The Spread of the Gospel to Gentiles - Part 2 (Acts 10:1-48)

Greeting and Announcements

Josh Dickson will be preaching February 26th, 2023, during the Sunday AM Service; he will also be teaching Discipleship Groups on March 8th, 2023.

Pastor Daniel and Natalie will be out of town February 24-25 and March 8-11. In addition, Pastor Daniel will be out of town February-28-March 1 until the evening service. In case of emergency, please contact a deacon.

Pastor Jordan Alturas of The Fellowship Church (State College, PA) will be preaching March 12th, 2023, during the Sunday AM Service.

Starting March 1, 2023, our service times will be different—there will no longer be a 9am Discipleship Group hour on Sunday mornings and our AM Worship time will start at 10:45am. Wednesdays will still start at 7pm (utilizing the Answers in Genesis curriculum) with a light dinner served at 6:45pm through the Bible Study hour—everything on Wednesdays will be moved into the Activity Room.

Giving Reminder

Prayer of Repentance and Adoration

Call to Worship

Our Call to Worship is Psalm 71:17-21. Please stand and read it with me responsively—I’ll read the odd-numbered verses, please join me in reading the even-numbered verses.

Psalm 71:17–21 ESV

17 O God, from my youth you have taught me, and I still proclaim your wondrous deeds. 18 So even to old age and gray hairs, O God, do not forsake me, until I proclaim your might to another generation, your power to all those to come. 19 Your righteousness, O God, reaches the high heavens. You who have done great things, O God, who is like you? 20 You who have made me see many troubles and calamities will revive me again; from the depths of the earth you will bring me up again. 21 You will increase my greatness and comfort me again.

Congregational Singing

My Worth is not in what I Own (98)

I Know Whom I Have Believed (356)

Scripture Reading

Our Scripture Reading this morning is Genesis 19:1-22, which records the rescue of Lot and his family from the destruction of Sodom. Natalie, can you read Genesis 19:1-22?

Genesis 19:1–22 ESV

1 The two angels came to Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. When Lot saw them, he rose to meet them and bowed himself with his face to the earth 2 and said, “My lords, please turn aside to your servant’s house and spend the night and wash your feet. Then you may rise up early and go on your way.” They said, “No; we will spend the night in the town square.” 3 But he pressed them strongly; so they turned aside to him and entered his house. And he made them a feast and baked unleavened bread, and they ate. 4 But before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, both young and old, all the people to the last man, surrounded the house. 5 And they called to Lot, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us, that we may know them.” 6 Lot went out to the men at the entrance, shut the door after him, 7 and said, “I beg you, my brothers, do not act so wickedly. 8 Behold, I have two daughters who have not known any man. Let me bring them out to you, and do to them as you please. Only do nothing to these men, for they have come under the shelter of my roof.” 9 But they said, “Stand back!” And they said, “This fellow came to sojourn, and he has become the judge! Now we will deal worse with you than with them.” Then they pressed hard against the man Lot, and drew near to break the door down. 10 But the men reached out their hands and brought Lot into the house with them and shut the door. 11 And they struck with blindness the men who were at the entrance of the house, both small and great, so that they wore themselves out groping for the door. 12 Then the men said to Lot, “Have you anyone else here? Sons-in-law, sons, daughters, or anyone you have in the city, bring them out of the place. 13 For we are about to destroy this place, because the outcry against its people has become great before the Lord, and the Lord has sent us to destroy it.” 14 So Lot went out and said to his sons-in-law, who were to marry his daughters, “Up! Get out of this place, for the Lord is about to destroy the city.” But he seemed to his sons-in-law to be jesting. 15 As morning dawned, the angels urged Lot, saying, “Up! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, lest you be swept away in the punishment of the city.” 16 But he lingered. So the men seized him and his wife and his two daughters by the hand, the Lord being merciful to him, and they brought him out and set him outside the city. 17 And as they brought them out, one said, “Escape for your life. Do not look back or stop anywhere in the valley. Escape to the hills, lest you be swept away.” 18 And Lot said to them, “Oh, no, my lords. 19 Behold, your servant has found favor in your sight, and you have shown me great kindness in saving my life. But I cannot escape to the hills, lest the disaster overtake me and I die. 20 Behold, this city is near enough to flee to, and it is a little one. Let me escape there—is it not a little one?—and my life will be saved!” 21 He said to him, “Behold, I grant you this favor also, that I will not overthrow the city of which you have spoken. 22 Escape there quickly, for I can do nothing till you arrive there.” Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar.

