"The Gospel goes to the Gentiles" by Rod Bayley, 6 April 2008 (4:30 pm), Acts 10:1-48

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William Carey (1761-1834) stands out as one of the greatest
missionaries since the apostle Paul. Born in Northhamptonshire
England, he showed a remarkable genius for languages. He became a
Baptist minister and strongly advocated the sending of missions to the
furthest parts of the world where there were no Christians, and he
gave his fellow ministers no peace about this issue, always raising
the need to spread the gospel around the world. You would have
thought that his enthusiasm would be welcomed, and that he would be
encouraged to serve overseas. However, he was not encouraged to
launch out into the lost world. At one meeting, an old minister told
him sternly, “Sit down, young man, and respect the opinions of your
seniors. If the Lord wants to convert the heathen, He can do it
without your help.” Fortunately, he didn’t listen, and his
persistence led to the founding of the Baptist Missionary Society in
1792. It was the beginning of a mighty work for the kingdom of God, a
new era or stage in world mission, with Carey setting out for India
the next year as the Society’s first missionary. The gospel broke out
of Europe and the U.S., and within half a century of his death in 1834
there were half a million Indian Christians.

Over seventeen hundred years before Carey, the apostle Peter was also
on the brink of a new stage of mission. In Acts 10 we see the start
of stage 3 - that of taking the gospel to the Gentiles, or non-Jews,
that is “to the ends of the earth.” As you follow the spread of the
gospel in Acts, there is a gradual fulfillment of Christ’s statement
for mission to the disciples in Acts 1:8: “... you will be my
witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends
of the earth.” And with chapter 10 we see the spread of the gospel
beyond the Jews & Samaritans for the first time - the gospel is
heading to the Gentiles, and therefore to all peoples.

Ironically, however, Peter was dragged reluctantly to this new stage,
much like the Baptist churches in the days of William Carey, as Peter
wasn’t sure that the gospel was for the Gentiles - He was unconvinced
that God cared for all peoples and that His good news about Jesus was
even to be shared with the despised, unclean Gentiles. God had to
convince Peter that it was alright for him to enter the houses of
Gentiles and preach the gospel - he still hadn’t been fully persuaded
that God showed no favouritism and accepted all people. It would
require a vision from God to convince Peter - but we will come to that
in a moment. The chapter actually starts with Cornelius, a Roman
Gentile, receiving a vision from God first.

Notice in verses 1 to 8 that the scene is set for the Gentiles to
receive the gospel, as God chooses to act in the life of Cornelius, a
Roman soldier. We see in verse 2 that this man, along with all his
family, “were devout and God-fearing” - that is, they believed in one
God and were devoted to the moral and ethical teachings of the Jewish
law. And this was borne out not only in belief or thought, but in
actions - we see in verse 2 that Cornelius “gave generously to those
in need and prayed to God regularly.” In summary, what Luke is
saying, is that Cornelius and his family were not full converts to
Judaism - they were Gentiles but they were worshipers of God.
However, they had not heard of forgiveness of sins through Jesus and
had not received the Holy Spirit. In verses 3 to 6, the account of
his vision of “an angel of God” is recorded, whereby he is told to
send for Peter, and he acts on this immediately (v7-8).

As mentioned earlier, Peter is prepared for this visit with Cornelius,
a ritually unclean Gentile, by also receiving a vision in verses 9 to
16. “He saw heaven opened,” we read in verse 11, “and something like
a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners. 12It
contained all kinds of four-footed animals, as well as reptiles of the
earth and birds of the air. 13Then a voice told him, ‘Get up, Peter.
Kill and eat.” Of course, although Peter was now a Christian, in fact
the leading apostle, he was still highly influenced by the Jewish food
laws and their stipulations on clean and unclean. Such a command was
horrifying to his Jewish sensibilities, and so he naturally reacts in
verse 14, “Surely not Lord! .... I have never eaten anything impure or
unclean.” But the voice spoke to him a second time in verse 15, which
was the punch-line or point to the vision, “Do not call anything
impure that God has made clean.” Three times he is told to kill and
eat unclean creatures - three times he declines, viewing himself as
under the Law’s food prohibitions.

Many have asked how Peter could be so dense, considering the fact
that, according to Mark 7:19 Jesus had already uttered a saying
declaring all foods clean. But it is far from clear that his
disciples understood the ramifications of Jesus’ words at the time.
Even the commission to take the gospel everywhere in Matthew 28 and
Acts 1:8 had not brought the pieces together for the apostles. Small
wonder then, that Peter is at this stage still sorting things out.
Change can take a while to come to terms with, especially when it
overturns centuries of religious tradition - and we often resist it,
even when it is less ingrained.

