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Well, please turn with me in 
your Bibles to Acts chapter 10, as we continue our exposition 
of Acts, the Acts of the Apostles. It's a long chapter, but I wanna 
get it before us. Our focus this morning will be 
on the first eight verses. But Acts chapter 10, beginning 
in verse one, 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. About the 
ninth hour of the day, he saw clearly in a vision an angel 
of God coming in and saying to him, Cornelius. And when he observed 
him, he was afraid and said, what is it, Lord? So he said 
to him, your prayers and your alms have come up for a memorial 
before God. Now send men to Joppa and send 
for Simon, whose surname is Peter. He is lodging with Simon a tanner, 
whose house is by the sea. He will tell you what you must 
do. And when the angel who spoke to him had departed, Cornelius 
called two of his household servants and a devout soldier from among 
those who waited on him continually. So when he had explained all 
these things to them, he sent them to Joppa. The next day, 
as they went on their journey and drew near the city, Peter 
went up on the housetop to pray about the sixth hour. Then he 
became very hungry and wanted to eat. But while they made ready, 
he fell into a trance and saw heaven opened and an object like 
a great sheet bound at the four corners, descending to him and 
let down to the earth. In it were all kinds of four-footed 
animals of the earth, wild beasts, creeping things, and birds of 
the air. And a voice came to him, rise, Peter, kill and eat. But Peter said, not so, Lord, 
for I have never eaten anything common or unclean. And a voice 
spoke to him again the second time, what God has cleansed, 
you must not call common. This was done three times, and 
the object was taken up into heaven again. Now, while Peter 
wondered within himself what this vision which he had seen 
meant, behold, the men who had been sent from Cornelius had 
made inquiry for Simon's house and stood before the gate. And 
they called and asked whether Simon, whose surname was Peter, 
was lodging there. While Peter thought about the 
vision, the Spirit said to him, Behold, three men are seeking 
you. Arise, therefore, go down and go with them, doubting nothing, 
for I have sent them. Then Peter went down to the man 
who had been sent to him from Cornelius and said, Yes, I am 
the one, or I am he whom you seek. For what reason have you 
come? And they said, Cornelius the 
centurion, a just man, one who fears God and has a good reputation 
among all the nation of the Jews, was divinely instructed by a 
holy angel to summon you to his house and to hear words from 
you. And he invited them in and lodged 
them. On the next day, Peter went away with them and some 
brethren from Joppa accompanied him. And the following day they 
entered Caesarea. Now Cornelius was waiting for 
them and had called together his relatives and close friends. 
As Peter was coming in, Cornelius met him and fell down at his 
feet and worshipped him. But Peter lifted him up, saying, 
Stand up, I myself am also a man. And as he talked with him, he 
went in and found many who had come together. Then he said to 
them, You know how unlawful it is for a Jewish man to keep company 
with or go to one of another nation. But God has shown me 
that I should not call any man common or unclean. Therefore 
I came without objection as soon as I was sent for I asked then 
for what reason have you sent for me? So Cornelius said four 
days ago. I was fasting until this hour 
and at the ninth hour I prayed in my house and behold a man 
stood before me in bright clothing and said Cornelius your prayer 
has been heard and your alms are remembered in the sight of 
God. Send therefore to Joppa and call Simon here, whose surname 
is Peter. He is lodging in the house of 
Simon, a tanner by the sea. When he comes, he will speak 
to you. So I sent to 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. 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, excuse me, 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. Let us pray. Our Father, 
thank you for this written word of the living God. Thank you 
that you've not left us alone in the world. You've given us 
the spirit and you've given us your sure word. And we know, 
Lord God, that it is absolute truth. It is infallible. It is 
inerrant. It is given by inspiration of 
God. So help us now to have ears to hear and hearts to receive 
your word. And Lord, to that end, we pray 
for the ministry of the Holy Spirit, that Spirit who directed 
this meeting, that Spirit who providentially guided these men 
to find one another so that the one could hear the gospel and 
be saved. God, we pray that Spirit would be at work doing the same 
sorts of things in our midst this morning, and do forgive 
us now for our sins and for our transgression. And we ask these 
things through Christ our Lord, amen. Well, chapter 10 in the 
book of Acts is a most pivotal chapter. It is the official call 
of the Gentiles. Now, prior to this, Samaritans 
were called, and we saw that Ethiopian eunuch. But there is 
something significant about the call of Cornelius that the Holy 
Spirit certainly emphasizes in this passage. It could be the 
Jerusalem Church, according to chapter 11, had gotten wind of 
this and called Peter to account as to why he went in and had 
sort of fellowship with this uncircumcised man. But in terms 
of the actual narrative itself, it extends from chapter 10 at 
verse 1 to chapter 11, verse 18. Essentially, what you have 
in the section that I read is the conversion of this Gentile 
man called Cornelius. And then in chapter 11, as I 
said, the church in Jerusalem calls Peter to defend himself 
as to why he went to this uncircumcised man. And they conclude, of course, 
that God's grace is now evident in the life of the Gentiles in 
terms of their inclusion among the people of God Almighty. So 
it is most excellent and most encouraging as we see that third 
leg of Acts chapter 1 verse 8 being applied. Christ said to his disciples, 
you will witness to me, testify concerning me, first in Jerusalem 
and then Judea, Samaria, and then to the end of the earth. 
That's what's happening in Acts chapter 10. And then subsequently 
with Paul, he will be the missionary, the apostle to the Gentiles. 
So it is most significant in terms of redemptive history. 