Preaching of God’s Word (Acts 10:34-48)

Introduction

If you have your Bible, please turn it to Acts 10:34-48.

You’ll note that this is part two of two concerning the spread of the Gospel to Gentiles in the book of Acts, which means that I need to do a bit of a recap to reorient our minds and prepare us for the text for this morning. And I think the best way to do that, is by re-reading two verses that we worked through last week, which will launch us into the sermon.

Prayer for Illumination

Recap of Last Week (34-35)

Acts 10:34–35 ESV

34 So Peter opened his mouth and said: “Truly I understand that God shows no partiality, 35 but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.

So last week, we ended with two verses that tie these passages together, Peter says in vv. 34-35, “Truly I understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.” This statement is the overarching idea that ties these passages together. And the proof for this is evident just by reminding ourselves of last week’s passage.

In vv. 1-33, we read about a man named Cornelius and a man named Peter. Both men were in completely different places when they both get different visions.

Cornelius gets a vision about a man named Peter and Peter gets this rather unusual vision concerning animals floating down from the sky and a command telling him to eat these unclean animals, which he rejects multiple times.

It is only after Peter is gathered by Cornelius’ men to come and speak with him that he connects the meaning of the vision with the truth that God was teaching him and when he speaks with Cornelius, he makes the statement that “God has shown [him] that [he] should not call any person common or unclean.”

Both men getting visions of a differing nature but from the same God reminds us of some things concerning God and His ability.

That God is sovereign and He providentially moves in such a way is vitally important to remember.

That God’s ability supersedes any one location is also vitally important to remember.

It reminds us that God works in great and sometimes mysterious ways to accomplish his purpose and save His people.

Again, ultimately, the whole point of this passage is found in the last two verses that we looked at last week, which transition us into this week’s passage. That “Peter opened his mouth and said: ‘Truly I understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.”

Or in other words, though our usually sinful desire is to focus on socio-economic differences, God could care less about our socio-economic differences.

For example, in sin, we differentiate between those that are in different tax brackets or those with fancier cars or those with nicer houses. In sin, we treat people differently depending on their wealth, status, or skin tone.

But God is no respecter of persons and God shows no partiality—He doesn’t care about your tax bracket, fancy, car, nice house (or lack thereof. And He doesn’t care about your wealth, status, or skin tone.

And really, what we came to as we ended last week’s sermon was that the application in play is rather simple—you need to proclaim the Gospel to anyone regardless of their ethnicity, wealth, or really any socio-economic difference.

The question then is and here’s where we pick up today, what exactly ought we to proclaim? What constitutes as the Gospel or the Good News? The answer to this is found in vv. 36-43. As this historical narrative continues. Let’s read vv. 36-43.

The Proclamation of the Gospel (36-43)

Acts 10:36–43 ESV

36 As for the word that he sent to Israel, preaching good news of peace through Jesus Christ (he is Lord of all), 37 you yourselves know what happened throughout all Judea, beginning from Galilee after the baptism that John proclaimed: 38 how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. 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 that he did both in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree, 40 but God raised him on the third day and made him to appear, 41 not to all the people but to us who had been chosen by God as witnesses, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. 42 And he commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one appointed by God to be judge of the living and the dead. 43 To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”

Peter speaks to these Gentile people about a “word that [God] sent to Israel” or put differently, Peter refers to a message that has been given by God to Israel and the message is rather simple

He expounds on this message in vv. 36-43.

