Acts 10
Bible Passage: Acts 10
Another familiar chapter… Another familiar character… Today’s chapter is mainly about the short background and conversion of Cornelius, a centurion of the Italian regiment in Caesarea.
An example for us to follow…
We can already get a very good impression about Cornelius just by looking at verses 2 and 22:
A devout man and one who feared God with all his household, who gave alms generously to the people, and prayed to God always…
Acts 10: 2
And they said, “Cornelius the centurion, a just man, one who fears God and has a good reputation among all the nation of the Jews…”
Acts 10: 22
Cornelius was certainly a very exemplary individual. He was generous and just. And he had good heart and character, doing good deeds such that even “all the nation of the jews” thought good of him.
But I think the most impressive of Cornelius was that he feared God. At the time of the two verses, chronologically speaking, Cornelius had not heard the gospel that Peter would preach to him and his family just some verses later. He wasn’t even a Jew, but a Gentile. Yet, he displayed this very important trait (not sure if it’s the right word to use) that the believers of God/Jews should have, and that was to have the fear of God. He even prayed regularly.
Cornelius always remind me of the many exemplary people whom I know of or heard about. They may not be believers of our church… But they have admirable characters and attitudes, and, truth be told, they carry themselves and behave much better than many of our own members… In addition, some of them are very devout in their religion (e.g. Christians from other churches, who really pray and read the Bible everyday without fail).
I think that… such people could easily put some of us to shame… I know I’m very shameful of myself when I compare myself with them. Their character. Their behaviour. And, most importantly, their attitude towards their beliefs.
We, as members of TJC, have the one complete truth and the Holy Spirit abiding with us. We are the only people that can be saved. But do we consider ourselves (individually speaking) as exemplary and devout believers? Do we read the Bible everyday for even at least 5 minutes a day? Do we pray everyday? Do we worship and fear our Lord, like Cornelius did even though he didn’t really God yet?
I think this chapter is one of those that is a good mirror for us to look at ourselves and see where our standards are right now. Are we truly worshipping God?
Yet again, another chapter that reminds to…
Preach the gospel.
(It just crossed my mind at this point that I seem to get these kind of chapters quite often. But I digress…)
Peter was instructed by God to go and tell the gospel to Cornelius and his household. Now we know Peter was a Jew, while Cornelius was a Gentile. And I think at that point Peter understood that the gospel would have to be spread to even the Gentiles. And so he did, as did the believers at the time.
Today, we are those Gentile believers, who initially never had the heavenly kingdom to inherit, condemned to suffer eternity in Sheol. But God had extended His grace upon us, such that we too can be saved.
There are still so many Gentiles out there who aren’t believers of the true church, and perhaps, there are those who are like Cornelius… In the sense that they are eagerly seeking for the truth. They are waiting for us to come to them. But if we shirk from this duty of evangelism, how would they meet us?
Let us be courageous and diligently in doing the divine work for God, whether it be evangelism or pastoring the flock. May God give us the strength and ability to do so…
Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature…
Mark 16: 15
But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me, so that the message might be preached fully through me, and that all the Gentiles might hear…
2 Timothy 4: 17
5 Comments
biblereadingcompanion
I like Acts 10 very much… because the shift in this chapter is pivotal in the book, for it records the salvation of the Gentiles (which means me… yay! (: ).
The Gospel had been opened to the Jews (Acts 2) and the Samaritans (Acts 8). Now, Peter would be used by God to open the door of faith to the Gentiles (Acts 10)!
How marvelous is this grace that God has bestowed upon us that we are included in His salvation plan. I want to stop for a moment today and contemplate properly how great a grace this is that we have received.
As we consider this great love of Jesus for us, I just want to highlight 2 other points that came to mind…
First was that while God prepared Peter to bring the message to the Gentiles, God also prepared Cornelius to receive the message.
Salvation is a divine work of grace. And yet, God chose to work through us to preach the Gospel to our fellow men. This is our privilege – and responsibility.
Secondly, OurKing’sWatchman has listed many qualities of Cornelius and asked that we reflect on them. I like to list out one more …
Cornelius had a seeking heart. The seeking Saviour (Luke 19:10) will find the seeking sinner (Jer 29:13). God responds to every searching heart.
If we want to be part of God’s salvation, we must also have a seeking heart. And upon finding the grace of the Lord, we must also obey the will of God and share His Word.
We never know when our witness for Christ is exactly what somebody has been waiting and praying for.
Let me share a hymn for today as I celebrate “How Marvelous, How Wonderful is My Saviour’s Love for Me”
appleofHiseye
He certainly is a familiar character, Cornelius. At the mention of verse 2, there was something that caught my eye, which was besides being the good character he is, all his household feared God as well. A God-fearing household–that’s something that I hope for as well at home and in church. It is not easy for a whole family to come together, united in one heart, to do things together, and so I like how his family, household is so willing to accept God’s words and obey.
