← Back to sermon library

Well, please turn with me in 
your Bibles to Acts chapter 10, as we continue to go through 
the acts of the apostles, looking at the conversion of Cornelius 
and his household. Acts chapter 10, I wanna begin 
reading in verse 34. We'll read to chapter 11, verse 
18. So beginning in 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. 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. But Peter explained 
it to them in order from the beginning, saying, I was in the 
city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision, an object, 
descending like a great sheet, let down from heaven by four 
corners. And it came to me, when I observed it intently and considered, 
I saw four-footed animals of the earth, wild beasts, creeping 
things, and birds of the air. And I heard a voice saying to 
me, rise, Peter, kill and eat. But I said, not so Lord, for 
nothing common or unclean has at any time entered my mouth. 
But the voice answered me again from heaven, what God has cleansed 
you must not call common. Now this was done three times 
and all were drawn up again into heaven. At that very moment, 
three men stood before the house where I was, having been sent 
to me from Caesarea. Then the Spirit told me to go 
with them, doubting nothing. Moreover, these six brethren 
accompanied me, and we entered the man's house. And he told 
us how he had seen an angel standing in his house, who said to him, 
Send men to Joppa, and call for Simon, whose surname is Peter, 
who will tell you words by which you and all your household will 
be saved. And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them, 
as upon us at the beginning. Then I remembered the word of 
the Lord, how He said, John indeed baptized with water, but you 
shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit. 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? When they 
heard these things, they became silent, and they glorified God, 
saying, that God has also granted to the Gentiles repentance to 
life. Amen. Well, let us pray. Our 
Father, we thank You for the written Word of the living God. 
We thank You that You've not left us alone in the world. You've 
not only given us the Word, but You've given us Your Holy Spirit, 
one just like our Lord Jesus Christ, another comforter. How 
we pray now for the ministry of the Holy Spirit as we work 
our way through this section of Scripture. How we pray that 
for your people you would encourage our hearts, that you would strengthen 
us with might in the inner man, so that Christ may dwell richly 
in our hearts through faith. And God, for any and all who 
have come here this morning that are strangers, to your grace 
and to your mercy. We pray that today would be the 
day of salvation, that you'd open eyes and hearts to receive 
the truth, that the Spirit would give the graces of faith and 
repentance, and that today would be the day of salvation. And 
Father, we ask that you'd look with favor upon Roger and Bonnie. We ask that you would bless this 
couple, that you would sustain them in the midst of sorrow and 
agony and distress. And God, we pray that they would 
know that peace that comes from on high. and that their families 
would be well calculated, well able to promote help and encouragement 
at this time. And God, how we thank you that 
in the midst of trial, in the midst of calamity, in the midst 
of all hardship, suffering, and affliction in this world, you 
remain stable. You remain settled upon the throne. 
Your government is in the heavens. You do whatever you please. And 
though God at times these things do confuse us and confound us, 
they nevertheless draw us nigh. For we know that you are good 
and you do good. And we just praise you, we bless 
you, and we thank you for this time that we can gather together 
for worship. May the Spirit be at work in 
our hearts, and may you again forgive us for all of our sins 
and all of our transgression. And we pray in Jesus' name, amen. Well, we've been working our 
way through the book of Acts, and specifically in chapter 10, 
we see Gentile inclusion in the covenant promises of God Almighty. 
The Lord had purpose to save a great multitude that no man 
could number, from every tribe, tongue, people, and nation. All 
the way back in Genesis 3.15, He gave a promise concerning 
His Son, that would be the skull-crushing seed of the woman who would deal 
the death blow to the devil. We see that promise unfold throughout 
scripture and come to its full realization in the coming of 
the Lord Jesus Christ. And at this particular juncture 
in Acts 10, we see the formal inclusion of Gentiles in the 
purposes of God Almighty. It's a really encouraging passage. Last week we saw Peter's sermon 
in verses 34 to 43. So this morning we're gonna take 
up in the first place the conversion of Cornelius and his household 
in verses 44 to 48. And then secondly, the controversy 
over Cornelius and his household in chapter 11, verses 1 to 18. 
