Book of Acts Bible Study Notes

Transcription

1 ACTS CH.10:1-48 PETER PREACHES TO THE GENTILES WHAT WE ARE GOING TO TALK ABOUT Tonight as we continue our study through the book of Acts we are going to see one of the largest walls of separation begin to be torn down. From our perspective living in America in the 21 st century it is difficult at best to understand the isolationism the Jews had toward the rest of the world. Keep in mind they had a long history of oppression going all the way back to their bondage in Egypt. They were in captivity for 70 years in Babylon and even during this time in their history they under Roman authority. Over and over again, they were subjected not only to the physical oppression but they were also exposed to the heathen culture that ruled over them and their pagan rituals and false gods. So by the time Jesus comes on the scene and we are moving forward here in the book of Acts, they not only had no dealings with the Samaritans, who were half Jew and half gentile, and they had only as little as necessary in terms of contact to do with the gentile. In fact the teaching of the Rabbi s in those days was to wake up in the morning and their first prayer would be God I thank you that I am not a gentile, a woman, or a dog So basically you had two groups of people living in the same land who really didn t like each other at all. So now we fast forward to the resurrection of Christ and His great commission to His church before His ascension to go out into all the world and preach the gospel. His command was for these Jewish believers to take the good news out into the gentile world. I think with this background it becomes a little clearer to see how difficult it was for so many to fulfill this great commission without some sort of bias. Again, God s vision is for all the nations of the world to hear the gospel, but at this point in time the good news is in the hands of some very Jewish people, and the wall between them and the gentiles is both high and wide. page 1

2 But as Jesus told us in John 3:16 that God s Love has been extended to the whole world, and in 2 nd Peter Ch.3:9 God says that His heart toward mankind is that none would perish, and that all would come to repentance. And we have seen thus far in the book of Acts how God is chipping away at this wall, first with Phillip who goes into Samaria, and proclaims the good news to the Samaritan people, a half breed if you will of the Jew and the gentile. Then Phillip takes the good news to the Ethiopian eunuch who is basically a proselyte; which is a gentile who has converted to Judaism, and he too receives the good news and is born again. And now God is going to take dead aim at this wall of separation between the Jewish people and the rest of the nations of the world by bringing the good news of Jesus Christ to the gentiles, through the witness of Peter. HOW IT APPLIES TO ME / WHY IS IT IMPORTANT? Personal application of this study, if nothing else should show us that there is no room for any kind of hatred or prejudice in the child of God. He loves us all; Christ gave up His life so that all who would come to repentance would have eternal life and enter into the kingdom of God. We need to look past the differences that build up these walls of separation, these differences that prevent us from being used by the Holy Spirit to speak the truth with boldness and conviction; and in love. In Ephesians Ch.2 Paul describes this great wall of separation that has been broken down between these two groups of people because of the sacrifice of Christ which was done once for all mankind. Let us celebrate the tearing down of these walls and not rebuild them with the brick and mortar of prejudice and hatred. So let s take a look at Acts Ch.10 ACTS CH.10:1-8 CORNELIUS S VISION 1 There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of what was called the Italian Regiment, page 2

3 To give you a better understanding of what this means; the Roman army was divided into legions of six thousand men, these legions were divided into cohorts of six hundred, and these cohorts were divided into groups of one hundred. Each of these groups was overseen by a centurion. Centurions were like the master sergeants of the Roman army. They were brave of heart, sound of mind, and very strong in discipline. It is also interesting to point out that every time a centurion is mentioned in the New Testament, he is always spoken of in a favorable light. It was the centurion in Luke Ch.7 who caused Jesus to marvel when he said I am not worthy for You to come under my roof, just say the word and my servant will be healed. And in Matthew Ch.27 the centurion who witnessed the crucifixion of Jesus made the proclamation that this truly was the Son of God. And here we are going to find that Cornelius is another centurion that God is going to use. 2 a devout man and one who feared God with all his household, who gave alms generously to the people, and prayed to God always. Here the Holy Spirit calls our attention to three important qualities about Cornelius: First of all, he was a devout God fearing man. Raised in the Roman culture, living in and seeing firsthand the results of the sin and depravity that a culture had slipped into because of the lack of a moral compass, Cornelius like many Roman citizens were drawn to the seriousness of the relationship that these Jews had with God. They did not have to keep track of all of these different deities like the Romans, they had one God who was the creator of the heavens and the earth and all it contained, and they were drawn to the simplicity of this worship and became known by the Jews as God fearers and that is what Cornelius was. Secondly, he was a spiritual leader and the moral compass for his family. After seeing the vanity and delusion of following after the gods of the Romans, he wanted his family to know the true and living God. This is pretty amazing, after being exposed to the debauchery of the Roman way, much like growing up in Hollywood or San Francisco, or New York; Cornelius was able to inspire his family to have a reverential fear and respect for God. page 3