Now, in the first place, we have this vision given to Cornelius. Secondly, you'll see this vision 
given to Peter, but I wanted to focus on the vision given 
to Cornelius, because there's a couple of issues here that 
I think requires some attention on our part. So I want to notice 
first his identity in verses 1 and 2, and then secondly his 
vision in verses 3 to 6. But note with reference to his 
identity, he lives in Caesarea. This isn't the Caesarea Philippi 
where Jesus and his disciples were in Matthew 16, when Peter 
says, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. This is 
the Caesarea that was formerly called Stratos Tower. It's located 
on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. It's about 30 miles north 
of Joppa. Remember that in chapter nine 
at verse 43, we leave off with Peter being at the house of Simon 
the Tanner in the city called Joppa. So we see the close connection 
and we see why Peter ends up there under the providence of 
God Almighty. Now, Caesarea was mostly populated 
with Gentiles. It was a booming city. It was 
a very political center for the Roman Empire. It had an amphitheater, 
a hippodrome. It had all sorts of things in 
terms of prestige and power and whatnot. Now, this man, Cornelius, 
is identified as a centurion. And essentially what a centurion 
did is he had charge over a hundred soldiers. He was the leader of 
100 troops. And while technically what's 
called a non-commissioned officer, he functioned in an equivalent 
manner to a modern army captain. And so he had quite a bit of 
power. He had quite a bit of recognition. He had quite a bit 
of prestige. Remember Paul says, not many 
wise, not many noble, but some were. He would have been a wise 
man, he would have been a noble man. To be a centurion, you would 
have had to distinguish yourself as an able leader, as one who 
could effectively manage and lead troops. And so this centurion 
is now being called out of darkness into marvelous light. And one 
of the things that we need to appreciate is that centurions 
in the New Testament are typically portrayed in a very favorable 
light. You meet people from time to time that think armies and 
militaries and those sorts of things are somewhat contrary 
to the will and the word of the living God. Well, that's not 
the case. Now, if they do bad things, or 
they engage in criminal activity, or they obliterate or decimate 
innocent people, well, then that army is bad. But John Calvin, 
I think, makes a good observation, speaking specifically on verse 
7. If you look at verse 7, the men 
that Cornelius chooses to send on this delegation. Verse 7 says, 
when the angel who spoke to him had departed, Cornelius called 
two of his household servants and a devout soldier from among 
those who waited on him continually. John Calvin says those brain-sick 
fellows are condemned who cry that it is unlawful for Christians 
to carry weapons. For these men were warriors and 
yet godly, and when they embraced Christ, they forsake not their 
former kind of life. They cast not away their armor 
as hurtful, nor yet forsake their calling. Unfortunately, as a 
result of living in a sin-cursed world, we need men to defend 
us from time to time. And I think Calvin's comments 
are absolutely appropriate. And when we look at centurions, 
as I said, Matthew chapter 27, Matthew chapter eight, it's not 
the case that Jesus condemns them or upbraids them or says, 
go get rid of your weapons and start to bake bread and make 
a legitimate business that way. Brethren, this is a necessity 
in a post fall world that we need civil government to one 
degree or other to protect us from enemies, foreign, and domestic. Now notice, secondly, his religious 
status, still concerned with his identity. Notice his religious 
status, and here's where we're going to spend a bit of time. 
Verse 2 tells us that he was, in the first place, devout and 
feared God. He was in the first place devout 
and feared God. Now typically when a Gentile 
is referred to as one who feared God, it means that he liked Israel's 
religion. It means that he appreciated 
Yahweh of Israel. He was not a full proselyte. 
because for a Gentile to be a proselyte with reference to the Jewish 
religion, he would have had to become circumcised. So he was 
not circumcised, and that was the issue that caused some difficulty 
in Acts chapter 11. So nevertheless, though, he was 
a devout man, he was a God-fearer, he respected the religion of 
Israel, just like that Ethiopian eunuch, remember him? in Acts 
chapter eight. I know that was a long time ago, 
but in Acts chapter eight, that Ethiopian eunuch was a God-fearer 
as well. He was one who appreciated the 
religion of Israel. And in that instance, the eunuch 
even went to Jerusalem at feast time, though he would have been 
excluded from the assembly of the Lord, he nevertheless appreciated 
the religion of the Jews. And this man, Cornelius, is in 
the same posture. Notice as well that he feared 
God with all his household. We should learn from Cornelius 
that we ought to teach our children the fear of the Lord. Family 
religion is a necessity. We are to bring up our children 
in the training and admonition of the Lord. We're not to farm 
that out. We're not to expect the state 
to do that. We are rather charged by God 
to be a faithful people in terms of our children and grandchildren. 
Those who are paying attention, I now always append, and grandchildren. Prior to having grandchildren, 
I never did that, and I apologize to the grandparents among us. 
You have and I have a responsibility before our little ones to teach 
them true biblical religion. And that's precisely what this 
man does. Notice as well, he gave alms 
generously to the people. I mean, Cornelius sounds like 
he's a good guy. Cornelius almost sounds like 
he's already saved, and that's the controversial element I want 
to explore in just a moment, but he did give alms generously 
to the people. In other words, his religion, 
this devoutness and this fear of God, or this God-fearingness 
that he had, was manifested in the way that he treated others. 
He wasn't stingy, he wasn't hard-hearted, he wasn't unsympathetic to the 
downtrodden and poor, but rather he gave generously. And then 
notice that he prayed always before the Lord God. And in context, 
it's Yahweh, it's the God of Israel. He prayed to this God, 
again, as a demonstration or manifestation of the fact that 
he was devout and a God-fearer. Now, as I said, there is some 
controversy concerning this man, Cornelius. Was he saved? He sounds 
like he's saved, doesn't he? Perhaps Peter is just coming 
to tell him how that salvation has been executed on his behalf. 