See if you can hear the struggle which change brings in the following
letter written in 1829 to the President of the United States:
President Jackson, The canal system of this country is being
threatened by the spread of a new form of transportation known as
railroads. The federal government must preserve the canals for the
following reasons: One, if boats are replaced by railroads serious
unemployment will result. Two, canal boats are absolutely essential
to the defense of the United States. Three, as you may well know Mr
President, railroad carriages are pulled at the enormous speed of 15
miles per hour by engines which, in addition to endangering life and
limb of passengers, roar and snort their way through the countryside,
setting fire to crops, scaring the livestock and frightening women and
children. The Almighty certainly never intended that people should
travel at such breakneck speed.
Sincerely yours, Martin Van Buren, Governor of New York.

Often our early resistance to change seems rather foolish when viewed
from a slightly different perspective. In Peter’s case, the gospel
would soon spread to all the Gentiles through Paul and others, and
they would be the overwhelming majority of Christians in the early
church. But at this initial stage in the church, the converted Jews
from Jerusalem were the vast majority, and they were still coming to
terms with their new freedom in Christ, which meant that they weren’t
ruled by Jewish food laws and traditions.

So Peter wakes up and ponders what the vision means in verse 17, which
begins the third section of our passage, where providential timing,
makes the point clear to him - he is to go with Gentiles to a
Gentile’s house. But it’s not just providential timing - the
prompting of the Spirit is crucial, as the Spirit takes control of the
situation and overrides Peter’s reluctance in verses 19 and 20.
19While Peter was still thinking about the vision, the Spirit said to
him, “Simon, three men are looking for you. 20So get up and go
downstairs. Do not hesitate to go with them, for I have sent them.”
Peter responds obediently, and greets the men and discovers that he is
to go to a Gentile centurion’s house who has received a vision
regarding Peter.

From the second half of verse 23 onwards we have a fourth scene, where
we are told that Peter traveled with them the next day, as requested,
and he was accompanied by some Jewish Christians from Joppa who would
turn out to be important witnesses of the events that were about to
unfold. After arriving at Caesarea the day after, Peter enters the
house of the Gentile, no doubt reluctantly, and receives a warm
welcome from Cornelius, who is expecting them and has invited all his
relatives and close friends to this momentous occasion. In verses 28
and 29 we see that Peter has overcome overwhelming reluctance in
taking this step, which given his Jewish upbringing must have been
very uncomfortable. Notice he says, “You are well aware that it is
against our law for a Jew to associate with a Gentile or visit him.
But God has shown me that I should not call any man impure or
unclean. 29So when I was sent for, I came without raising any
objection. Peter has obviously made a huge step, given the fact that
it’s against the Jewish law to enter a Gentile’s house. Remember that
the terms of Peter’s vision on the rooftop at Joppa were with regard
to not calling any food unclean if God pronounced it clean - but he
was quick to grasp the link between ceremonial food laws and
interaction with Gentiles. It was largely because of the unclean food
practices of Gentiles that they were considered ritually unclean
people, inappropriate for a law-abiding Jew to meet socially. And so
Peter can say that God has shown him not to call any man impure or
unclean.

Peter not only enters a Gentile home, but he preaches the gospel
there. After hearing about Cornelius’ vision first hand, he is
invited to speak to the gathering - he couldn’t have had a more
willing audience. Initially, no one is more surprised than Peter at
the invitation to share - in verses 34 and 35 he acknowledges that he
now finally realises in the wake of God orchestrating such amazing
events, that God doesn’t “show favouritism” to the Jews, “but accepts
men from every nation.” He is basically saying that he now realises
the gospel is for everyone, and it is not long before he swings into a
full presentation of the gospel to these Gentiles in verse 36.

Although Peter notes that they know the message, because they’re
Gentiles away from Jerusalem they probably only had sketchy details of
Christ and his rescue mission. So unlike Peter’s sermon to the Jews
in Acts 2 where he could assume knowledge of Jesus’ life, here he
gives more detail. He outlines Jesus’ ministry in verses 36 to 38,
before going onto Christ’s death and resurrection in verses 39 to 40,
and finally the apostolic witness to Christ’s resurrection and his
command to them to testify about this and Christ’s authority as judge
in verses 41 and 42. The call to respond to this good news begins in
verse 43, when he states: “All the prophets testify about him that
everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his
name.” Forgiveness of sins through belief or faith in Jesus is the
high point of Peter’s message, which is why it is “good news of peace”
as Peter had noted in verse 36 at the start of his message. Through
faith in Jesus’ death and resurrection we have forgiveness of sins,
and therefore peace with God, instead of being enemies in our
rebellious sin and self-rule.

As Peter reaches this point of response, and while he is still
speaking, the Holy Spirit descends on this Gentile household as He had
descended on the Jews at Pentecost in Acts 2, and no one is more
surprised than the Jews traveling with Peter in verses 45 to 46.
Notice that Luke records, “The circumcised believers who had come with
Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured
out even on the Gentiles. For they heard them speaking in tongues and
praising God.” Despite having crossed the huge barrier of entering a
Gentile’s house because of Peter’s vision, and then observing Peter
share the gospel, there was obviously still no expectation that the
Gentiles would actually receive the Holy Spirit and be seen to be
fully accepted by God in the same way as their Jewish brothers - but
that is exactly what happened. The Jews are astonished! Whether
Peter was as surprised as the other Jews, we are not told - but he
sums up the situation in verse 47, confirming that the Gentiles had
received the Holy Spirit just as they had, and so baptism with water
should follow their baptism with the Spirit.