It's a bigger section than we normally take, but much of what 
we see in chapter 11 is a repetition of what we'd seen in chapter 
10 in terms of the two visions, the two men meeting together, 
and then Peter declaring to the household of Cornelius the glorious 
gospel of Jesus Christ and God's saving sinners according to his 
power and mercy. Let's look first at the conversion 
of Cornelius and his household in verses 40 to 48. In the first 
place, note the power of the Holy Spirit. Verse 44 says, while 
Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon 
all those who heard the word. That is what we pray for and 
that is what we hope for. Remember when these two men meet, 
Cornelius says specifically to Peter in verse 33, He says, so 
I went down 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. In other words, Peter, we want 
to hear the word of the Lord. So Peter does that very thing 
in verses 43 or rather 34 to 43. He emphasizes the person 
and the work of the Lord Christ. The reality is, is that man is 
desperately wicked. The reality is, is that all of 
us have sinned. The reality is, is that all of 
us have gone astray like sheep. And if we do not repent and believe, 
we will end up in hell. God, in His provision, God, in 
His grace, sent the Son of His love into this world. Christ 
obeyed the law of the Father perfectly. Christ went to the 
cross on behalf of his people in a substitutionary way. Christ 
was raised the third day, and Paul summarizes this gospel in 
Romans 4.25. He says that Jesus was delivered 
up because of our offenses, and he was raised for our justification. And so Peter preaches that reality 
to the household of Cornelius, and now the Holy Spirit comes. 
You see, we not only need the accurate, the true preaching 
of God's gospel, but we need the presence and the power of 
the Holy Spirit. The logic is obvious. If sinners are dead 
in their trespasses and sins, it is not men that can make them 
alive. It's not parents, it's not sons 
or daughters, it's not friends or acquaintances, it's certainly 
not ministers of the gospel. We simply preach the word in 
dependence upon the spirit, trusting that he comes when and how he 
will, and in this instance he does. Peter is preaching, and 
the Holy Spirit falls upon all those who heard the Word. The 
Spirit works in the hearts of the hearers of God's Word, enabling 
them to believe that truth unto the saving of their soul. And 
as well, the Holy Spirit, in verse 44, indicates something 
in terms of divine initiative. Peter wasn't a renegade apostle 
leaving, as it were, Jerusalem, just going on his own to try 
to find Gentiles that might want to interest themselves in the 
gospel of Christ the Lord. No, this was of God. God gave 
this vision to Peter. God gave a vision to Cornelius. God had Cornelius send these 
men to fetch Peter. He brings them together. And 
now Peter preaches to this household and God saves them. The initiative 
is divine. It is not a renegade apostle 
leaving the Jews for the Gentiles. But this is the promise and the 
plan of God Almighty. Now, as the Spirit falls, notice 
in verses 45 and 46, the astonishment of the believing Jews. There 
were six men, according to chapter 11, verse 12, that accompanied 
Peter. When Peter was in Joppa, he went 
with the messengers of Cornelius to Caesarea to meet Cornelius. It was about a 30 mile journey. 
So Simon Peter took six men along with him. They would serve and 
function as witnesses. They would confirm the goings 
on. They would be able to say, that is precisely what happened 
as Peter rehearsed it. Remember, this is a controversial 
section, and we're gonna see that in chapter 11. Gentile inclusion 
in the covenant promises of God, while it was always promised 
by God, wasn't always embraced by the Jews. And that is what's 
happening in this passage. So these six men with Peter described 
here as those of the circumcision who believed. In other words, 
they were believing Jews. They were astonished because 
the Holy Spirit now came upon Gentiles. I've told you before, 
Jews in this context would wake up in the morning and thank God 
that they were not made women. They would thank God that they 
were not made Gentiles, and they would thank God that they were 
not made slaves. There was an animosity that had 
obtained from the Jews toward the Gentiles, and now that the 
Spirit comes upon Cornelius and his household, it isn't surprising 
that these guys are surprised. They are astonished. They are 
amazed. They are seeing things that they 
had not previously seen in this kind of a manner. And then what 
happens is absolutely consistent with the sorts of things we've 
come to expect in the book of Acts. Notice in verse 45, 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. And then notice in verse 46, 
for they heard them speak with tongues and magnify God. So the Gentiles now speak in 
tongues. This was a visible demonstration 
that the Holy Spirit had in fact fallen upon them, that they are 
now speaking in other tongues, not gibberish, but the content 
of the tongues is described in verse 46. They heard them speak 
with tongues and magnify God. Those tongues that they were 
utilizing were to the magnification of God. wasn't gibberish, it 
wasn't mindless babble. It wasn't just the repetition 
of a certain few phrases to sort of affect the worshiper. It's 
similar to what we see in Acts chapter two. You can go back 
there for just a moment. In Acts chapter two, we see the 
purpose of the tongues that are given to these worshipers. And 
in chapter two, verse 11, it says, we hear them speaking in 
our own tongues, the wonderful works of God. So if you've ever 
been exposed to tongue speaking, oftentimes it is unintelligible. Oftentimes it is just babble. 