If you're familiar with the Roman Catholic Church, you may not 
be as familiar with a particular document that was published in 
1964 related to Vatican II. It's a document called the Dogmatic 
Constitution on the Church, the Light of the Nations. And in 
that document, essentially, Rome puts just about everybody in 
heaven. I know that seems odd and awkward, 
and I know that seems contrary to what their previous documents 
had indicated, pronouncing anathemas, for instance, on those who profess 
justification by faith alone. But in this particular document, 
they just about put everybody into heaven. Not everybody, but 
just about everybody. And so you can see where Cornelius 
becomes sort of the poster child of a holy pagan that is somehow 
accepted by God. And Peter now comes simply to 
tell him how it is that he's accepted by God. Listen, for 
instance, to that particular document. They put separated 
brethren. from Orthodox and Protestant 
churches, those who are baptized. Jews, because, quote, the Jewish 
faith, unlike other non-Christian religions, is already a response 
to God's revelation in the Old Testament. Now you might say, 
why do we need a lesson on what Roman Catholics do? I'm just 
providing a context so that we can properly interpret verse 
two and answer the question, was Cornelius already saved? Because do not think that it 
stops with Rome in terms of this inclusive attitude but it has 
continued on with professing Protestants. In terms of Muslims, 
here's what that document says with reference to Muslims. It 
says, because they, quote, profess to hold the faith of Abraham, 
and together with us, they adore the one merciful God. Wow. Religious world at large because, 
quote, all goodness and truth found in the world's religions 
is a preparation for the gospel and given by him who enlightens 
all men that they may at length have life and everybody else, 
those who, quote, through no fault of their own, do not know 
the gospel of Christ or his church, but who nevertheless seek God 
with a sincere heart and move by grace, try in their actions 
to do his will as they know it through the dictates of their 
conscience, those too may achieve eternal salvation. If you have 
been paying attention at any, even a little bit in this church, 
we completely and positively reject each of those. The only 
way of salvation is grace alone, through faith alone, in Jesus 
Christ alone. The heathen in the bush needs 
the gospel. His light of conscience and whatever 
good deeds he may, you know, delude himself in doing, are 
wretched before a holy God. It's not the light of conscience 
that saves man. It's not professed good works 
that saves man. It's the blood and righteousness 
of Jesus. Now consider, unfortunately, 
Protestantism. Well, before we move on, Raymond 
says, with reference to the Catholic approach, in that document, this 
is worldwide missionary evangelism affected by redefinition. That's 
exactly what it is. Not by conversion, not by regeneration, 
but by redefinition. And do not think you're doing 
anyone any favors. Do not think that that's somehow 
a good conciliation to make to our Muslim brothers. No, if they 
do not come to Christ, if they do not embrace the Savior, if 
they do not get washed in that blood, they will perish in hell 
eternally to tell them everything's all right because they confess 
the faith of Abraham is simply false. It's wrong, it is ungodly, 
and it is ultimately doing great disservice to image bearers that 
we're commanded in the second great commandment to actually 
love. It's not loving to lie to somebody about their eternal 
destiny, it is loving to tell somebody the truth. That Christ 
said, I am the way, the truth, and the life, and no one comes 
to the Father except through me. If we don't maintain that 
faithfully, and regularly, and consistently in the church of 
Jesus Christ, then we ought to close up shop. That's what we're 
supposed to be about. Now consider the professing Protestant, 
John Sanders. Cornelius was already a saved 
believer before Peter arrived, but he was not a Christian believer. 
Brethren, Abel was a Christian. David was a Christian. All the 
brothers in the Old Testament were Christians. They were saved 
by grace through faith in Christ. That's what Christian means. 
Clark Pinnock, who I believe is dead now, denied the faith. And in this instance, he says, 
he describes Cornelius as, quote, the pagan saint, par excellence 
of the New Testament, and hails him as a prime example of a man 
who was saved apart from faith in Christ, to whom Peter was 
sent to inform him that he was forgiven and saved. Now I suspect 
this is a bit different from some of the older commentators 
that treat Cornelius the way you might treat Abel, the way 
you might treat Isaiah, the way you might treat Ezekiel. That 
Cornelius was saved because he was looking to the Lord Jesus 
Christ as he had been promised in the Old Testament Scriptures. 
I think that's misguided, I think it's false, and I hope to show 
you that in a moment, but that's a far cry different than saying 
persons are saved without Christ. You know as well as I do, persons 
are not saved without Christ. If persons don't have Christ, 
they go to hell. You've probably heard it before. 
What about the poor heathen in the bush? That poor heathen is 
a lawbreaker. That poor heathen is a transgressor. He doesn't go to hell because 
he didn't hear the gospel. He goes to hell because he's 
a sinner against a holy God. That's the emphasis of scripture, 
and that's what we need to maintain. And thus understanding that, 
present the remedy in and through the person and work of our Lord 
Jesus Christ. In 1996, I asked Isaac this morning, 
what are the recent developments? Because I guess my timing is 
a bit dated. But in 1996, Zondervan, a publishing 
house, a Christian publisher, published a book called, Four 
Views of Salvation in a Pluralistic Age. Four views of salvation 
among those who profess faith in Jesus Christ? Four views among 
those who apparently have some familiarity with the Bible? Does 
John 14.6 afford four views? No, it is exclusive. Jesus said, 
I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the 
Father but through me. Peter in Acts 4.12 tells us, 
there's only one name given under heaven among which we must be 
saved. And yet a Christian publisher, 
a professing Christian publisher, publishes a book which in my 
mind validates three of those incorrect positions, which seems 
to give some credence to them. That's not what's happening with 
reference to Cornelius, and I want to consider what is happening 
with reference to Cornelius. In the first place, the primary 
emphasis of chapter 10 is not to demonstrate that there is 
such a thing as a holy pagan. It is not to demonstrate that 
there is a person who, based on the light of nature and their 
own conscience, can somehow shimmy their way up into God's favor. 
