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

        When's the last time you've been convinced that God wants you to disobey His word? Probably when you were really wanting to sin. "I know same sex relationships were wrong in the Old Testament but I live in the New". "God created me this way and I'm following Him according to His design." "He said His yoke isn't heavy and His burden is light so I should go with the easy not what drains life out of me.""God created marriage for man not man for marriage so let's get divorced because this isn't working.""I wasn't aware of God's plan for my life when I married him but now I know that this other guy and I were meant for each other.""Lying is the only way not to hurt her feelings and God wouldn't want me to hurt someone."

        We can justify sinning any number of ways. Weren't Satan's temptations of Jesus something like the above? "God wouldn't want you starving." "God wants you to rule." "God won't let any harm come to you." Peter was being asked to sin here as far as he was concerned. There were Old Testament laws about unclean and clean food that he was being asked to violate yet God gives him a vision that it's OK. How does he know it's God not Satan? It is confirmed by a miraculous sign that God told strangers knocking at his door that there's a man named Peter living here who can tell them how to be saved. Satan doesn't want people saved. All I'm saying is if you think God is telling you to sin it better be confirmed by a miracle.

     But actually, hadn't Jesus already declared that no food was unclean and that he had fulfilled that part of the Law?

“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

     The book of Mark was written by Mark who was taught by this very same Peter who was figuring this all out. The parenthetical statement at the end of those verses was saying that,  "We didn't understand this back when He said it but since, thanks to this vision and miraculous confirmation followed by Holy Spirit validation on Cornelius (spoiler alert), we now know what Jesus was telling us."

        Bottom line, if you think God is giving you an OK on a sin, He's not. You are trying to be master of your own life and you can't love God and disobey His word. You can't say "Yes, Lord" if you are Lord. Obet Him even when your flesh is dragging and kicking going the other direction. He knows what's best for you.

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.