, a transvestite, or had a sex change, a criminal, drug addict, alcoholic. Maybe they still struggle from the effects of their past. Will you fully accept and receive them because God has? If not, you need to repent of that sin today.
4 Great Truths from This Passage:
1. The Inability of Man to Save Himself
2. The Initiative of God in Saving Sinners
3. The Invitation to All Men to be Saved through Faith in Christ
4. The Great Evil of Racism in the Church of Jesus Christ
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