Cornelius Hears The Gospel

Q: What does the Bible say about God's sovereignty in salvation?

The Bible teaches that God is sovereign over salvation, choosing individuals for salvation according to His will, as seen in Acts 10 with Cornelius. In Acts 10, we see a clear demonstration of God's sovereignty in the story of Cornelius, a Gentile who sought God. The narrative illustrates that Cornelius, though not a Jew, was divinely chosen to hear the gospel, as God prepared both Cornelius' heart and Peter's ministry. This underscores the Reformed teaching that God elects individuals according to His sovereign grace rather than any foreseen merit in them. The Scriptures affirm that God loves and saves those He has chosen, thus highlighting the centrality of His sovereign will in the process of salvation, as affirmed in Ephesians 1:4-5.

Q: How do we know that election is a true doctrine?

Election is supported by numerous biblical passages, including Ephesians 1:4, which states that God chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world. The doctrine of election is rooted in the Scriptures, which clearly lay out God's choosing of individuals for salvation based on His sovereign purpose and grace. For example, Ephesians 1:4 declares that God chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world, marking a pre-temporal decision grounded in His infinite wisdom and love. Additionally, the narrative of Cornelius in Acts 10 shows that God's election is not limited to the Jews but extends to all nations, fulfilling the promise that whosoever believes in Christ shall be saved. This doctrine emphasizes that salvation is not based on human effort or decision but solely upon God's unchangeable will.

Q: Why is it important for Christians to understand God's grace?

Understanding God's grace is essential for Christians as it emphasizes that salvation is entirely a gift from God, not based on human merit. The understanding of God's grace is foundational in Reformed theology, as it asserts that salvation cannot be earned or merited through works but is a pure gift from God. In Acts 10, the conversion of Cornelius illustrates this grace; despite his prayers and alms, he still needed the gospel of Christ to be saved. This highlights that grace intervenes in the lives of sinners who could never reach God through their own righteousness. Recognizing grace allows Christians to live in a posture of gratitude and humility, relying wholly on Christ for their justification and sanctification, as articulated in Romans 3:24.

Q: What does Acts 10 teach about the inclusion of Gentiles in the Gospel?

Acts 10 illustrates that the Gospel is for all people, showing that God does not show favoritism and includes Gentiles in His redemptive plan. The account of Cornelius in Acts 10 provides a pivotal moment in the early church, marking the inclusion of Gentiles in God's redemptive plan. God orchestrated events so that Peter would learn that He is no respecter of persons (Acts 10:34), and through the preaching of the Gospel, Cornelius and his household received the Holy Spirit, validating their inclusion in the faith. This event confirms that the message of salvation through Jesus Christ is intended for every nation and ethnicity, fulfilling the Great Commission to make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:19). Thus, Acts 10 serves as a foundational text affirming the universal scope of the Gospel.

Q: Why is preaching essential in the Reformed faith?

Preaching is essential in the Reformed faith as it is the primary means through which God conveys grace and brings sinners to faith. Preaching holds a central place in the Reformed tradition because it is the appointed means through which God communicates His grace and truth to His people. The narrative in Acts 10 reveals how Cornelius, despite his devoutness, needed a preacher, Peter, to bring the message of salvation. Romans 10:14 reinforces this necessity by stating, 'How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in Him of whom they have never heard?' This underscores the historical Reformed conviction that God ordains the proclamation of the Word as a means of salvation, making it crucial for the life of the church and the believer's journey of faith.

