Text: Acts 10:1-48, Title: An Equal Opportunity Savior, Date/Place: NRBC, 2/17/08, AM
A. Opening illustration: A local business puts a sign in the window, stating the following: “HELP WANTED. Must be able to type, must be good with a computer and must be bilingual. We are an equal opportunity employer.?
B. Background to passage: Peter has been ministering in Joppa and Lydda strengthening the church and ministering to individuals. The gospel has moved from Jerusalem into Judea, and then into Samaria which was a big jump, and now stands poised to make the last big jump in its race to the ends of the earth. One cannot underestimate the value of the next two chapters in the book of Acts for all of us who are gentiles. And being gentiles we can hardly understand how huge of an issue this would have been. But God goes to great links to demonstrate that the battle-hardened, but devout Roman soldier and family can be saved just as the Jews on Pentecost and the Samaritans under Philip’s ministry.
C. Main thought: from the text we will examine three truths about this situation
A. Good men need a Savior (v. 1-8)
1. The text makes a clear assertion that Cornelius was a “good” man. He was probably a man of integrity who was sympathetic and maybe even participatory in the synagogue. He is a man of prayer, morality, holy fear, and generosity. And the text indicates that he led his family to be the same. But as indicated by Peter’s speech, and clarified in the next chapter, Cornelius needs to be saved.
2. Isa 59:1-2, 64:6, Eccl 7:14,
3. Illustration: Getting into the White House not because you tell the guards that you know George Bush, but because he told the guards that he knows you, D.L.Moody said “Many persons flatter themselves that they are going to be saved because they know a great deal about Jesus Christ. Mere knowledge will not save. Noah’s carpenters may have known as much,” C.S. Lewis once wrote, "You cannot go on being a good egg forever. You must either hatch or rot." Billy Sunday was right when he said, "Joining the church does not any more make one a Christian than entering a garage will change one into an automobile.’" The preacher said, “That’s right. They had the ticket stubs. They had the program. They had been to the theatre. They knew the music. But the trouble is, they didn’t see the performance.” Then he added, “A lot of Christians are like that. We come to church. We have the bulletin. We know the songs. We know what to say & what to do. The problem is…
4. One of the biggest deceptions of Satan within our society is that you can be good enough to go to heaven. Ever notice how you never go to a funeral where someone is spoken about being in hell? Going to heaven is not about doing enough good things for others, not about going to church enough or praying enough, or giving enough, or having “an arrangement with the man upstairs,” nor is it about walking an aisle, praying a prayer one time, or being baptized. Going to heaven is about being born from above, getting a new heart, having a relationship (that means a consistent two-way conversation), having transformed desires that result in transformed behaviors. But it is not the behaviors that get you in, because even unbelievers can be moral, and even have significant life change for the wrong reasons. You must know Jesus, and He must know you. Within the context of the modern missions’ mindset, Cornelius could represent those individuals in unreached countries that are in some sense seeking to know the One True God. And of course the implication is that many of us should go. All of us should give. And we should be aware that those people are around us here. The Thom Rainer book The Unchurched Next Door highlights the large percentage of unchurched Americans that could fall into this category.
B. Old habits die hard (v. 9-16)
1. As I mentioned earlier, it is hard for us to imagine this from a gentile perspective. The Jews would not buy eating utensils from Samaria, let alone a gentile place. You were deemed ceremonially unclean by simply contacting a gentile, let alone going into a house. The dietary restrictions were just as much about their identity and separation as a nation as anything. Jews hated the Romans, in fact the whole city of Caesarea was hated because of their presence. And so God begins with animals on a sheet. And note the irony that Peter addresses the voice as Lord, but tells it “no.” But God is clear with his message: don’t call common, what I have cleansed! God is taking down dietary, social, racial, and cultural boundaries to reach the gentiles. He is also making a statement toward prejudice of any kind! God tells Peter to go without reservation. And Peter then invites the Gentiles in, then goes to stay at one’s home. Think of how awkward it would be for him. And he confesses to his sin several times. And it is still a problem later.
2. Gal 2:11,
3. Illustration: It is said that Mahatma Gandhi was at a time contemplating becoming a Christian. He was so inspired after reading the Bible, especially the Sermon on the Mount. So he went to attend a church on a Sunday. The usher standing at the entrance of the church told him that the church was reserved for “Whites only” and if he wished he could go to a church for the “Blacks” at the other end of the road. That was the last time Gandhi entertained any thought of becoming a Christian, in many countries of the world, Islam is offering its brotherhood as a real alternative to the current expressions of Christianity that embrace racism and class prejudice, become as Kaitlann as she was not even repulsed enough to kiss her mama’s big toe because it had a boo boo on it,
4. As Christians we should never look down on a person because of their race, class, physical appearance, and say: they are unfit to hear the gospel to me. There is none who is too offensive, too undeserving, too sinful, too despised to minister to, and that Christ didn’t die for. The attitude behind such a sentiment is one of arrogance as well as insecurity. We feel like if we put others in a lower class than we are, we will feel better about ourselves, as if we have made ourselves what we are. And even when we know it is a sin, it is still difficult to put it down completely. It is a tireless battle that we continue to fight. But our lives should be replete with kindness and gospel to the poor, the minority, the physically disabled, and the sinners (homosexuals, thieves, drunks, abortionists, and democrats (just kidding)). Our minds and mouths should be cleansed of racial slurs and alienating behaviors, and we should make our repentance known. We are to be clear that we are about the gospel for every tribe, tongue, and people, and nation.