4 Thirdly, he gave alms generously to people. Cornelius is a man who loves God; but he is also a man who loves people. He has a soft spot in his heart for people, and he prayed to God always, he was a man of prayer. You would think that chapter 10 would end right here, surly this guy is a Christian. There are those who would teach, that even though a person does not know Jesus Christ as their personal savior, as long as he loves God and does god to his fellow man, he will be ok. As long as his good outweighs the bad, he will ultimately be accepted by God in the end. After all how can a loving God allow someone like that to go to hell. But this account of Cornelius proves to me they are wrong in that assessment. If all it took for a man to get into heaven was that he loved God and his fellow man, then God would have cited a person like Cornelius and said, he is a God fearer, he is a giver, he is a prayer; he is good to go. But that s not what happens; instead we have Acts Ch.10; the story of a seeking Savior, reaching out a seeking sinner. And this should bring us comfort because what this chapter tells us is that it doesn t matter where the person is; whether they live in America, in Africa, or even in the deepest, or in the darkest regions of a country steeped in Islam, if they respond to the tug on their heart from God, he will reveal Himself to them. He will do whatever it takes to get anyone who is truly seeking pointed in the firth direction. Jeremiah Ch.29:13 (New King James Version) 13 And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. Although he was very religious, although he was a man of prayer, and an almsgiver Cornelius was not saved. People today might say are you telling me that a guy like this, who is devout, fears God, is raising his whole household to love God, gives alms, and prays to God always is not going to go to heaven? Are you trying to tell me that? I am not trying to tell you that; I am saying that! page 4

5 And that is what God is going to communicate to us throughout the rest of this chapter. And it is one of the most important lessons we need to hear tonight. One of the greatest threats to people coming into a personal relationship with Christ today is not the world trying to hold them back, it comes from people getting settled down in a church and thinking that is the way I can become saved, and that is not how it happens. As wonderful as the list of good things Cornelius is doing; it does not compare to the blood of Christ that was shed for the forgiveness of his sin, and it is going to take a personal relationship with Christ in order to be accepted into heaven. 3 About the ninth hour of the day he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God coming in and saying to him, Cornelius! 4 And when he observed him, he was afraid, and said, What is it, lord? Again, God is going to make Himself known to anyone who is sincerely looking for Him. We saw it in chapter 8, how He sent Phillip to the desert to meet up with the Ethiopian who was reading through the scroll of Isiah, and now here He sends Cornelius a vision and an angel. God is faithful, and He will do whatever is necessary to bring that person into a personal relationship with Himself through his Son. How many of us can look back at our own lives and see how when we became saved, how God had worked super naturally the events in order to keep us coming into contact with the truth, knowing that we were sincerely seeking to know the truth about life, about death, and about eternity? 5 Now send men to Joppa, and send for Simon whose surname is Peter. 6 He is lodging with Simon, a tanner, whose house is by the sea. He will tell you what you must do. I find it interesting that the Holy Spirit tells us that Peter is lodging at the home of Simon the tanner. A tanner is someone who handles the skins of dead animals which would have been considered ceremonially unclean by the Jew. The fact that Peter is staying in his house tells me that the walls are breaking down in his life because he is willing to stay in the house of a tanner. page 5