That Jesus in v. 38, “went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil.”

In v. 39, that “they [meaning the Israelites] put [Jesus] to death by hanging him on a tree,” but God raised him on the third day and made him to appear.”

That Jesus in v. 42, “commanded [them] to preach to the people and to testify that [Jesus] is the one appointed by God to be judge of the living and the dead.”

And it is this same Jesus, the one who lived, died, was buried, and resurrected that was prophesied by the prophets throughout the Old Testament (according to v. 43).

And it is through this Jesus that God grants the “Forgiveness of sins through his name” based (according to v. 43) on their genuine belief in Jesus.

Or put differently, what Peter claims is the Good News, what He preaches as the Gospel is actually rather simple and it’s based on a simple truth.

We, meaning you and I, are all sinners and there is nothing that either one of us can do to save ourselves from the consequences of our sins—we need a Savior. We need a Savior that can atone for our sins and offer us salvation.

And Peter is pointing out and emphasizing the fact that it was and is Jesus—Jesus is the Savior that atones for our sins and offers us salvation.

It is through Jesus’ life, death, burial, and resurrection that He grants us forgiveness of sins and offers us salvation.

How does Peter know this? How does he know that Jesus is the Savior?

He gives us a few reasons:

In v. 37, he points to John the Baptist—in particular, he points at Jesus’ baptism in which God anoints Jesus in v. 38.

In v. 38, he continues by pointing out Jesus’ life and how he did good and healed and exorcized demons because “God was with him.”

But in v. 39, he really hits the reasoning hard, they know this, because they “are witnesses of all that he did both in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem.”

They saw the crucifixion, they experienced the resurrection, they ate and drank with Jesus after “he rose from the dead.”

What is the primary reason for them to know that Jesus is truly the Savior? Because they saw Him and they touched Him and they ate with Him and they lived life with Him.

They witnessed the life, death, and burial of Jesus; they experienced His resurrection. To them, there’s no question as to who Jesus was and is, they know it because they saw it happen.

And if it weren’t enough to simply experience these things and for the experience to compel them to proclaim Jesus, Peter says in v. 42, that Jesus commanded them to preach, to proclaim to the people and to testify that Jesus is the judge of the living and the dead.

So, again, what exactly is the Gospel?

It’s what Peter claims to be the Good News—and the news is rather simple.

We, meaning you and I, are all sinners and there is nothing that any one of us can do to save ourselves from the consequences of our sins—we need a Savior. We need a Savior that can atone for our sins and offer us salvation.

And Peter is pointing out and emphasizing the fact that it was and is Jesus—Jesus is the Savior that atones for our sins and offers us salvation.

It is through Jesus’ life, death, burial, and resurrection that He grants us forgiveness of sins and offers us salvation.

When you proclaim the Gospel, this is what you ought to proclaim.

There is power in telling testimonies about your life, there is power in explaining what Jesus accomplished in your life, there is purpose behind exhorting people to believe because of the amazing things that Jesus has done for you.

But if your presentation of the Gospel or your testimony never gets to the point that you realized that you were a sinner, that you understood that you couldn’t save yourself, and that you needed a Savior;

If you’re testimony never gets to the point in which you explain how you realized that Jesus is the Savior and that you needed to repent and believe, then your testimony isn’t as helpful as you think it is;

And you’re not actually proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ—you’re simply telling a story about your life.

Anytime you have an opportunity to proclaim the Gospel or give a testimony, you need to explain the whole Gospel—that sinners are in desperate need of a Savior and Jesus is that Savior.

When you proclaim the Gospel, this is what you ought to proclaim.

