Thoughts From Acts 11 - Part 1

The apostles and the believers throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. 2 So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticized him 3 and said, “You went into the house of uncircumcised men and ate with them.”4 Starting from the beginning, Peter told them the whole story: 5 “I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision. I saw something like a large sheet being let down from heaven by its four corners, and it came down to where I was. 6 I looked into it and saw four-footed animals of the earth, wild beasts, reptiles and birds. 7 Then I heard a voice telling me, ‘Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.’8 “I replied, ‘Surely not, Lord! Nothing impure or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’9 “The voice spoke from heaven a second time, ‘Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.’ 10 This happened three times, and then it was all pulled up to heaven again.11 “Right then three men who had been sent to me from Caesarea stopped at the house where I was staying. 12 The Spirit told me to have no hesitation about going with them. These six brothers also went with me, and we entered the man’s house. 13 He told us how he had seen an angel appear in his house and say, ‘Send to Joppa for Simon who is called Peter. 14 He will bring you a message through which you and all your household will be saved.’15 “As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit came on them as he had come on us at the beginning. 16 Then I remembered what the Lord had said: ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ 17 So if God gave them the same gift he gave us who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to think that I could stand in God’s way?”18 When they heard this, they had no further objections and praised God, saying, “So then, even to Gentiles God has granted repentance that leads to life.” Acts 11:1-18

           I remember reading in the Left Behind books that tribulation saints would be marked by a smudge on their foreheads. This was LaHaye's and Jenkins' interpretation of a passage in Revelation which I had never heard before, but who is to say they are wrong or right? We shall see.  One view of geology that I believe in is called catastrophism. This means that generally everything goes the same day after day for long periods of time, but these are bookended by rapid catastrophes like for example the flood on one end and Zechariah 14 on the other (look it up). This stands in contrast to uniformitarianism which states everything happens the same continually for millions of years. Peter talks about that as being the wrong view in 2Peter 3.                   What I see here is spiritual catastrophism. For 3000 years everything went the same. God picked the Jews and used them to bring God's word, the Messiah, and demonstrate the power and glory of God to the nations. Then God invaded the Earth in human form, fulfilled the law and brought a new covenant marked by the supernatural. The Holy Spirit came and proved the validity of the new covenant with signs and wonders. He even showed who was saved by making them speak in tongues. Now for 2000 years everything goes on the same until Jesus invades once again. Miracles will come back and who knows, we may even get smudges if we are here which I won't be.

          What do you do when you are in those years where the miracles just don't seem to happen? Do you doubt? Peter says that during these times scoffers will say "Where is this coming? I don't see the miraculous happening?" People may get lazy and compromise their obedience and faith. Don't do it. Stand strong. That's why I don't mind these fools predicting the date of the Lord's return and always being wrong. At least they are looking for it. It keeps me looking up. The time is short. Don't doubt. He's coming for His bride and He wants her dressed and ready.

Thoughts From Acts 10 - Part 4

 Then Peter began to speak: “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism 35 but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right. 36 You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, announcing the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all. 37 You know what has happened throughout the province of Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached— 38 how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.39 “We are witnesses of everything he did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They killed him by hanging him on a cross, 40 but God raised him from the dead on the third day and caused him to be seen. 41 He was not seen by all the people, but by witnesses whom God had already chosen—by us who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. 42 He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead. 43 All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”44 While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message. 45 The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on Gentiles. 46 For they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God. Then Peter said, 47 “Surely no one can stand in the way of their being baptized with water. They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have.” 48 So he ordered that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked Peter to stay with them for a few days. Acts 10:34-48

        I once went with a friend to a Church of Christ evening service. Besides the acapella worship being strange, the most interesting thing was that the pastor in his message kept saying things like "The Church of Christ will prevail" or "The Church of Christ will be saved". I finally realized that he wasn't meaning the universal Church of Christ but rather his denomination. They believe in baptismal regeneration referring to the verse in Acts 2 where it says, "Repent and be baptized for the forgiveness of sins". Therefore, if you were baptized for any other reason than to be saved, you aren't saved. The thief on the cross goes against that view but you could argue Jesus made an exception which is His prerogative. This passage however shows that Cornelius and his household were saved before baptism as confirmed with the Holy Spirit coming on them as evidenced by tongues.

