Scripture Reading: Acts 10:34–48

Turn with me in your Bibles to Acts chapter 10, a fitting sermon for a baptismal service. As I said, we are baptizing Joy and Amy this morning. So I want to read beginning in Acts chapter 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. 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. Then they asked him to stay a few days.

Amen. Well, let us pray.

Opening Prayer

Our Father, we thank you for the written word of the living and true God. We thank you for this passage of Holy Scripture. We pray now for the ministry of the Spirit to guide us and to illumine our hearts and minds and to feed our souls with the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ, to see his power in redemption, to see his glory magnified, to see his ability to save. And God, we rejoice in conversions.

We rejoice in persons, wanting to identify publicly with the triune God in the waters of baptism. As well, our Father, we pray for that city of Lytton. We just ask God in heaven that you would undertake on behalf of those there. We thank you for returning Chris.

We thank you for preserving Christoph and the other firefighters. And we just pray, God in heaven, that you would be merciful to that community as they rebuild. And we ask this in the name and for the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Well,

Introduction

Acts 10 is a significant passage in redemptive history. What we have is the official inclusion of Gentiles in the covenant promises of God. Remember, originally, the gospel is revealed in Genesis 3.15, and then that gospel is expanded, or rather amplified, in terms of promise. And Abraham is told to look north, to look south, to look east and look west, that it wouldn't just be Israel that received the benefit of the seed of Abraham, but it would also be Gentiles.

You see that promise as well in the Psalter. You see it in the prophets. You see that emphasis in Isaiah, for instance, that the knowledge of the Lord will cover the earth as the waters cover the sea. So as I said, the inclusion of Cornelius and his household into the church was significant in terms of redemptive history.

Just to give you an overview of chapter 10. In the first place, Cornelius himself has a vision in verses 1 to 8. Peter then has a vision in verses 9 to 16. And then Peter, along with messengers, arrive at Joppa according to verses 17 to 23.

And then there is this meeting with Cornelius between Peter and his associates with Cornelius in verses 24 to 33. And then what I want to look at are two things. First, the preaching of Peter in verses 34 to 43. And then secondly, the conversion of Cornelius and his household in verses 44 to 48.

So the proclamation of the truth and then the conversion of those who had received the truth by the power of the Holy Spirit. So

Peter's Preaching: The Gospel Proclaimed

let's look first at verse 34. Notice the impartiality of God. And verses 34 and 35 are curious. Notice what it says.

Then Peter opened his mouth and said, In truth I perceive that God shows no partiality. That's not curious. We know that. The Old Testament and the New Testament, everywhere celebrates that reality.

There is no impartiality with God. It doesn't depend upon where you live or what age group you are, what socioeconomic stratosphere you tend to belong to. God shows no partiality. But then when he says in verse 35, in every nation, whoever fears him and works righteousness is accepted by him.

The point is simply this. that Gentiles can also come to the Lord Jesus Christ. Just because Jesus is Israel's Messiah, that does not mean that Gentiles are excluded. The emphasis is, is that Cornelius's Gentile nationality was acceptable so that he had no need to become a Jew. Not that his own righteousness was adequate so that he had no need to become a Christian.

John Stott said that, and I think he's bang on. Remember that when the spirit falls upon Cornelius and his household, those of the circumcision, those companions of Peter are surprised, they're shocked. As I said, though it had been promised in the Old Testament, though it had been celebrated in the Psalms, though it had been prophesied by the prophets, nevertheless, these Jews are a bit surprised and disturbed at the inclusion of Gentiles in terms of the service of the true and living God. So we have this impartiality stated in verses 34 and 35, which is good news.

The Christian does not, or people that become Christians don't have to first become Jews. And again, an emphasis in this part of the book You don't have to first be circumcised. You don't have to follow the laws of Moses, but rather you must come to Jesus, the one whom Moses testified and wrote concerning. And that moves us into the preaching of Peter with the revelation of the Son of God.

See, gospel preaching is just that. It is gospel. It is good news. It isn't good news for you to hear self-help.

It isn't good news for you to be given therapy. It isn't good news for you to be given advice on how to be a better you. What man in sin desperately needs is the good news of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is outside of us.

It is accessible by grace through faith in Christ, but it's the message of Christ and him crucified and resurrected. It involves his life of obedience, his death on the cross as a substitute, as the one who bore the penalty of those who believe, and of his resurrection the third day. That's the gospel. The good news of Jesus Christ isn't a message of self-help.

It isn't a message of try a little harder and maybe God will receive you. Do a little better and then maybe you can be accepted by the whole high and lofty one. No, the blessed emphasis in terms of gospel is believe on this one and you shall be saved. So it shouldn't surprise us that after having been divinely arranged, Peter now comes before Cornelius and his household, and what Peter preaches is not Peter.

Peter doesn't say, yeah, I have a lovely wife, I have a few kids, we live in this region, and I'm a fisherman. He doesn't take the time with that. In fact, Cornelius doesn't want that. Cornelius says, tell me all the things that God commanded to you.

