Scripture Reading: Acts 10:34–48
This morning we're going to look at the conversion of Cornelius and his household. When Peter the Apostle preached, I want to read beginning in Acts 10 at verse 34. Then Peter opened his mouth and said, In truth I perceive that God shows no partiality. But in every nation, whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him. the word which God sent to the children of Israel, preaching peace through Jesus Christ.
He is Lord of all. That word, you know, which was proclaimed throughout all Judea and began from Galilee after the baptism which John preached. How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him. And we are witnesses of all things which He did, both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem, whom they killed by hanging on a tree.
Him God raised up on the third day and showed Him openly, not to all the people, but to witnesses chosen before by God, even to us who ate and drank with Him after He arose from the dead. And He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that it is He who was ordained by God to be judge of the living and the dead. To Him all the prophets witnessed that through His name, whoever believes in Him will receive remission of sins.
The Spirit Poured Out on the Gentiles
While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard the word. And those of the circumcision who believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also. For they heard them speak with tongues and magnify God. Then Peter answered, Can anyone forbid water, that these should not be baptized, who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?
And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. And they asked Him to stay a few days. Amen. Let us pray.
Opening Prayer
Father, we thank You for Your Holy Scripture and we pray now for the Spirit to guide us and to instruct us, to encourage and edify Your people and to cause us to reflect again upon the glory of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. And our Father, we pray that there would be those today who respond to this Gospel There would be those who come in faith to the Lord Jesus Christ. They would know the remission, the forgiveness of sins. They would know the joy that that brings.
They would know the blessing of being found in Christ, not having a righteousness of their own which is from the law, but having that righteousness which is from God through faith in the Lord Jesus. And it's in His most blessed name that we pray. Amen.
Introduction
Well, the Lord's Table is an excellent time for us to consider the Gospel or the Good News of Jesus Christ. There's a lot of question in the church today, or in churches today, as to the nature and description and the function and the identification of the Gospel. And that's a good thing, because without the Gospel, the church is nothing. Without the Gospel, the church is just another social context, another gathering place for people to come and just sort of hang out.
The gospel is what gives us our foundation. The gospel is what brings us together. The gospel is that which binds us. And so, as we consider what the gospel or good news is, it is good to review the book of Acts.
Because the primary purpose of the book of Acts is that the people of God, the church of Jesus Christ, would be His witnesses. That they would be witnesses first in Jerusalem, and then in Judea and Samaria, and then to the uttermost parts of the earth. So as we survey apostolic preaching, we're able to see what is intrinsic, what is necessary, what is essential in gospel preaching. Now, I want to just consider primarily the passage that we read, but it's good for us to understand how Peter got into this particular situation.
There was a man by the name of Cornelius, who we've read of. He's identified in chapter 10 at verse 1. There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of what was called the Italian Regiment. a devout man and one who feared God with all his household, who gave alms generously to the people and prayed to God always. Now, more than likely, he was a Gentile who followed the God of Israel.
Some say that he was a holy pagan, that he was already converted. But that renders nonsensical what Peter does. Peter comes and preaches the Gospel so that Cornelius would be saved. Having a general notion or following the God of Israel without understanding blood atonement through our Lord Jesus is ineffective.
We need to understand who Christ is, what He has accomplished, and believing in Him, we will have forgiveness of sins. So, Cornelius has a vision in verses 1-8. Then Peter has a vision in verses 9-16. And then he is summoned to go to Caesarea in verses 17-23.
And then these two men meet, according to chapter 24, chapter 10, verses 24-33. And so now we come to Peter's report. Notice what Cornelius wants. Look at chapter 10, verse 33.
I often reflect on this passage and hope and pray that the church would have more Corneliuses. It says, So I sent you immediately, and you have done well to come. Now therefore, we are all present before God to hear all the things commanded you by God. He wanted the Scripture.
He wanted the Word of Truth. He didn't want to just learn about Peter. He didn't just want stories that made him feel good. He didn't want just a bit of a shot in the arm so that he could tackle a busy week.
No, he wanted God's Word. He wanted the Scripture. He wanted to understand the truth. Reverend, shots in the arms and a bit of encouragement to tackle a busy week are ineffective with reference to our peace with God through the Lord Jesus Christ.