      My theory was that if people believed then they were immediately baptized as part of the salvation vows and pledge to follow Christ. Baptism was a part of salvation but now we have replaced it with the sinner's prayer as associated with Romans 10 where Paul says if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead you will be saved. So, we've replaced baptism with a "repeat after me" and baptism is a subsequent act testifying what you have done. Are we right in doing this or wrong? I'm not sure it matters because these guys were saved before Peter even got to offer the, "With your eyes closed and no one looking around" part. All it took was believing!

     The other thing I noticed is that it really wasn't Peter's best message. In fact, they kind of interrupted him with converting in the middle of his message. We often put too much stock in our speaking proficiency when the effort should probably be on our knees ahead of time praying for a move of the Holy Spirit. Anyway, many were saved due to Peter's sensitivity to the leading of the Holy Spirit (granted, it was pretty clear -"Hey you!") and to his obedience to share the gospel. May we follow suit today!

Thoughts From Acts 10 - Part 3

 The next day Peter started out with them, and some of the believers from Joppa went along. 24 The following day he arrived in Caesarea. Cornelius was expecting them and had called together his relatives and close friends. 25 As Peter entered the house, Cornelius met him and fell at his feet in reverence. 26 But Peter made him get up. “Stand up,” he said, “I am only a man myself.”27 While talking with him, Peter went inside and found a large gathering of people. 28 He said to them: “You are well aware that it is against our law for a Jew to associate with or visit a Gentile. But God has shown me that I should not call anyone impure or unclean. 29 So when I was sent for, I came without raising any objection. May I ask why you sent for me?”30 Cornelius answered: “Three days ago I was in my house praying at this hour, at three in the afternoon. Suddenly a man in shining clothes stood before me 31 and said, ‘Cornelius, God has heard your prayer and remembered your gifts to the poor. 32 Send to Joppa for Simon who is called Peter. He is a guest in the home of Simon the tanner, who lives by the sea.’ 33 So I sent for you immediately, and it was good of you to come. Now we are all here in the presence of God to listen to everything the Lord has commanded you to tell us.”  Acts 10:23-33

       What's the deal with clean and unclean? In this passage we see both clean and unclean foods and clean and unclean people and both of these need to be addressed in order that the gospel can go out to all mankind.

          First of all, why unclean food? There are several reasons but first in a book called None of these Diseases, the author quotes the verse in Exodus where God tells the Jews that if they obey His law they will have none of those diseases that the Egyptians have. So, health wise, unclean food generally was unhealthy food from pork with trichinosis to roadkill carrying bacteria to bottom feeding fish eating refuse, to blood with viruses, God was protecting them from diseases. Secondly, and this refers to clean and unclean people also, God wanted to use something that would inherently separate the Jews from other nations and keep them a pure race so that millennia later after they have been dispersed, He could bring them back in 1948 and they would still be a people group distinct and not absorbed into the rest of civilization. I mean, how can you go out on a date when you eat different food? Lastly, just like menses, mildew, death, discharges, etc., God is reminding them that we are in an unclean world because of sin causing death and dying. Having unclean food in your mind on a daily basis reminded them of sin and their need for a sacrifice to make things clean. Things were not how they were meant to be in this world and they were in need of a "cleanser".

         Second, why unclean people? Besides the need for a way to keep Jews distinct so that God could bring them back in the last days showing He's not done with them, the second reason is that darkness and light cannot coexist. I am made acutely aware of this even this morning as I had breakfast with the residents - they have a completely different worldview than me. You can see it happening with youth group kids going to college. Unless they have a very strong family of believers that are their core, they will start being and thinking like the godless peer group around them who live for gratifying the flesh. This is why Paul urges the Corinthians not to be unequally "yoked" and to come out from among them and be separate. Soon, God knew that if allowed to associate with the "unclean", they would forget Him and go after other gods. Lastly it reminds us that everyone is not all right. We are not all by birth and common humanity children of God. The world is divided into clean (forgiven righteous justified sanctified followers of Christ) and unclean (basically everyone else). It's our job to make as many clean as possible, not us but the Holy Spirit who lives in us.

