Radical Reach of Grace PART 3 (Acts 10:1-11:18)

The Radical Reach of Grace, Part 3

Text: Acts 10:1–11:18; Ephesians 2:11–14; Galatians 3:28 Big Idea: God’s grace breaks down barriers, levels the ground, and rewrites our vision of who belongs in His family.

Introduction

Have you ever noticed how children don’t instinctively build walls of division? A playground is the most diverse community you’ll ever see. Kids don’t stop to ask about race, tax brackets, or denominational affiliation. They just want to play. But somewhere along the way, we learn to build fences—us versus them, insider versus outsider, worthy versus unworthy.

And yet the gospel of Jesus Christ comes to tear those fences down. Paul puts it beautifully in Ephesians 2:13–14: "But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in His flesh the dividing wall of hostility."

That’s what we see happening in Acts 10 and 11. The story of Cornelius and Peter shows us the radical reach of grace—a grace that refuses to stay in the comfort of our categories.

1) Grace Breaks Barriers (Acts 10:1–23)

Cornelius is a Roman centurion, a Gentile. He prays, he gives generously, and God sends him a vision: “Send for Peter.” Meanwhile, Peter is on a rooftop in Joppa. Hungry, distracted—and God interrupts him with a vision of a sheet full of unclean animals. Three times the voice says: “Rise, Peter; kill and eat.” Three times Peter resists: “By no means, Lord.”

But the point isn’t food. The point is people. God is saying: “What I have made clean, do not call common.” Just then, Cornelius’s men arrive. The Spirit says: “Go with them without hesitation”—literally, without making distinctions. And Peter does something radical: he invites Gentiles into his home. Already, barriers are breaking.

Application:

Name your “by no means, Lord.” Who do you quietly keep at arm’s length?

Obey the Spirit promptly—even when the explanation comes later.

Practice barrier-breaking hospitality. Sometimes opening your home is the first step to opening your heart.

Eph. 2 connection: The dividing wall isn’t just theoretical. It lived in Peter’s own heart. And grace knocked it down.

2) Grace Levels All (Acts 10:24–48)

Peter enters Cornelius’s house. Cornelius bows down; Peter lifts him up: “I too am a man.” Peter confesses: “God has shown me that I should not call any person common or unclean.” Then he preaches Jesus—His life, His death, His resurrection, His forgiveness.

And before Peter even finishes, the Holy Spirit interrupts. He falls on the Gentiles, and they speak in tongues just as the Jews did at Pentecost. The Jewish believers are stunned. Peter asks: “Can anyone withhold water for baptizing these people, who have received the Spirit just as we have?” No one can. They are baptized into Christ.

What’s the point? Grace levels the playing field. At the foot of the cross, there is no first-class seating.

Application:

Let God set the terms of belonging. The Spirit, not our standards, decides who’s in.

Guard against superiority. Peter refuses worship; we must refuse pride.

Celebrate unity in diversity. Same gospel, same Spirit, different people—one family.

Gal. 3:28 connection: “There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” Grace levels us all.

3) Grace Revises Our Vision (Acts 11:1–18)

But word travels fast. The believers in Judea criticize Peter: “You went to uncircumcised men and ate with them!” Peter patiently explains everything—the vision, the Spirit’s instruction, the Spirit’s outpouring. And then he delivers the knockout line: “Who was I that I could stand in God’s way?”

The room falls silent. And then—praise breaks out: “Then to the Gentiles also God has granted repentance that leads to life.” The church itself is converted to grace.

Application:

Explain with patience. Don’t steamroll through questions—testify.

Anchor your case in Scripture and the Spirit, not preference.

Refuse to stand in God’s way. If He’s granting repentance, our only job is worship and welcome.

Eph. 2 reminder: Grace doesn’t just save individuals; it creates a new humanity—one family, one people of God.

Conclusion: The Radical Reach of Grace

The story of Peter and Cornelius is our story. Grace found us when we were outsiders, and grace keeps pushing us toward those we’d rather avoid.

Paul told the Galatians: “You are all one in Christ Jesus.” Paul told the Ephesians: “He Himself is our peace.” And Peter told the church: “Who was I that I could stand in God’s way?”

The radical reach of grace leaves us with only one posture: arms wide open.

So let me ask you—

Who have you been calling “common” that God calls “clean”?

What barrier do you need to let grace break?

Where is God saying to you today, “Go without hesitation”?

Because if grace can reach across Rome and Judea, across visions and prejudices, across centuries and continents—it can reach across your fences too.

Sending

Church, go in the power of the Spirit who breaks barriers, levels the ground, and rewrites our vision. "Then to the Gentiles also God has granted repentance that leads to life." Amen.