In other words, we don't want the man, we want the man, Christ Jesus. And that's Peter's emphasis. So

The Revelation of the Son of God

under the revelation of the Son of God, there are four things to observe. First, the peace of God. Secondly, the person of Christ. Third, the work of Christ.

And fourth, the prophetic witness to Christ. But

The Peace of God

notice in the first place at verses 36 and 37, the word which God sent to the children of Israel, preaching peace through Jesus Christ. Isn't that what we all want? I know there's a lot of, not a lot, there is a minority, there is a handful of people out there that seem to thrive on chaos. They seem to like a bit of confusion in their life.

But for the most part, I think the consensus of mankind is a desire for peace. And so as the apostles and the prophets before them went about preaching, the main emphasis, or at least a sort of a way to identify what they were emphasizing, was peace. And when Christ is preached, what comes is peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. After discussing or engaging in a discussion of justification by faith alone, the Apostle Paul in Romans 5 says, therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God.

Again, brethren, we have a lot of trouble in our world. We have a lot of issues in our personal world. We may have a lot of confusion in our family lives, but one thing we have that is rock solid and never ending is peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Christ afforded that peace in John 14.

My peace I give you, my peace I leave with you. Not as the world gives. The world has an offer of peace, but it's futile, it's vain, it doesn't satisfy. But what Christ gives to the needy soul satisfies because it's peace with God.

But not only do the apostles preach peace with God through faith in our Lord Jesus, they also preach peace with one another. There was a great disparity between the Jews and the Gentiles at this particular time. A faithful Jew would rise up in the morning and thank God that he wasn't born a woman, he wasn't born a slave, and he wasn't born a Gentile. In other words, this was a bad thing to be considered a Gentile.

But under the gospel of Jesus Christ our Lord, and the realization of the promises made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, we have peace one with another. And that's the emphasis in Ephesians chapter 2. Christ came to preach peace, Christ makes peace, and Christ brings peace between Jew and Gentile. He doesn't keep them as two distinct peoples, but he makes one new man out of them, having removed the barrier that existed before.

And so when it comes to gospel preaching, this is the methodology by which peace is promoted. That's why the church's witness is fundamental in the world. It's not just Canada. It's not just the US.

It's not just, you know, North America. But wherever we look throughout the globe, there is a lack of peace. What's going to fix it? Politics?

How's that working out? Are they that good at what they're doing as to provide and promote peace? I surely hope that we're not banking on that. I mean, sometimes they actually do something right on occasion, but it's the proclamation of the gospel that brings peace.

Remember at the announcement of the coming of the Messiah in Isaiah chapter 9 at verse 6, he is called, what? prince of peace. If we want peace in the earth, we ought to want gospel preaching to flourish and to thrive and to go forth. That's why we pray for Mike. We pray for Ryan.

We pray for the Currys. We pray for the missionary enterprise. We pray for local churches in our community that are faithfully handling the word of God. because this is the promotion of peace that man desperately wants. Now

The Person of Christ

notice, secondly, the person of Christ in verses 36 and 38a. In other words, we need to know who the Redeemer is and what he does. And typically in theology, we refer to that as the person of Jesus and as the work. So what he is, or who he is rather, and what he does.

But notice with reference to his person. In the first place, Peter declares his lordship, which I believe is an ascription to the divinity of Jesus. We're going through John's gospel, John 1 in the prologue. In the beginning was the Word, the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

So Jesus, the word is co-eternal with the father. He's distinct from the father and he is consubstantial with the father. He is in fact God. And so as Peter is going through his message, he highlights that reality.

Preaching peace through Jesus Christ. Notice in verse 36, he is Lord of all. So Christ, the Word of God, the Son of God, is in fact divine. Our Savior is God Most High.

In fact, Athanasius, one of the sort of lines of evidence to prove the deity of Christ, as Athanasius basically was contra the world itself, was that only God himself could save fallen humanity. It's only as the son of God comes into this world, takes on our humanity, identifies with us in all points and yet without sin, and he does this in order to live, to die, and to be raised again to save us from our sin. So he is divine, but also that humanity is stressed in verse 38. Notice what he says, how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power.

Now Jesus, as the second person of the Trinity, Jesus as the Word who was in the beginning with God, the Word who was God, doesn't have the Spirit anointed upon Him. He is intrinsically at one in terms of essence with Father and Spirit. But according to his humanity, when he takes on our flesh, when he identifies with us, he goes into the waters of baptism. The Spirit descends upon him like a dove.

He hears the voice of approbation from the Father. This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. And then in the Mount of Transfiguration, God the Father says, hear him. So he is both God and man, and Peter brings that out.

And that is crucial and essential information. The gospel isn't just about a friendly fellow in the ancient Near Eastern world who went about and set a good example. No, it's God the Son who took on our humanity, who lived for us, who died for us, and who was raised again for us, for us men, and for our salvation. That whoever believes on him shall not perish, but have everlasting life.

So Peter brings this out. He is anointed with the Spirit for the role of mediator, specifically to function as prophet, priest, and king. Now

The Work of Christ

notice thirdly, the work of Christ. Peter goes, not from the person, to his work. Notice the earthly ministry. Verse 38, how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good.

