God’s Heart for the Nations

Main Idea

The gospel of redemption is for everyone

Passage

Acts 10:34-48

Acts 10:34–48 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. 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.” 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.

Outline

I - No partiality (vv. 34-36)

II - A clear gospel presentation (vv. 37-43)

III - 3rd Pentecost (vv. 44-48)

I - No partiality

Continuing from what we read last week, Peter begins his speech by admitting his newly discovered understanding, saying, “Truly I understand that God shows no partiality.”

This is an attribute of God and clearly taught in Jewish scripture:

Deuteronomy 10:17 ESV

17 For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who is not partial and takes no bribe.

Peter knew clearly that God doesn’t have favorites, so why the sudden lightbulb moment? Why does he seem only now to fully realize it?

To answer that, we need to realize what God said about the nation of Israel. God doesn’t play favorites; that much is true, but He has also set Israel as His covenant people. To think God would draw pagan nations into the covenant promise would have gone against everything Peter would have learned growing up. He would have memorized scriptures like:

Exodus 19:4–6 ESV

4 ‘You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. 5 Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; 6 and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel.”

And God has indeed chosen Israel to display His glory on earth throughout the Old Testament, under the Old Covenant. As we saw last week, the Jewish cultural laws even prohibit Jews from associating with Gentiles.

But that was never God’s permanent plan. His plan from the foundations of the world was to open the door to His house wide open and graft in people from all nations, tribes, and tongues. In doing so, Peter finally realizes that God truly doesn’t play favorites. There is no partiality with him.

Every nation

Now, people from every nation who:

Fear God

Does what is right

…is acceptable to God. He shows no partiality as we do regarding cultural differences, nationality, wealth, social status, or previous religious affiliation. There is no longer a distinction regarding the people of God. You no longer have to be under the covenant of circumcision to be included in God’s people. Whether you are Jewish, Roman, Greek, Moabite, Ephesian, Egyptian, or anyone else… anyone who fears God and does what is right is acceptable to him.

Jesus is Lord of all

But how? How can simple God-fearers with a healthy conscience be accepted? This seems to indicate that as long as you are a good person, you are accepted into God's kingdom and family. Some have even taken this passage to mean that all religious roads lead to heaven. Does one simply need to fear a Deity called God and be a good person to be saved? Is that all it takes? That certainly seems to be a popular view in our culture, doesn’t it? Isn’t that what this scripture teaches?

No. Not at all. First of all, if that is all that it takes, then Cornelius would have already been saved and did not need Peter’s message. But how can I know for sure? Because of the very next verse.

The message of the coming messiah was given to Israel, but the benefits of the messiah are for all who call on his NAME.

The good news is not a generic message that God loves you and that you have peace with Him if you are a good person (as if our good works earned us enough relational capital to merit God’s favor). The good news pertains to a specific person, and the benefits of peace with God are through Jesus Christ - who is Lord over all. Being a God-fearer is only the first step. The acceptance here doesn’t pertain to how one is justified before God. It simply means you don’t have to be a circumcised Jew to be acceptable. Everyone, everywhere, can come to the Father through Christ, just like the Jews can. Justification and right-standing with God only come through the second part, which is faith in Jesus and submission to His Lordship.

All who call on the name of the Lord will be saved. The gospel of redemption is for everyone.

Romans 1:16 NIV

16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.

Colossians 1:20 ESV

20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.

We can never be saved by simply fearing a divine being and doing good things. Being a good person will never reconcile your relationship to the very real and holy God of the Bible. There is only one way. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life, and no one comes to the Father except through me.” Salvation is open to all, so in that way, the gospel is inclusive of all nations in terms of who is acceptable to come and receive mercy, but it is starkly exclusive in how we are saved and justified by God, and that is through Christ alone.

The gospel is the power for salvation and transforms lives.. or, even better, brings new life. And that is what Peter will dive into next.

II - A clear gospel presentation

The gospel presented by Peter here has many familiar parts from his past presentations but also contains new bits of information. That’s because his previous listeners were Jewish, who did not need specific details about Jesus’ ministry efforts, but the Gentiles did, so they needed additional context.

And, as before, we can all use Peter’s proclamation of the gospel as a template for our evangelistic efforts, ensuring the core elements are communicated. So, to see this clearly, I want to walk through it step-by-step.

You’ve heard what happened

“You yourselves know what happened throughout Judea.” At least 2-3 years have passed since Jesus’ crucifixion, so even though they were Gentiles who lived 75ish miles from Jerusalem, they would have heard about what happened there. However, since they weren't Jewish, they would not have had all the context of who this Jesus person was.

For us today, instead of saying, “You know what happened to Jesus,” we could ask the question, “Do you know about Jesus and what He did for you?” In asking that, we can let the person speak and understand their perspective first. In doing so, we can craft a response they can better connect with.

The Spirit’s work with Jesus

This Jewish Messiah named Jesus was baptized by a man named John the Baptist. And, during that process, he was anointed by God (the God you fear, Cornelius) through His Holy Spirit, resulting in spiritual power. This is no mere man, nor is He like any of the Roman gods Cornelius is familiar with.

The full work of the Trinity is on full display at Jesus’ baptism. The Father speaks and anoints the Son, whom the Spirit empowers. It is a beautiful picture of the perfect harmony amongst all three persons of the Godhead.

He was healing people

This power resulted in all manner of good works, physical healing, and spiritual freedom from demonic oppression. It is a condensed retelling of what Jesus said He fulfilled from Isaiah’s prophecy (Isa. 61) found in Luke’s gospel:

Luke 4:18–19 ESV

18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

This was no mere man.

