Everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins

Acts 10:24–48 ESV

24 And on the following day they entered Caesarea. Cornelius was expecting them and had called together his relatives and close friends. 25 When Peter entered, Cornelius met him and fell down at his feet and worshiped him. 26 But Peter lifted him up, saying, “Stand up; I too am a man.” 27 And as he talked with him, he went in and found many persons gathered. 28 And he said to them, “You yourselves know how unlawful it is for a Jew to associate with or to visit anyone of another nation, but God has shown me that I should not call any person common or unclean. 29 So when I was sent for, I came without objection. I ask then why you sent for me.” 30 And Cornelius said, “Four days ago, about this hour, I was praying in my house at the ninth hour, and behold, a man stood before me in bright clothing 31 and said, ‘Cornelius, your prayer has been heard and your alms have been remembered before God. 32 Send therefore to Joppa and ask for Simon who is called Peter. He is lodging in the house of Simon, a tanner, by the sea.’ 33 So I sent for you at once, and you have been kind enough to come. Now therefore we are all here in the presence of God to hear all that you have been commanded by the Lord.” 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.

Acts 10:24–33 ESV

24 And on the following day they entered Caesarea. Cornelius was expecting them and had called together his relatives and close friends. 25 When Peter entered, Cornelius met him and fell down at his feet and worshiped him. 26 But Peter lifted him up, saying, “Stand up; I too am a man.” 27 And as he talked with him, he went in and found many persons gathered. 28 And he said to them, “You yourselves know how unlawful it is for a Jew to associate with or to visit anyone of another nation, but God has shown me that I should not call any person common or unclean. 29 So when I was sent for, I came without objection. I ask then why you sent for me.” 30 And Cornelius said, “Four days ago, about this hour, I was praying in my house at the ninth hour, and behold, a man stood before me in bright clothing 31 and said, ‘Cornelius, your prayer has been heard and your alms have been remembered before God. 32 Send therefore to Joppa and ask for Simon who is called Peter. He is lodging in the house of Simon, a tanner, by the sea.’ 33 So I sent for you at once, and you have been kind enough to come. Now therefore we are all here in the presence of God to hear all that you have been commanded by the Lord.”

The scene is set… Peter has been miraculously sent for by someone he does not know. All he does know is that this person is supposedly the enemy of his people, and not just that but he is a commander in the enemies army. He lives in the strongest fortified city that the enemy has control of in the whole region. This is a city that was named after the Roman Ruler Caesar Augustus. This is like going straight into enemy territory.

All Peter knew, is what this mans servants told him. He has of yet been able to know if it is truth or if it is a trap, yet he knows that God has spoken to him that he should go with these guys and find out.

God did not tell him he would go and preach the Gospel to them, just that He should go with them.

Why Am I explaining this? Because we need to read these stories in their proper context before we can try and pull an application from the scripture to apply it to our lives. We must sense the tension in the story and understand how momentous of an event this is.

Last week We talked about how Peter had a vision from God and was told not to call common what God calls clean. This was first applied to the dietary restrictions of Jews, and rightly so, as they are now being lifted from these new Christians. But there was more to it. And quickly here we will see a glorious truth of the Gospel as Peter explains what he has come to understand from this. Yet we need to sense the building up of the cultural and historical tensions here.

So Peter is heading into something that he has no clue as what to expect. Let look to the text.

Acts 10:24–25 ESV

24 And on the following day they entered Caesarea. Cornelius was expecting them and had called together his relatives and close friends. 25 When Peter entered, Cornelius met him and fell down at his feet and worshiped him.

acts10.24-26

Notice here that Cornelius is waiting for Peters arrival. And in anticipation he has called together his friends and relatives. Why?

Well wouldn’t you? If god sent an angel and told you to send for someone to come to your house? Wouldn’t you want to know whatever this person would tell you? That is why he falls down prostrate when Peter arrives. In his culture, when someone of great honor comes in the room you fall down to honor them, and in some cases, like if Caesar came in, you would be worshipping him. All Cornelius knows is that God has sent this person, so he should honor him.

Imagine how Peter would’ve responded t5o this in his mind. He doesn’t know what is going to happen but this guys is a big deal militarily and here he is bowing down to Peter.