Isn't that beautiful? He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him. It's his earthly ministry. How do we identify what Jesus did?

Jesus went about doing good. He raised the dead. He healed the blind. He enabled the lame to walk.

He fed the multitudes. He did glorious and wondrous things. Why? Because God was with him.

Again, according to the humanity of Christ, according to the function as mediator, as prophet, priest, and king. He didn't just hoard those things. He didn't just have those resources, but he went out. He engaged in ministry.

He did wonderful things. He stood at the grave site of Lazarus, and he told that dead man, come forth, and Lazarus came forth. What Christ does in his earthly ministry is typical of who Christ is according to his blessed person. Notice as well, he highlights the death of Jesus.

It's very important, brothers and sisters and friends, when we consider Christ, that we consider all that the Bible says concerning Christ. There is that mindset out there that he was a good example for us. We just do a little better, try a little harder, follow him a little more closely, and be kind to one another, and everything will pan out in the end. That is a complete rejection of the gospel of Jesus Christ our Lord.

Christianity is a redemptive religion. Christianity is a religion of bloodshed. Christianity is blood atonement, wherein those who by God's grace believe on Jesus are washed clean through that precious blood. We're sinners.

We're dead in Adam. We do the deeds of our father. We engage in wickedness and lawlessness. So not only do we need a savior who lived for us and obeys God's law perfectly such that we receive that righteousness, but we need a savior who dies for us because the wrath of God must be spent.

And he pours it out upon the son of his love. The prophet Isaiah says in chapter 53, it pleased Yahweh to bruise him. Speaking of the son, Have you ever considered or contemplated that? Have you ever pondered that?

It pleased the father to bruise the son. Why? Is the father some sick, sadistic child abuser? No, the father is in the plan and purpose of saving his people from their sins.

And the son willingly submits himself to that in order to pay the debt, to pay the penalty, to go in their place and take the wrath and fury of God that they deserve. Notice what Peter says in verse 39b. He says, they killed whom they killed by hanging on a tree. Tree is utilized as well in chapter 5 and verse 30.

Not every time. Peter uses it in his epistle as well. He uses the reference to tree, cross or tree. You see that in the New Testament.

I think that the background, I think it is reminiscent of a law in the book of Deuteronomy. Deuteronomy 21, 22, and 23 tells us, If a man has committed a sin deserving of death, and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree, his body shall not remain overnight on the tree, but you shall surely bury him that day, so that you do not defile the land which the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, for he who is hanged is accursed of God. Paul emphasizes that in Galatians chapter 3. He was made a curse for us.

Again, you have to understand the theology involved. The beauty of the cross is that Christ went and took our place. We refer to it as substitutionary atonement. If I would have been hit by a car on the way to church this morning, Somebody else would have preached.

I believe that. I hope that. And we ought to have a contingency plan in place. But that person would have been my substitute.

He stood in my place to do what I was purposed to do. Think about that in light of substitutionary atonement. Christ is on the cross, not because he's a sinner. Christ is on the cross, not because he's a criminal.

Christ is on the cross because we're sinners. Christ is on the cross because we're criminals. Christ is on the cross and it pleased Yahweh to bruise Him because this was the means by which we are washed free from all sin and transgression and iniquity. You have to get this and appreciate this and hold onto this because it's the very lifeblood of the Christian faith.

So Peter sets forth that blessed reality, but he doesn't stop there. Notice under the work of Christ, you've got his earthly ministry, you've got his death, but you've got his resurrection in verses 40 to 41. We're not a Roman Catholic church. If we were a Roman Catholic church, there'd be a big cross with Jesus, or at least an apparition or a depiction of Jesus on it.

But no, he went into the tomb, but he was raised again the third day. Sin had no dominion over him. It wasn't the case that he would remain dead. It was the case that he'd be raised again in accordance with the promise of the prophets to show his triumph over death, over hell, over our sin.

And notice what Peter says, verse 39, 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. Now notice the contrast. Him, God raised up on the third day and showed Him openly. There's a great contrast that's set forth by Peter in other places as well.

What they did, they hung Him on a tree to crucify Him. But what did God do? God raised Him from the dead. Paul captures these two elements in that blessed summary statement of gospel truth in Romans 4.25.

He tells us that Jesus was delivered up because of our offenses, but he was raised for our justification. When we consider the waters of baptism, this isn't a reward for a virtuous life. This is to identify with the victor, with the Savior, with the Redeemer, with the blessed God of heaven and earth. It is a public declaration.

As these two ladies go in and come out of that water, that salvation is of the Lord. It is a most glorious testimony concerning the sovereign grace of God and what He does in the salvation of sinners. It's not just that He chose us in Him, it's not just that He applies that redemptive work to us, but it's that the Son of God does come down from heaven for us men and for our salvation, and He goes through His life and His death, but His resurrection as well. And then notice Peter doesn't stop there.