6 What is even more important though is that the angel tells Cornelius that he needs to have Peter come to his house because he will tell you what you must do. In other words, what you are doing and what you have done thus far isn t enough, you go get this guy and he will tell you what you got to do to close the deal with God. Why did the Lord send an angel to tell Cornelius to find Peter? Why didn t the angel just explain to Cornelius what he had to do in order to be saved? Because it is not the angels job to share the gospel, its ours. God has chosen us to be the vessels he will use to share the gospel and share the good news with people. 7 And when the angel who spoke to him had departed, Cornelius called two of his household servants and a devout soldier from among those who waited on him continually. 8 So when he had explained all these things to them, he sent them to Joppa. What is his response to the revelation from God, immediate obedience. I can t tell you how important it is for you and I to respond to something God has put on our heart without delay. He has our best interests at heart. Paul tells us in Ephesians: Ephesians Ch.2:10 (New American Standard Bible) 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them. Don t allow the enemy the opportunity to steal our blessing from God by delaying our obedience. The more time we put between a word from the Lord and our acting on it, the more opportunity we will have to talk ourselves right out of it. Cornelius treats the word from the Lord as priceless and highly valuable, and we should do the same. ACTS CH.10:9-22 PETER S VISION 9 The next day, as they went on their journey and drew near the city, Peter went up on the housetop to pray, about the sixth hour. 10 Then he became very hungry and wanted to eat; but while they made ready, he fell into a trance page 6

7 11 and saw heaven opened and an object like a great sheet bound at the four corners, descending to him and let down to the earth. 12 In it were all kinds of four-footed animals of the earth, wild beasts, creeping things, and birds of the air. 13 And a voice came to him, Rise, Peter; kill and eat. 14 But Peter said, Not so, Lord! For I have never eaten anything common or unclean. Peter s statement is a tad bit inconsistent, you can say no to your buddies, or you can say no to your spouse, but to call Him Lord and at the same time say no; those two statements do not reconcile with each other. If He is God and He is our Lord, then no should not be in our vocabulary. Peter goes on to say I have never eaten anything common or unclean. This vision was given to Peter to show that God is interested in saving everybody, clean, unclean, Jews and gentiles alike. Peter being very Jewish here is basically telling God I would rather starve to death than eat anything this is ceremonially unclean. For a fisherman hanging out in a tanner s house he just got very legalistic. Peter s attitude toward the eating of an unclean animal, represented the attitude of the Jews toward the gentiles. I would die than have anything to do with them 15 And a voice spoke to him again the second time, What God has cleansed you must not call common. 16 This was done three times. And the object was taken up into heaven again. It seems like Peter deals in threes, three times he denied Christ, three times Jesus asked Peter Do you love Me when he was restored to service, and now here three times God tell him to rise up kill and eat. 17 Now while Peter wondered within himself what this vision which he had seen meant, behold, the men who had been sent from Cornelius had made inquiry for Simon s house, and stood before the gate. 18 And they called and asked whether Simon, whose surname was Peter, was lodging there. 19 While Peter thought about the vision, the Spirit said to him, Behold, three men are seeking you. 20 Arise therefore, go down and go with them, doubting nothing; for I have sent them. page 7

8 So on the heels of this vision, while Peter is trying to understand what he has just experienced, the Holy Spirit tells him about these men who have come to bring him back to Cornelius s house, to not worry about going with the for He has sent them to find Peter. 21 Then Peter went down to the men who had been sent to him from Cornelius, and said, Yes, I am he whom you seek. For what reason have you come? 22 And they said, Cornelius the centurion, a just man, one who fears God and has a good reputation among all the nation of the Jews, was divinely instructed by a holy angel to summon you to his house, and to hear words from you. 23 Then he invited them in and lodged them. On the next day Peter went away with them, and some brethren from Joppa accompanied him. It s neat to see this from our perspective because it shows us how God is at work in the lives of different individuals at the same time for the purpose of bring His plans to fruition. We see the same thing in Exodus Ch.2 where we see the Children of Israel crying out to God because of their bondage in Egypt, while at the same time God is working in the life of Moses preparing to send him to Egypt to deliver His people. Just because we cannot see God at work in a specific area of our lives does not mean that He is not working, in fact He is, and at some point in time we too will see the results of His works. But we also need to be careful; so much is said in the name of the Lord that is not from the Lord or not of the Lord. Many well-meaning people are sometimes convinced they have had a vision or a prophecy and they are all to willing to share it with you even though it may never come to pass. Exodus Ch.2 and Acts Ch.10 shows us a model of how God works, He works both ends. If someone is trying to speak a truth into your life that they feel they have received from the Lord and you are not receiving a confirmation from God about that same truth, be careful. ACTS CH.10:24-33 PETER TRAVELS TO CAESAREA 24 And the following day they entered Caesarea. Now Cornelius was waiting for them, and had called together his relatives and close friends. Cornelius was an evangelist even before he was a Christian. page 8