The emphasis in chapter 10 is on Gentile inclusion in the covenant 
of grace. If that is the emphasis, then 
we must observe that prior to this time, Cornelius is not a 
member of the covenant of grace. Why would he need this evangelism? Why would he need this vision? 
Why would he need this sort of special revelation to confirm 
to him what was already true of him? The emphasis in chapter 
10 is on the inclusion of Gentiles in the covenant of grace. Secondly, 
if you look at chapter 11 for just a moment, As I said, verse 
1 is important. Verses 1 and 2. Chapter 11. Now 
the apostles and brethren who were in Judea heard that the 
Gentiles had also received the word of God. And when Peter came 
up to Jerusalem, those of the circumcision contended with him, 
saying, You went in to uncircumcised men and ate with them. You're 
not supposed to do that. That is a taboo. That is forbidden. Peter gets this vision from God 
to say that all of that that you had beforehand thought was 
the case, it was in the Old Covenant, positive law stipulated, no contact 
with Gentiles in terms of food and fellowship and whatnot, but 
in terms of the New Covenant, that's not the way it operates. 
And so Peter is called to account, and notice how he rehearses essentially 
what we find here in chapter 10. And then in verse 13, he 
says, and he told us how he had seen an angel, this is Cornelius, 
standing in his house, who said to him, send men to Joppa and 
call for Simon, whose surname is Peter. Verse 14 is a very 
crucial observation, who will tell you words by which you and 
all your household will be saved. So as far as Cornelius is concerned, 
when he gets this vision, when he is told what he is supposed 
to do, salvation is a future event for him. He is not presently 
saved when this comes to him. Now God in his providence is 
orchestrating it. God in his mercy is bringing 
them together. But as far as Cornelius is concerned, 
he doesn't think he's saved by Christ. He is being told to go 
to Peter so that he can be saved by Christ. Thirdly, the meeting 
with Peter was not just an increase in Cornelius's religious knowledge, 
but in salvation. As he was still speaking, what 
happens? The Holy Spirit falls upon them. Are we supposed to 
posit that somebody out there is saved and they don't have 
the Holy Spirit? The Holy Spirit fell upon them 
because they had appropriately responded by God's grace to the 
gospel that was preached to them by Peter. That's why the Spirit 
comes upon them. The emphasis is not on more knowledge 
and let's connect the dots in terms of who Messiah actually 
is, but it's on salvation for Cornelius and his household. 
As well, fourthly, the emphasis by Peter in his preaching was 
what? It wasn't simply to tell Cornelius that this is why you've 
been accepted by God, but it was to point him to that source, 
that place of healing. Notice what Peter says in verse 
43, as the crescendo, chapter 10, to his sermon. He says in 
verse 43, to him, all the prophets witnessed that through his name, 
whoever believes in him will receive remission of sins. It's 
not just connecting dots for Cornelius, but he's preaching 
Christ to Cornelius so that Cornelius himself will receive the remission 
of sins and know the joy of being found in Jesus Christ, not having 
his own righteousness, which is from the law, but that righteousness 
which is given freely by God and received through faith in 
Christ. And then a fifth line of evidence to show evidence 
or indicate that Cornelius wasn't saved until God saved him through 
the preaching of Peter is the report of the church in chapter 
11 at verse 18. Notice in chapter 11 at verse 
18, when they heard these things, they became silent and they glorified 
God saying, then God has also granted to the Gentiles repentance 
to life. See, what ought we to conclude 
or infer? That prior to this, he didn't 
have repentance to life. He was dead in his trespasses 
and sins. Albeit, he did some good things. Albeit, he picked the right religion 
at the particular time. Albeit, he showed a devoutness 
to that religion. Albeit, he was a God-fearer with 
reference to Yahweh. Albeit, that he taught his children 
in these things and that he also gave alms to those in need and 
that he prayed to God, he wasn't saved. And we need to appreciate 
that reality. Just because people do the right 
things doesn't necessarily mean they're saved, does it? I mean, 
who of us would ever think that that's the case in light of, 
say, our confession of faith or in light of an open Bible? 
There's a whole host of people that delude themselves. There's 
a whole host of people that think everything's okay. There's a 
whole host of people that say, well, you know, I give to the 
poor. I do good deeds. I'm engaged 
in all manner of kindness. Of course God will accept me. 
They've never come to the realization of the law of God. They've never 
come to the realization of the holiness of God. And they've 
certainly never come to the realization of their own unholiness before 
that God. The moment somebody starts to 
tout their good works as a reason why God will accept them, they 
are expressing an absolute ignorance about Scripture. I don't say 
that to pick on them, I don't say that to be mean, but who 
comes to the Scripture, say, Isaiah 64, when the nation of 
Israel says, to Almighty God, all our righteousnesses are like 
filthy rags before your sight. He doesn't say all our sins. He doesn't say all our depravity. He doesn't say all our wickedness. He doesn't say all our transgression 
and iniquity. He says our righteousness, Sabbath 
observance, temple worship, sacrifice, fasting, prayer, all those things 
before a holy God, not cleansed in that precious blood of the 
Lord Jesus, are like filthy rags before God Almighty. Before we 
move on with reference to Cornelius, if you're here this morning thinking, 
well, I do the right things. I go to the right places. I'm 
not at the lake today. Why anybody would want to be 
at the lake today is beyond me, unless you're sitting in your 
car and watching more rain. But you're in the right place. 