I think at times the church stops there. At times the church doesn't go on to the exaltation of our Lord. Notice what Peter does in verse 42. Well, he says concerning the witness, God raised him up on the third day, verse 40, 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.

You might think that's a bit of awkward information. Why do we need to know that you ate and drank with him? Because the body that went into the ground came up out of the ground. self-same, glorified to be sure, but it wasn't that he was a phantom, it wasn't that he was an apparition. He says to his apostles, touch me, you'll see that I'm not, you know, I have flesh, I have blood, I have bones, I have all that stuff.

It wasn't some apparition or cunningly devised fable, but Peter says we saw him. And then notice in verse 42, 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. So you see this Jesus who lived, this Jesus who suffered and died, this Jesus who was raised again is now sitting enthroned at the right hand of the father. And the Bible tells us, and this ought to cause some of you, those of you who are not believers to fear.

You will stand before this Christ one day to give an account of deeds done in the body, whether good or evil. Look at what the text tells us. Verse 42, 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. You will meet this Jesus.

You will stand before Him on the day of judgment. Again, I don't think many people think about this today. They don't think beyond, you know, dinner tonight. They don't think beyond their four-year degree.

They don't think beyond a wife or a husband and a few kids. They don't think beyond the grave. They don't take into consideration what the apostle says in Hebrews 9. It is appointed unto men to die once, and then what?

Judgment, we will all stand before that glorious throne. Revelation 20 depicts that scene, that great white throne judgment, where we stand in the presence of Christ. If you do not receive him now by grace, through faith, and call him Lord and Savior, you will ultimately hear those words, depart from me, I never knew you. Again, just let that sink in for a moment.

See, one of the travesties that I'm observing, and I'm sure a lot of you are in Western civilization, is the decline of due process. The idea that if you're upset, you can just burn down a church building. No, if that person was guilty, they should be tried in courts, there should be rules of evidence observed, there should be cross-examination. We are basically seeing the suspension of due process.

But this much I assure you, there is no suspension of due process in the court of God. Every single one of us will stand before Jesus. Every single one of us will give an account of deeds done in the body, whether good or evil. Every single one of us will have to testify.

And with reference to cross-examination, you're gonna be standing before the omniscient God of heaven and earth. He knows you better than you know you. So the idea is, is that you believe the gospel. You look unto the Lord Jesus Christ.

The only way to be ready for that day of judgment is to be clothed in his righteousness. It is to receive that Father falling on the prodigal, putting the ring on his finger, putting the robe on his back, and celebrating with the fatted calf. It is to receive that righteousness by which we enter in to that great marriage supper of the Lamb. If you are not clothed in His righteousness and you stand before Him on that day, you will be consigned to hell.

That is the grim reality. I know there's a lot of preachers today that say, well, you know, hell is a fiction, or hell is temporary, or hell is annihilationism, or hell is conditional. That's not what the Scripture says. Do not take the word of men who cannot exegete scripture properly.

The Bible teaches, in fact, Jesus teaches more on hell than he does on heaven. Not to suggest that he doesn't teach on heaven, but the bottom line is there is a real hell. There is real rejection for those who reject Jesus Christ. You get a form of it even on this side of the judgment to come.

Romans chapter 1, what happens when men do not honor God as God, neither are their hearts thankful to Him. They know God exists. They see all the evidence around them. The problem isn't a lack of evidence.

The problem is the hardened heart of man that suppresses that truth and unrighteousness. But what you see happen in society, and it should shake us up a bit, believer and unbeliever, when we read Romans 1 to see how God responds to those who reject Him. Three times it says, God gave them up. God gave them up.

God gave them up. To what? A reprobate mind. In other words, when they reject the God of heaven and earth, God of heaven and earth rejects them.

Hell is the absolute application of that reality. If you, young people, you old people, continue to reject Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, continue to resist gospel preaching, continue to resist the overtures of loving and faithful parents calling upon you to believe on Him, if you continue to reject that, you'll be rejected on that day. See, that's the reality, and Peter doesn't just sort of leave it out there. When he's tracing the person and the work of the Lord Jesus Christ, yes, his true humanity, yes, his true divinity, yes, his earthly ministry, yes, his suffering and his death, yes, his resurrection, yes, his exaltation, but yes, his coming again in glory to judge the living and the dead.

It's a good time to ponder, are you ready for that day? Are you ready to meet him? Because even if it isn't the day of judgment, there could be your own personal eschatology wherein perhaps today I wasn't hit by a car, but you might be. What happens if your life ends today and you stand in the presence of a thrice holy God?

Are you going to say, you know, I've been a good person, I've tried my best, I've done everything I was ever told? All three of those statements are absolute lies and you know it at some level. The only means by which we are accepted with God is through the beloved, in whom we have redemption through his blood, Paul exclaims. Hebrews 9.22, it says, without the shedding of blood, there is no remission.

And this is a good place to transition into the next point.

The Prophetic Witness to Christ

Notice the prophetic witness to the person and the work of our Lord Jesus Christ. What's the book of Amos about? What's the book of Hosea about? What's the prophet Isaiah about?