What is the application of these events for us today - this incredible
spread of the gospel to the Gentiles? Firstly, this clearly shows
that the initial impetus to cross lines of race and heritage with the
gospel of Jesus Christ arose not from a committee planning world
evangelization, but from God himself. God ensures that His gospel
goes to the “ends of the earth” by dragging Peter and other Jewish
believers through the man-made barriers to share it. God is ensuring
the fulfillment of His own Great Commission to the disciples, but
notice that He still uses human instruments - it is through His people
that the gospel will go out, even if they need some persuading and
pushing to spread it.

However, secondly, I think that today we create our own barriers which
need to be removed. Today we often have an extra barrier that Peter
didn’t have - not only do we need to be convinced that the gospel is
open to all people, and that we have a part to play; but we often need
to be convinced that unbelievers are lost without it and that they
will face judgment. See, Peter and his associates knew that the
Gentiles were lost - they were under no illusion - they knew that the
Gentiles were enemies with God. But we often want to think that our
non-Christian world will be alright without the gospel, without God -
particularly in a world with many ‘faiths’ or ‘beliefs’, such as the
dominant Buddhism in Thailand. It’s as if Christians hope at times,
that others can become friends with God without Jesus, and somehow
find a back-door entrance to heaven. That is simply untrue from the
bible’s viewpoint. We need to be absolutely convinced that there is no
other way. Peter says in verse 42 of our passage, “He commanded us to
preach to the people and to testify that Jesus is the one whom God
appointed as judge of the living and the dead.” Jesus has been given
all authority by the Father, and will judge all people on the last
day.

An annual statistical table on global mission (available in the
quarterly International Bulletin of Missionary Research), claims that
of the 6.4 billion people on Planet Earth in 2005, some 2.1 billion,
or 33 percent, were Christians of one sort or another (down from 34.5%
in 1900). This figure of 2.1 billion Christians, includes 1.1 billion
Catholics, 375 million Protestants, and 219 million Orthodox. Even
reducing these figures somewhat to discount the cults and a lot of
nominalism within some traditions, these are large percentages for a
faith that began with the birth of a baby in a manger. While numbers
of Christians in Europe are in decline, Africa (2.36 percent growth
per year) and Asia (2.64 percent growth per year) are growing fast.
Today more Presbyterians worship in the African nation of Ghana than
in Scotland, and more Anglicans worship in Nigeria than in Britain.

But despite many of these statistics bringing encouragement, it is
still estimated that about 28 percent of the world has not been
evangelized today. For all that growth, the implementation of the
"Great Commission" seems to have stalled. By 2025, the world
population will be 7.8 billion, with a total Christian population of
2.6 billion it is estimated - a very modest growth of 0.05 percent
over the next quarter century. There’s plenty of work to be done -
there is less than 1 per cent Christian in Thailand where Lisa is
heading, with over 63 million people.

The first and major barrier which I mentioned earlier, is our
willingness to be used by God to share His good news of peace. You
see, even if we are convinced of the need for others to hear the
gospel to be saved, we often create other barriers that prevent us
from sharing - eg. we lack confidence or training, or are only a new
Christian. But God doesn’t expect you or I to be the greatest
evangelist - he is not waiting for you to become Billy Graham. Hudson
Taylor, the famous missionary to China, told of a Chinese pastor who
always instructed new converts to witness as soon as possible. Once,
upon meeting a young convert, the pastor inquired, “Brother, how long
have you been saved?” The man answered that he had been saved for
about three months. “And how many have you won to the Saviour?”
“Oh,” the young man responded, “I’m only a learner.” Shaking his head
in disapproval, the pastor said, “Young man, the Lord doesn’t expect
you to be a full-fledged preacher, but he does expect you to be a
faithful witness. Tell me, when does a candle begin to shine - when
it’s already half burned up?” “No, as soon as it’s lit,” came the
reply. “That’s right, so let your light shine right away.”

Acts 10 tells us that God has removed all barriers to the sharing of
the gospel. Opportunities abound - if you are not going overseas like
Lisa, then stand with her financially and prayerfully. We can be
gospel partners with her, and rejoice in how God uses her and others
in Thailand, and in many other countries as well. But also pray for
opportunities to share the gospel yourself with someone this week at
work or at sport. Be evangelistic in your lifestyle. Invite someone
over for dinner and see what conversation arises. There are many
approaches, so find one that suits your personality or gifting - why
limit what God can do. Let’s not only support Lisa, but let’s be
inspired by her commitment to mission and be mission minded too.