You may offer up prayers to the right God. You may give of all 
that you possess to those in need. You may teach your children 
in the right way. But apart from God's grace, apart 
from faith in the Savior, apart from the precious blood, you 
will die in your sins. Do not delude yourself. If you 
have in the past that doing the right things means that you're 
a Christian, Christians are those conquered by grace. Christians 
are those who have seen God in His holiness, at least to some 
degree. Christians are those who have 
conversely seen themselves before God and realized, there is no 
good thing in me. There is nothing that would commend 
me to God. I deserve His wrath. I deserve 
His curse. I deserve His judgment. They 
say things like, fowl I to the fountain fly, wash me, Savior, 
or I die. They say things like, nothing 
in my hand I bring, simply to thy cross I cling. They're not 
like those wretches in Matthew 7, 21 to 23. But Lord, Lord, 
didn't we prophesy? Didn't we exercise? Didn't we 
do these mighty works in your name? What does Christ say? Depart 
from me, you workers of lawlessness. Depart from me, I never knew 
you. Do not delude yourself that because 
you read the Bible, because you pray, because you go to a church, 
because you listen to preaching, because you log on to sermon 
audio, because you read Christian literature, that somehow you're 
saved. It's not through connection, 
it's through grace. It's through blood, it's through 
Christ, it's His blood, His righteousness, His oath, His love, His covenant. 
Support me in the whelming flood, when all around me gives way, 
He my hope is my stay. Brethren, that is our hope and 
that's not what Cornelius had until he heard of Jesus Christ 
and Him crucified. In terms of the larger context 
in the Bible, to help us make heads or tails out of what is 
happening here. The Bible teaches us clearly, 
Romans 118 to 320, the universal condemnation of all men everywhere 
because of sin. See, you look at the news today, 
what's the fundamental underlying principle? It's sin. You probably 
saw, Mr. Lawson referred to it, at least 
obliquely in our prayer meeting, that ghoul, that dead abortionist, 
and they went and searched his house and found over 2,200 babies 
in his house. How do you explain that? Do you 
explain that as a lack of knowledge? Do you explain that because he's 
in the wrong socioeconomic strata? It's sin and rebellion against 
God. You look around at white collar crime. You see, you know, 
things that seem so contrary to that, but are still wicked 
before a holy God. What's the explanation? It's sin. That's 
the problem. The heavens declare the glory 
of God and the streets testify to the sinfulness and corruption 
of man. And that's Paul's point in Romans 
one to three. He tells us there is none righteous. No, not one. There is none who 
seeks after God. There is no fear of God in the 
eyes of men or in the hearts of men. That's the reality of 
Romans 1 to 3. It's not just a Gentile problem, 
it's a Jew problem as well. But as well, Paul goes on to 
highlight that the one way of salvation, the only means by 
which sinners ever find acceptance with the Holy God, is through 
Christ. Isn't that the reiterated emphasis throughout scripture? 
Think of John 14, 6. Think of Acts 4, 12. Think of 
Paul's admonition to Timothy in 2 Timothy 3, 15. You have 
known the sacred scriptures, and in that context, the Old 
Testament, what we call Genesis to Malachi. You have known those 
scriptures. And Timothy, those scriptures, 
Genesis to Malachi, are able to make you wise for salvation 
through what? through your good works, through 
the light of conscience, through the knowledge that you have, 
you've amplified. No, through faith in Jesus Christ. Abel went to heaven through the 
blood of Jesus. Isaiah went to heaven through 
the blood of Jesus. Jeremiah went to heaven through 
the blood of Jesus. Paul the Apostle, John the Apostle, 
Peter the Apostle, all the men of scripture and everyone subsequent 
to that have gone by the blood of Jesus. That is the consistent 
refrain. And for Rome to want to include 
Muslims, for Rome to want to include Jews, for Rome to want 
to include just about everybody else, and for woolly-headed Protestants 
to jump on that sort of train and be pluralistic in a pluralistic 
age, to be inclusivistic in an inclusivistic age, instead of 
saying, look, we want Muslims to actually go to heaven, so 
we're going to define for them the parameters. We're going to 
define for them the gospel. Instead of lying to them and 
deceiving them and somehow, you know, giving them that right 
hand of fellowship when they are not worshiping and serving 
the true and living God. This is bad, bad practice. I suspect it's worse out there 
today. within Protestantism. Again, 
I shut down after a while. I don't keep up with all the 
new trends. I don't keep up with, I try to keep up with, you know, 
the big things that are on the radar that I think affects our 
church, but there's those renegades out there that I didn't be preaching 
anything near the gospel. So to actually ask them who is 
going to heaven, I'd be afraid. I'd be afraid to ask pastors 
today, who's going to go to heaven? Because they'd sound like the 
papist document that I've quoted from 1964, from Vatican II, for 
whatever reason, reverses their emphasis on basically condemning 
everybody outside. And don't think all papists are 
happy with this. I think when Andy wrote against 
the Pope at that particular time, he said, this is crazy. I don't 
think he said it just like that, but there's within the context 
of the professing Roman Catholic Church that are not happy with 
these directions. But with reference to Protestantism 
today, the emphasis on not just health, wealth, and prosperity, 
but on field goodery among so many so-called pastors, Brethren, 
if you feel good, I'm happy for you. If you feel bad, I hope 
you feel better. But the consistent refrain of 
Scripture is not that pastors try to make people feel happy, 
but rather to tell them the gospel of Jesus Christ. Don't you love 
what Cornelius says in verse 33? Look at chapter 10 at verse 
33. So I went to you immediately and you have done well to come. 
Now, therefore, we're all present before you to hear all the things 
commanded you by God. So Peter, are you married? Do 
you have kids? What's your occupation? How old 
were you when you became a Christ follower? Boy, that sounds like 
what they call it today. Became a disciple of Jesus. He 
doesn't care. Now, maybe later after they get 
saved and they have a meal together, you're married, you have kids. Tell us all that God commanded 
you. See, that's your responsibility 
in the pew. That's our responsibility as 
the sheep of Christ, to find men who tell us all that God 
commanded, not how to make us happy, not how to be peppy, not 
to equip us to go out and conquer our giants, but to know the fear 
of God most high, to know the glory of the gospel of free and 
sovereign grace. And notice that Peter doesn't 
say, well, wouldn't you first like to hear about me? Wouldn't 
you first like to hear about my wife? Wouldn't you first like 
to hear about the fact that I caught so many... He preaches Christ 
to him, because that's what's important. That's why the Spirit 
brings this meeting together. It's not to exchange pleasantries. 
