Dealing With Prejudice Series

Two thoughts came to mind when I read how Peter refused to be worshiped.

• Idols we worship will not satisfy us and will ultimately fail us. Not to take anything away from Eddie Van Halen, who died this week, but I found the headlines announcing his death to be ironic: “Eddie Van Halen, rock guitar god, dead of throat cancer at 65.” The gods we worship will all die.

• It’s also fascinating to me as a former Catholic, that Peter who Catholics consider to be the first pope, refused any worship or adoration or claim of infallibility. He referred to himself this way: “I too am a man.”

Peter was a servant, not a celebrity.

Verse 27 tells us again that Peter “went in” and found many Gentiles gathered. Now Peter is in a crowded room with them. There was no social distancing going on either. BTW, just a reminder to physically distance before and after the services. This will be harder to do when the weather gets cold. Also, we highly recommend the use of facemasks, especially when entering and exiting the facility.

Then Peter gives a brief statement about how the Almighty had adjusted his attitude and aligned his actions in verses 28-29: “You yourselves know how unlawful it is for a Jew to associate with or to visit anyone of another nation, but God has shown me that I should not call any person common or unclean. So when I was sent for, I came without objection. I ask then why you sent for me.”

While it wasn’t technically unlawful for a Jew to associate with a Gentile, Peter had followed the legalistic rabbinical laws which went beyond what the Scriptures teach. In his mind, a Gentile was the equivalent of a stray dog wandering in the streets.

We know Peter’s prejudice was pulverized and his attitude was adjusted because he was able to declare, “God has shown me that I should not call any person common or unclean.” Interestingly, the vision Peter had was of unclean food, but he had made the application to no longer categorize people according to spurious standards.

Then, Cornelius answers Peter’s question by explaining his encounter with the angel and how he was told to send for Peter. In verse 33 he expresses his eagerness to hear what Peter has to say about the glories of the gospel: “Now therefore we are all here in the presence of God to hear all that you have been commanded by the Lord.” That’s one of the things I love about Edgewood. Whether you’re here in person or engaging remotely, you love to hear all that God has said.

We’ll pick up the story here next weekend. Interestingly, this is a fulfillment of what Jesus said when He called Peter in Matthew 4:19: “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”

God is always at work…and sometimes we get to see it. When we don’t see it…remember God is always at work.

Principles

1. Deal with any prejudice or racism in your heart. The word “prejudice” means, “to prejudge.” It’s wrong to divide people according to race. I like how Ken Ham says it, “There’s only one race…the human race.”

What step can you take this week? Peter went through a process to root out prejudice. He started by staying with an unclean tanner. His next step was to invite Gentiles into his home. Then he went into a home filled with people who were different from him.