And going a little bit slowly, as
you know, through this 10th chapter, spent two messages already on
just the first eight verses. But tonight, Lord willing, I
want to go through about 48 verses and do a summary of the whole
story of Cornelius. The first message was just on
the man, Cornelius, based on verse 2. The second message was
entitled, Cornelius's Vision, and we saw that last Sunday night,
the first eight verses. And now we're going to look at
the whole story of Cornelius and how everything transpires. Verses 1 through 8, as I said.
Cornelius deals with this man named Cornelius, and it says
in verse 1, a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a
centurion of the band called the Italian band, a devout man,
one that feared God with all his house, gave much alms to
the people, a very charitable man, and prayed to God always,
a devout, God-fearing man. By the grace of God, by the influence
of the Holy Spirit, this man feared God. sought God he was
a seeker of God and he prayed to God because we saw in one
message that the reason behind all that is God he was one of
God's elect he was a chosen vessel of mercy of God Almighty he didn't
yet know God did not yet know him because you cannot know God
or be acquainted with God outside of Christ but Cornelius was going
to be We will see that here in a little bit. Cornelius had a
vision and he was visited by an angel. The angel told him
to send down for a preacher named Peter who was dwelling in a place
called Joppa. Now in our story tonight Peter
has a vision. Peter has a visitation and a
vision. I thought about this after reading
through this story. Peter has a vision
and is supposed to make a visit. The Lord tells him to make a
visit, and I thought I'd certainly be willing to make a visitation
of this kind. I know a lot of pastors that
practice regular visitation. Well, I don't see it necessarily
in the Scripture, I'd do a lot of this if I thought the Lord
were opening doors for the salvation of some like he did in this visitation. All right, let's read verse 9
and 10. On the morrow, as they went on their journey, now this
is Peter and I'm sorry, this is Cornelius' men that's sent
to Joppa to get Peter. Now they were going to Joppa
to get Peter. As they went on their journey
and drew nigh unto the city, Peter went up upon the housetop
to pray about the sixth hour, and he became very hungry and
would have eaten. But while they made ready, he
fell into a trance. He fell into some kind of dreamlike
state while they were preparing the meal downstairs. Peter was
on the roof and he was in a trance or a dream. I immediately thought
of trance, a dream. I didn't think, you know, I read,
went back to Jeremiah 23, which said, he that hath a dream, let
him tell his dream, but he that hath my word, let him speak my
word faithfully. Well, the scriptures were not
fulfilled yet. The scriptures were not written,
totally, completely written yet. The New Testament scriptures
weren't totally prepared yet, as you know. would write his
epistles also and until the word was completed God still spoken
this way. Now now today no dreams or visions
are to be trusted as being the word of God only the scriptures
are to be trusted. Man or woman has a dream and
in that dream the word of God is brought to their mind or to
that heart now that's a different story. But some new revelation
or new dream or trance or vision outside of the Word of God? No.
Not to be trusted as coming from God. All right. But until the Word of God was
fulfilled, God still spoke in this manner. Obviously. All right. Verses 11 through
14. Let's read on. And Peter saw heaven open. In
this vision he had, it says he saw heaven opened and a certain
vessel Descending unto him, as it had been a great sheet knit
at the four corners or sewn together at the four corners, a big, like
a bed sheet coming down, let down to the earth, wherein in
the sheet were all manner of four-footed beasts of the earth
and wild beasts and creeping things and fowls of the air. And there came a voice to him,
rise, Peter, kill. and eat, but Peter said, Not
so, Lord, for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean."
So Peter had this vision of this sheet coming down, and in it
were various animals and fowl of the air and so forth, and
the Lord spoke to him. Everything being under his dominion
and under his authority his rule under his law God imposed many
laws. Upon all flesh he imposed many
laws yet especially on the Jews. You remember Paul saying what
advantage have the Jews and many what many they had the law at
the ceremony. God especially imposed some laws
upon the Jews who were his chosen or really symbolically chosen
people. These laws had basic or primarily
spiritual meanings to them. The law, you remember Paul said
the law is spiritual. You remember that? He said the
law is spiritual. Primary meaning of the law as
a spiritual application. But the law also had practical
value to it. God didn't just give things With
no value vein he didn't say anything that was of no value and some
of these laws were dietary laws. OK they were dietary laws which
God in his wisdom gave to the people to keep them from various
diseases and plagues or Scott would say flags and illnesses
things that would they would acquire from an unhealthy diet.
OK God gave them these these good dietary laws and as you
know they had many laws that God gave them such as the washing
of their hands before a meal. That's good sanitation isn't
it. God handed that down. If they had only consulted the
word of God down through the years many of the plagues that
have come upon man may have been stayed right. Sanitation God