9 25 As Peter was coming in, Cornelius met him and fell down at his feet and worshiped him. 26 But Peter lifted him up, saying, Stand up; I myself am also a man. Having seen an angel from God, it is quite likely that Cornelius thought of Peter as another messenger of the same importance, perhaps even more since he was about to impart knowledge to him that the angel did not give. I think Peter was aware of the Roman custom of worshipping the emperor and wanted to make sure there was no misunderstanding, so he tells Cornelius to stand up and he reminds him that he is only a servant of the true God, and that only God is worthy of the worship of man. It is interesting to note that the Peter who refused to have his feet washed in John Ch.13 and refused to be worshipped here in Acts Ch.10 is much different than the Peter presented by the Catholic Church today. Did you know that people still do this to this very day? In St. Peter s Basilica, people line up in front of Michelangelo s bronze of Peter to kiss the foot of the statue. Over the centuries the statue has been touched and kissed so much that the rights toes have been worn thin, the big toe is gone. Peter knows his frailties and his weaknesses. He is just a man like Cornelius, and he knows there is only One who is worthy of worship, His Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 27 And as he talked with him, he went in and found many who had come together. And here we see the light come on for Peter, the vision he had on the rooftop is now making sense. Peter being a Jew had a biased viewpoint of anyone who was not. Gentiles could not have the same genuine desire to know the God of Israel as the Jew. And as he walks into this room filled with gentiles who sincerely wanted to know more about the one true God, I am sure the vision Peter had on the rooftop of the sheet coming down out of heaven full of all kinds of animals and hearing God say to him that what He has cleansed should no longer be considered unholy, is replaying in his mind. page 9

10 And I think all of the sudden he begins to understand that God was not just talking about eating something that had been previously considered unclean, but God was showing Peter that the gospel was indeed for everyone, when Jesus told them in Matthew Ch.28 to go and make disciples of all the nations, He meant take the good news to the gentiles. Notice the next verse: 28 Then he said to them, You know how unlawful it is for a Jewish man to keep company with or go to one of another nation. But God has shown me that I should not call any man common or unclean. This was a big admission for Peter, God had torn down the wall of separation, but it was very difficult for many of the Jews to let go of their prejudices. I alluded to it earlier but let s take a look at what Paul said about this wall of separation in Ephesians ch.2: Ephesians Ch.2:14-16 (New Living Translation) 14 For Christ Himself has brought peace to us. He united Jews and Gentiles into one people when, in His own body on the cross, He broke down the wall of hostility that separated us. 15 He did this by ending the system of law with its commandments and regulations. He made peace between Jews and Gentiles by creating in Himself one new people from the two groups. 16 Together as one body, Christ reconciled both groups to God by means of his death on the cross, and our hostility toward each other was put to death. From God s perspective, it is not the nationality of a person that is important; it is not the color of their skin, the language they speak, or the culture they have been raised in. 1 st Samuel Ch.16:7 (New Living Translation) 7 The Lord doesn t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart. The value of a human being is not measured by physical qualities or the lack there of; the value of a human being has been established by what God was willing to pay for them, the death of His own Son. page 10

11 Peter continues: 29 Therefore I came without objection as soon as I was sent for. I ask, then, for what reason have you sent for me? 30 So Cornelius said, Four days ago I was fasting until this hour; and at the ninth hour I prayed in my house, and behold, a man stood before me in bright clothing, 31 and said, Cornelius, your prayer has been heard, and your alms are remembered in the sight of God. 32 Send therefore to Joppa and call Simon here, whose surname is Peter. He is lodging in the house of Simon, a tanner, by the sea. When he comes, he will speak to you. 33 So I sent to you immediately, and you have done well to come. Now therefore, we are all present before God, to hear all the things commanded you by God. Even though the fog is lifting in Peter s mind concerning the relationship between the Jew and the Gentile, he still seems a little unclear why he has been called to Cornelius s house. Cornelius recounts to him the series of events that led to this meeting. He Points out to Peter that he recognized and appreciated Peter s obedience to God by coming to his house, understanding that that was a big step for a Jew. And then he says to Peter we are all here for the purpose of hearing what God has to say to us, now you tell us Peter, what has God commanded you to share with us? This is what can be referred to as an open door. ACTS CH.10:34-48 GENTILES HEAR THE GOOD NEWS 34 Then Peter replied, I see very clearly that God shows no favoritism. 35 In every nation He accepts those who fear Him and do what is right. 36 This is the message of Good News for the people of Israel that there is peace with God through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all. 37 You know what happened throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee, after John began preaching his message of baptism. 38 And you know that God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. Then Jesus went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him. page 11

