“ALL ONE IN CHRIST” (PART 3)
ACTS 10:34-48
I. Introduction
Decisive moments in history are often marked by what scholars like to call “turning points.” One of the interesting things about turning points is that they’re seldom recognized as such at the time they take place. It’s only after some time has gone by and related events have played themselves out that the full impact of what happened becomes clear. There are many such significant turning points in American history.
One took place in and around the city of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, in July, 1863. By the third day of bitter fighting, General Robert E. Lee’s Confederate Army of Northern Virginia was on the verge of a decisive victory. General George Meade’s Union Army of the Poto-mac was crumbling under Lee’s constant attacks. If Lee could break through the Union lines, they would be split in two, and Lee’s armies would be free to march unopposed all the way into Washington, D.C. where Abraham Lincoln would be forced to surrender, and the United States of America, as we know it today, would cease to exist.
But at the last moment, on the afternoon of July 3, 1863, Lee’s army faltered just enough for Meade to bring up desperately needed reinforcements, and in brutal hand-to-hand combat the Union lines at Cemetery Ridge held and Lee was driven back. Robert E. Lee’s armies never took the offensive again. And although it wasn’t fully understood at the time, and the war raged on for nearly two more years, the South was effectively finished. Gettysburg was a turning point from which the Confederacy never recovered.
Another turning point took place at the Battle of Midway in June, 1942. Since their attack on Pearl Harbor in December, 1941, the Imperial Japanese Navy had gone unchallenged as it turned the Pacific Ocean into what some were beginning to call a Japanese lake. With most of the United States Navy’s Pacific Fleet sunk or damaged beyond repair, there was virtually nothing to keep the Japanese juggernaut from invading the American West Coast.
Convinced that total victory was within their grasp, the Japanese, led by Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, marshalled a fleet of over fifty-five warships, including four of their largest air-craft carriers. They set out to lure what was left of the American navy into a battle at sea that, by all standards of human reason and military logic, Japan simply could not lose. And that’s the way it began on June 4, 1942. The American navy, under Admiral Chester Nimitz, threw all it had at the Japanese, but the attacks caused no significant damage and proved to be little more that suicide missions. Nearly every American aviator involved was lost.
But late in the day a small group of American dive bombers managed to slip through the Japanese defenses and within a matter of minutes struck fatal blows to all four aircraft car-riers. The losses staggered Admiral Yamamoto and he retreated to rethink and reorganize.
After Midway the Japanese never advanced any further east. The American West Coast was never attacked, and the Japanese military found itself going from the offensive to the defen-sive. And although the war in the Pacific wore on for three more years, Japan’s expansion-ism had ceased. It wasn’t fully understood at the time it happened, but the Battle of Midway was a turning point from which Japan never recovered.
This morning we’ll concern ourselves with another turning point. It took place around the year 40 A.D. in the Roman Provincial Capital of Caesarea. The Church of Jesus Christ had been born on the Day of Pentecost in Jerusalem. In the years since, the apostles and those who had been converted under their ministry took the news of Jesus and His gospel to Jews throughout Judea and Samaria.
That is precisely as it should have been because God’s design for the spread of the gospel was that it should go first to His chosen people, the nation of Israel. In Romans 1:16 the Apostle Paul would write, “…(the gospel) is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek (Gentile).” And so the gospel was going to the Jews, but what about the Gentiles? After His resurrection from the dead, Jesus had not been unclear in His instructions to the apostles. He told them…
Matthew 28:19
19 “Go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,
20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
Luke 24:47
47 “…repentance for forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in (My) name to all the nations.”
Acts 1:8b
8b “…you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samar-ia, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”
It was plain enough what was to be done. The gospel was to go to “…all the nations” and “the remotest part of the earth.” The Gentiles were meant to hear it. But only the Jews had it. And therein, to paraphrase William Shakespeare, “lay the rub.” Jews and Gentiles hated each other. Most Gentiles saw Jews as little more than slaves and the enemies of the human race, while many Jews actually believed that God had only created Gentiles to provide the fuel for the fires of hell. God would have to act to bridge the gap between them.
He would do so with what probably seemed a little thing at the time – a meeting between two men in a home in Caesarea. There would be a few witnesses, but it isn’t likely that anyone present that day could imagine that they had seen a turning point, a moment that would change history, and an event that would open the door to the salvation in Christ that you and I are blessed with today. It all began with Peter and Cornelius.
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II. Review and Scripture Reading
How did this turning point come about? How did God orchestrate it? He spoke to both men in miraculous visions. The Lord began with Cornelius.