Now, in this instance as Peter proclaims the Gospel to the Gentiles that surround him, there’s something unique happening that had only happened twice before and hasn’t happened since. In Acts 2, we read about the Holy Spirit being poured out amongst Jewish believers and it was a unique situation because the Holy Spirit then permanently indwelled those believers. In Acts 8, we read about the Holy Spirit falling amongst Samaritan believers and it was a unique situation because the Holy Spirit then permenantly indwelled those believers. Here, in Acts 10:44-48, we read about the Holy Spirit falling upon all those who heard the word, the Gentiles and it was a unique situation because the Holy Spirit then permenantly indwelled these believers. Let’s look at the last five verses—vv 44-48.

The Indwelling of the Holy Spirit (44-48)

Acts 10:44–48 ESV

44 While Peter was still saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell on all who heard the word. 45 And the believers from among the circumcised who had come with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out even on the Gentiles. 46 For they were hearing them speaking in tongues and extolling God. Then Peter declared, 47 “Can anyone withhold water for baptizing these people, who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?” 48 And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to remain for some days.

Now, some Christians believe that this new pouring out on the Gentiles involves what they call a second blessing in which they’re given gifts like spontaneous healing, speaking in tongues, and others but notice what the problem with that idea is: it’s three fold:

First, though they’re now given the Holy Spirit and they do speak in tongues in v. 46, that isn’t the main point, is it?

The speaking in tongues portion of the text is literally just part of one sentence that’s primarily about their response to the Holy Spirit indwelling them.

The speaking in tongues actually isn’t the gift that they’re celebrating—it’s the indwelling of the Holy Spirit that is the gift that they’re celebrating.

Second, what exactly were the Jewish believers (those who were circumcised and came there with Peter) amazed about? Was it the speaking in tongues or the Holy Spirit being poured out on the Gentiles?

The Jewish believers were amazed that the Gentile believers had now received the Holy Spirit.

Third, what’s the context of the entire chapter? Is it this idea that believers are to speak in tongues, do miraculous healings, and such or is the primary point concerned with the Gospel of Jesus Christ spreading beyond just Jews and beyond just Samaritans? Now the Gospel is spreading to people from every nation.

It is this spread of the Gospel of Jesus to every nation that has the Jewish believers celebrating because it is through this spread of the Gospel to Gentile people that results in their salvation, which we see clearly in Peter’s exhortation for them to be baptized in vv. 47-48, “‘Can anyone withhold water for baptizing these people, who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?’ And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.”

Meaning, the celebration at this moment is for the simple truth that they heard the Gospel, they responded to the Gospel, and then they believed in Jesus Christ.

Yes, they spoke in tongues, but that isn’t the primary point—the primary point is that they believed because the Gospel is spreading beyond the Jews, beyond the Samaritans, to the Gentiles as well.

So, if this passage isn’t primarily about the speaking in tongues, then how exactly do we go about applying such a passage—how should we as believers understand it today?

It’s simpler than you think—what we see in Acts 10 is that God providentially worked through His Holy Spirit to spread the Gospel to Jews, Samaritans, and now Gentiles.

And we learned that one of the primary means of God spreading the Gospel to Jews, Samaritans, and now Gentiles is through the proclamation of the Gospel by those who already believe—or in other words, the Word of God spreads because God’s people spread it.

Or if we really want to get specific, which I do—God utilizes the Holy Spirit to work in you and through you while you boldly proclaim the Gospel to anyone who will listen. And for the individual listening, the Holy Spirit is working in and through them as you speak with them.

Which means, that as you continue to proclaim the Gospel, you need to rely on the Holy Spirit to work in you and through you; AND you need to rely on the Spirit to work in and through the person that you’re speaking with.

Which brings us, in the remaining few minutes that we have, to our application—what exactly do we learn from Acts 10 and how do we apply it to our lives today? In Acts 10, we learn that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is for everybody—regardless of age, regardless of ethnicity, regardless of socio-economic status. Which means that we cannot pick and choose who we proclaim the Gospel to, we need to proclaim it to anyone who will listen. We also learn that the Gospel is particular, meaning, there are some things that we absolutely have to mention when proclaiming the Gospel otherwise we’re simply not proclaiming the Gospel. And then we learn that through this whole process, we absolutely need to rely on the Holy Spirit—so, let me explain how we ought to apply all this:

Application

Proclaim the Gospel to everyone (1-35)—last week we worked through the larger section of this passage, which made it abundantly clear from Peter that the Gospel is for everyone and thus, we cannot pick and choose who we proclaim the Gospel to, we simply need to proclaim the Gospel to anyone that will listen.