Acts 10:26 ESV

26 But Peter lifted him up, saying, “Stand up; I too am a man.”

Peter acknowledges that he is just a man and nothing special as someone to be worshipped. Only God is to be worshipped, not his servants. But he also is telling Cornelius that even though he is a big deal within his own ranks, he is only a man as well.

Peter is not trying to be rude but he is starting to see people differently than he did as a Jew. He is hinting to what God has shown him, and now he will outright say it… look...

Acts 10:27–29 ESV

27 And as he talked with him, he went in and found many persons gathered. 28 And he said to them, “You yourselves know how unlawful it is for a Jew to associate with or to visit anyone of another nation, but God has shown me that I should not call any person common or unclean. 29 So when I was sent for, I came without objection. I ask then why you sent for me.”

Ok notice two things here, first he came without objection, but still doesn’t know why he was sent for… He is saying, “What do you want from me?” He isn’t quite connecting the dots yet… Why do I say that? Because what he also said here is truly revolutionary for a former Jew.

He told Cornelius that he knows it is UNLAWFUL for a Jew to associate or even visit with a Gentile.

Jews would not be able to eat with Gentiles because their food was Kosher. Their laws prohibited “table fellowship” with anyone non Jew. In fact at that time Gentiles knew that Jews wouldn’t even buy their food from the same places as Gentiles for fear of contamination. They would have had the experience of not ever having a Jew set foot in their home.

Peter is addressing the whole crowd that Cornelius gathered here, and he is reminding them that he is different… and Here is why… Referring to the revelation he recieved from God he is removing the race barrier that they have only ever known!

It’s like Peter finally gets it… He understands why God showed him a vision of unclean things and told him not to call common what God has made clean. And he applies it to the people in front of him.

The vision did deal with the removing of the Jewish traditions on eating certain food but the deeper meaning was applied to people. They are not common if God calls them clean. Meaning he can go to them and share God’s word without fear of being unclean.

So Peter is showing himself to be different than any Jew they have ever met and he is wanting to know what they want from him. And while Cornelius didn’t know enough to ask him to preach the gospel and evangelize them all, he does share all he knows.

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Acts 10:30–33 ESV

30 And Cornelius said, “Four days ago, about this hour, I was praying in my house at the ninth hour, and behold, a man stood before me in bright clothing 31 and said, ‘Cornelius, your prayer has been heard and your alms have been remembered before God. 32 Send therefore to Joppa and ask for Simon who is called Peter. He is lodging in the house of Simon, a tanner, by the sea.’ 33 So I sent for you at once, and you have been kind enough to come. Now therefore we are all here in the presence of God to hear all that you have been commanded by the Lord.”

So notice a couple things.

first it has been 4 days since Cornelius had this vision. He did everything he needed to do and was waiting eagerly to hear from this man he has never met before.

Second, it says that his prayer was answered. We have no way of knowing what exactly he prayed but clearly he was praying for help in knowing God more or something equal to that.

Next we see that he did not delay in sending for Peter. I love what Al Mohler said in regards to this.

“As a soldier well acquainted with authority, Cornelius understands that obedience delayed is disobedience. When someone in authority tells a soldier what to do, the soldier does not say ‘I’ll take that into consideration’. Instead Cornelius says, ‘I sent for you at once’.”

I love that. obedience delayed is disobedience.

“Obedience delayed is disobedience” Al Mohler

Cornelius did not go inquire of other people what they thought he should do. He didn’t waster any time in sending for Peter. He didn’t justify his position because he has never met Peter. He didn’t complain because he doesn’t know who Simon the tanner is, or that he has to send people on over a days journey to get this guys he doesn’t know form someones house he also doesn’t know. He just does it, he sends for him.

Isn’t it interesting that someone who hadn’t yet heard the gospel still had a desire to obey God. Why do I bring this up? Because we need to see that sometimes the Lord is drawing people to know him and they are willing to be obedient. Their obedience is not what saves them. Cornelius was obedient to the Lord but he was not saved yet. See we do not contribute to our salvation by our obedience, and even someone who is not yet born again can try to obey the Lord.

The difference is that your trying to obey the Lord doesn’t save you, only your believing in the work of Christ will save you. And in saying all that, how much more now that we have been saved by the work of Christ should we desire to obey God. Not delay but obey.

When we know what he requires of us, obey and not delay. Cornelius did this as a military man, we must do in humble submission to the Lord.