It is ineffective with reference to our witness before others. We need the Scriptures. We need exposition and application. We need the Spirit to fall upon our meetings so that we'll understand His truth and so that we'll take it to heart.
Peter Preaches Christ to Cornelius
Now notice, Peter preaches Christ to Cornelius.
The Impartiality of God
The first thing to notice is the impartiality of God. The impartiality of God. Notice what he says in verses 34 and 35. Then Peter opened his mouth and said, in truth, I perceive that God shows no partiality.
I think the thrust here, the idea here, is that He is not just the God of the Jews. That He is not just a ghetto mascot. But rather, He is the Lord of all. The Lord of all history.
The Lord of all persons. The one who has universal sovereignty and crown rights over all men. He doesn't show partiality. He doesn't just confine this good news to the Jews.
But now with Peter coming to Cornelius, The Gospel is going out. The Gospel is being universalized. The Gospel is conquering, going forth conquering and to conquer. He says, but in every nation, whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him.
Again, He's not teaching works righteousness there. The idea is that in every nation, those whom God has graciously saved, those who respond in faith, Those who follow the Lamb. He is not confined simply to Palestine. John Stott says the emphasis is that Cornelius' Gentile nationality was acceptable so that he had no need to become a Jew.
He didn't have to become a Jew first and then come to the Lord Jesus. It says, not that his own righteousness was adequate so that he had no need to become a Christian. We misread the text if we take it that way. Then notice, he gets to the bulk of his preaching.
The Person of Christ: God and Man
What makes the gospel good news? If I were to ask you that, what makes the gospel good news, you might say, well, it makes me happy. What makes the gospel good news? Think about it for just a moment, in your mind, in your head.
What is good about the gospel? Is it about the feelings that we derive? Is it about a bit of holy contemplation on our part? The Gospel is good news because it centers in and focuses upon Jesus.
Jesus Christ is central in the Gospel, and that is what Peter is doing. God brings these two people together in a supernatural way, such that Cornelius says, tell me all that God has commanded you. And so what does Peter do? He doesn't give him just a bit of his own heart, but rather he elevates Jesus.
He lifts up Christ. He highlights His person and His work. With reference to His person, He describes Jesus as God. He says He is Lord of all.
Some people deny this. Some people do not accept this. In fact, you might be here this morning thinking, I don't think that Jesus is God. I don't think He is what the Bible declares Him to be.
Well, your thinking otherwise doesn't change reality. Holy men spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. And Peter here shines the spotlight on this aspect of Christ. He is Lord of all.
Realize this, that when you deny Him, you're not denying me. You're not denying a spouse. You're not denying a parent. When the gospel call goes forth and you are summoned to believe this and to repent from your sin, your rejection is against God Himself.
You are like those men in Psalm 2 who raise their fist at God and against His Christ. Who want to cast off His fetters. Who want to be the governors of their own destiny. Well, you may try as you might, but you cannot.
He is Lord of all. He has crown rights over everything. And then Peter highlights His humanity. When we consider the Person of Jesus, He is both God and man.
How does Peter describe Him? He's a man anointed by God. He went about doing good. When you look at the life and ministry of Jesus, it's defined by good.
I submit to you, when you look at your life, when you look at your service, when you look at your conduct, good is probably not the adjective you would use. Am I right? When you look at your life, when you look at your relationship to God and to men, can you honestly say that it is good? If it is good, then Christ died in vain.
Christ did not come to call the good people, but He came to call sinners to repentance. Christ is good because we're not. Christ is perfect because we're not. When God looks upon human history, as I mentioned in Bible study the other night, there's only 33 years that He sees as good.
It is the life, the ministry of our beloved Lord Jesus. So when Peter preaches Jesus, he highlights the fact that He's God, the fact that He's man. He had to be such in order to be the mediator. There is one God and one mediator between God and man. the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for our sins.
You see, Peter focuses on Jesus. There's a lot of people out there focusing on a lot of things, but if it isn't upon Christ, it's not the Gospel. Notice what he goes on to say. He speaks of Jesus' work.
We know who Jesus is. He is God. He is man. But what did Jesus do?
That's what Peter goes on to describe. He speaks of His life and ministry. Verse 38, how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him. Read the Gospel account sometime and you'll see that fleshed out.
Just watch Jesus live and move and have His being. Does He turn His head to human suffering? Does He forget the downcast and poor? Does He forget the downtrodden and poor?