         Getting back to the passage, Cornelius, who by looking at him with human eyes appeared clean, wasn't. The uncleanliness of his "gentileness" pointed to a deeper need which far surpassed his ceremonial uncleanness. He had an unclean inside which needed to be cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ. Jesus fulfilled the law by cleaning "the inside of the cup versus the Pharisees being more concerned with the outside. From this point on, the ceremonial uncleanness of food and people was superseded by the uncleanness of the heart that we as believers should be focused on.

         So, mix all you want for one reason only - not to become like them but to offer the internal cleansing of the blood of Jesus Christ.

Thoughts From Acts 10 - Part 2

 

9 About noon the following day as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the roof to pray. 10 He became hungry and wanted something to eat, and while the meal was being prepared, he fell into a trance. 11 He saw heaven opened and something like a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners. 12 It contained all kinds of four-footed animals, as well as reptiles and birds. 13 Then a voice told him, “Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.”14 “Surely not, Lord!” Peter replied. “I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.”15 The voice spoke to him a second time, “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.”16 This happened three times, and immediately the sheet was taken back to heaven.17 While Peter was wondering about the meaning of the vision, the men sent by Cornelius found out where Simon’s house was and stopped at the gate. 18 They called out, asking if Simon who was known as Peter was staying there.19 While Peter was still thinking about the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Simon, three men are looking for you. 20 So get up and go downstairs. Do not hesitate to go with them, for I have sent them.”21 Peter went down and said to the men, “I’m the one you’re looking for. Why have you come?”22 The men replied, “We have come from Cornelius the centurion. He is a righteous and God-fearing man, who is respected by all the Jewish people. A holy angel told him to ask you to come to his house so that he could hear what you have to say.” 23 Then Peter invited the men into the house to be his guests.  Acts 10:9-23

“Are you so dull?” he asked. “Don’t you see that nothing that enters a person from the outside can defile them? For it doesn’t go into their heart but into their stomach, and then out of the body.” (In saying this, Jesus declared all foods clean.) Mark 7:18,19

     I love the parentheses in the Mark verse. Although Mark wrote Mark (that's pretty obvious although Timothy didn't write Timothy) it's generally believed that he got most of his material from Peter. To me, the parenthetical statement is kind of saying, "Here's what Jesus taught but we didn't figure out what He meant until later. Actually, it took the sheet coming down from Heaven in a vision episode to waken me to what He was teaching us back then."

    Isn't that the way it is with the Bible? We read something we don't understand so we file it away and come back to it later while we focus on the things that we do understand. Many years later after we grow in Christ and life experiences, we come across it again and we say, "Now I get what He's saying." William Craig talks about the virgin birth being a stumbling block to his salvation until he got to know God and realized that's "child play" (pun) for Him. Tim Keller struggled with the fairness of primogeniture or eldest son birthright until he saw how God was always messing with it - Jacob, Isaac, David, Judah, Ephraim, etc. There are answers for difficult questions. The problem is when we say I don't understand this one thing so I'm going to throw out Christianity. No! Don't do that! The answers are there just wait until the time comes when He'll explain it to you.

     We are training brand new interns now. When you ask them how they're doing, a common response is "I feel like I'm drinking water from a fire hose." That's not how God quenches our thirst. He reveals thing to us as we can take them. No wonder Paul talks about the "milk" of the word. Babies aren't ready for meat yet. Someday, for sure, but little by little. Peter took some time to digest the meat so don't expect that you will understand everything about the Bible. It's sips at a time.