gave this a long time ago. The washing of hands The washing
of pots, eating vessels and so forth, and not eating certain
meats. The Lord told them to restrain
from eating certain meats. Pork was one of them. Unkosher
food. Unauthorized meat. Pork. Because, various reasons, they
didn't have the refrigeration means that we have now, and meat
was spoiled very easily. And pork in itself is still not
necessarily a good thing. wholesome me. But God never gave
these laws. He never gave these laws for
the people to establish a righteousness with, as a standard. God never gave these laws as
a standard for the people to keep, to be accepted by God,
or to merit favor with God. Are you following me? Are you
with me? Surely. That's what the Jews did with
the law. He said, they took these laws which were, had a spiritual
application, which they missed primarily, and then had just
a good practical application and turned it into a standard
of righteousness, which they held to and said, since we've
done this, then, then we're, we're all right. God accepts
us, right? And this was what Peter was still
holding onto this. Peter, man saved by grace, was
still holding onto it a little bit. as some do today, hold on
to various things as a little righteousness of their own. And
the Jews, not only did the Jews believe that there were certain
things unclean, what rendered them unclean spiritually, but
they also believed people were unclean, specifically Gentiles. Any non-Jew was a filthy dog. a gentile dog. And the Lord is,
and Peter, Peter still had this in the back of his head, right?
We're going to see that, and all the way through chapter 11,
we're going to see it too. Peter meeting with the Jews and apologizing.
The Lord is going to deal with Peter about his self-righteousness
here. And he didn't rid him of all of it, did he? Do you remember
when Somewhere in the next two chapters it doesn't say. But
Peter sat down to eat with some of the Gentiles and some of the
Jews came in. And Peter got up for fear of
the Jews and went over and ate with the Jews. Left the Gentile
and went over and ate with the Jews. And that's when Paul confronted
him to the face. He said, you're saved by grace
or law. Which is it? Huh? Are the Jews
God's people or is God, is it spiritual Israel? So the Lord
did not get rid of all of that in Peter yet. So the Lord showed
Peter this vision of pigs and chickens and, as I said, unkosher
food. And he said to him, Get up, Peter,
rise, kill something and eat it. Kill it. I started to title
this message, Terry, Peter Eats Pork or Simon's Sausage Sandwich,
something like that. But he is forced To eat something
he's never eaten before, and he says, Oh, no, Lord, I've met.
Liquors never touched my lips. That sound familiar? Pork has
never touched the. Oh, no, Lord, me? No, never. I've never. I would never do
that. That's so self-righteous, isn't it? And you all have heard
that very same thing today. And as I said, pork is still
relatively unhealthy meat, if you consider the source. Huh? Pigs and chickens. human beings
leave everything, including one another. But the Lord did this
for a spiritual purpose. This dream is all about a spiritual
purpose. This just doesn't turn us loose
to eat sausage. That's not what this is all about.
But the Lord did this for a spiritual purpose, and let's look at it.
Verse 15 and 16. The boy spake unto Peter again the second time,
and what God hath cleansed, that call not thou common. Now this
was done thrice or three times in the vessel was received up
again and had three times same vision same message three time. Let's read on verse seventeen
now while Peter doubted in himself or wondered what this vision
which he had seen should mean. Behold the man which were sent
from Cornelius had made inquiry for Simon's house they were asking
where Simon was, and now they stood outside the gate and called
and asked whether Simon, which was surnamed Peter, were lodged
there. Is Peter home? And while Peter thought, verse
19, on the vision, the Spirit, the Holy Spirit, said unto him,
Behold, three men seek thee. Arise therefore, get thee down,
and go with them, doubting nothing. I have sent I have sent them. Three times Peter received the
message now. Three men come up to the gate.
Peter knows now he knows what the dream means now right when
he heard that he three men three times the message three men.
Now Peter saw very clearly what the Lord was telling him does
this remind you of another Another time when the Lord dealt with
Peter, talked to Peter, he gave him, he said something to him
three times. Three times the Lord said to
Peter around the fire, asked him around the fire, Peter, do
you love me? Remember, Peter denied the Lord three times.
Oh, Peter was getting a long lesson in humility. Three times. And surely that
must have come back to his memory, didn't it? Oh, Lord. I'm such a slow learner. You
have to tell me things three times. I don't get it the first
time. Three times. Notice this. Now, this is important. There's
something I noticed here. Verse 13 and 14, it says, There came
a voice that spoke to Peter, and Peter said, Lord. You see
that, Terry? Now, is this the Lord Jesus Christ? I believe it is. Peter said,
Lord. Peter knew the Lord's voice,
huh? Did Peter know the Lord's voice?
Oh yes, he'd walked with it. He'd touched him, he'd handled
him. He knew him. He knew the Lord's voice. And
this voice that says it was the Lord, and Peter answered him,
Lord. Look at verse 19 of it. Verse 19 says the Spirit said
unto him, the Holy Spirit. Is that significant? That tells
me they're one and the same, huh? Didn't that tell you they're
one and the same? The father, the son, the Holy