No, He goes about doing good. He's at a gravesite and He calls a man forth from the tomb. He's at places where people are hungry. They've been with Him for three days.
He doesn't say, well, go to Taco Bell or go to McDonald's and find something so you can satisfy your hunger. No, He multiplies bread and fish. He feeds people. There's an instance in Luke chapter 7 where He comes into the city called Nain.
And there's a woman there whose son had died. And she's beside herself. She's crying. She's sobbing.
Yes, because of filial love, she loves her son. But a widow with no son? Who's going to fend for her? We like to think, oh, that's not a good, legitimate concern.
It is a concern. What does Jesus do when He comes into name? He sees this woman and He has compassion on her. And then He raises this boy up from the dead.
Jesus didn't think it was a small thing to be without a son as a widow. He raised that young man from the dead. We see Christ going about doing good. God delights in obedience.
Obedience is better than sacrifice. We need a sacrifice to take away our sins. But we need His obedience so that we can have a righteousness, an alien righteousness taken from Jesus and imputed unto us. Brethren, there's a great exchange going on in the Gospel account.
God takes our sin and heaps it upon His Son and punishes Him. He takes His righteousness and heaps it upon us so that one day we'll stand before Him and able to enter into His presence. Why? Because Jesus was a man who went about doing good.
His life and ministry is described in this way. And then
The Death of Christ
He goes on to specify His death. Notice in verse 39, And we are witnesses of all things which He did, both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem, whom they killed by hanging on a tree. You ask the question, why would you kill a good man? I mean, think about it, right?
Why would they have ever killed a good man? Because they were very bad men. And we might say, oh, those wicked people, look at what they did. I guarantee you, brethren, outside of the saving grace of God in Jesus Christ, we would have been numbered among that mob saying, away with him, away with him, crucify him.
Because we are evil by nature and we don't want to come to the light, because the light exposes us. I haven't noticed a big cockroach problem here in Chilliwack. I'm sure they're here. But in Southern California, we have that.
Not we, particularly. You know, we would see the occasional one. But I remember living near somebody, and they basically got thrown out of the place they were renting. And you looked in the window afterwards, and there were all these cockroaches.
They had bug bombed, and they were littered all over the floor. Well, an interesting thing about the cockroach is that when you flip the light on, they run away. They don't hang out and say, hey, what's going on? They scatter.
They leave. They flee the city. That light disperses that. That's a picture of Christ and His holiness when He came into this world.
Men like cockroaches. You think, oh, that's pretty sick that you're equating men with cockroaches. I personally think men are a lot lower than cockroaches, myself included. I think men are a lot worse than the cockroach.
The cockroach does what God made it to do. We're the ones who rebel. We're the ones who sin. We're the ones who raise our fists at the living and true God.
But they killed a good man. Why is this? Peter blames the Jews here, as he does in Acts 2, but in Acts 2 he highlights a greater purpose, a greater design behind the whole affair. He says this happened according to the predetermined plan of God.
Why? Because if we're going to be forgiven of our sins, we need blood atonement. If we're going to be forgiven of our sins, it's not going to be with the bulls and the goats and the pigeons and the whatevers of the old covenant sacrificial system. We need the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.
Our sins are that bad, brethren. Our sins are that monstrous and that high and that appalling to the Lord God that it took the death of His Son to atone for them. And Peter highlights this fact. Gospel preaching that is cross-lets is not gospel preaching.
If we take Jesus as an example, He's a good man, we need to go and do likewise. We have stripped the guts right out of the gospel. This is not moralism. This is not go out and be better people.
Go do like Jesus. You go do like Jesus and you'll end up in hell. We need blood atonement through this Savior and we need, by God's grace, to believe on Him for the forgiveness of sins. Peter sets forth the cross.
But he doesn't stop there.
The Resurrection and Exaltation of Christ
He doesn't leave Jesus on the cross. Peter wouldn't be wearing a crucifixion around his neck. He wouldn't have a cross with Jesus outstretched on it. You see, the cross led to exaltation.
The cross led to the crown. The cross led to that state of blessed, blessed exaltation. He goes on to say in verse 40, Him, God, raised up on the third day and showed Him openly. It was dateable.
It was verifiable. It was factual. It didn't happen in some small corner of the world where no one was privy to it. But God bolted him from the grave.