Oftentimes it is just the rehearsal of or the repetition of a few 
phrases that really is mindless in its essence. That's not tongues 
according to scripture. There were other languages, and 
here in Pentecost in chapter 2, and here in what I'm going 
to argue in just a moment is a Gentile Pentecost in chapter 
10, the tongue speaking was a manner or means by which they praised 
Almighty God. It wasn't a secret prayer language. It wasn't anything like what 
we are told it was by the Charismatics and Pentecostals. And if we look 
at this particular passage, we need to understand and appreciate 
something I have said very many times as we've worked our way 
through the book of Acts. Not all of Acts is prescriptive, 
but rather it is descriptive. It describes for us what took 
place. This is not prescribing for us 
what must now take place. In other words, those who receive 
the Spirit now are not going to speak in tongues. The tongues 
that came on that day in Acts chapter 2 in the city of Jerusalem, 
the tongues that come here with the Spirit of God Almighty in 
Acts chapter 10 are similar to what we see in Acts chapter 8. 
In Samaria, when the gospel goes there and the Holy Spirit comes, 
this is a demonstration that Christ is at the right hand of 
the Father, that He has absolute lordship and power, and that 
He is giving the Spirit to the Church of the Lord Christ. This 
is not a prescription for how persons who receive the Holy 
Spirit must now respond. We have to speak in tongues. 
That's not the emphasis of the text. When you look at Acts 2, 
Jerusalem, you look at Acts 8, Samaria, and you look at Acts 
10, you see the pattern of the book of Acts. Jesus in Acts 1, 
8 says, you will be my witnesses first in Jerusalem, and then 
to Judea, Samaria, and then to the uttermost parts of the earth. 
It's not an accident, and it shouldn't surprise us that the 
Spirit comes in each one of these instances. I believe that this 
is the Gentile Pentecost, just like chapter 8 was the Samaritan 
Pentecost, that is very similar to what we see in Acts chapter 
2 with reference to Pentecost. It is a signification that in 
the Messianic age, Christ at the right hand of the Father 
is the giver of the Holy Spirit, at unique junctures in the unfolding 
of His redemptive plan to highlight His glory, His majesty, and His 
power. Again, this is not This is not 
descriptive or prescriptive of how Christians ought to live 
in the here and now. To be quite candid, we are what's 
called cessationists. When God finished the canon, 
he finished giving revelation. Tongues and prophesying were 
means of revelation, necessary for the early church when there 
was no New Testament. But now that we have the New 
Testament, we don't need dreams, we don't need visions, we don't 
need prophesying in the sense of God revealing himself, and 
we don't need tongues. We have the written word of the 
living God. Some say, well, that denigrates 
the power and the supremacy and the agency of the Spirit. It 
absolutely positively doesn't. It acknowledges His handiwork 
in the finished Scripture. It acknowledges His wisdom in 
giving us the Word of God. And when we see sinners get saved 
by grace, we see the power of the Holy Spirit displayed in 
a wonderful and a majestic way. Tongue speaking is not for the 
church today. What is for the church today 
is sound doctrine. It is biblical preaching. It 
is the exposition of the word of God. It's not persons peeling 
off and babbling or going through some phrases to try to impress 
others that, yes, the spirit has come upon me. No, the way 
of the church today is to preach the word. Be ready in season 
and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort with 
all long-suffering and teaching. That's Paul's point in 2 Timothy 
4. Search 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, 
and Titus, and see what Paul's emphasis is in those letters. 
It's not on prophesying. It's not on tongue speaking. 
It's not on the charismatic gifts. It is rather on sound doctrine. Now, I know that's not as attractive 
and sort of romantic and sort of sensational as we might like, 
but that's what God uses for the saving of sinners and for 
the building up of His people. You don't need ecstatic experience. 
You need faithful commitment to the truth of God's Word. That's 
the emphasis in the passage with reference to the preaching. The 
Spirit comes to confirm that this is of God, the inclusion 
of Gentiles in the covenant promises of God. So what we have here 
is not an emphasis on the individual, but rather corporate experience 
of the church of Jesus Christ. The fact that in chapter two 
and here in chapter 10, the spirit produces the tongues that result 
in the magnification of God. And then look at Peter's report 
in chapter 11 at verse 15. He says, and as I began to speak, 
the Holy Spirit fell upon them. As upon us, notice at the beginning, 
Peter links this experience to Acts chapter 2. He links this 
to the day of Pentecost to offset it from the normal and the ordinary. 