Spirit are one. These three are one. These three are one. Ah, the wisdom and the marvel
of God's word. They said to him, rise, Peter,
kill, get thee down. First time he said, rise, kill.
Now he says, get thee down. Or that is, break down. Go down,
you're going to preach now. You're going to break down some
idols, you're going to destroy some false refuges, you're going
to preach repentance before an angry God. Eat, Peter. Then he says the second time,
go with them. Eat. When you eat with somebody,
you commune with them. Go with them. Join with them,
Peter. Love them. Fellowship with them. Commune with these
that the Lord reveals himself to. Don't doubt anything, Peter. I sent them. They're my people.
Peter knew now, didn't he? Look at verse 21. Peter went
down to the men which were sent unto him from Cornelia, and said,
Behold, I am he whom you seek. What is the cause? Therefore,
you are come. What do you want? What do you want? I'm Peter.
What do you want? Now, Peter was a spirit-filled,
you know, I hesitate to use that term. It's so abused in our day,
isn't it? There are true spirit filled
man there were there are spirit led God blessed man with some
wisdom and discernment he knew that he knew he knew what this
was about and he had discerned this thing yet he asked these
men. What they wanted. You'll find the man he asked
him again what he wanted what the reason Peter asked them was
he wanted a public testimony from them why you come here.
What do you want you wanted them to prove their sincerity of why
they were there read verses twenty two and three and they said Cornelius
the centurion. A just man and one that fear
of God and of a good report among all the nations of you of the
Jews all the nation of the Jews was warned from God by a holy
angel to send for the into his house to bring you to his house
and to hear words of the then called Peter then called he them
in and lodged them. He brought them in and lodged
them. It wasn't his house. He was treating them like it
was his. He called them in and lodged them and on the morrow
Peter went away with them and certain brethren from Joppa accompanied
him. These men recounted this dream
and Peter went with them. Now Cornelius sent these men
to Peter. to fetch Peter, and Peter went
with them. Why? Why didn't Cornelius come to
this man? You think about that when you read this? Why didn't
Cornelius come down himself to where Peter was? Well, in the
Lord's providence, the whole household of Cornelius was going
to hear the gospel. Secondly, I thought about this.
God generally sends preachers to where the people are. Right? He generally sends preachers
to the people, like shepherd to a sheep. And this is also
a type of Christ who comes to his people first, doesn't it?
And he comes to them first. Christ comes first, and then
we keep coming back to where he leads, right? That make sense? Christ comes to us first with
the gospel. confronts us with the gospel and brings regeneration,
faith and repentance and so forth. And then wherever Christ is,
where his people are, that's where we go. And we keep coming
to him. The gospel comes to us and we
keep coming back to the gospel. Those are some reasons, I believe,
for that. Primarily, the whole house had
to hear it. Verse 24. On the morrow, the next day after
they entered into Caesarea, Cornelius waited for them. How long he'd
been waiting, I don't know, but he was anxious. And he called
together his kinsmen and near friends. This man needed to hear
the gospel, didn't he? This man wanted to hear the gospel,
didn't he? This man was going to hear the gospel. And so will
everyone that seeks the Lord with all their heart. The Lord
promised that. And I saw here, I thought immediately of Ezekiel
36, verses 6, 36 and 7, where the Lord said, No, I'm going
to do that. I'm going to do that. I will, I will, I will. And I
will yet be inquired of this thing. Right? This is sovereignty
and responsibility. God is determined to reveal the
gospel to a man, but he'll cause that man or that woman to seek
him and to want to hear the gospel. Cornelius was so overcome with
joy. upon this man entering his home,
the very man that he had in that vision, the very man that the
Lord spoke to him about, the God-sent messenger. He was so
overcome with joy and excitement at the prospects of hearing the
gospel and meeting this man. It says in verse 25, as Peter
was coming in, Cornelius met him and fell down at his feet
and worshiped him. Turn over to 1 Thessalonians
chapter 5 with me. Now, when I first read that,
I thought, what an ignorant, poor, ignorant fool this man
was. But no, this man is to be commended. He's to be commended
for his attitude. You know, a minister of the gospel
is not to take the title of reverend. That ultimately belongs to the
Lord only, right? Psalm 119, holy and reverend,
is his name. That ultimate show of honor or
name of honor and respect belongs to the Lord only, reverend, father,
those sort of titles. Yet a minister of the gospel
is to be highly esteemed for the gospel's sake. Look at 1
Thessalonians 5. We read this Sunday morning,
I believe, verses 12 and 13. Paul says, We beseech you, brethren,
to know them which labor among you and are over you in the Lord
and admonish you. Yeah, they have to do that. They
don't like to, but they do. And to esteem them very highly.
You see that? To esteem them very highly in
love for their work's sake. In love for their work's sake.
Every sheep has one shepherd, right? And that's Christ. Christ
is the shepherd. Christ the shepherd entrusts
his sheep to an under-shepherd. Right, that's what the term bishop