Thoughts From Acts 10 - Part 1

 At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion in what was known as the Italian Regiment. 2 He and all his family were devout and God-fearing; he gave generously to those in need and prayed to God regularly. 3 One day at about three in the afternoon he had a vision. He distinctly saw an angel of God, who came to him and said, “Cornelius!”4 Cornelius stared at him in fear. “What is it, Lord?” he asked.The angel answered, “Your prayers and gifts to the poor have come up as a memorial offering before God. 5 Now send men to Joppa to bring back a man named Simon who is called Peter. 6 He is staying with Simon the tanner, whose house is by the sea.”7 When the angel who spoke to him had gone, Cornelius called two of his servants and a devout soldier who was one of his attendants. 8 He told them everything that had happened and sent them to Joppa.  Acts 10:1-8

         Like the Ethiopian Eunuch, like the worshippers in Jerusalem at Pentecost, like the disciples in Acts 19 who had only heard of the baptism of John, Cornelius was an Old Testament saint. He believed in Yahweh, followed the law, confessed his sins but yet wasn't a New Testament saint. He did not know of the death and resurrection and the substitutionary atonement of Jesus. Where would he have gone if he died not knowing of Jesus? Well, we will never find out because God was making sure that didn't happen in supernatural ways. He sent Phillip to run alongside a chariot then whisked him away to another place. He sent Simon to Joppa and sent an angel in a vision to tell Cornelius where he needed to go to find him.

       We are no longer in those transition times. People can go to church, give to the poor, raise good families, be good citizens but that doesn't amount to anything - they still need Jesus and we need to tell them. As good as Cornelius was, he still needed Jesus. We tend to go to the dregs of society because they aren't good people - we know they need Jesus in the bars and in the prisons. However, do we tend to shy away from the "good" people thinking they already have it all together so they aren't in need of Romans 3:23? Cornelius stands as a testimony that no matter how "good" we might be or are trying to be, good deeds don't get us to Heaven, only faith in Jesus does.

        If someone comes to your mind, maybe you are in "Joppa" for the express purpose of reaching that person for Christ. Your acquaintance with them is maybe the only doorway to eternal life that they will ever get. Tell them about Jesus and let the Holy Spirit do the work. You don't have to and can't save them but God can. Your best ability is availability. Like Cornelius, follow the Lord's leading.

Thoughts From Acts 9 - Part 4

 Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace and was strengthened. Living in the fear of the Lord and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it increased in numbers.32 As Peter traveled about the country, he went to visit the Lord’s people who lived in Lydda. 33 There he found a man named Aeneas, who was paralyzed and had been bedridden for eight years. 34 “Aeneas,” Peter said to him, “Jesus Christ heals you. Get up and roll up your mat.” Immediately Aeneas got up. 35 All those who lived in Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord.36 In Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha (in Greek her name is Dorcas); she was always doing good and helping the poor. 37 About that time she became sick and died, and her body was washed and placed in an upstairs room. 38 Lydda was near Joppa; so when the disciples heard that Peter was in Lydda, they sent two men to him and urged him, “Please come at once!”39 Peter went with them, and when he arrived he was taken upstairs to the room. All the widows stood around him, crying and showing him the robes and other clothing that Dorcas had made while she was still with them.40 Peter sent them all out of the room; then he got down on his knees and prayed. Turning toward the dead woman, he said, “Tabitha, get up.” She opened her eyes, and seeing Peter she sat up. 41 He took her by the hand and helped her to her feet. Then he called for the believers, especially the widows, and presented her to them alive. 42 This became known all over Joppa, and many people believed in the Lord. 43 Peter stayed in Joppa for some time with a tanner named Simon.

          Joppa or Jaffa is a port city on the Mediterranean Sea with great tourist appeal. The beaches are less busy, there are nice cafes, open air markets, great seafood restaurants and many sites to visit for tourists. That's what I would do if I went to Joppa. That's not what Peter did. Peter went to raise Dorcas, a.k.a. Tabatha from the dead and strengthen the church there. Initially we had read that during the times of persecution, led by Saul, believers fled Jerusalem, but the apostles stayed there. Now, as the persecution died down, the apostles, namely Peter, began to go to other cities. First, he went to Lydda and Sharon to build the church there using the miracle power granted to him raising up Aeneas, a well-known paralytic. By doing that, everyone who saw it turned to the Lord. Next, he went to Joppa because a follower of Christ named Tabitha was sick and died. Presumably people came and got him either to raise her from the dead, heal her illness to which she succumbed by the time he got there, or maybe eulogize her and preach the funeral. He did raise her from the dead, not him but the power of God given to him to exercise. Many people believed because of this.