He appeared to men. He saw women. He engaged in ministry post-resurrection. You see, the tomb is empty.
As Paul will say in Romans 4.25, he was crucified or he was delivered up because of our offenses, but he was raised up because of our justification. It's a completed package. It's a wondrous thing. It's good news.
It is gospel. Gospel preaching without a cross or without an empty tomb is not gospel preaching. You might say, Jim, what's the deal? Everybody says they're preaching the gospel.
Now, a lot of people tell you they're only interested in your good all the time, too. I hate to break this to you, but the world's a brutal place. It's a sinful place. People will actually lie to you.
People will even do it in the name of Jesus. People will even do it wanting their own benefit. That's what the book of Galatians is about. Paul says, I'm amazed.
I'm amazed that you're turning so quickly from the grace of God who called you to another gospel, which is not another. But there are those who want to pervert it. There are those who want to distort it. Brethren, there's a lot going on in Christianity that is moralism to the core.
It's just a shot in the arm to go out and do better. The Scriptures are a lot clearer. We can't do better. There is none righteous.
No, not one. There is none who understands. There is none who seeks after God. The grand summary in that section in Romans 3 is this.
There is no fear of God before their eyes. Isn't that amazing? There is no fear of God before the eyes of men. How dare us?
Paul later describing those, or before that, when he's describing the Gentiles in Romans 1, it says, they don't even like to retain the knowledge of God. I don't want to think about God. Oh really? You don't want to think about God?
He made you, He sustains you, He is responsible for that bread you're eating, for that water you're drinking, He's responsible for that bank account, and yet we don't want to retain Him in our knowledge. Very similar to the prophet Jeremiah's day. God, through the prophet, says, they turn to Me the back and not the face. What does He mean by that?
We're to be bowing in worship before our God. Not turning our back on Him. Not slighting Him. Not belittling Him.
Not treating Him like He's an equal or an inferior. We're to bow before this God who made us and all things in this world. We're to bow before this sovereign and glorious Being who is from everlasting to everlasting. This God who is infinite, eternal, and unchangeable.
This God who is excellent in His justice, His power, His holiness, His goodness, and His truth. And yet, we sinners don't want to retain the knowledge of God. We live each and every day as if God really doesn't matter that much. We may come on a Sunday and we may perform some religious service and we think we've done something good.
How is it with you each and every day? Is God in your thoughts? Is God the first being in your mind and in your heart? This is why Jesus came to die.
Because we're sinners. Because guilty, vile, helpless, we, spotless Lamb of God was He. Full atonement. Can it be?
Hallelujah. What a Savior. Peter preaches the cross. Peter preaches the empty tomb.
And Peter preaches the exaltation of our Lord Jesus. Notice in verse 42, And He commanded us, the apostles, to preach to the people and to testify that it is He who was ordained by God to be judge of the living and the dead. That's a scary statement for anyone who is not a Christian. A very scary statement for anyone who is not a Christian.
If you're not a Christian, it's because you reject Jesus. Follow me here. I'm not trying to be too difficult or complicated. I realize you stayed up late, but hop to it.
Get your minds engaged. Think with me. If you are not a Christian, I'm not talking about everybody out there right now. I'm not talking about the politicians, or the guys on death row, or the drug users, or the whatever.
I'm talking about right here, right now. If you're not a Christian, the reason is, is because you don't believe the Gospel. It's simple. Let's not make it difficult.
I'm not a Christian because I'm not that good. No, you're not a Christian because you reject the One who is good. So think about it with me for just a moment. A little logic here.
If P, then Q. P, therefore Q. If you are not a Christian, it's because you reject Jesus. Do you think your rejection of Jesus removes Him?
This is what just amazes me about atheists. I don't believe in God. Oh, really? So that means there is no God?
If I mugged you in the parking lot at the bank and I put a gun in your head, you'd say, well, I don't believe in guns. Oh, really? I guess it must not exist then. That's foolish.
Crazy. That's how people operate. I don't believe there's a God, so God must not be. So just be honest with me.
I don't want you to stand up. I don't want you to raise your hands and say, yeah, that's me. But just think about it for a moment. If you're not a Christian, it's because you reject Jesus.
That does not mean He goes away. That does not mean you will never meet Him. It simply means that when you do meet Him, it will not be His Savior. It will be His judge.