We were witnesses

This isn’t a piece of fiction. Everything that Peter is explaining is presented as a matter of historical fact.

Peter testifies that Jesus did these things, and his listeners can have certainty because he (as a disciple of Jesus), along with many others (mainly the other 11 disciples), were eyewitnesses to everything he just mentioned… events that happened inside of Jerusalem and within the surrounding Jewish cities. Because Peter was there, he could testify to the truthfulness of the claim.

Jesus was crucified

Not only did Jesus do good deeds and heal many, but the Jewish government saw him as an instigator and blasphemer. So, with the approval of the Roman governor, he was put to death by crucifixion. Here, Peter uses the terminology “hanging him on a tree,” which would have alluded to the Old Testament scripture stating that anyone who was hung on a tree was considered cursed by God.

God raised him from the dead

However, that was not the end. Jesus didn’t stay dead! On the third day, God raised him from the dead. This crucified messiah lives! Peter can also testify to the truthfulness of this supernatural occurrence because, again, he was there. Not only did he see the risen Lord, but he also spent time with him. This was not a hallucination, nor was it a specter. Peter ate real food and drank actual beverages with Jesus.

We received our marching orders

Our risen Lord commanded us to preach this news. Peter is basically saying that I’m here with you now because it is a direct command from my King. If you had asked me a week ago if I would have been delivering it in a Gentile home, I would have laughed in your face, but my God has humbled me and shown me His great love and compassion for all nations. And all of this is made possible for you, Cornelius, through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The gospel of redemption is for everyone.

Appointed as Judge

Who is this Jesus, you ask? To elaborate on how He is Lord of all… that means He holds all authority and is the great Judge of all… of both the living and the dead.

By the way, this is one of the most direct and explicit statements in scripture of Jesus as the ultimate Judge. That should be a soft pillow for all who have faith in Him and terrify those who reject Him. Jesus has the ultimate authority over life and death and is the only person in existence who can enact these judgments blamelessly and with perfect justice.

Prophesied savior

So far, Peter has used himself twice as an eyewitness. Now, Peter calls on all the Old Testament Prophets as witnesses to Jesus’ position and mission. They all stand as ancient witnesses to what Peter is telling them. A natural question might be: Did the prophets know Jesus’ name, since that is whom Peter is talking about? Well, no... not his earthly name. However, they did testify to the redemptive mission of Israel’s Messiah. They were looking forward to the future, pointing to a person who would remove the sins and transgressions of God’s people. Now that He has come, Peter can point back to the death and resurrection of Jesus and say that is whom our prophets were describing.

This also highlights the core of Jesus’ mission that Jews would have understood, but not necessarily Gentiles. Throughout this section, Peter faithfully lays out the gospel in a way that his Gentile audience can understand.

To summarize, Peter described Jesus’ life and ministry, death, resurrection, and mission: As the Savior and ultimate Judge, He alone can forgive the sins of all who believe in Him.

Repentance from sin is a necessary requirement of receiving Jesus as Lord. The bad news of our shortcomings is the pavement for the road to redemption: the grace and love of God that forgives our sins and breaks the chains of our afflictions.

The gospel has now been effectively delivered, and though the text doesn’t explicitly tell us that everyone in Cornelius’ house called on the name of Jesus for salvation, the coming of the Spirit is evidence enough that they did.

III- 3rd Pentecost

So far in Acts, we have seen two Pentecost events:

In Acts 2, in the upper room among the 120 Jewish disciples of Jesus. The Holy Spirit descended upon them in power, praise, wonders, and tongues.

In Acts 8, among the residents of Samaria. Many were healed and delivered from demon possession. When Peter and John came to verify what was happening, the Holy Spirit descended upon the Samaritan believers (1/2 Jew, 1/2 Gentile) through the laying on of hands.

Acts 10, with the household of Cornelius.

The Holy Spirit came on them

As Peter proclaimed the gospel of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins, everyone in the house of Cornelius believed, and the Holy Spirit descended upon them, resulting in praise to God and speaking in tongues. Many people can easily get caught up in the supernatural aspects of these events and how those wonders operate today. I want to encourage us to let the main thing be the main thing. We are supposed to see how God’s redemptive history is unfolding in human history, and it should result in the praise and adoration of his name, knowing that the gospel of redemption is for everyone.

While this happened, the brothers who accompanied Peter from Joppa were amazed at what they saw. As we have discussed before, it is important that there were other eyewitnesses to this monumental event. Just as Peter was sent to verify the impartation of the Spirit to the Samaritans, the Christian brothers from Joppa now serve as witnesses to the reception of the Gentiles into God’s household without bias or distinction.

They were baptized

And finally, Peter made a declaration. It’s interesting because he declares this in the form of a question, but it was meant to solidify the reality of God’s plan in the minds of the brothers from Joppa and the gathered Gentiles alike.

Peter asks, “Can anyone withhold water for baptizing these people, who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?”

This was a rhetorical question. If you take out the actual question, the text reads: Then Peter declared… and he commanded them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Peter wasn’t asking permission from someone else. He wanted everyone gathered there to know that the Gentiles were to receive the sacrament of baptism just like everyone else. They, too, get to show the outward reality of the inward renewal that has just taken place. The Gentiles, too, get to be welcomed into Jesus’ flock.

In closing, you and I get to sit in this church and worship Christ together because of this event that took place 2,000 years ago. The gospel of redemption is for everyone. God doesn’t have favorites. Let’s leave here will hearts that overflow with gratitude, knowing that all who call on the name of the Lord will be saved and are justified freely by His grace.