What's Ezekiel about? What is Jonah about? Well, Peter's going to tell us. He's going to tell Cornelius and by extension us.

Notice in verse 43. He says to him, this one he's just declared, life, death, resurrection, exaltation, judge of the living and the dead, to him, this Lord Jesus Christ, all the prophets witness. Here's a great help to you when you're reading those prophets, find Jesus in them. Because according to Peter, Jesus is in them, and any pastor, any preacher, any Bible teacher, any Bible scholar who says, well, you really don't need the Old Testament, is a fool.

You certainly need the Old Testament, because the scope of the whole is the glory of God and the salvation of sinners by Jesus Christ the Lord. But notice, with reference to the prophetic testimony, they emphasize the selfsame things that Peter emphasizes. In other words, he's come to Cornelius, who's described as a God-fearer. And God-fearer simply meant that he was a non-Jew, but he was interested in Israel's God.

So he would go to the synagogue, he would surround himself with Jewish people. He wanted to understand something about this Yahweh of Israel. So he had this modicum of understanding. But Peter is giving him the Christocentric interpretation.

Peter is giving Cornelius something that Cornelius hadn't heard in the synagogue. Because the Jews in the first century, except those who believe the gospel, would have still been waiting for Messiah. But as far as Peter is concerned, as far as Paul is concerned, as far as the history of the church is concerned, the Messiah came in the person and in the work of our Lord Jesus Christ. And so notice what Peter says, verse 43, to him, this is Jesus, all the prophets witness that through his name, whoever believes in him will receive remission of sins.

Again, the way these two men met, Peter and Cornelius, was amazing. They both had separate visions calling upon them to take journeys and to meet with one another. And so when they come together and Cornelius says, tell us everything that God had commanded, Peter doesn't engage in his life story. He doesn't tell him biography or autobiography.

He testifies concerning faith in the Lord Jesus Christ for the remission of sins. Why? Because you're going to stand before this one, one day, to give an account of deeds done in the body, whether good or evil. Let's just step that up one more, you know, one more bit of emphasis.

In Matthew's gospel, in chapter 12, do you know that Jesus says that on that day men will give an account for every idle word that they had spoken? How many idle words do you and I engage in? How many idle words do we say on a given day? How many idle words do we cloud the cloud with in terms of our ongoing blabbering?

How many idle words? But think about that. What about the blasphemies? What about the rejection?

What about the despising? What about the contempt we show for God by our words? You see why Peter goes to where Peter is going? He wants Cornelius to be saved.

He wants Cornelius to be rescued. He wants Cornelius to be redeemed. He wants Cornelius to stand before God on that day of judgment, clothed in the righteousness of another, such that he won't hear, depart from me into hell, prepared for the devil and his angels, but such that he'll hear, well done, good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of your rest. So all of the prophets, every single one of them, they witness, they testify that through the name of Jesus, whoever believes in Him will receive remission of sins.

So in other words, there is a salvation emphasis relative to the life and the death and the resurrection of Jesus. It's not just exemplary. It's not just a model for good behavior, but it is rather redemptive in nature, and it is what sinners desperately need to hear. So when you read Isaiah 53, you better see Jesus there.

When you read the Old Testament, the law, Moses writings, you see Jesus there. Remember, we looked at that in John chapter five, Jesus upbraids the religious leaders of his day. He says, you read the scriptures, you read Moses, but Moses testifies of me. So the whole scripture tells us, sets forth before us, not us, not our happiness, not our glory.

There's not a narcissistic way to read the Bible, but rather it's about God in Christ reconciling the world to himself. So to him, all the prophets witnessed that through his name, whoever believes in him will receive remission of sins. Now it's at this point, that I think any preacher worth his salt ought to give a bit of autobiography. By way of personal testimony, there ain't anything better in this world than having been forgiven of your sins.

There is nothing better than Psalm 130 verses 3 and 4, where David says to Yahweh, if you, Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? That's a truism. If God should mark every one of our iniquities or just one of our iniquities, who could stand? But David doesn't stop there.

He says, but there is forgiveness with you that you may be feared. John the Apostle tells us if we confess our sins, he's faithful and just. Think about that statement. Faithful we get, but just?

When I come to God for forgiveness, do I want justice? Yes. It speaks of atonement. It speaks of cross.

It speaks of blood. It speaks of the penalty bearer. It speaks of Jesus Christ. So we want his faithfulness and justice to forgive us of our sin and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

David in the Psalter in Psalm 25 pleads his own sinfulness as the reason why God should forgive him. In fact, look there. I don't think people even get this. Psalm 25, 11.

Good place to take a little sip of water too, by the way. Psalm 25, David's statement here, it's so counterintuitive to us. We think we need to come to God having cleaned up our act. You know, God, I've really tried hard this week.

I've really done well this week. I obeyed my parents. I was kind to my spouse. I worked hard in school or at my job.

And so therefore God, could you just give me a bit of a reward? That's the way we tend to operate, isn't it? That's the way we tend to function. We do good, we expect good from God.