C. The gospel happens (v. 34-48)
1. Somewhere in all this radical transformation in Peter’s thinking he got it. He realized that this wasn’t really about food, but about people. So he began to preach the good news to Cornelius and all his household. Beginning with the ministry of Jesus, his death, and resurrection, Peter assured the home full of family and friends that they were witnesses, even eating with the risen Christ. And after the part about believing for the remission of sin, the Holy Spirit just shows up. He falls upon those who believed in their hearts. But they didn’t say the sinner’s prayer? They weren’t even baptized yet! Salvation is of the Lord, and it belongs to those who believe and repent in their hearts. Then they spoke in tongues. Ohhhh! There it is again! There was an evidence that there salvation was legitimate before Peter and the other six Jews. Then Peter commanded them to be baptized. And the unity of the church was preserved.
2. 1 Cor 15:3-4, John 1:12, Rom 8:14-17, 2 Cor 5:7, Matt 7:17-19
3. Illustration: John Wesley was saved while reading the introduction to Luther’s commentary on Romans, Matt Strevel’s daughter was saved after they heard the story of the crucifixion read in family church, tell about the man who finally went and nailed a board to the tree to remind himself, "The most critical issue facing Christians is not abortion, pornography, the disintegration of the family, moral absolutes, MTV, drugs, racism, sexuality, or school prayer. The critical issue today is dullness. . . The good news is no longer good news, it is okay news. Christianity is no longer life changing, it’s life enhancing. . ." tell about the story that Paul Washer made up about the man who was hit by a tractor-trailer. The true story of the Mutiny on the Bounty has often been retold. One part that deserves retelling was the transformation wrought by one book. Nine mutineers with six native men and twelve native (Tahitian) women put ashore on Pitcairn Island in 1790. One sailor soon began distilling alcohol, and the little colony was plunged into debauchery and vice. Ten years later, only one white man survived, surrounded by native women and half-breed children. In an old chest from the Bounty, this sailor one day found a Bible. He began to read it and then to teach it to the others. The result was that his own life and ultimately the lives of all those in the colony were changed. Discovered in 1808 by the USS Topas, Pitcairn had become a prosperous community with no jail, no whisky, no crime, and no laziness
4. The gospel happens when you speak it. Not simply by itself. God always ordains an agent to take the gospel to the heart, sometimes a person, sometimes an angel or vision, but faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. We don’t have to guess what the gospel in a nutshell is, Paul tells us. And when we speak it, and people from any tribe or background believe it, they are saved. We must realize that salvation doesn’t just happen when the preacher leads you in a prayer. In fact, sometimes it doesn’t happen, even when you do pray that prayer. The Spirit baptizes us upon belief. And when the Spirit comes, there is some sort of transformation. You cannot have an experience with the Risen Christ and His Holy Spirit and not be changed. It may not be speaking in tongues for you, but it will be something. There should be some evidence of the Spirit upon your life. If not, it is not that you may not be as close to Jesus as you should be, you may not belong to Jesus at all. When we are truly born again, we should be baptized. The NT knows nothing of an unbaptized believer (one exception), or an unchurched believer (no exceptions), or an unchanged believer! And then as we will talk about next week, this experience was so like Pentecost that it convinced Peter and the other believers, that these gentiles were saved just like they were. Thus a great unity was preserved in the church, as it began to realize its mission, and God’s mission to reach the gentile world for Jesus.
A. Closing illustration: Rev. E.P. Scott, a missionary to India tells of a time when he was trying to reach a savage tribe in the Indian subcontinent. Ignoring the pleadings of his friends, he set off in the dangerous territory. Several days later he met a large party of warriors who surrounded him and pointed their spears dangerously close to his heart. Expecting to die at any moment, Rev, Scott took out his violin, breathed a prayer, closed his eyes and began to sing, “All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name.” When he reached the words, “Let every kindred, every tribe on this terrestrial ball, to Him all majesty ascribe and crown Him Lord of all,” he opened his eyes. There stood the warriors, some with tears in their eyes, every spear lowered. Rev. Scott spent the next two years sharing the love of Christ with the tribe.
B. Recap
C. Invitation to commitment
Additional Notes
• Is Christ Exalted, Magnified, Honored, and Glorified?
