THE GOSPEL TO THE GENTILES- Acts 10

We are creatures of comfort, of familiarity. We enjoy being with the same people. We feel comfortable around those who look like us, talk like us, and dress like us. We feel a sense of camaraderie, even with things such as pulling for the same sports team.

Christians are not free from this natural bent, unfortunately. We tend to congregate with those like us. While that in and of itself is not wrong, it is wrong when we fail to reach out to people who need to hear the gospel. It is wrong when we cannot fellowship with a brother or sister because they are different.

We are called to preach the Gospel to all. The Church exists for many reasons, but one reason is to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We call this evangelism or missions. Though there is a necessary division for discussions, it is an unfortunate division in our thoughts, namely because we are missionaries, every one of us, on the mission field. Our mission field may not be a jungle in India, it is more likely a gas station in Laurens. What we will see in this chapter is,

We must preach the Gospel to every nation, tribe, and tongue without respect of persons.

I. The Grace of God to the Gentiles- 10:1-8

It is perhaps the most remarkable transition in Scripture, at least in the book of Acts, especially considering the Jewishness of the Bible. Here is a Gentile, apparently a proselyte to the Jewish faith, that enters the story. This man was an incredible man. He was generous, he feared God, and he prayed constantly.

However, this man had a problem, a sin problem, and without that problem solved, he would be a sinner. But we see God’s grace in this Gentile’s life. First, in the fact that Cornelius is interested in God at all is a testament to God’s grace. We know from Scripture that our natural state is to turn away from and fight against God (Rom. 3:9-18).

Yet, Cornelius is a man of faith. He fears God, gives generously, and prays constantly. We also see that God’s grace is not limited to people like us. Cornelius is an Italian, and not only an Italian, he is a centurion, commanding a hundred Roman soldiers. The Romans, as you may remember, were not friends of Israel. God’s grace shined even to the Romans.

What an excellent reminder for us, that God’s grace is to the Gentiles, to those outside of the normal viewpoints of Christianity. Our Cornelius’ may be poor or rich, black or white, male or female, national or foreign, etc. The list is as wide and unique as humanity. The point that the apostle Peter would learn, and that all believers must learn, is the Gospel is for all people (Acts 1:8).

II. The Growth of the Child of God- 10:9-33

We see growth in Peter’s life, particular on this account, which should be encouraging to us. What we see in this portion is the growth of a Christian, particularly as it relates to his conscience. I wish we could spend more time in this. However, I do want to present some important principles based on Peter’s life that may help us interact with one another and with other believers..

A. Peter had a highly sensitive conscience- 10:9-16 (cf. Rom. 14:1-15:7)

Peter’s growth begins with a lesson of conscience. In their book, Conscience: What It Is, How to Train It, and Loving Those Who Differ, Andrew Naselli and J.D. Crowley define conscience (after surveying the NT) as

Conscience is “your consciousness of what you believe is right and wrong.” (Naselli and Crowley, Conscience, 42)

Peter was a Jewish man. He grew up going to synagogue, learning from the rabbis, and observing the Jewish law (including dietary restrictions). These were ingrained in him after centuries. Jesus had already declared the lifting of dietary restrictions (Mark 7:19). But Peter was having a hard time growing in this area. The problem was not only tied to food, it also prevented Peter from ministering to other people (i.e., the Gentiles). Which meant Peter had to go back to school, conscience—school.

B. Peter had to go to conscience—school- 10:17-29 (Rom. 14:1—6)

Peter was consistent, we must give him credit for that. But his consistency was inhibiting his ability to witness, and he needed to grow. The Lord was using this vision to help Peter bridge the gap between his conscience and the freedom and grace of God’s Word.

Here was a Gentile leader of a foreign and oppressive ruler. Cornelius, however, was a God-fearing man, and his life attested to this fact. Peter’s food-related vision was used by God to recalibrate his conscience. Which offers us a glimpse into the recalibration of our own consciences. I have cited Rom. 14-15 as an example. The issues related by Paul provide us with an example of how believers differ on what is acceptable and unacceptable to their respective consciences.

Naselli and Crowley offer a helpful summary of how to calibrate our consciences, and I wanted to provide it here briefly by avoiding sinning and focusing on calibrating:

AVOIDING SINNING AGAINST YOUR CONSCIENCE

“You are sinning against your conscience when you believe your conscience is speaking correctly and yet you refuse to listen to it.” (64-65)

“You are calibrating your conscience when Christ, the Lord of your conscience, teaches you through his Scripture that your conscience has been incorrectly warning you about a particular matter, so you decide no longer to listen to your conscience in that one matter.” (65, they discuss Peter as an example of this)

CALIBRATING YOUR CONSCIENCE

“Calibrate your conscience by educating it with truth.” (66)

“Calibrate your conscience with due process. (68)

Peter’s conscience is calibrated, which means he graduated...

C. Peter graduated—at least for now- 10:30-33 (Gal. 2:11-14)

We will only mention this in briefing, for an encouragement and a warning. It is an encouragement to know that Peter, a godly man and apostle, ran into this issues with his conscience again. It is a warning, because it was sinful for Peter’s conscience to overrule his love for his brothers and sisters in Christ.

III. The Gospel to All Nations- 10:34-48

As a result of God’s grace and Peter’s growth, the gospel began to enter all nations. Now, we already observed exponential growth from Acts 2 and 9, but those were Jewish people. Here in chapter 10 we see the expansion of the gospel to all nations, those being Gentiles (i.e., non-Jewish).

This chapter opens the doors of the Gospel to all nations, which Paul will eventually take on in an incredible way. It is a witness to the end of a racial division that had separated the Jewish people from everyone else (see Eph. 2:14-22).

APPLICATION

Remember that God is at work in other people’s lives, even when it seems impossible.

Rejoice that God is at work in your own life, and learn to be open to His crafting.

Refuse to ignore someone whom God places in your path, regardless of their ethnicity, background, or demeanor.