The Gospel To The Uttermost
Notes
Transcript
Review
Review
Turn to Acts 10:1 - 11:18.
Saul and Peter were two men who learned to bloom wherever God planted them. They each had their time of preparation. They each learned to be content where God had them in that moment. They each learned valuable lessons as they prepared for the next step that God had in their lives. While Saul moved back to his hometown of Tarsus, Peter’s time of preparation was needed for a very important test of obedience that was just around the corner.
Message
Message
Read Acts 10:1-23.
Broadly speaking, human beings are resistant to change, and often for good reason.
Change can bring unintended consequences.
Change can lower our sense of security.
Change can often be for the worse.
So we tend to resist change and that seems reasonable when it is man that wants to make the change.
Read slowly:
However, it is foolish to resist change when it is God that wants to make the change.
Why?
Because when God makes a change, it is always good.
In Acts chapter ten, God reveals a great change that would affect the rest of human history. In fulfillment of our Savior’s command in Acts 1:8, the Gospel would go to the uttermost parts of the earth.
Next slide here:
God reveals a great change - Acts 10:1-23.
First, God sends an angel to Cornelius.
Cornelius is a fascinating man in the Bible.
He was a native Italian - a gentile - a non-Jew.
He was a noncommissioned officer of the Roman army, and he was promoted to lead 100 men because of his proven merit.
He was devoutly religious, but he did not worship the Roman gods. Instead, he worshipped the God of the Jews, a despised people in the Empire.
It is apparent that Cornelius was obeying God as best as he knew how. He was a “God-fearer,” but now that Jesus Christ had died, had been buried, and had risen again, Cornelius needed something more. He needed to hear the good news of what Jesus had done on the cross in his place! He needed to be saved by placing his faith in Christ!
This was the great change that God reveals here: that the Gentiles could be saved and welcomed into the family of God just like the Jews! At first, this would prove a little too much for a stalwart Jew like Peter.
But God knew exactly where Peter was and how to get his attention. The next day, around lunch time, Peter is on the flat rooftop of the tanner’s house and he is praying. No doubt, he could smell the food that was being prepared down below and he became very hungry verse ten says. He sees a vision from God. A great sheet is lowered out of heaven full of animals - some the Jews could eat, some the Jews could not eat. But because they were all mixed together, they were all considered unclean. The whole thing was repulsive to Peter’s thoroughly Jewish mind. The animals represented the Jewish and Gentile populations of the world, but Peter didn’t understand that in the moment.
Peter is told to kill and eat, but he has the audacity to say, “Not so, Lord.” He was so staunchly Jewish that he would even tell the God of Heaven, “no.”
This vision is repeated two more times and Peter is left scratching his head. But at that very moment, God, the master of time, brings the Gentiles to Peter’s doorstep. The men explain their journey to Peter and in defiance of everything he knew as a Jew, Peter welcomes them into the house.
Gentiles didn’t enter Jewish homes. Jews didn’t invite them into their homes - much less, other Jewish homes. This wasn’t even Peter’s house - he was a guest also! This was antithetical to everything that Peter had been taught since he was a child!
But Peter got the memo: God had revealed a great change. God’s plan was for the Gospel to go to the uttermost.
This is one of the greatest transitions that Luke records in the book of Acts. It was monumental. The fact that the early church was exclusively Jewish was not so much God’s doing as it was the church’s doing. Jesus said that they would be witnesses unto the ends of the earth - that certainly suggests the Gospel being taken to the Gentiles. But the early church chose to take it exclusively to the Jews - their kinsmen, their own nation. The Jewish people and leadership largely rejected the Gospel, so now the Gentiles came into focus.
Application: Christian, if you had been in Peter’s shoes, would you have been sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit? Would you have overcome your fears? Would you have resisted your prejudices? Would you have brushed aside the cultural differences and welcomed those “unclean” men into the house and into your life?
Thank God that Peter did! That could have been you, that could have been me, knocking on the door and seeking for the truth.
Thank God for how Peter responded that day when God revealed a great change.
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Peter preaches a great Name - Acts 10:24-48.
There are many great names down through human history, but none so great as the precious name of Jesus! That is the name Peter is about to preach.
Read Acts 10:24-48.
When Peter met Cornelius, Peter quickly realized something that made a great impact on him. It was this: Cornelius was a man who exercised faith in God. Cornelius prayed to God and gave to the poor, believing that this would please the God of Heaven, the God of Israel.
Turns out, it did please God.
Read verse 31.
When you come to God with a sincere heart by faith in Jesus Christ, you can be certain of this: God hears your prayers and He sees your good works.
“But Pastor Tim, Cornelius hadn’t placed his faith in Christ yet, why did God hear him when he prayed?”
Why? Because at that time, Cornelius was approaching God as best as he knew how. He exercised faith and showed it by his works, just like Abraham did - Romans 4:3; James 2:22-23.
Read verse 34.
God doesn’t care if you are Jew or Gentile, slave or free, rich or poor, black or white. He cares if you are exercising faith in Him!
“How do I do that, Pastor Tim? How do I exercise faith in God?”
Read what God has written to you and then take Him at His Word! Believe what He has written and God will be pleased!
Cornelius was a Gentile man that feared God and lived righteously. He exercised faith in God and lived it out by obeying God as best as he knew how. For this reason, God accepted him. In other words, God extended His favor or His grace toward Cornelius and sent Peter to tell him the way of salvation through Jesus Christ.