It's not to make a new friend. It's to call sinners to repentance 
and faith. This is what we find from Genesis 
to Revelation. And to neglect that is to neglect 
the primary calling that the church herself has been given. 
Now, as well, we have the maintenance of the justice of God in the 
salvation of sinners. I preached a sermon a few weeks 
ago from Proverbs 17, 15, and dealt a lot with Romans 3. Romans 
3 is that bit where Paul says that God set forth His Son as 
a propitiation to demonstrate what? God's righteousness. And 
then Paul concludes that subsection by saying that God is just and 
the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. And it occurred 
to me, more so when I preached that in Surrey than in our own 
church, when Paul begins to unfold the doctrine of justification 
by faith, where does he start? He starts with the integrity 
of God. Oh yeah, we accrue benefits, we receive blessing, we're forgiven 
of our sins, we receive a righteousness that enables us to stand before 
a holy God. But Paul will get to that later. 
His first and primary point in Romans 3, after having concluded 
that all men everywhere are under sin, Verse 21, he says, but now 
the righteousness of God is revealed. It's witnessed in the law and 
the prophets. And then he goes on to maintain God's righteousness 
in the gospel. Now, why do I bring that up? 
Because for the apostle Paul, God's righteousness must be maintained. If we assume that pluralism, 
that means that all religious roads lead to heaven, is true. If we assume that inclusivism 
is true, that means that you can be included in the plan of 
salvation, apart from conscious faith in the Lord Jesus, we have 
compromised the gospel. That is a transgression against 
God. God in the gospel has to remain 
God. God in the gospel has to maintain 
his perfections. God in the gospel has to actually 
be both just and the justifier of the one who has faith. It 
would compromise the integrity of who God is. It would jeopardize 
the very perfection of God's righteousness for Him to allow 
a sinner into His presence that didn't come through blood. It 
would un-God God. And for Paul, that's where he 
begins in Romans 3, 21 to 26. Brethren, we need to be theocentric. We need to be theologically centered. We need to understand that God 
is more important than men. I know that our age doesn't want 
to hear that. I know that sounds very intolerant. 
I know that sounds prejudicial. I'm sure it's racist. I'm sure 
it's misogynistic. I'm sure it's whatever else they 
want to bandy about. But if we do not maintain the 
Godhood of God in the preaching of the gospel, we've compromised 
it. We have rejected it, and this 
is the emphasis in the passage. Peter comes not to give him more 
information, but to call him to repentance and faith in Jesus. Now, let's look secondly and 
finally, and probably briefer, at his vision. The occasion of 
the vision? He prayed. We already know he 
prayed. Verse 3 tells us about the ninth hour. That was 3 p.m. 
He went to pray. That was a time when the Jews 
went to pray according to Acts chapter 3 and verse 1. And then 
notice in verse 3, he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God coming 
in and saying to him, Cornelius. Now this angel took on the form 
of a man. Because when Cornelius rehearses this to Peter, he says, 
a man came and told me. But it was an angel of God Almighty 
that instructed him, that called him by name. He knew him specifically 
as Cornelius, and he then gives him these instructions. In the 
first place, we notice Cornelius' response in verse 4. What is 
it, Lord? And when he observed him, he 
was afraid and said, what is it, Lord? We shouldn't just gloss 
over that as well. What happens when creatures on 
earth are contacted by creatures from heaven? In this instance, 
he feared. He didn't say, hey, there's an 
angel. At least a few years ago, again, my trends and all that, 
it may still be that way, but I don't know, a few years ago, 
everybody was consumed with angels. Angels this, angels that. Everybody 
loved angels. I'm not saying we should hate 
angels. Angels are ministering spirits to serve and help the 
people of God. They have a great dignified position. 
But it's not like they're buddies. You know, when I was a young 
papist, they said, you know, your guardian angel is always 
with you. And some of us would move over on our chairs so our 
little guardian angel could sit next to us on that chair. That's not what happens when 
a sinner on earth is contacted by God from heaven, even through 
the agency of an angelic being. He was afraid. This caused fear. And notice that it was daylight. 
It was broad daylight. It was 3 p.m. There was no mistaking 
that he had a vision. It wasn't like, well, I think 
I saw something. It wasn't 3 a.m. It wasn't after 
he just woke up. And I don't know what I... It 
was all crystal clear for him. And when the angel comes, Cornelius 
responds appropriately with fear. And then, what is it? What is 
it, Lord? And then the angel instructs 
him specifically. He says, the Lord God Almighty 
has heard your prayers and seen your alms. Now that ought not 
to give us cause for concern. God is sovereign even over pagans 
at their religious expression. God is sovereign over all things. 
God knows prayers. God knows alms. God sees everything, 
not just as people do, but the eyes of Yahweh are in every place, 
beholding the good and the evil. He sees this, he saw Cornelius 
and the angel comes to instruct. Notice he says to go see Peter 
and then he highlights his location. Notice there in verse 5, now 
send men to Joppa and send for Simon whose surname is Peter. 