means, pastor means. It's his representative. And
that man, the sheep, true sheep, love, esteem, and follow that
man for the works as he follows Christ. They don't worship him,
mind you. They're not to worship him, but
they do esteem him so very highly. There's no salvation without
hearing the gospel, is there? We saw in Romans chapter 10 that
no man will hear the gospel except through a preacher. Is that what
Romans 10 implies? Sure does. And all sheep will
hear the gospel through a God-sent preacher. How can they preach
except they'd be sent? And no one is a sheep without
a pastor. Right? I've run into a lot of people
over the years who are what you call conference sheep, supposedly. traveling around from conference
to conference with sheep wandering about with no pastor. It's not
the way the Lord does things. He says he'll leave them beside
the still waters, cause them to lie down in green pastures.
He said, I'll give them pastures after my own heart. No sheep
without a pastor. True church membership involves
having a pastor, right? And nobody is a true pastor whose
master is not Christ himself. And this man, esteemed Peter,
he didn't even know him yet, but he knew he was sent by God,
and I admire his attitude toward this man. I admire it. I admire
it. You're going to see in a moment
somebody else did the same thing. Verse 26, Peter took him up immediately. As soon as this man went down
on the ground at his feet, Peter grabbed him and said, Get up,
man. Don't do that. Stand up. I am a man. And, you know, Cornelius took
his appreciation too far, didn't he? He took it too far. He had a good and childlike attitude,
didn't he? But he took it too far. Peter was a man of authority.
Peter had the right attitude, and he readily admitted his manhood
before this fellow. He was a fallible man, just like
him, and he grabbed him and told him, get up. Does this remind
you of anything? This reminds you of another incident. Revelation
19, John on the Isle of Patmos. Do you remember that? John, the
beloved disciple, the one the Lord gave the revelation of Jesus
Christ to, that most mysterious of all books. John, Rick. John, who laid on the Lord's
bosom at the time. Spirit and other spirit feel
God called Christ like man, even after he saw Christ. Remember
in Revelation 1, he saw Christ. It says in Revelation 19, verse
10, when an angel brought him this message, he fell at his
feet to worship him. Strange, isn't it? God will bless this child. What
I'm getting at is God will bless a childlike attitude like this.
He will. God will bless it. He'll set
you right. He'll set you right. And God
will not allow his ministers to share his glory. He'll set
them right. This man, look at, or did you
turn over there? This man or this angel that John
fell down before said, Get up, man. I am your brethren. I'm a fellow servant of thy brethren.
I have the testimony of Jesus. Worship God. Could that have
been Peter? Peter was dead. Peter died before
John did. That could have been Peter, Joe. John didn't even recognize him.
Get up, man. Don't worship me. Worship God. But the point I'm trying to make
is, God will, you know, if you esteem a man too highly, God
will bring that man down right before your eyes. But if you
disesteem him, He'll bring you down. Right? That's right. All right, back
to the text. Verses 27 and 28. And as he talked with him, he went
in. Peter talked with Cornelius a
little bit, and he went in the house, and he found many that
were come together. Cornelius had his whole house
ready and sitting ready and waiting to hear the gospel. Oh, boy. They'd been waiting for days.
And he said unto them, Now you all know how it is an unlawful
thing for a man who is a Jew to keep company. Peter is still
covering himself. We'll see that in a little bit.
Peter was an error. But he said, Now you know it's unlawful for
me, a Jew, to keep company with Gentiles who come unto one of
another nation, but God showed me that I should not call any
man common are unclean. God showed me that he has a world
of people. Now, the Jews were the most prejudiced
people on earth. Still are. They still are. That's the reason everybody all
over the earth hates Jews. Zionism, you know, Zionism, Jews
truly believe and say that they're the only people of God on the
face of the planet. Zionists and every other The
tribe hates the Jews for this terrible prejudice. Arabs are
dogs to the Jews. Dogs, pigs, swine, and so forth. They call them such. The Jews
were the most prejudiced people on earth. And this is the reason
when Christ was talking to that religious leader named Nicodemus,
a leader of the Jews, a religious leader, this is why he said in
John 3, 16, God so loved the world. You see there, and John
says it many times, doesn't he John? The world, the world, he
talks about the world, the world, in other words God, doesn't just
have a people among the Jews. He has a people from every tribe,
kindred, nation and tongue under heaven, as the sands of the sea
and the stars of the sky. Now Peter said, Therefore came
I unto you without gainsaying, without talking back to God.
As soon as I was sent for, I asked, therefore, what do you want?
He asked them again, what do you want? He's proven them again,
isn't he? Sounds like he picked up on something,
didn't he? He asked them at least twice
what they wanted. How often do I ask you people
when I come in here? Why are we here? I know I do
that once every five messages at least. Why are we here? Why
have we met here this morning? For me to entertain you or to
go through a ceremony because it's Wednesday night and we're
supposed to go through the motions. Is that it? We come to hear from
God. You come here to examine me and