*Acts 10:1-6
1 Now there was a certain man at Caesarea named Cornelius, a centurion of what was called the Italian cohort,
2 a devout man, and one who feared God with all his household, and gave many alms to the Jewish people, and prayed to God continually.
3 About the ninth hour of the day he clearly saw in a vision an angel of God who had just come in to him, and said to him, “Cornelius!”
4 And fixing his gaze upon him and being much alarmed, he said, “What is it, Lord?” And he (the angel) said to him, “Your prayers and alms have ascended as a memorial before God.
5 “And now dispatch some men to Joppa, and send for a man named Simon, who is also called Peter;
6 he is staying with a certain tanner named Simon, whose house is by the sea.”
Then God spoke to Peter.
*Acts 10:9-15
9 And on the next day, as they were on their way, and approaching the city, Peter went up on the housetop about the sixth hour to pray.
10 And he became hungry, and was desiring to eat; but while they were making preparations, he fell into a trance;
11 and he beheld the sky opened up, and a certain object like a great sheet coming down, lowered by four corners to the ground,
12 and there were in it all kinds of four-footed animals and crawling creatures of the earth and birds of the air.
13 And a voice came to him, “Arise, Peter, kill and eat!”
14 But Peter said, “By no means, Lord, for I have never eaten anything unholy and unclean.”
15 And again a voice came to him a second time, “What God has cleansed, no longer consider unholy.”
God gave Cornelius an order and Cornelius obeyed. It wasn’t complicated. God told him to go get Peter, and Cornelius wasted no time doing so. Acts 10:7 tells us that he immediately sent servants to find Peter and bring him to Caesarea. The lesson for us should be obvious. As soon as you know what God wants you to do, do it!
With Peter things were a little less clear, at least in the beginning. It wasn’t that he would disobey God.
He would not disobey, but in order for him to do what he was being called to do, his attitude about Gentiles had to be changed. When the Lord told Peter to kill and eat the “unclean” animals on the vision of the sheet lowered from heaven, God was breaking through Peter’s lifetime of prejudice and teaching him the reality that the gospel was not just for the Jew; it was for the Gentile as well. The Jews’ belief – and Peter’s personal conviction – that the Gentiles were unclean was finally changed when the Lord said to him, “What God has cleansed, no longer consider unholy (Acts 10:15).”
It was just then that the men whom Cornelius had sent to find Peter arrived and told him of the Roman Centurion’s vision. Encouraged by these events, whatever doubts Peter may have had were assuaged and he willingly went to Caesarea. But he was still unclear as to the specific reason God wanted him there. When he arrived at the home of Cornelius he said…
*Acts 10:28-29
28 “…You yourselves know how unlawful it is for a man who is a Jew to associ-ate with a foreigner or to visit him; and yet God has shown me that I should not call any man unholy or unclean.
29 “That is why I came without even raising any objection when I was sent for. And so I ask for what reason you have sent for me.”
Cornelius answered, and I paraphrase, “We are all assembled to hear what God has to say to us.” And that brings us to this morning’s text.
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III. Text
*Acts 10:34-48 (Please stand with me in honor of reading God’s Word.)
34 And opening his mouth, Peter said: “I most certainly understand now that God is not one to show partiality,
35 but in every nation the man who fears Him and does what is right, is welcome to Him.
36 “The word which He has sent to the sons of Israel, preaching peace through Jesus Christ (He is Lord of all) –
37 you yourselves know the thing which took place throughout all Judea, starting from Galilee, after the baptism which John proclaimed.
38 “You know of Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how He went about doing good, and healing all who were oppressed by the devil; for God was with Him.
39 “And we are witnesses of all the things He did both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem. And they also put Him to death by hanging Him on a cross.
40 “God raised Him up on the third day, and granted that He should become visible,
41 not to all the people, but to witnesses who were chosen beforehand by God, that is, to us, who ate and drank with Him after He arose from the dead.
42 “And He ordered us to preach to the people, and solemnly to testify that this is the One who has been appointed by God as Judge of the living and the dead.
43 “Of Him all the prophets bear witness that through His name everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins.”
44 While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who were listening to the message.
45 And all the circumcised believers who had come with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out upon the Gentiles also.
46 For they were hearing them speaking with tongues and exalting God. Then Peter answered,
47 “Surely no one can refuse the water for these to be baptized who have received the Holy Spirit just as we did, can he?”
48 And he ordered them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to stay on for a few days.
Here are Peter and Cornelius. They have responded to God in obedience. And as a result of that obedience, they find themselves at one of the great turning points in church history. They are ready to be used in accomplishing God’s eternal purpose of getting the Gospel of Jesus Christ to all the nations and into the remotest parts of the earth. It begins here.