That's terrifying. The One alone who can save you from your sins and you continue to reject Him. That's just mind-blowing. That's the power of sin.
That's how bad depravity is. That is how far extending it is. The One who can save you is the One who you reject. But He is the One that you will ultimately stand before.
Christ Ordained as Judge
He was ordained by God to be judge of the living and the dead. Turn over to Acts 17 for just a moment. Acts 17, Paul preaching the Gospel, highlights this reality of an empty tomb, of a resurrected Savior. But it's interesting how he does this here.
He doesn't argue. He doesn't try to prove the resurrection. But rather, he uses the resurrection as a proof of the coming judgment. Notice in Acts 17.
Acts 17, verse 29, Therefore, since we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the divine nature is like gold or silver or stone, something shaped by art and man's devising. What was the sin in Athens? Idolatry. What's Paul speaking to?
Idolatry. The Gospel is relevant in every culture because the Gospel addresses the sin problem. We have a lot of cultural analysts today. It's very simple.
All cultures are sinful. All cultures need the gospel of Jesus Christ. Notice verse 30, "...truly these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising him from the dead." This is essentially what Peter says.
Crucified. But He was raised up. God stationed Him at His right hand so that He would be the judge of the living and the dead. You will face Jesus Christ someday.
You will stand before Him. I do not know when. I know what James says. Your life is like a vapor.
You're here for a time and then you're gone. Moses said, if by reason of strength we have 70 or 80 years, then we fly away. Every single one of us will stand before the Lord Jesus Christ. You've heard the saying, there's only two inevitable things, death and taxes.
You can not pay your taxes if you like to live in jail, but it's not inevitable. Hebrews 9 tells us it is appointed for man to die and then what? Then comes judgment. You say, but I don't believe that.
It doesn't matter. Whether you realize it or not, you're not the center of the universe. You're not God. Your thinking doesn't shape worlds.
Your thinking does not shape things. Your thinking very often cannot even get you out of bed on time for work. And yet, you are in a posture and a position to try and wish God away. You will stand before Him.
All of us will stand before Him. And there's only one way to be prepared, and that's where Peter goes.
Remission of Sins Through Christ Alone
He says to Him, to this Jesus who is the Judge, to Him all the prophets witness. They all witness this particular fact that through His name, whoever believes in Him will receive remission of sins. There's one way to avoid condemnation on the Day of Judgment. Not two ways, not three ways.
Peter is not teaching that all roads lead to heaven. If Cornelius was already a saved man, if he was already a holy pagan, if he was already rightly related to God, then this is superfluous. But he realizes this man is a sinner in need of a Savior. And that is to whom he directs his attention now.
He says to him,
The Prophetic Witness to Christ
all the prophets witnessed. So I read Daniel 9. When you think of prophetic witness to the Lord Jesus, your mind starts to survey the Old Testament Scriptures. Moses was a prophet.
We believe Moses wrote the first five books of the Bible. Genesis 3.15 is the first statement concerning this coming Deliverer, this Conqueror, this One to whom all the prophets witnessed. That the seed of the woman would crush, would destroy, would obliterate, would smash the head of the seed of the serpent. I love that language, brethren.
It's martial. It's victorious. The church today is anemic and it's weak. We're effeminate.
We need a crushing Savior. We need One who doesn't just play games with Satan, but puts His foot upon His head and smashes it into smithereens. That's our Jesus prophesied in the prophets. And then Genesis chapter 22.
What's the grand statement of Abraham to Isaac? The Lord will provide the Lamb. Isn't that a beautiful statement? A beautiful testimony.
If you don't see Jesus in Genesis 22, you need to re-read it. You need to see that Lamb caught in the thicket is prophetic, it is a type, it is a shadow of the Lamb of God who would come to take away the sins of the world. You turn to the Psalms, and what do we learn of there? Psalm 22, written before Roman crucifixion, describing it in detail.
Jesus says, My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me on the cross? That is a direct quote from Psalm 22. Psalm 110 speaks of a priest coming in the order of Melchizedek. The prophets, as we continue on, Isaiah.
Isaiah 53 is almost like the fifth gospel. You have Matthew, Mark, Luke, John and Isaiah. He's talking about substitutionary atonement. He's talking about the servant of the Lord.