for me to fill up 45 minutes for you. We come to hear from
God. We come to worship God. We come down to study God's word
together. This is what Peter is trying these people by. This
is what Peter is asking these people. Why are you here? Why are you
here? All right, verses 30 and following.
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
and said, Cornelius, thy prayer is heard, and thine alms are
had in remembrance in the sight of God. Send therefore to Joplin,
call hither Simon, whose surname is Peter. He is lodged in the
house of one Simon, a tanner by the seaside, who, when he
comes, shall speak unto thee. Immediately therefore I sent
to thee, and thou hast well done." We are so glad you are here,
that thou art come. Now therefore, here we are, we
are all present here before God to hear all things that are commanded
thee of God. Tell us what God told you. I like to run into a congregation
like this. We're all here, we can't wait
to hear from God Almighty what he's taught you this week. Tell
us. Isn't that glorious? And buddy, they're going to hear
a glorious message too. You know, this attitude, this
is what I'm getting at, Cornelius' attitude through this whole thing.
The preparation this man had This man came hungry, and he
was about to be filled. And if we don't go away filled, what's
the problem? We don't come very hungry, right? I know it's so. I know the food's
good. I've just read thirty-three verses
of God's Made a few comments, doesn't
need much, doesn't need any really. But listen to Peter's message. This man came hungry and he was
about to be filled. And this just tells me if we
don't get filled when we leave here, it's not the vessel. I
mean, it's not the vessel or the treasure, it's the recipient,
probably. This is a five-minute message.
You know, it'll take about four minutes to read this. You may try that
sometime, bring a five-minute message and sit down. Don't you
dare say, Amy. Verse 34, Then Peter opened his
mouth, and there these people said, We can't wait to hear what
God has told you. Here we are. We're ready. Tell
us. Then Peter opened his mouth and
said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons. God elects God chooses, God loves
freely, sovereignly, discriminately who he will. That's the reason
he elected me, that's the reason he chose me, the reason he loves
me. Even though I'm a Jew, it didn't have anything to do with
being a Jew. He's no respecter of persons. It's not based on
a person's worth or a person's merit or their lineage or heritage. It's just based on the sovereign
will and purpose of God Almighty. He said, I see that now. Henry, he still had to learn
it. He still didn't really. But right now he does. He's saying
it. God is making him preach it anyway. Verse 35, he said,
But in every nation he that feareth God, every nation he that worships,
seeks God as God, he that feareth God and worketh righteousness is accepted with him. Say, oh. Work of righteousness is accepted
with God. Well. What is it to work the
righteousness of God? Does this mean that we're saved
according to our works of righteousness? Is that what that mean? If it
did, it would contradict the rest of the scripture with can't
mean that John six turn over there. John six. This is one
of those stumbling blocks placed in the road for us to dig a little deeper
around. If you'll keep digging around that rock, you'll see
it goes all the way down on the bedrock, down onto the foundation. A little rock sticking up in
the road, and you keep digging, you say, this is big. It's bigger
than what it appeared to be. And you find out it's resting
on bedrock. The foundation standeth sure,
John, right? The Lord knoweth them that are
His. And why, because he just said the Lord is no respecter
of persons, right? So it can't mean God respects
a person according to their worth. Over in John 6, the Lord himself
straightens this out. And like I said, that's a trying
word for us to study, show ourselves approved, to search, to see if
these things are so, to compare spiritual things with spiritual
things, scriptures with scripture. All right, what is it? The scripture
says it's none that doeth good, doesn't it? Then say that, Pilate,
then say none righteous, no, not one. Then to say not according
to all our right, then to say all our righteousness are filthy
right, and say that. Then to say not by works of righteousness
which we have done, but according to your mercy you have saved.
Well, it can't mean that, can it, John? Well, look at John
six, verse twenty-nine, the Jews came to the Lord and said, Verse
28, What shall we do that we might work the works of God?
Work righteousness to be accepted of God, the works of God, to
be accepted by God. What must we do to work the works
of righteousness? Jesus answered and said unto
them, This is the work of God. Not only is this what God will
account as your righteousness, but it is God's work that will
make you do it. It's the gift of God that calls
you to do this. Believe on him whom he has sent.
Why was Abraham justified for his works? No, because he believed,
and that was imputed to him for righteousness, right? Well, he
said what James said, he was justified. No, his faith was
justified by his works. Does that clear that up? Huh?
Look at verse 40 of John 6. This is the will of God that
sent me. This is the will of God. This is the work of God's
righteousness. This is the acceptable way of God. that sent me, that
every one seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting
life, and I will raise him up at the last day." So that which
God accounts as righteousness or as a righteous work is believing