12 39 And we apostles are witnesses of all he did throughout Judea and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a cross, 40 but God raised him to life on the third day. Then God allowed him to appear, 41 not to the general public, but to us whom God had chosen in advance to be his witnesses. We were those who ate and drank with Him after He rose from the dead. The whole theme of Peter s message is Jesus Christ. His movement throughout Jerusalem and Judea was well known to the gentiles, the fact that He healed the sick and the lame and attributed it to the power of the Holy Spirit was well known. The fact that He was put to death on the cross was buried and rose again on the third day was well known. And Peter s message is short sweet and to the point: I think it is also interesting that Peter makes it a point to say that Jesus was put to death by hanging him on the cross or on a tree as some other translations read. He could have just as easily said that He was slain by His enemies. The Jewish method for execution was stoning, it was the Romans the Gentiles who utilized crucifixion. By using this phrase Peter was in essence saying there is no room for Anti- Semitism, all men are guilty Jew and Gentile alike; remember someone drove the nails into Jesus s hands and feet, but it was our sin that put Him there and it was His love for you and I that kept Him there. 42 And He ordered us to preach everywhere and to testify that Jesus is the one appointed by God to be the judge of all the living and the dead. 43 He is the one all the prophets testified about, saying that everyone who believes in Him will have their sins forgiven through His name. Peter recounts the great commission from Jesus to go into all the nations and to preach the Gospel. Cornelius wanted to hear from Peter what God had placed in his heart to share. page 12

13 And the message was simple: The necessity of believing in Jesus as your Savior and as the Messiah is the only way to have a right relationship with God. And it is the only way to have the remission and forgiveness of your sin. When peter explained these facts, the faith of the listeners deepened, and notice it did not take an altar call for these guys to respond to the message, there was no playing on the emotions of the moment. Their conversion was both spontaneous and sincere. Notice: 44 Even as Peter was saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell upon all who were listening to the message. 45 The Jewish believers who came with Peter were amazed that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles, too. 46 For they heard them speaking in other tongues and praising God. The outpouring of the Holy Spirit onto the gentiles confirmed two important facts. First of all it indicates the hearers of this message believed and received what they heard. That through Christ, whoever believed in Him as their personal savior would have their sins forgiven and have their names written in the Lambs book of life. The second fact that was confirmed was that the wall of separation between Jew and Gentile had been torn down. The Holy Spirit had come upon these people the same way He did in Acts Ch. 2 on the Jewish people on the Day of Pentecost. In Gods economy there was no longer any distinction between the Jew and the Gentile in terms of access into the kingdom of God. John Ch.3:16 (New King James Version) 16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. The whosoever or John 3:16 has been clearly defined and it totally blows away the Jews who had traveled to Caesarea with Peter. They are watching as these uncircumcised gentiles, people who never adhered to the Law of Moses, receive the Holy Spirit and begin to speak in tongues, glorifying God in languages they did not know, the exact same way it happened to the apostles. page 13

14 This was a very important sign because had not the gentiles been converted and received the Holy Spirit the same way as evidenced by the speaking in tongues, I believe they would have forever been labeled by the Jew nothing more than a second-class citizen within the church. Then Peter asked, 47 Can anyone object to their being baptized, now that they have received the Holy Spirit just as we did? 48 So he gave orders for them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Afterward Cornelius asked him to stay with them for several days. Peter confirms what everyone else knew; these guys had been converted to Christianity and received the Holy Spirit of promise in the same way as the Jews. Peter declares them to be part of the same family of God and orders them to be baptized. People testified of their belief in Christ in 3 ways; by the personal confession with their lips, by a sustained triumph in in their lives, and by a public confession of their faith through baptism. The early Christian considered all of these to be both a delight and a duty, and the idea of remaining unbaptized never occurred to them. This was a pretty big deal especially for Cornelius and his family, remember that Cornelius was a centurion in the Roman army and the Christianity was considered to be an enemy of the state. Serious repercussions could follow such a public confession, but Cornelius smiled and went ahead with his plans, he found new life and was not ashamed to share it. It has been well said; When a man hesitates about publically confessing his faith in Christ, the inference that can be drawn is that maybe he has none to confess To accept Christ as our personal Savior is wisdom, and to be accepted by God is the reason for our assurance. page 14