Why do you think he says whose surname is Peter? Because Simon 
Peter is staying at the house of Simon the Tanner. He's not 
supposed to go see Simon the Tanner. He's supposed to go see 
Simon Peter. The angel got every detail absolutely right. When 
you get to the house of Simon the Tanner, there's another Simon 
there, but it's Simon Peter. He's the one that will tell you 
what you must do. And this is precisely what we 
see in the passage. And if you reflect on this and 
the conversion of Saul of Tarsus, there's a lot of similarities 
between the two events. In this instance, or rather in 
Acts 9, Saul of Tarsus had a vision that Ananias would assist him. 
Cornelius has a vision that Peter would assist him. Ananias had 
a vision that he would aid Saul, and Peter has a revelation that 
he would assist Cornelius. God works in a similar manner 
in both Acts 9 and 10. But another intriguing observation, 
Matthew Poole tipped me off to this one, is that the angel sends 
him to Peter. Couldn't the angel declare the 
gospel of Jesus Christ? Couldn't the angel speak about 
blood? Couldn't the angel remind this 
man about his sin and waywardness? God uses the means of men preaching. For since 1 Corinthians 121, 
in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, 
it pleased God through what? Through the foolishness of the 
message preached to save those who believe. Now that does not 
preclude a sinner from taking up his Bible and reading it and 
being saved. I would never maintain that. 
But it does highlight something the church, at least up until 
this point, has always recognized. God Most High honors the preaching 
of His Word. The fact that the last corporate 
command given by Paul to the churches is that indicates the 
importance of this with reference to God's plan of redemption. 
Go see Peter and he will tell you what you must do. Now, to 
give credit to Matthew Poole, I should quote what he says. 
He says, the angel could have declared the gospel and instructed 
Cornelius, but he sends him to Peter, God being willing to honor 
the means of his own institution. He has put into place this means. He has put into place this agency. And in his providence, he orchestrates 
it to the very jot and tittle to bring these men together so 
that Peter could open up his mouth and tell him all the things 
that God had commanded, bringing him to that place in verse 43, 
to him all the prophets give witness that everyone who believes 
in his name will receive remission of sins. It really is a beautiful 
thing. And the same thing in the conversion of Solitare says. 
Christ met him on the road to Damascus. Certainly Christ could 
have explained the contours and the details concerning the gospel. 
He sends him to Ananias so that he can get further instruction 
and further help. And so in both instances, Christ 
does honor the means that he has instituted, preachers and 
churches. Can people be saved without preachers 
and churches? Yes, people can be saved without 
preachers and churches. But has God purposed in a great 
way to save people through the agency of preachers and churches? 
Yes. We ought not to be an anti-church 
sort of a movement. Oh, the church is this and the 
church. There's bad churches. This is a church that is absolutely 
positively mingled with a great deal of imperfection. But there 
are three things that churches need to be about. preaching the 
word, exercising discipline, and administering the sacraments. Those are the marks of the church, 
not great nursery care. Butler hates great nursery care. 
No, he doesn't. I've told you the first church 
that we rented in Palmdale was a church that was infested, or 
the place where we took our kids was infested with spiders. Because 
I was a graveyard employee, I'd get off in the morning and go 
over there on, I called it spider patrol, to try to get at least 
the big ones. And then we'd take our precious 
little ones and let them roll around on the floor with spiders. 
It wasn't quite that bad. It seemed that way in my head 
as I recall that building. It should have been condemned, 
and yet we did it. You know, then subsequent to 
that in my Christian life, I saw churches advertising that people 
should come because of good, clean nursery care. Again, I'm 
not anti good, clean nursery care. We do our best to make 
sure Junior is well looked after. But that's not the mark of the 
church. We have a great band. It's not 
the mark of the church. We have a vibrant pastor. That's 
not the mark of the church. We have friendly people. That 
should be something we engage, but it's not a mark of the church. The marks of the church are simple, 
preaching, sacraments, discipline. How did we lose sight of this? 
How did we get to Stephen Furtick? How did we get to Benny Hinn? 
How did we get to Joel Osteen? One more candid admission. I 
used to be involved in the Chilliwack Ministerial and I would go there. 
It was on every other Tuesday or once a month on Tuesday. And 
at some point I decided, you know what, if I sat in my office 
and looked at my books, I'd probably get more blessing than going 
there. And one time there was this sort 
of panel of older men that was gonna sort of set us straight 
on how we got to this place. And I'm sorry, but in my head, 
those older men got us to this place. It was for whatever reason 
they compromised. It was for whatever reason they 
messed up. It was for whatever reason they 
departed. The church looks like a dog and 
pony show now. That it's a place where there's 
vibrancy and there's electricity and there's puppets and ponies 
and programs, at least in an earlier generation. I don't know 
what they're doing now. Brethren, it should cause us 
to be a prayerful people. What's Jesus say in Matthew chapter 
nine? The harvest is plentiful, but 
the laborers are few. I keenly feel the fewness of 
the laborers. If you're not praying for that, 
please start. Please start to preserve our 
church. One man can't do it all. Please 
pray that God Almighty will raise up men. Young men, men that know 
things, men that listen to preaching, men that love Scripture. Notice 
I'm saying men. Girls, I'm not going to ever 
say you ought to pursue Christian ministry because Paul forbids 
it and prohibits it. But our men ought to be thinking 
through this. Our men ought to be considering 
this. Our men ought to feel that burden. of the harvest being 
plentiful and laborers being few. I mean, once in a while, 
I probably haven't done it as much as I ought. I watch the 
YouTube videos that my brothers tell me about, because it just 
evokes from me a concern that I think is necessary with reference 
to the way forward. I mean, when you see that oi, 
oi, oi guy, or you see some of the other stuff that comes across 
YouTube, Anybody can be on YouTube. They don't have it unless, you 
know, you're conservative or whatever, you know what I mean? 