But the final thing I want to point out is how he talks to Peter, he says we are all here to hear, “all that you have been commanded by the Lord.”

He uses the word “Commanded” and it is in a military sense. He is saying that he is ready to receive his orders from Peter as Peter has received them from God. Cornelius and peter have both been sovereignly prepared for this moment. Peter was ready because God made sure he removed any barriers to this gospel being preached to people who are different. Cornelius was ready because he understood how authority worked, even though he didn’t know the gospel.

What does this teach us about the Lord? Look at how involved he is in this conversion story. It is not just coincidence that these guys come into each others lives here. God is uniquely involved in making sure this man Cornelius and his family come to salvation. And the implication of this are huge because they are the first Gentiles that will experience the Holy Spirit as the Jews first did, as we will see in a moment. but even more than that, we can see how God prepares peoples hearts to receive the gospel and he prepares people to preach the gospel.

How did the Lord prepare you to receive the gospel?

How is he preparing you to preach the gospel?

Now we will no doubt not have a vision like Peter did but we none the less are called to ministers of reconciliation, ambassadors of the Christ, preachers of the one way Jesus Christ and disciple makers of all nations. Do you recognize how we are being prepared to share the gospel as God is preparing hearts to receive the gospel?

Perhaps you are unsure of what to say? Well look at what Peter said as a good reference of how to preach the gospel.

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Acts 10:34–36 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),

Look. Peter is saying that for the first time, He truly understands something that he had not understood before.

God Shows no Partiality, meaning he doesn’t care what the person is like or where they come from or what their background is. Why?

Because he is saving people in EVERY NATION!

The gospel is a message for all nations to receive

There is not one kind of person that will be excluded from the Gospel. When we get to heaven we will find people from every nation, race, tribe and tongue! There will be people who were rich and people who were poor, people who were well and people who were sick, people who died young and people who died old. ALL KINDS OF PEOPLE WILL BE SAVED!

This is the first time we see the apostles proclaim this message and the first time one of them actually got it.

And when he says anyone who fears the Lord and does what is right is acceptable to him. He is not saying that anyone on the planet who does what is right will be saved… This is not universalism, which is a false teaching that people are saved no matter who they are and what they do… NO

People can only be saved by the work of Christ and by putting their faith in him alone! No man comes to the father except by the son! He is the way the truth and the life!

Listen if Cornelius was already saved, then he wouldn’t have needed to send for Peter to come and preach the gospel to him. Well what does he mean by this statement?

Pewter is expressing the reality that there is work done by the Spirit in the hearts of sinners as they would come to saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. This is a pre-salvation work in a sinners heart that makes them able to accept the message of the gospel rather than reject it.

Think about yourself. how many times did you hear the gospel before you received the good news of Jesus Christ? It may have been dozens of times or more, but at some point the Spirit had worked on you to prepare you to receive this gospel. And Peter is saying that all kinds of people will be saved, because he came first to Israel preaching that Jesus is LORD OF ALL!

Jesus Christ is Lord of ALL… All kinds of people will bow to him in this life, and when all of our time is up everyone will see him and bow to him!

But this is just the intro to Peter’s short sermon here...

Acts 10:37–38 ESV

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.

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Why does he say to them, “you yourselves know...”

Well remember that Caesarea is the city that ruled the region of Judea. This meant that when there was commotion started by Jesus’ preaching, the Romans knew about him. In fact it is evident that Peter thinks they even heard all about this Jesus.

He points out Jesus’ baptism and his mission of Messiah by destroying the works of the devil in healing all that he had oppressed.

He tells them that God was with him. Knowing his context, that these people would’ve heard about this Jesus as making trouble for the Jews, he points out that God is with him as he does these extraordinary miracles. And he goes on to explain more.

acts10.39

Acts 10:39 ESV

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,

Peter points out that he is one of the eyewitnesses to this. He is establishing his authority as an Apostle, but he goes on to point out that the Jews put him to death.

acts10.40

Acts 10:40–41 ESV

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.

Peter preaches Christ, in his life and death and resurrection. The resurrection is not myth it is a fact that he points out to Cornelius and his family.

Jesus not being received by his own people and being put to death on a cross was an event that happened and so is the resurrection. And not everyone knew about it at first. But to be sure that he wasn’t saying they imagined something, he tells of eating and drinking with him after he rose from the dead. This is no myth.