on his Son. All our righteousness is accounted
to us by faith, simply by faith. Not of works, if it was of works,
Joe, then the reward would be reckoned of debt, Paul said.
But it's of grace, not of works. Right? So this work of righteousness
that Peter's talking about, he that worketh righteousness, that's
got to be talking about believing on Christ. Accepted in the beloved,
right? You say, well, he didn't, he
didn't believe Christ yet. Yet. He was going to. Well, hold on
now, we're not through yet. Here it is, Peter said, the word
which God sent, the word, the word. All the word of God is
one word, really, Christ. Isn't it? The word, the gospel. How many times does it say throughout
the Scripture, one spirit, one hope of your calling, one Lord,
one faith, one baptism, one gospel? Christ said, I am the way, the
truth, the life, the word. Here's the word, here's the gospel.
Peace by Jesus Christ. He's Lord of all. Peter preaches
the Lordship of Christ every time, doesn't he? Every time
he preaches, he's Lord of all. He's Lord. Peace by Jesus Christ.
Salvation, acceptance, forgiveness. Forgiveness, reconciliation before
an angry God only through the person and work of Jesus Christ.
Why? Because he's Lord of all. Salvation's in his hands. He's
Lord over salvation. Salvation is over the Lord. Lord
Jesus Christ. Verse 37. Now that word, I say,
you know, which was public. This tells me that Cornelius,
some of these people had maybe heard some preaching here and
there. Hadn't they? That word, I say,
you know, which was published throughout all Judea. You've
heard this story. It began from Galilee after the
baptism, which John preached. This thing wasn't done in the
corner. Y'all have heard this, heard all over. They're all without
excuse. The lion have gone throughout
the whole earth. He says this, verse 38, how that God anointed
Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power. The Messiah,
as Isaiah 42 says, my servant, behold my servant, mine elect,
mine anointed, my Messiah, and whom I am well pleased with,
whom I have chosen, mine Anointed with the Holy Ghost without measure,
not in part, but without measure, with power, not a little bit,
all power. He said, all power, all authority
is given unto me in heaven and earth. God with him. He said
this. God was with him. Not only God with him, God was
in him. The angel said, Emmanuel is his name. That means God was
with us. God was in him. God was in Christ
manifesting himself to the world. And we're witnesses of all things,
which he did, both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem.
We're witnesses. And whom they slew and hung on
a tree. The Lord of glory was hanged on a tree, Peter said. He preached Christ's glory, his
honor, his power, his authority, his lordship, and his work. He
was hung on a tree. Why? Because God put him to death. God bruised him. God made his
soul an offering for sin. God shed his blood for the remission
of our sins. God put his soul to death. God made him this sacrifice for
the sins of his people. He's the Lamb of God. He was
hung on a tree, shed his blood for God's sake. Him, God hanged
on a tree. And him, verse 40, him God raised
up the third day and showed him openly. I like that word, that
showed him, that means showed him off, declared him, this is
my son. And he raised him up, proof that
he accepted his offering, his sacrifice. If he'd have stayed
dead, if there's some bones in Israel that belong to that man
named Jesus, we're yet in our sins. But he rose, and our sins,
he took our sins away. Verse 41, him God raised up and
showed, not to all the people, You see, there's a lecture in
there. Not to all the people, but unto
witnesses chosen before of God. Not to everybody. He hadn't been
revealed to everybody. God revealed. To whom is the
arm of the Lord revealed, Isaiah asked. Who hath believed our
report? To whom is the arm of the Lord
revealed, huh? Moses asked this. Lord, show me your glory, one
day. The Lord said, well, I'll reveal the name of the Lord,
Jesus Christ. I'll make my goodness pass before
you." That's the gospel. He said, I'll be merciful to
whom I will be merciful. I'll be gracious to whom I will
be gracious. That's the sovereign mercy and grace of God. And that's
the gospel right there. Not to all people, but unto chosen
people, before of God, even to us. Even to us. Can you say that? Even me. That's all, even me. To us. And Peter goes on, we did eat
and drink with him after he rose from the dead. We know, we haven't
followed cunningly devised fables when we made known unto you the
coming of our Lord. We were with him. We were with
him. Verse 42, and I'm not preaching
to you an unknown Lord. I know him. Verse 42, and he
commanded us. Peter said he commanded us to
preach unto the people and to testify that it is he. There's that word again, it is
he. He commanded us to preach Christ. That it is he. What is he? All is he. Salvation
is he. Is a he. Is a him. The Bible's a him book. Salvation's
in him. To be in Christ. And it is he,
Peter said, which was ordained of God to be judge of the quick
and the dead. Judge. to him, give all the prophets
witness, all the Old Testament testifies of Christ. He's the
subject of Scripture. He's the Son of God, that through
his name, whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission
of sin. Salvation is in the Lord Jesus
Christ and him alone. That's Peter's message. A five-minute
message I drew out to about ten. But it's all there, isn't it?
The truth, the Word, the Word, the Christ. It says, While Peter
yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which
heard the word. And they of the circumcision
which believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter. Why
didn't they receive the Holy Ghost? Why wasn't it poured out
on them too? They came in with a bad attitude,
didn't they? They came in as Jews. We're special.
We already got this thing figured out. We've heard this before.
Peter can't tell us anything. Right? But the Gentiles, though,
they received as little babes, and they were filled with the
Holy Spirit. As many as came with Peter, they were amazed,
because on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the
Holy Ghost. And they heard them speak with tongues. These Gentiles
speak with tongues and magnified God. The Holy Spirit is poured
out on everybody who hears the gospel, and he really hears it.
Have you ever been filled with the Spirit upon hearing the gospel? Sure
you have. If the things of Christ had been
brought to you and filled your heart, the love of God should
have brought in your heart for him and for the gospel and appreciation
and a joy unspeakable for this message of the gospel, you've
been filled with the Holy Spirit. Have you ever spoke with tongues?
If you've got one in your mouth, you have. Have you ever sung? Have you ever said, Amen? Yes?
Huh? I believe that. Good. Oh, I love that. After
the message? Oh, isn't that good? Oh, praise
God. Have you ever spoke with tongues,
magnified God? Sure you have. That doesn't intimate that they
all went around as ibbidab and doobidab. Does it? No, they magnified God,
it said. Then answered Peter, and this
was the result of it all, finally. You know, and this tells me,
too, that they were confessing Christ, that they were talking
about Christ in the gospel and confessing their belief and their
trust in Christ, because Peter said Can any man forbid water
that these should not be baptized which have received the Holy
Ghost as well as we? And he commanded them to be baptized. And they
were. That's the confession of faith.
Upon everybody the Holy Spirit of the gospel comes and filled
with God's Spirit to see Christ, to know him, to believe him,
trust in him, repent of their sins, and come to Christ by faith,
they confess Christ in believer's baptism. as were commanded. And
he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord, and
then it says, Then prayed they to him to tarry many a day. Peter, one message is not enough. Would you come back tonight?
Let's have a three-day meeting, Peter. That's what was going
on. Oh, that just thrilled my heart
so much, that message to Peter. Would you hang around? Let's
have a week-long meeting. And I just believe the Holy Spirit
just kept right on filling them. A bunch of nonsense we're hearing
today about the Holy Spirit. I think it's a sin against the
Holy Spirit. I really do. I think they're attributing to
the Holy Spirit the work of the devil. And they're attributing
what is truly the Holy Spirit's work to the devil. That's when
the Lord said that, didn't it? That's when the Lord said that.
This won't be forgiven of you. See, they call the message we
preach of sovereign grace doctrines of devils, don't they? That's
what they said to the Lord, wasn't it? Huh? This man had to be Elzebub. And then they're calling all
that true doctrine of devils the work of the Holy Spirit.
Isn't it, Henry? Sure it is. The Holy Spirit doesn't
make a man talk like a babbling idiot. He makes him talk intelligibly,
knowledgeably. And what does he talk about? Christ, from that day forward. Okay, stand with me and I'll
dismiss it. Heavenly Father, there's so much
here and we can't grasp it all. We thank you, though, that the
word is so clear and so simple. It's simple when you make it
simple to us, and we thank you for revealing it to us. We yet,
without total understanding, though, we see in part, we know
in part, we prophesy and preach in part. We do thank you for
what little bit we know. We ask you for greater knowledge
of him, of Christ, and a feeling of his spirit that we might know
and trust him more and and truly have some assurance of our. Being
in Christ and having that assurance Lord. Confident knowing whom
we have believed. Then we can we can handle we
can we can live we can handle the trials and. Struggles of
this world we walk by faith in Christ we ask you that you would
fill us with our Spirit, lead us by the Spirit into a knowledge
and a firm persuasion of Jesus Christ and our interest in Him.
In His name we are met together. Amen.

Cornelius Hears The Gospel

What does the Bible say about God's sovereignty in salvation?

How do we know that election is a true doctrine?

Why is it important for Christians to understand God's grace?

What does Acts 10 teach about the inclusion of Gentiles in the Gospel?

Why is preaching essential in the Reformed faith?

Sermon Transcript

About Paul Mahan

Comments

Joshua

Articles

Featured Authors

Podcast

Sermons

Featured Preachers

Books

Browse by Format

Music

Recent Comments

About

Legal

Subscribe

Account

Articles

Featured Authors

Podcast

Recent Comments

Sermons

Featured Preachers

Books

Browse by Format

Collections

Music

About

Legal

Subscribe

Cornelius Hears The Gospel

What does the Bible say about God's sovereignty in salvation?

How do we know that election is a true doctrine?

Why is it important for Christians to understand God's grace?

What does Acts 10 teach about the inclusion of Gentiles in the Gospel?

Why is preaching essential in the Reformed faith?

Sermon Transcript

About Paul Mahan

Comments

More from Paul Mahan

Related Sermons

Same Scripture

Articles by Paul Mahan

Joshua

Where this book stands in the tradition

Plato

Augustine

The Western Christian Tradition

This Book