He's talking about one who is oppressed. A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. The one upon whom the Lord was pleased to crush Him, putting Him to grief for our iniquities and our sins. You see what Peter is saying?
It is this one. The Scriptures. Not only the Gospel, but the entirety of the Scriptures are Christ-centered. Jesus said to His opponents, you search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life.
And these are they which testify of Me. Abraham rejoiced to see My day, Jesus says. He is the center point of all of redemptive history. He is the center point of all of history.
And the Scriptures constantly declare that. Brethren, this is apostolic preaching of the Gospel. It is the Person of Christ. It is the work of Christ to include His spotless life, His ministry, His death, and His resurrection.
It is the exaltation of Jesus Christ as Judge and as Lord of all. It is the reality that all those who believe in Him will receive remission of sins. Do not reject this Christ. And
Application: Remember and Believe
today, believer, remember this Christ. How often do we live our lives and we just go day to day and we get so busy? We don't stop to think. Jesus saved me.
I think that's a great remedy when we have issues in our lives. We've got problems. We've got trials. We've got difficulties.
Stop for just a moment and say to yourself, be of good cheer. Your sins are forgiven. Then you can go, yeah. Yeah.
Justification by God's free grace. Wherein He pardons all our sins. All our sins. Do you get that?
Jesus doesn't deal with 80% of your sins or 90% of your sins or 99% of your sins and then you've got to go out and make it up. Jesus paid it all. Everything. Paul says so clearly in Galatians 2.21, if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain.
Christian, realize that Jesus is your all in all. Jesus is everything. Not just the first Sunday when we eat this bread and we drink this cup and we do so in remembrance of Christ. Let us live in light of Calvary each and every day.
Let us consider Him in His person. The reality that God the Son, the Logos, the second person of the Triune God would come into this world. That right there is enough to just cause us to stand in amazement. That the birds had their nests and the foxes had their holes, but the Son of Man had nowhere to lay His head. that he only ever went about doing good, and then he was spat upon, he was slapped in the head, he had a crown of thorns embedded into his head until he bled, he was mocked, he was treated scornfully and shamefully, and then ultimately died on the cross, forsaken, not first and foremost of man, but of God.
Brethren, we ought to think in these terms. We ought to consider these things. Not just on the first Lord's Day of the month. Peter preached the Gospel.
To him, all the prophets witnessed that through his name, whoever believes in him will receive remission of sins. Isn't that a beautiful statement? We hold the Reformed theology here. We believe in sovereignty.
We believe in election. We believe in predestination. We believe in all those truths. And we affirm Peter's statement that whoever believes in him will receive remission.
You believe in Him today and your sins are covered. There's no greater joy. I know that some of you men, all you men, you have noble jobs, there's virtue, there's good things. There's no greater joy than to tell people, look, you believe the Gospel and your sins will be forgiven.
Not that you can't do that as witnesses to Christ, but what great joy that is and what a great privilege. You don't have to fix you. You don't need therapy. You don't have a syndrome.
You don't have a complex. It's not because you were victimized. All those things are real. You've got issues.
Everybody's got baggage and all that. But the simple message of the Gospel is this. God is holy. You're a sinner.
And God sent His Son. You believe on His Son and you will have forgiveness of sins. You will have the peace of God which surpasses all understanding. You'll be able to say with Paul in Romans 5, 1, Therefore, having been justified by faith, We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus.
That doesn't mean the absence of trials, the absence of issues. Show me one Christian that doesn't have trials and issues. You can't. That waits for us in the eschaton.
That waits for us in heaven, where God wipes away every tear from our eyes, where there's no more sorrow, no more pain, no more hunger, no more thirst, no more calamity, no more death, no more loss, no more aches. But right now, brethren, we have issues. We have trials. But God, by His grace, has forgiven us.
What could be better than that? That's the testimony of the prophets. What does God want us to take from this passage? Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.
And then, beautifully, what happens here? While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard the Word. Isn't that great? You believe the Gospel by God's grace, you receive forgiveness and the Holy Spirit.
You receive forgiveness and the Holy Spirit. We saw this in Galatians 3, when Paul appeals to their experience. You receive the Spirit, not by your works, not by your law keeping, but by the hearing of faith. By hearing the Gospel, by believing it.