But in terms of theologically, there's no statement of faith 
you have to sign. Any fool can rattle off whatever 
it is he wants via YouTube. And it's interesting because 
they have all these views. Who's watching this stuff? Who 
is paying attention to these guys? Who is putting time into 
folly? This is an emphasis in the book 
of Acts, preaching the means that God has ordained and the 
glory of God in the salvation of sinners. I have just a couple 
of things and then we're done. First, this, Acts 10, as I said, 
is pivotal. It's huge, it's monumental in 
redemptive history. Peter himself had already been 
told, go therefore and make disciples of all the nations. That includes 
Gentiles. And yet there's a hesitancy on 
the part of Peter such that he needs a vision from God Almighty 
so that he'll go to Cornelius' house. This was radical in their 
lives. This was new in their lives. 
This was revolutionary in their lives. Make no mistake about 
it, when Peter has this vision concerning these animals and 
this command from the Lord to kill and eat, Peter interprets 
it in verse 28 in Acts 10 with Cornelius. You know it's unlawful 
for a Jew to have table fellowship with a Gentile, but God has told 
me that I'm not to call any man unclean. It took that vision 
to get Peter the Apostle to the Jews from Jerusalem into Caesarea 
to call this Gentile unto saving faith. It's a massive section 
of Holy Scripture, and why I don't feel constrained to just run 
through it. But it connects us to the plan 
of salvation in the Bible, that plan that is first given to us 
in Genesis 3.15 concerning the skull-crushing seed of the woman. That plan is then further explained 
with reference to Noah and Abraham in terms of both Jew and Gentile. It's expounded in the prophets. You get to Isaiah, for instance, 
and you see in 42 the servant song, 49 the servant song, 56 
the promise of the new covenant. What do you see in those? You 
see the inclusion of Gentiles in the covenant promises of God. 
Psalms all throughout, Psalm 22, all the nations shall serve 
him. Psalm 117, if you know that Psalm 
119 is the longest Psalm in the Bible, you'll know that Psalm 
117 is the shortest. And it simply says, praise Yahweh, 
all you Gentiles. Laud Him, all you peoples, for 
His merciful kindness is great toward us, and the truth of the 
Lord endures forever. Praise the Lord. See, the consistent 
testimony of Scripture throughout is that God is saving from every 
tribe, every tongue, every people, every nation. And that's the 
emphasis of God in his word, not on a million other things 
that we get caught up with, but on preaching the glorious gospel 
of Jesus Christ so that the skull crushing seed of the woman will 
have the victory and have the triumph and build the church 
that he promised to build in Matthew 16. I cannot for the 
life of me understand a Christian who is anti-church. a Christian 
who is hostile toward the church. Again, you may have had bad experiences, 
you may be having bad experiences, seek by the grace of God to deal 
with that, but Jesus Christ loves the church and he gave himself 
for her, certainly as his disciples, we will love her, we will pray 
for her, and we will seek to advance her cause. A second observation 
is God's providence. You know how I think God's providence 
is on display in Acts 10? I think it's on display in the 
way that Luke wrote Acts 10. It's a perfectly balanced narrative. God operates in a perfectly balanced 
sort of way, if I could be so bold. There are two visions from 
God, one to Cornelius, one to Peter. There is a journey and 
a welcome. There are speeches given by Cornelius and then by 
Peter. And then there is a confirmation 
of the event, again, twofold. First, the Spirit confirms by 
falling upon the Gentile Cornelius and his household, and then the 
church confirms it in Acts chapter 11 at verse 18. They understand 
that God has granted grace to the Gentiles that they may have 
repentance to life. The providence of God is clearly 
on display in this glorious passage of Holy Scripture. And if you 
yourself have not tasted of the power of the Christian gospel, 
let me just direct you again to Peter's words in Acts 10, 
43. He says to him, that's to Jesus. That's who he's been discoursing 
on. That's who he's been preaching. 
To him, all the prophets witness. Guess what I'm gonna say here. 
Read your Old Testaments, read the Bible as a whole, read Isaiah, 
read Zephaniah, read Zechariah, read Malachi. Why? Because according 
to Peter, to him, all the prophets witnessed that through his name, 
whoever believes in him will receive remission of sins. Isn't 
that a glorious statement? Whoever believes in Him will 
receive remission of sins. Notice what Peter doesn't say. 
Well, you need to think about this and you need to miserate 
about it. If you believe in Him, you will what? You will receive 
remission of sins, forgiveness, the blotting out of your transgression 
and iniquity. Is there anything better than 
that, brothers and sisters? And here we would say, if we 
were Arminians in another time and all God's people said, amen. 
That's the response. That forgiveness of sins is most 
blessed, most glorious, most wondrous. Whatever affects us 
in the here and now, whatever problems, whatever infirmities, 
whatever hardships, whatever difficulties, whatever persecutions, 
we can be of good cheer because our sins are forgiven. Well, 
let us pray. Father in heaven, we thank you 
for your word. We thank you for this very significant passage 
in Acts 10 and the way it does consolidate for us many lines 
of biblical truth and shows us the inclusion of Gentiles in 
a formal way in the covenant promises of God Almighty. We 
thank you for your graciousness to us. We thank you for your 
mercy to us. We thank you for this blessed 
Jesus that all the prophets witnessed to, that everyone who believes 
in him will have forgiveness of sins. I pray this would go 
forth throughout the earth today, and that many, many people would 
come to know Christ as Lord and Savior. And we ask this in Jesus' 
name. Amen. Well, please turn with 
me in your hymn