What we have in Acts 10 is a Pentecostal experience such that they had 
in Jerusalem in chapter 2, and such that the Samaritans had 
in chapter 8. at particular junctures within 
the context of the church, the Lord God pours out the Spirit, 
and at least in two of the instances, tongue speaking is a result of 
that. It confirms that they are complying with Christ's mission 
mandate to be His witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and 
then to the uttermost parts of the earth. Thompson says, Luke's 
focus in these texts, Acts 2, 8, 10, and 11, is on the fulfillment 
of prophecy, salvation history, and the beginning of the last 
days, rather than paradigms or patterns for individual experiences. In each of these chapters, Luke 
emphasizes corporate experience. the corporate experience of Jews, 
of those in Judea and Samaria, and then those to the ends of 
the earth, even Gentiles. Now you might wonder why I'm 
taking time to explain all this, because it is a misuse of the 
Book of Acts for a Charismatic or a Pentecostal to insist as 
a sign of your having been converted that you speak in tongues. That 
is to do great disservice to the professing people of God. 
It is to do great disservice to the very text of Scripture 
and to any sane principles of hermeneutics. What is described 
is not necessarily prescribed. And we need to get our minds 
wrapped around that in the Book of Acts. It's always amazed me 
that those who want to take the Book of Acts as prescriptive 
completely, that we're supposed to speak in tongues, we're supposed 
to have a present apostolic ministry, we're supposed to see these signs 
and wonders, typically disregard one of the passages that is to 
be taken in a prescriptive manner. After the outpouring of the Spirit 
on the day of Pentecost, after sinners say, sirs, what must 
we do? Peter says, repent and be baptized 
in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins. We get 
a glimpse of the early church. You know what they continue steadfastly 
in? the apostles doctrine, breaking 
bread, fellowship, and prayers. Oh no, no, we've got to have 
signs and wonders. No, we've got to raise people 
from the dead. No, we've got to speak in tongues. We've got 
to prophesy. No, we need to continue steadfastly 
in sound doctrine. We need to continue steadfastly 
in fellowship and breaking bread and prayers. That's what the 
church continues steadfastly in. So the argument isn't that 
none of the book of Acts is prescriptive. The argument is, is that not 
all of the book of Acts is prescriptive. So this is a Gentile Pentecost 
signifying that Christ on the throne is giving the spirit in 
accordance with his promise in Joel chapter two, and then as 
well, according to Jesus' plan in Acts chapter one, verse eight. 
So that's the power of the spirit. Now notice the baptism of Cornelius 
and his household. Verse 47, then Peter answered, 
can anyone forbid water that these should not be baptized 
who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have? The form of 
the question expects a no answer. Sometimes you do this. You say, 
you don't really like broccoli, do you? Well, you expect the 
answer to be no. It really shouldn't, because 
broccoli is delightful and packed full of good nutrients. But you 
get the point. You really don't want to go on 
this journey with me, do you? We ask the question in such a 
way to elicit a no response. Well, when Peter does this in 
verse 47, it's a no-brainer. Obviously, they've heard the 
word, the Spirit has come upon them, they are saved sinners, 
they are entitled to baptism. It is a beautiful thing. As John 
Gill says, since they had the greater baptism, the baptism 
of the Spirit, the lesser baptism of water, could not be denied 
them. That's the logic involved, and 
Peter understands that, so Peter asked the question. But he moves 
from asking this question, which again, expects a no response, 
to actually issuing a command in verse 48. Notice it says, 
he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then 
they asked him to stay a few days. Now, I want you to appreciate 
something in the book of Acts. They don't have altar calls. 