With Cornelius’s words in v. 33, “…we are all here present before God to hear all that you have been commanded by the Lord,” Peter finally “gets it.”
*Acts 10:34-35
34 And opening his mouth, Peter said: “I most certainly understand now that God is not one to show partiality, (“God is no respecter of persons.” KJV)
35 but in every nation the man who fears Him and does what is right, is welcome to Him.
Is there anyone alive who should not hear the gospel? The answer is an unequivocal, “No!” This is a new revelation to Peter, but God has always said as much.
Deuteronomy 10:17 (Moses)
17 “For the LORD your God is the God of gods and the Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God who does not show partiality…”
2 Chronicles 19:7 (Ezra)
7 “Now then let the fear of the LORD be upon you; be very careful what you do, for the LORD our God will have no part in unrighteousness, or partiality…”
Job 34:19 (Job)
19 (God) shows no partiality to princes, nor regards the rich above the poor, for they are all the work of His hands.”
With all of that we have to ask ourselves, “How can we possibly harbor any racism, preju-dice, or ill will towards any other human being since they are all the work of His hands?”
Peter’s understanding is a powerful affirmation that the Church of Jesus Christ consists of men and women “…from every tribe and tongue and people and nation (Revelation 5:9).” In his letter to the Christians in Rome Paul would expand upon that fundamental truth.
*Romans 3:29-30
29 Or is God the God of Jews only? Is He not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also,
30 since indeed God who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircum-cised through faith is one.
So there can no longer be any controversy around Acts 10:34, but there has been controversy stemming from v. 35 which says, “…in every nation the man who fears Him and does what is right, is welcome to Him.” That has led some to argue that God will ultimately save every single human being. But that’s the false teaching of universalism or universal salvation. Universalism is the logical outcome of theological liberalism run amuck. The theological left loves universalism because it says that is doesn’t matter what you believe so long as you sincerely believe it and are a “good” person. Just what it is that defines a good person is never clearly stated. In the end, universalism rejects every major biblical doctrine.
So what does Acts 10:35 really mean? Just this: Peter is saying that the Holy Spirit is the one who prepares the sinner’s heart (Jew or Gentile) to hear the gospel and to receive Christ. The Spirit plows the ground, as it were, and makes it ready for the seed. Isn’t that exactly what we saw in Cornelius before God visited him in the vision that prompted Cornelius to send for Peter? Cornelius was not yet saved, but God was preparing him for salvation.
Theologian Everett Harrison explained it by saying, “The meaning is not that such persons are thereby saved but rather that they are suitable candidates for salvation. Such prepara-tion (indicates) a spiritual earnestness that will result in faith as the gospel is heard and received.”
This is why we can never argue someone into the kingdom whose heart has not already been prepared by God. And it is why we do not have to carry the responsibility for another’s sal-vation. If God intends to save them, He will do so in His time, not in ours. And while, as Peter says in 1 Peter 3:15, we are always to be “…ready to give a defense to everyone who asks (us) to give an account for the hope that is in (us),” we are always to remember that it is the Holy Spirit alone who prepares the heart and saves the soul.
In Acts 10:35 we see that Cornelius’ heart has been prepared, but Cornelius is not yet saved. The final ingredient is the gospel. He has to hear the gospel. And there has to be a preacher.
*Romans 10:14
14 How then shall they call upon Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?
Oh, wait! There is a preacher. His name is Peter and he is standing in Cornelius’ house. This is the work of a sovereign God! He has worked in both Peter’s and Cornelius’ hearts.
The outcome is sure. Peter says…
*Acts 10:36-43
36 “The word which He has sent to the sons of Israel, preaching peace through Jesus Christ (He is Lord of all) –
37 you yourselves know the thing which took place throughout all Judea, starting from Galilee, after the baptism which John proclaimed.
38 “You know of Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how He went about doing good, and healing all who were oppressed by the devil; for God was with Him.
39 “And we are witnesses of all the things He did both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem. And they also put Him to death by hanging Him on a cross.
40 “God raised Him up on the third day, and granted that He should become visible,
41 not to all the people, but to witnesses who were chosen beforehand by God, that is, to us, who ate and drank with Him after He arose from the dead.
42 “And He ordered us to preach to the people, and solemnly to testify that this is the One who has been appointed by God as Judge of the living and the dead.
43 “Of Him all the prophets bear witness that through His name everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins.”