Because this was the focus of last week’s sermon, I’m not going to take a lot of time to discuss what all this means beyond the simple reminder of what our application boiled down to last week.

You as a Bible-believing Christian have no right to pick and choose who you proclaim the Gospel to based on their ethnicity, the amount of money they have, the car they drive, or the house they live in.

You do not have any authority to not present the Gospel to someone because they’re a blue-collar worker or white-collar worker or even unemployed men and women.

You need to proclaim the Gospel to anyone regardless of their ethnicity, wealth, or really any socio-economic difference.

Exposit the Gospel (36-43)—of course, then, the question is, “what exactly is the Gospel” and Peter helps us with that in vv. 36-43.

And it’s important for us to really iron this out and nail it down because there are plenty of times when people think they’re proclaiming the Gospel when they’re really not.

For instance, some people think the Gospel is equated with saying the sinner’s prayer or some other canned prayer—that if you just say these words, you’re saved.

Or they think that if they had an emotional experience at camp or at a revival meeting that they’re believers.

Thus, they have a really hard time defining the Gospel because their understanding of salvation is a canned prayer and emotional experiences but that isn’t the Gospel.

Or for instance, some people think that to proclaim the Gospel, all they have to do is tell people about what Jesus has done in their life.

And that can be a useful tool to getting to the Gospel but often the conversation ends before the Gospel is actually given.

I can tell you that I came to know Jesus Christ at a Christian camp called the Bill Rice Ranch in Murfreesboro, TN. I can tell you that I was blessed to be in a church that heavily emphasized biblical teaching so I learned and I grew and I spiritually matured. I can tell you that a year after coming to know Jesus I experienced a definite call to be in some form of ministry.

But do you catch what the problem here is? I told you how Jesus worked in my life but I didn’t actually tell you the Gospel.

Friends you need to know exactly what the Gospel is so that you can share the Gospel to anyone that will listen—and to help you with this, let me simply and accurately explain the Gospel:

You are a sinner and you absolutely cannot save yourself from the consequences of sin, which is death and eternal anguish in a place we call hell.

You cannot work for salvation, you cannot try harder or simply be a good person—you are a sinner and the wages of sin is death.

But God sent His Son Jesus Christ to be born of a virgin and live a perfect, sinless life in order to offer Himself as the substitutionary atonement for your sins.

And as Paul writes in Romans, all you need to do is repent of your sins, call out to Jesus for salvation, believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, and follow Him.

That is the Gospel—you are a sinner, you need a Savior, Jesus is the only Savior, thus, repent of your sins, believe, and follow Him.

When you proclaim the Gospel, this is what you ought to proclaim.

And finally, rely on the Holy Spirit to work (44-48)

We tend to want to develop various different systems and methods to do just about everything in our lives—thus, it really shouldn’t surprise us that we do the same thing when it comes to presenting the Gospel to those around us.

We come up with different ideas—like the Gospel cube or bear, the Romans Road, or even simpler methods like utilizing the Ten Commandments but let me encourage you to realize that those are simply methods and ideas that could work but we shouldn’t rely just on the method.

If we do just rely on the method, we’ll memorize all these different ways of presenting the Gospel and when we get an opportunity to, we’ll regurgitate all these different tools but we’ll be missing a key component to our presentation of the Gospel.

We can have the right tools and have the knowledge that we need to proclaim the Gospel but if we’re not relying on the Spirit to help us use the tools and knowledge that we have, we’ve missed a crucial component—or, if we aren’t relying on the Holy Spirit to work in the hearts and lives of those that we’re speaking with, we’ve missed a crucial component of our presentation.