Then when I came across verse 15, it took a while to understand why Jesus said to Peter, “What God has cleansed you must not call common”…but I finally understood later in verse 28 that Gentiles were compared to Jews in this sense. So Peter understood that God shows no partiality and He wanted even the Gentiles to believe, which OurKing’sWatchman shared the important message again of our commission to preach the gospel.
As each chapter goes by in Acts, I feel a sense of urgency but I don’t think I have the courage to just suddenly ring up all my friends or family and tell them to believe in God, in True Jesus Church. While waiting for opportunities to share more, there is still much learning to be done with the Holy Spirit as our teacher.
“Seek the Lord while He may be found,
Call upon Him while He is near.”
(Isaiah 55:6)
And when the opportunity does come, let’s hope to be ready.
PS
Just for sharing:
i think there are 3 lessons for Peter in the event with Cornelius and his household.
First: What God has cleansed you must not call common (Acts 10:15)
When Peter reached Cornelius’ place, Peter said to them, “You know how unlawful it is for a Jewish man to keep company with or go to one of another nation. But God has shown me that I should not call any man common or unclean. Therefore I came without objection as soon as I was sent for…” (Acts 10:28-29)
It is interesting to note the word of Peter is “God has shown me that I should not call any man common or unclean”.
This is so true for us too bec frequently we look at appearance and perceive with our limited abilities only. In addition, Lord Jesus calls us while we are still sinners. It is the sick who needs the doctor.
It is not for us to call any man common or unclean especially in the preaching of the gospel of salvation.
Second: God sees all who seek Him even if the person does not know Him by name yet. (Acts 10:31)
The 2 servants and the devout soldier commended Cornelius as one who fears God and has a good reputation among all the nation of the Jews (Acts 10:22)
Peter made no comment.
Cornelius told Peter that an angel had appeared and told him that his pious acts are remembered in the sight of God and to send for Peter. And Peter saw that Cornelius and all present were ready to hear the word of God.
Peter remarked, “In truth I perceive that God shows no partiality. But in every nation whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him.” (Acts 10:34-35)
To Peter when God sees and remembers as good, it is good to him too.
Third: The gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also. They could be baptized for the remission of sins.(Acts 10:45, 47 and 2:38)
If the Holy Spirit had not poured out on Cornelius and household, Peter might not so readily consent to their baptism although he was preaching to them.
Noted the strong word in Acts 10:45 Peter commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord.
The others who followed Peter might have objected, but Peter submitted to the Holy Spirit and commanded them to be baptized.
May Lord Jesus help us to be as submissive to the Holy Spirit and His word as Peter.
PS
Cornelius may be like many people who have heard of Jesus but do not know that He is the only true God or do not know the complete gospel of Lord Jesus.
Acts 9:30 Paul had passed through Caesarea. Paul might have preached in Caesarea.
Acts 10:2 described Cornelius as a devout man and one who fear God with all his household, who gave alms generously to the people, and prayed to God always.
Noted that in Acts 10:3-4 the angel did not tell Cornelius that God is Jesus.
Acts 10:36-37 “The word which God sent to the children of Israel, preaching peace through Jesus Christ–He is Lord of all– that word you know, which was proclaimed throughout all Judea, and began from Galilee after the baptism which John proclaimed:”
Peter said that Cornelius knew the word.
Cornelius might have heard of Jesus through the Italian regiment newsletter or other means. The point is Cornelius already knew about Jesus.
But like Paul, Cornelius did not know that the God whom he worshipped is Lord Jesus (Acts 9:5 “Who are You, Lord?”).
When it was the time of God, God brought Cornelius and his household back into His fold through His own testimony by His Spirit and the mouth of Peter.
Although the Holy Spirit came down upon Cornelius and family, Peter, as His mouth-piece, was needed to preach Jesus to him, like Philip to the eunuch (Acts 8:35).
Today, this is the significance of our preaching too. We are to bring the complete gospel to people who think that they know Jesus and to people who have not yet accepted that Jesus is the only true God.
Paul sowed. Apollos watered. God gave the growth.
We pray. We preach. God gives the growth.
thechosen
sometimes we wonder why some people seem to have such great characters but they don’t have the true God. I believe many of us wonder or would have wondered whether it would be fair for such honorable characters to face the judgement of hell in the future. Truly, i believe there are Christians from other churches who are more diligent than us in reading the Bible and praying. There are also some really good people we have come across who are not christians. But, i think to myself again, who is truly like Cornelius, who sought God till God sought him? Or it goes down to the basic matter of faith – grace. We are not worthy, yet we are given this grace. We could try, however, to preach to these very honorable characters that we are acquainted with. sometimes maybe it is because we didn’t do our part to open our mouths. but sometimes… sadly, when you preach, u realise what actually separates them from seeing the truth. may God be gracious to all of us. may our conduct not put shame to His name, and more so may we preach the gospel that has been so graciously given to us.