In these verses Luke records Peter’s third sermon. In v. 36 Peter tells Cornelius and the other Gentiles in the room that the Christ did indeed come to this earth through the Jews (to the Jew first), but that the Lord’s message of peace is for all men (and also to the Gentile). Yes, the peace Jesus preached made possible peace between Jew and Gentile, but Jesus’ message was peace with God. All who would put their faith in Christ would find that peace.
*Romans 5:1, 9-10
1 Therefore having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ…
9 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him.
10 For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.
Here is the reason that this peace is for the Gentiles as well as the Jews. In Acts 10:36 Peter says that this salvation is offered to all because Jesus is Lord of all. In vv. 37-38 Peter reminds his audience that he isn’t telling them things they know nothing about. Jesus’ mini-stry and the miracles He performed throughout Galilee and Judea are all a matter of common knowledge and well-known to all. And it isn’t mere hearsay.
In v. 39 he says, “…we (who stand here before you) are witnesses of all the things Jesus did.” Then Peter preaches the main point – Jesus was crucified, dead, and buried. But then God raised Him from the dead, and now He is alive. This is what makes the Lord Jesus Christ unique among all the religious figures in human history. All the others are dead. The resur-rection! Christ, God in human flesh, is alive! This must be believed. If it is not believed, there is no salvation.
*Romans 10:9
9 …if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord (He is God), and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead (He is alive), you shall be saved.
In Acts 10:39 Peter says he knew Jesus before He was crucified. Anyone could see Him then. But in v. 40 Peter says he has also known Jesus since He was resurrected and before He ascended to heaven. From then on it was only believers who were privileged to see Him. Today you and I cannot see Jesus with our physical eyes. But through the indwelling Holy Spirit we know Him, and can “see” Him with our spiritual eyes. The world is totally blind to that. That’s the blindness the Apostle Paul was talking about when he said…
2 Corinthians 4:3-4
3 And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing,
4 in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving, that they may not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
Peter concludes his presentation in vv. 42-43 saying that he is obeying Jesus command to preach the gospel and proclaim forgiveness of sins to all who believe it. There is the gospel. Jesus is God. He was dead and He is alive. If you believe that, your sins will be forgiven and you will be saved. And that takes us to the last section of the today’s text.
*Acts 10:44-48
44 While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who were listening to the message.
45 And all the circumcised believers who had come with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out upon the Gentiles also.
46 For they were hearing them speaking with tongues and exalting God. Then Peter answered,
47 “Surely no one can refuse the water for these to be baptized who have received the Holy Spirit just as we did, can he?”
48 And he ordered them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to stay on for a few days.
Everyone in that room had been prepared by God to receive Christ. Their hearts were ready. As soon as the gospel was preached they believed. Peter didn’t have to warm up the crowd. He didn’t need twenty minutes of emotional music to get them in the mood.
There was no conniving or pre-planning, there was no cajoling or persuading, and there was no convincing or pleading. Peter didn’t call for every head to be bowed and every eye to be closed. He didn’t call for the raising of hands or standing up and walking to the front of the room. What did Peter do? He preached the Word of God. He told his hearers the truth. And everyone whom God had prepared, God saved. Is the lesson not clear?
It isn’t complicated. The people heard the truth. The people believed the truth. The Holy Spirit fell on those who believed, and they were saved. Just as the Jews received the Spirit in Acts 2 on the Day of Pentecost, so too did the Gentiles receive the Spirit here in Acts 10.
God has made His point crystal clear. The Church of Jesus Christ would no longer be a sect within Judaism. It would come to include men and women and boys and girls from every tribe, tongue, people, and nation. From the home of Cornelius in Caesarea the gospel would begin to go out even to the remotest part of the earth. It would eventually make its way to such strange, exotic, and faraway places as Lake Geneva, Wisconsin.
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IV. Conclusion
By the way, what happened after these Gentiles were saved? In vv. 47-48 we see that they were baptized. Listen, water baptism has nothing whatsoever to do with getting saved. On the contrary, it has everything to do with the public profession of believers that they have already been saved.
This summer, on Saturday, August 6, at our annual picnic at Covenant Harbor Bible Camp, we will have a baptism service. If you are a Christian who has not yet been baptized, please see me. Let’s talk about it.
With that we’ve come to the end of Acts 10. It has marked a monumental turning point in the history of the church. The door has been opened to the world. It’s still open, but time is running out.
Who do you know who needs to hear the truth about Jesus? We often pray that God will make us ready to speak to them. That isn’t a bad prayer. But if you’ve made little or no progress talking to someone, you may want to “give it a break.” You may want to change your tactics. Why don’t you start praying that God will soften their hearts? It could lead to their “turning point.”
~ Pray ~