     Don't you wish you had this power? No wonder Simon the sorcerer wanted to buy it. Just think of all the effective witnessing I could do if I could raise people out of their wheelchairs. I would think that I'd immediately go viral with my face on every social media account. It would unfortunately be about me and not Jesus. People would come from everywhere not to find Jesus but to see a show or be healed. These healings validated the gospel but now, with Christianity being the biggest religion in the world, the gospel has been validated. We don't need these side shows anymore. We don't need healthy bodies we need healthy souls.

     The other reason that I would never get this power is that I'd go to Joppa to be a tourist, not to evangelize. I would go with a camera, credit card, 7-day visa, suitcase, and a ticket home, not a Bible and microphone. God forgive us for being tourists on this planet rather than ambassadors for the Kingdom of God.

Thoughts From Acts 9 - Part 3

 

Saul spent several days with the disciples in Damascus. 20 At once he began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God. 21 All those who heard him were astonished and asked, “Isn’t he the man who raised havoc in Jerusalem among those who call on this name? And hasn’t he come here to take them as prisoners to the chief priests?” 22 Yet Saul grew more and more powerful and baffled the Jews living in Damascus by proving that Jesus is the Messiah. 23 After many days had gone by, there was a conspiracy among the Jews to kill him, 24 but Saul learned of their plan. Day and night they kept close watch on the city gates in order to kill him. 25 But his followers took him by night and lowered him in a basket through an opening in the wall.26 When he came to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he really was a disciple. 27 But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. He told them how Saul on his journey had seen the Lord and that the Lord had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had preached fearlessly in the name of Jesus. 28 So Saul stayed with them and moved about freely in Jerusalem, speaking boldly in the name of the Lord. 29 He talked and debated with the Hellenistic Jews, but they tried to kill him. 30 When the believers learned of this, they took him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus. Acts 9:20-30

           Everywhere the converted Saul/Paul went, the Jewish leaders tried to kill him. Charlie Kirk was killed for his beliefs but his killer will probably get the death penalty. The Humana CEO was killed but the assassin will receive the penalty for murder. What's crazy about this time is that you could kill people that you disagreed with and get away with it. We can't do this today. What changed?

        Tom Holland writes in his book Dominion that the Christian revolution led by the death and teachings of Christ and spread worldwide by His followers replaced the classical Greek and Roman teachings which Paul lived under. These Ancient Historical views saw the strength, power and status of individuals defined what could be done to the outcasts with no regard to any inherent worth of the individual. Christianity reverses that thinking. The cross made the victim and sufferer the central focus of moral concern. The teachings that all people were made in the image of God and equally valued by God gave everyone intrinsic worth. In other words, centuries later, thanks to Paul's and the disciples' teachings for which they were martyred, no one can get away with this behavior anymore.

       And what made them so mad that they wanted to kill him? First of all, he won all the arguments. Have you ever seen a debate or argument where one person gives an irrefutable argument. Usually, the loser doesn't concede but resort to a character attack or an F-you. This is what Paul was experiencing; they couldn't refute his wisdom, so they tried attacking him physically. Secondly, he would have been a traitor - a person immersed in a group who realized the fallacies of the group and sought to destroy it using inside knowledge. We see this with gays who come out of that life and become heterosexuals and speak against the homosexual lifestyle. Gays would attack this person saying once gay always gay and you probably weren't gay in the first place. Paul attacked the pride of the Pharisees from the place of an ex-Pharisee and they hated it.

        The central teaching of Paul was proving that Jesus is God. He didn't focus on politics, human rights, societal evils, but only preaching Jesus. Maybe a good question for us to ask people is "Who do you think Jesus is?" and follow up with "Can I tell you what the Bible says?" Could you tell them what the Bible says? Paul could because that was his priority in life. Is it yours? Learn the answer to that question and memorize the verses.