The resurrection is not a myth

Since the very beginning of Christianity it has been proclaiming the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. One of the most unique markers of what we believe is the fact that we believe in a resurrected savior who is still alive!

The resurrection is not like what happened to Lazarus, he had to die again. Or even what happened to Dorcas through the hands of Peter, she would experience death again. But Jesus was raised to life and is alive!

And to further double down on what he was preaching to this military man who wanted to hear what Peter was commanded by the Lord, look at what he says next...

acts1042-43

Acts 10:42–43 ESV

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 tells Cornelius that Jesus Commanded them to preach

The resurrected Jesus commanded them! Remember, that word to this military man is important. Cornelius wanted to know what God commanded him as if to say, what are my orders...

Well here they are - Jesus was appointed by God to judge the living and the dead! All the prophets bear witness to him AND

Everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through is name

Everyone who believes! And absolutely no one who does not!

We sometimes get caught up in who are the one who will believe and argue about the ones who will not. And those are important arguments no doubt as they lead to a proper understanding of who God is, yet they pale in comparison ton the Glorious truth they are connected to...

Whoever they are that believe, whether those people know that God chose them or if they think they chose God, it doesn’t matter because the end result is the same...

If they believe in Jesus they receive forgiveness of sins in his name!

See when we preach Jesus we must tell of the truth of his life, death, resurrection and the benefits of believing this… the Forgiveness of Sins.

Real gospel preaching always gets people to the forgiveness of sins because it is the problem that plagues all of us. We have all sinned and we all need a savior. If you think you can stand before God without forgiveness of your sins you are fooling yourself. The only alternative to believing that you can do it without Jesus is just to reject God altogether.

So let me be simple for you. It is Jesus or nothing. Believe in Jesus as the one who carried your sins and put your faith in him or stand on your own before the holy God of the universe. What is it that you think you can say in that moment that will convince God that you have earned a right to eternal life? What have you done that is good? None of it is good enough for a perfect holy God.

Refuse to believe that you are a sinner and in need of a savior and you will find yourself in the worst place anyone could ever be.

Yet if you believe you can be saved. Call out to him and ask him to save you!

This is a message that we need now more than ever. People are literally losing their peace in life because of a invisible virus that is shutting everything down. We are all realizing that we are not as in control as we would like to be. People may be more willing to hear about the only true hope we have in life in death.

This is why I love the Heidelberg Catechism - question 1

Q - What is our only comfort in life and death?

A - That I am not my own, but belong with body and soul, both in life and death to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ. He has fully paid for all my sins with his precious blood, and has set me free from all the power of the devil. He also preserves me in such a way that without the will of my heavenly Father not a hair can fall from my head; indeed, all things must work together for my salvation. Therefore, by his Holy Spirit he also assures me of eternal life and makes me heartily willing and ready from now on to live for him!

Can you say that? Can those you care for say that? Perhaps this is where we should stop and ask ourselves if we have this comfort in life? Do our kids?

Have you been converted to Christ yet? Have you heard about Jesus who God used to display his mighty power by healing all kinds of people. Have you heard how God was with him because he and the Father are one, according to what Jesus taught. Jesus is God. So when they killed him and nailed him to a cross, he was letting them do it to him for a bigger purpose.

That purpose was to save you from your sins. On the cross he took your sins and my sins on him so that when we believe we could have his righteousness. this is what the bible declares to us.

2 Corinthians 5:21 ESV

21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

When you believe in the life, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesu Christ, you are proclaiming that you have a new comfort in life and death...

You are not your own, so why do you worry about everything that would try to make you anxious?

Peter was for the first time able to proclaim a message of hope to those who were previously outside the scope of Gods salvation… or so he thought.

You were once outside the scope of God’s salvation, or so you thought… But God in Christ did something so powerful for you that when the Holy Spirit applied it to your heart it changed you completely.

Today lets us look back to the cross where we were eternally changed. Let us remember that moment when we first heard this truth and believed it. And let us ask the Holy Spirit to fill us so powerfully that we would go out into this world and share this message with the importance it has as preeminent above all other news for all time.

Let us find stregnth and encouragement in how he first saved the gentiles and how it has come to us and we are still being saved by this gospel truth.

Everyone who believes in Jesus receives forgiveness of Sins in his name!