Notice David in Psalm 25 at verse, well, verse 10. All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth, to such as keep His covenant and testimonies. For your namesake, O Lord, pardon my iniquity. Why?

Because I've done well, I've tried to mitigate some of it. No, for it is great. Did you ever consider that? People don't always consider this.

We've gone out, we've passed out tracts to various people in the neighborhood, we've tried to talk to people, and once in a while you'll meet a, you know, sort of a crabapple of an old man who'll say things like, well, I'm just so sinful, God would never have me. David's argument is precisely the opposite. I am so sinful, only God will have me. I am so wretched that only God can avail.

I am so wicked that only blood atonement by Jesus Christ is the answer. I am so wicked that the only hope for me, the only help for me, is not in reform, it's not in improvement, it's not in trying harder, but it's in Christ and Him crucified, Christ and Him resurrected, Christ delivered up because of our offenses, and Christ raised for our justification. If you are a sinner, I can tell you with firsthand knowledge that there is nothing better than the forgiveness of sins. And those of us who have been here for any amount of time know it's at this point that I quote one of my favorite stanzas written by a non-inspired author that is contained in our hymn book.

My sin, oh the bliss of this glorious thought, my sin not in part but the whole, is nailed to the cross and I bear it no more. Praise the Lord, praise the Lord. See, nothing better for the soul of the weary sinner than the blood of Jesus Christ, His Son. If you don't know this, if you've not come to Him, if you are still dead in your trespasses and sins, then if you listen to one thing this morning, listen to this.

Believe. Look unto Him and you will be saved. That's the emphasis. The doctrine of justification by faith alone wasn't a Protestant invention in the 1500s, but rather it is what Scripture teaches.

Whoever believes in Him will receive remission of sins. That would have spoke volumes of encouragement to Cornelius at two points. Whoever, not just Jews, you mean Gentiles? And secondly, whoever believes in Him.

Not believes and is circumcised. Believes and does the works called upon, given to Him. Not the one who believes and goes through the Roman Catholic sacramental system. No, it's whoever believes in Him will receive remission of sins.

It is the doctrine of justification by faith alone and it is Glorious. It is wonderful. It is most blessed and most excellent. And for those of you who are not believers here this morning, again, listen to this statement, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved.

The Conversion of Cornelius's Household

And that brings us secondly, in terms of the overarching theme of the sermon, to the conversion in Cornelius of his household. Conversion of Cornelius and his household in verses 44 to 48. He listened. He listened to Peter.

He knew the prophetic testimony concerning Messiah. And now, by God's grace, he believes that gospel. He looks and he lives. He goes from death unto life.

He goes from darkness into light. He is now one of the church. He is now saved by God's grace.

The Spirit Falls Upon the Hearers

Notice, the power of the Holy Spirit comes upon them. Verse 44, while Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who hear the word. I try to encourage our church. If you're visiting this morning, it's an encouragement you should take back to your church.

Pray every Sunday morning that the Holy Spirit comes. Not that so-and-so comes, I mean, it's okay that you pray that so-and-so comes, but pray the Holy Spirit comes. Because if we engage in gospel preaching according to the flesh, then it will not avail. But we need the life-giving power of the Holy Spirit to fall upon the preaching, to fall upon the hearing, such that sinners will, by God's grace, lay hold of the mercy offered them in the person and in the work of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The Spirit works in the hearts of the hearers of the word to enable the elect to believe the gospel. As well, the fact that the Holy Spirit comes in power in the way that he does, evidence is that what Peter is doing here wasn't Peter's initiative. Peter wasn't the guy who woke up one morning and said, hey, I'm going to go find this Gentile named Cornelius, and I'm going to preach the gospel to him. That's not it at all.

No, Peter is given this mission by God the Lord, so that when the Spirit falls upon this meeting, when the Spirit works in the hearts of Cornelius and his family members, when the Spirit does that blessed task, it evidences that this is divine initiative. Just like when God comes in the garden to Adam and Eve, they run from him. Just like after the tower builders at Babel, they make this big tower, they try to reach up into heavens, they try to make a name for themselves. Well, God confounds them by confusing their lip.

But on the next, the very next chapter, God comes to Abram and calls him out of Ur the Chaldeans. It's God's initiative that is uppermost in the salvation of sinners. It's not your free will. It's God's free grace.

And in that is a world of hope. It is a most blessed reality that it's up to God, that salvation is of the Lord.

The Astonishment of the Jewish Believers

Notice the astonishment of the Jews that were there. The statement, those of the circumcision who believed were astonished. They were Jewish believers who accompanied Peter from Joppa. There were six of them according to chapter 11 and verse 12.

What you have in chapter 11 verses 1 to 18 is basically Peter's explanation of what happened with Cornelius. Because again, more Jewish believers, those of the circumcision, are curious and they want to know what happened. Why are you going in? Why are you having table fellowship with a Gentile?

So Peter explains to them that this is God's work of grace in the adding of Gentiles into the covenant of grace. Notice the reason why they were astonished. Verse 45. Those of the circumcision who believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter.