You not only are justified, you receive the Holy Spirit. Those are two gifts that come to every man, every woman, every boy, every girl. You don't have to do something extra. You don't have to go out and serve.
You don't have to go out and perform in order to get this second work of grace. No, as soon as you believe, God justifies you. As soon as you believe, you receive the Spirit. According to Ephesians 1, 13 and 14, He is the seal and the guarantee of this possession that we have.
If you don't have Christ today, believe. Believe on the Lord Jesus. If you want to think in larger terms, this is a Gentile Pentecost. Remember the day of Pentecost in Acts 2?
God sends the Spirit in a powerful way upon the church. What do they do? They speak in tongues, communicating. Not gibberish, not babble, not vain thoughts.
Communicating the marvelous works of God. The Gospel comes on the day of Pentecost. And Jerusalem is baptized with the Spirit of the people that believe there. Acts chapter 8.
Acts chapter 8. The Samaritans hear the Gospel. They believe the Gospel. And what happens?
The Spirit comes on them. Acts chapter 10. What happens? The Gentiles hear the Gospel.
The Spirit comes upon them. What is God communicating? The self-same spirit comes to you by God's grace when you believe the Gospel, irrespective of the fact if you're a Jew, a Samaritan, or a Gentile. God shows no partiality.
The Gospel is universal in its implications. The Gospel is to be globalized. The Gospel is to be proclaimed. specifically the person and the work of the Lord Jesus Christ for the remission of sins and for righteousness imputed. Raymond says, here then is the real significance of Pentecost in the history of redemption.
It was Jesus' self-attestation to the truth that He was Israel's Lord and Messiah. And the non-repeatable Samaritan Pentecost, the non-repeatable Gentile Pentecost are to be viewed in the same light. Both were Jesus' self-attestations to the church and to the people involved at the critical junctures of the missionary endeavor that He had delineated in Acts 1-8 of His Messiahship and saving Lordship, get this, over the nations. The Gospel is to be proclaimed.
We have a good guide here as to what the gospel is about. We need to go to the law and to the testimony. We need to go to the pages of the scripture. We need to evaluate everything by the written word.
The gospel is simply a message about you going out and being a better guy or a better girl. That's not good news. Because we can't be better guys or better girls. That's why Jesus came to die and to rise again.
The exclusivity of the Gospel is set forth too. It's not only universalized, globalized, it's to go out to all nations, but it's an exclusive message. Some, as I mentioned, try to point to Cornelius here as an inclusivistic message. Look, Cornelius was a pagan and he was saved.
No, the message here is to him, all the prophets witnessed. To him and no other. There's no salvation outside of Jesus Christ. You may leave the Free Grace Baptist Church at 1210 or 1215 on August 1st and think to yourself, I'm going to go stop this, I'm going to go start this, and everything's going to be right with me.
No. The prophets didn't witness to that. The prophets didn't testify to you being a better guy or a better girl or moral reformation is all you needed. The prophets testified concerning the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.
There is no hope without Him. There is no forgiveness without Him. There is no atonement without Him. If you do not cast your soul upon Jesus Christ in faith, you will suffer in hell for eternity.
You say, well, that's not fair. Well, God is fair. God is just. God is right and shall not the just God do what is right.
Believe. Come. Understand. Sop.
Dine. Love. Honor. Live.
Commune with Christ. That's living. That's life. When we take the Lord's Supper in just a few minutes, when we remember the bread and the wine, it's not for non-Christians.
There's no power in that bread. There's power in the blood. Power in Christ. You don't eat and drink in order to be saved.
You eat and drink because by God's grace, you have been saved. It's for the church. It's for the believer. It's for the one who can say, by God's grace alone, I am in Him.
If you are not in Him, believe. Belief. And you will be saved. What a blessed message from a great God.
Let us pray.
Closing Prayer
Father, we thank You for Your Word. And we thank You for the prophetic testimony, the apostolic testimony, all pointing to the same reality that through Christ is the remission of sins. And I pray today, God, that as this Gospel is proclaimed throughout the earth, that it would run swiftly and be glorified. That the Spirit of God would fall upon a great multitude that many would come to understand that Jesus Christ is the only way of salvation.
And I pray that, especially for our meeting here this morning, God, I pray that you would be well pleased to save sinners of your will. Bring them forth by your word of truth. We ask this in Jesus' holy name. Amen.