We can know all the right words and have several different methods but if we’re not relying on the Holy Spirit to use our words and methods to work in the heart of the person that we’re speaking to, then what we actually reveal is an inordinate reliance on ourselves.

Or in other words, we’re relying in our own ability to proclaim the Gospel than on God’s ability to work in us and through us by the Holy Spirit, and thus, we ought not be surprised if in our own ability, the person that we’re proclaiming the Gospel to doesn’t ever actually believe.

If we think of this in terms of an illustration—think of presenting the Gospel like building a sail boat. Every time you present the Gospel to someone, you are adding a piece to the sailboat and you can have all sorts of different methods to put this boat together and you need all sorts of different tools to do this efficiently. When you finish the boat and you put it on the water (and after expressing some shock that it actually floats), when you decide to set sail—how does a sailboat move? Do you row a sailboat? Do you blow with your mouth into the sails? Or do you wait for the wind to push the boat with the sails?

As you present the Gospel, you are building a boat and there are all sorts of different tools and methods to build this boat. But ultimately, you are not the one who makes the boat move—the Holy Spirit does; and if you try to make the boat move without the Holy Spirit, you will just be sitting on a boat blowing the air out of your lungs because it’s the Holy Spirit that provides the power to move the Gospel boat.

You need to rely on the Holy Spirit to work in you and through you; AND you need to rely on the Spirit to work in and through the person that you’re speaking with.

Put simply, what we learn from Acts 10 is that God has chosen to use His people to proclaim the Gospel—thus, you need to proclaim the Gospel, the actual Gospel to everyone regardless of who they are and you need to rely on the Holy Spirit to work in you and through you as you proclaim the Gospel while the Holy Spirit providentially works in and through them.

Pastoral Prayer

Congregational Singing

My Faith Has Found a Resting Place (404)

The Lord’s Supper

At this time, we’re going to partake in the Lord’s Supper together. Let me just explain a few details before we pass out the elements:

This is the Lord’s Supper and at Grace & Peace we practice an open communion, which simply means that regardless of your membership status here—whether you are a church member or you aren’t, you are more than welcome to partake with us just as long as you have genuinely repented from your sins and have believed in Jesus Christ. Of course, parents, you are free to determine whether your children ought to partake, but let me encourage you to stray on the side of caution if you’re uncertain.

The Lord’s Supper is meant to be a somber reflection or memorial of the death of Jesus Christ to atone for your sins. As such, there is a warning that Paul gives to those who partake in the Lord’s Supper.

He states in 1 Corinthians 11:27-29 that anyone who takes part in the Lord’s Supper needs to first consider their own hearts. He warns that if you are to partake in the Lord’s Supper in an unworthy manner, you’ll be guilty concerning the body and blood of Jesus Christ. He states that some who have taken the Lord’s Supper in an unworthy manner have gotten physically ill and some have even died.

We understand partaking in the Lord’s Supper in an unworthy manner to mean that you either partake in the Lord’s Supper despite knowing that you’re in unrepentant sin or you take it flippantly.

So I would encourage you to seriously consider your heart—repent of any sin that you may be holding onto, and take the Lord’s Supper seriously.

We’ll have two people passing out the elements and I can assure you that neither one of them are watching to see if you partake—this is truly between you and God.

As we pass out the plates, you’ll notice that every cup is really two cups that are stacked on-top of one other. You will need to take both cups, as the bottom cup holds the bread and the top cup holds the juice.

When you receive the elements, please hold onto them and wait for everyone else to receive their elements so that we can partake in the Lord’s Supper together.

At this time, we’re going to take a about a minute to quietly pray, to reflect, and to repent if necessary—we’ll then pray corporately before the elements are passed out.

Tom, can you pray for the Lord’s Supper?

“On the night [that our Lord Jesus] was betrayed [He] took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, ‘This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”

“In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.’”

“For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.”

Congregational Singing

Great is Thy Faithfulness (78)