Why? 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. Now, it's not been that long ago that we were in the Book of Acts, but just by way of reminder, it's not the case that every time somebody gets the Holy Spirit, they speak in tongues. Old school and perhaps modern school Pentecostalism and some forms of Charismaticism teach that, that the true sign that somebody has the Spirit is that they speak in tongues.

They go to Acts chapter 2, they go to Acts chapter 8, and they go to Acts chapter 10. They say, see, these people believed, they received the Spirit, and therefore they spoke in tongues. But that is to neglect the emphasis in Acts 2, Acts 8, and Acts 10. This isn't underscoring or highlighting individual responses to the gospel of the Lord.

It's corporate reception. In Acts 2, all the nations of the earth are gathered in Jerusalem, and we have this day of Pentecost. Acts chapter 8, they go with the gospel to Samaria, and we have this Pentecost. Here the gospel goes to the Gentiles, and we have this Pentecost.

The emphasis isn't upon tongue speaking on the part of individual converts. The emphasis is that Christ at the right hand of the Father in this church age sends the Spirit upon these people groups at key junctures in the missionary enterprise. One man by the name of Thompson understands it this way, and he writes, Luke's focus in these texts, Acts 2, 8, 10, and 11, and then he adds 19, the John the Baptist believers, is on the fulfillment of prophecy, salvation history, and the beginning of the last days, rather than paradigms for individual experiences. In each of these chapters, Luke emphasizes corporate experience.

So if you neglect that, you're gonna end up as a charismatic and somehow think that if you don't speak in tongues, you must not be saved. Brethren, that's simply false. You don't have to speak in tongues to be saved. In fact, at this juncture, there's no more tongue speaking.

There's no more prophesying because these were revelatory gifts. And now that the New Testament canon is complete, we don't have need for those revelatory gifts.

The Baptism of the Household

But then notice finally the baptism of Cornelius and his household. Verse 47 is a question. It's kind of like expect to know. It's kind of like saying to somebody, you don't like liver, do you?

Well, no. It's kind of a question that leads or elicits that particular response. If you happen to like liver, then sorry, I guess this doesn't apply to you. But some of us, they'd say, you don't like liver, do you?

And I'd probably say, well, no. Because it's a question that not only leads it, but experientially, I just don't want to eat liver. Of course, I'm not starving. I'm sure a piece of liver would look very nice if I had been three days without food.

So, you know, that puts a whole different spin on things. But notice what Peter says. Peter answered, can anyone forbid water that these should not be baptized who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have? Remember, they're astonished.

He's believing Jews are astonished at the fact that the Spirit has come. But Peter's logic is impeccable. They've received the Spirit. Why shouldn't they receive the new covenant sign of baptism?

They've received the Spirit. Why shouldn't they be immersed into that water in identification with the triune God? Of course, it's an answer that expects a no, or a question that expects a no. John Gill says, since they had the greater baptism, the baptism of the Spirit, the lesser baptism of water could not be denied them.

It's a good logic. And then notice what Peter does in verse 48. He commanded them to be baptized. See, baptism's not optional.

Baptism's not suggested. Baptism's not just recommended for a special class of initiates. No, Peter says, if you've believed on him, whom the prophets testified concerning, that through his name, everyone who believes in him will receive remission of sins. If you believe in him, And if you've received the Holy Spirit, again, it's not an optional sort of act, but rather you are commanded to be baptized.

Not in order to be saved, because we know that can't be. You're saved by grace through faith in Christ. But baptism is in the life of sanctification. We are justified freely by His grace, and now the Spirit indwells us, and guess what?

We wanna do what God commands. We want to do what the Lord says. And with reference to baptism, we don't have to be coerced. We don't have to be cajoled.

We don't have to be promised carrot or stick. We simply obey God, especially the blessed commandment of our Savior when he says, go, therefore, make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them. in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit." And then notice, this is a them passage. Verse 48, he commanded them, to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then they asked him to stay a few days, which he did and would have to instruct them further.

But it's a then passage. This is a household baptism. And Baptists do not reject this. Baptists do not resist this.

Baptists do not say, oh, those household baptisms aren't for us. Basically, we teach that the Bible teaches household baptism here, and that Baptists affirm household baptism. All those in a household who hear the gospel, verse 44. All those who in a household believe the gospel, look at 1117.

I've already mentioned, this is Peter's explanation. Verse 17 and chapter 11, if therefore God gave them the same gift as he gave us when we believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could withstand God? And those who are receivers of the Spirit, of course they should be baptized. Of course, this is a blessed expression of a household baptism.

Of course, God is to be praised. God is to be glorified. And that is precisely how those who heard this story responded. Look at 1118.

When they heard these things, they became silent and they glorified God saying, then God has also granted to the Gentiles repentance to life. So it is a most blessed example of a household baptism.

Application

Now in conclusion, just a few thoughts and then we'll transition into the water. In the first place, the inclusion of Gentiles in the covenant promises of God. I don't think this thrills us the way it probably would have in the first century, but it's something that should thrill us nevertheless. The promises made by God to Abraham, to Isaac, to Jacob are fulfilled in and through the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ.