That’s exactly what Peter starts doing in verse thirty-six. He preaches peace and salvation by the Lord Jesus Christ. In this short message, Peter outlines the earthly ministry of Christ, the divinity of Christ, the death, burial and resurrection of Christ, the testimony of eyewitnesses, and the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies in Christ. He declares that Christ is both the Savior and the Judge of all mankind. Peter was not giving a mere lecture, mind you. His preaching demanded a response and he makes that very clear in verse forty-three.
Read verse 43.
“Cornelius, it is well and good that you have been exercising faith in God, but now God has fully revealed salvation by the sacrifice of His own Son. Whoever believes in Him will be forgiven of their sins!”
The condition of forgiveness was declared. The offer was made.
What would Cornelius and his household do? Would they believe or would they reject God’s offer of salvation through His Son?
Verse forty-four tells us their decision.
Read verse 44.
Cornelius and his household were saved as soon as they believed on the Lord Jesus. As soon as Peter declared these things, they believed it, and the Holy Spirit came upon them and indwelt them just as He had done to the Jews back at Pentecost those many years ago in Acts chapter two.
As soon as these Gentiles believed that through Christ alone they could be forgiven of their sins, guess what happened! They were saved!
They didn’t even get to pray a prayer!
They didn’t have to get baptized!
They didn’t have to live like a good Christian for a few years just as confirmation!
They didn’t have to do the Catholic sacraments!
They didn’t even have to go to an independent Baptist church!
No! They accepted what Peter preached. They believed in the great name that he preached. They believed that Christ’s work on the cross was sufficient to save their souls! As a result, God sent unto them the gift of the Holy Spirit as a confirmation of the internal, spiritual change that had been brought. Cornelius and his household began to speak in other languages and praised God, just like happened at Pentecost. The six Jewish believers that traveled with Peter were astonished! They thought that salvation and the gift of the Holy Spirit was exclusive to God’s chosen people, the Jews. Never would they have dreamed that God would offer salvation to the Gentiles like this, but God does not favor one more than the other. He looks for those who choose to exercise faith in Him.
Application: And so I must ask you: have you believed in Christ alone so that you can be forgiven of your sins? God accepted the sacrifice of His own Son on the cross as the perfect payment for sin. But if you want Christ’s righteousness applied to your account, you must trust in Him alone to save your soul. Turn from your sin and make that choice today!
After Cornelius and his household trusted Christ, they were baptized in public identification with Christ. Notice, Peter did not have them circumcised in identification with the old, dead Judaism. He had them baptized to show that they were now in Christ and part of the family of God, just like the Jews.
Application: When I consider the life story of Cornelius, I have to ask, “when the angel was sent to Cornelius, why didn’t the angel simply tell Cornelius about Jesus? Why get Peter involved?”
It is because God has not chosen angels to be His ambassadors to proclaim the Gospel. Instead, God has chosen us. God has chosen the local church. In the present dispensation, God has not chosen angels to declare the Gospel; God has chosen you, Christian. You are His ambassador for Christ.
Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God.
2 Corinthians 6:1 says that we are workers together with Him - with God! That’s exactly what Peter did here! He worked as God’s servant to preach a great Name. As a result, Cornelius believed, and the Gospel began to go to the uttermost part of the earth.
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The church rehearses a great truth - Acts 11:1-18.
This experience sent shockwaves through the churches that were scattered across Judaea. Could it be? Could it truly be that the Gentiles had believed? The very idea was revolutionary to the Jewish mind. Notice the cold shoulder that some of the Jewish believers gave Peter when he returned to Jerusalem.
Read Acts 11:1-4.
Contend: to separate oneself from another person, to be hostile
In their eyes, Peter was unclean. Peter had defiled himself by being under the same roof as Gentiles and even eating with them. Now you and I don’t really understand the significance of that. Big deal, right?
Well to use a modern illustration, imagine that it’s early 2020, Peter has COVID, and they are rigorously practicing the CDC’s six foot rule.
These Jews were biased against any idea that the Gentiles could receive the Word of God. They were closed-minded. They were discriminatory against the Gentiles. So how did Peter handle this unfair treatment?
He calmly gave them a thorough rehearsal of the facts, and they were kind enough to hear him out. From verses 4-17, Peter tells them the story of how God sent the Gospel to gentile household of Cornelius.
Application: When you are dealing with a misunderstanding with someone else, if they are willing to give you a fair hearing, the wisest thing you can do is calmly give them a complete and thorough rendition of the facts.
As these pharisaical Jews heard of the great miracle that God had done, their cold hostility melted away. They humbly changed their minds.
Read verse eighteen.
Thus the church in Jerusalem heard Peter’s story and discovered a great truth: the God of Israel, the God of Heaven desires all men to be saved and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.
The Gospel was not just for Jerusalem!
The Gospel was not just for Judea!
The Gospel was not just for Samaria!
No! The Gospel was for the uttermost part of the earth!
This had always been God’s intention. Christ did not die for the Jews only. He died for all. He died for you.
Application: Christian, I want to remind you of something that was revolutionary to this Jewish church.
In Christ, Jews and Gentiles are brothers and sisters in the family of God.
In Christ, slaves and slaveowners are servants of The Master.
In Christ, male and female are each valued for their unique design before the Creator.
In Paul’s words, we are all one in Christ Jesus.
That leaves no room for pride in our lives.
That leaves no room for pride in the local church.
That leaves no room for pride over who we are, what titles we hold, or what we have done in our lives.
We are all saved the same way: when we come to the end of ourselves and we bow at the foot of the cross.
Conclusion
Conclusion
If you haven’t come to the end of trying to save yourself, you need to do that today. Trust in Christ as your Savior.
If you are a believer this morning, then humble yourself anew before God and be in awe of His saving grace. Be in awe of His favor shown towards you. Be in awe of the Gospel to the Uttermost.