They certainly involve people from Israel, but they involve people from every tribe, tongue, people, and nation. In one of the servant songs of the Lord, in the prophet Isaiah, God the Father says to God the Son, it's too small a thing for you simply to save the tribes of Jacob. I will give you as a light under the Gentiles. This is the foundation upon, or one of the foundational pillars upon which we preach the gospel to every creature indiscriminately, wherever there's creatures, wherever there's image bearers, wherever there are sinners, we testify of salvation by grace through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.

Secondly, you see underscored here, the unity of the people of God. There's a common and popular way of reading the Bible out there today that's wrong. They continue to keep the Jews and the Gentiles distinct. That's not what the apostles do.

The apostles, understanding rightly the Lord Jesus, and understanding rightly the prophets, see the combination. See that in Christ, whether you're Jew or Gentile, you're Israel. You're the Israel of God. You're a spiritual Israelite that believes the gospel.

In 1 Corinthians 12, 13, we read, Ephesians 2, 14-22 is an extended statement of the unity and the solidarity that Jew and Gentile has in our Lord Jesus. And then that classic text in Ephesians four, four to six, there is one body and one spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and father of all, who is above all and through all and in you all. And when Paul says that, he affirms the Christian doctrine of the Trinity. And when we come to baptism, we should remember the Trinity. because it's at the baptism of our savior that we see the doctrine.

We see the truth rather of that doctrine. The son of God goes into the waters of baptism. The spirit descends in the form of a dove. The spirit isn't a dove.

He descends rather in the form of a dove. And then you have the voice of the father. This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. So at the baptism of our Lord Jesus Christ, we are encountering the Triune God.

In fact, the ancients used to say, Arius, if you want to see the Trinity, go down to the River Jordan. But then at the baptism, the Great Commission and the command for baptism, we are encountering the Triune God, baptized in the name singular of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. You have the one name singular representative of the substance or essence of God, the oneness of God in his simple essence. And then you have the reference to the persons or subsistences, father, son, and spirit.

There was a church father by the name of Gregory of Nazianzus. And he gave an oration on holy baptism, and he made this statement. No sooner do I conceive of the one than I am illumined by the splendor of the three. No sooner do I distinguish them than I am carried back to the one.

When I think of any one of the three, I think of him as the whole, and my eyes are filled, and the greater part of what I am thinking escapes me. I cannot grasp the greatness of that one, so as to attribute a greater greatness to the rest. When I contemplate the three together, I see but one torch, and cannot divide or measure out the undivided light." When we come to the waters of baptism, we are encountering, we are seeing, and we are identifying with the triune God of Holy Scripture. And I would give a great encouragement to Joy and to Amy that this baptism ought to serve you well for the coming days in your Christian experience.

Romans chapter 6, the theology that Paul sets forth. He starts off in Romans 6.1, what shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? May it never be.

Guess how he counters the argument? Not with law, but with gospel. Not that law doesn't have its place in the destruction of sin in the life of the believer, but he turns to the gospel, specifically that gospel they experienced when they were baptized. You went into the water, you were dead with him, you were buried with him, and you were raised again with him.

So water baptism is not salvific, but it demonstrates outwardly what God has done inwardly. It isn't a converting ordinance. They don't go into the water as unbelievers and come out of the water as believers. They go in as blood-bought children of the living and true God, identifying with Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

And may this day always stick in your heads. and be a great encouragement to pursue holiness, to pursue righteousness. And as they enter into the life and membership of this church, we pray for them, we encourage them, and we trust that they will pray and encourage us as well. Well, let us close in a word of prayer.

Closing Prayer

Our Father, we thank you for your word. We thank you for your grace. We thank you for the person and the work of the Lord Jesus Christ, in whom there is salvation. And God, we affirm and confess the doctrine of justification by faith alone, not just because it's in our documents, but because it's in our hearts, it's in our minds.

We see it throughout scripture. Abraham believed God and it was credited unto him as righteousness. We see that emphasis always in the prophets and in the New Testament and throughout the history of the church, that the just shall live by faith. Thank you for blessing Amy.

Thank you for blessing Joy. Thank you for calling them out of darkness into marvelous light. And again, Father, I pray for any who are dead in their trespasses and sins today. May you awaken them by the power of your word, and may they see and behold the glory of Jesus Christ as the one in whom alone there is forgiveness and a righteousness that avails with you.

And we ask this in his most blessed name. Amen. Well, please take your

Scripture References

• Genesis 3:15
• Deuteronomy 21:22-23
• Psalms 25:10-11; 130:3-4
• Isaiah 9:6; 53:10
• Matthew 12:36
• John 1:1; 5:39-46; 14:27
• Acts 2:1-4; 5:30; 8:14-17; 10:34-48; 11:1-18; 19:1-6
• Romans 1:17-28; 4:3; 4:25; 5:1; 6:1-4
• 1 Corinthians 12:13
• Galatians 3:13
• Ephesians 2:14-22; 4:4-6
• Hebrews 9:22; 9:27
• 1 John 1:9
• Revelation 20:11-12