They don't tell everybody, okay, bow your head, close your eye, 
raise your hand if you want to come to Jesus. There was no altar 
calls. There were no invitations to 
come forward for prayer. There was baptism. After persons 
got saved, after people believed the gospel, they were baptized. I think Peter underscores for 
us a faulty practice of the modern age. altar calls, manipulation, 
you know, warm anxious seats, the development of a whole host 
of things that we don't find in the book of Acts. But it also 
argues against what is practiced in many Baptist churches. Not 
just general sort of Baptist, but reformed Baptist. These sort 
of six-month new members classes. Now I'm not against instructing 
the people of God in the Word of God. That's why we have a 
Wednesday night Bible study, we have a confession study, we 
have a morning study, we have an evening study, we have a Saturday 
morning study. We really like to study here. So I'm not arguing 
against educating people. But there ought not to be this 
great chasm between belief and water. We have taken away from 
Christ something of the immediacy of water baptism. It doesn't 
save. It doesn't convert. There's no 
magic in the tank. I am not suggesting that. I am 
not arguing that way. I'm not a Campbellite. I do not 
believe in the regenerative powers of water. But at the same token, 
we have minimized the emphasis that the New Testament places 
when Jesus 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. He's not kidding. He's not joking. And if you look at Peter's language, 
he doesn't suggest that they become baptized. He doesn't say 
it's one option among many. He commands them to be baptized. It's a beautiful expression of 
faith in Christ. When a person goes into that 
water, he or she is signifying in a public manner their identification 
with the true and living God, the one God Father, Son, and 
Holy Spirit. It is significant. And these 
long class times, trying to educate people on every jot and tittle 
before we admit them to the waters of baptism is contrary to the 
practice that we find in the book of Acts. This is another 
area that I think is prescriptive. This is the way the church is 
supposed to function. No altar calls, no long sessions, 
but rather dunk them, immerse them, put them in the water. 
Why? Because the Lord Christ commanded 
this, and it's not up to us to de-incentivize people. We need 
to be about obedience. I think at times, persons make 
a profession of faith, they may actually believe what the Bible 
teaches about baptism, but for whatever reason, they're a bit 
hesitant to come. Don't hesitate. You know, in 
other countries, people die when they come forward. In other time 
frames, people die when they come forward. We actually have 
the opportunity in our particular situation to tarry and to wait. 
We may have that practically, but we don't have it biblically. 
The pattern is belief and then be baptized. And one other thing 
we ought to appreciate in this particular section. Notice what 
the text tells us in verse 48. He commanded them to be baptized. Who is the them? It's Cornelius 
and his household. Look at verse 24 in chapter 10, 
the second part. Now, Cornelius was waiting for 
them and had called together his relatives and close friends. There are relatives, there are 
close friends, there are servants, there are probably soldiers. 
Remember that that's his job. Cornelius commands a hundred 
men. That's what a centurion did. He was a man of battle, 
he was a man of war, he was a man who would have carried weapons, 
and he would have been surrounded by such. So these persons receive 
not only the power of the Spirit, they speak in these tongues to 
magnify God Almighty, and then they enter into the waters of 
baptism. Make no mistake about it, the Bible does teach household 
baptism, at least here in Acts chapter 10. And every Baptist 
affirms household baptism, at least here in Acts, well, everywhere 
it's taught. And I would argue this way, everybody 
in a household who hears the word of God, Everybody in a household 
upon whom the Spirit falls, every person in a household upon whom 
God has set His saving grace should be baptized. That's what's 
taught here. Were there infants? That's the 
big question. Not according to the grid work 
that we see here. They heard the word, they received 
the word. According to chapter 11, they 
believed the word and the spirit came upon them. Likely, as a 
centurion, Cornelius would have been an older fellow. As I often 
say to the brethren in our Saturday morning studies with reference 
to household baptisms, The argument can go one of two ways. Well, 
there were certainly infants in that household, and they must 
have been baptized. And the argument can go just 
as easily the other way. Well, there were certainly not 
infants in that household, and so they were not baptized. There 
are a lot of households here represented that don't necessarily 
contain infants. It's an argument from silence 
and one that I don't think is very good for either pedos or 
for Baptists. But in this we do affirm household 
baptism. Everybody here heard the Word, 
they received the Word, they believed the Word, the Spirit 
fell upon them, so of course they would be baptized because 
that is an expression of their faith in the living God. It really 
is a beautiful scene where the Holy Spirit comes upon this gathering 
to show Gentile inclusion in the covenant of grace. Now, let's 
look at the controversy. Well, let's at the very end of 
verse 48. Notice it says, then they asked him to stay a few 
days. Well, why would they do that? because he's Peter the 
Apostle, and they're new believers, and they want to ask him questions. 
That's why they did that. But as well, it connects us with 
11.1. The fact that he stayed there 
a few days gave time and opportunity for this report to get back to 
Judea. Remember that Peter's in Caesarea. 
It's probably about 70 miles, I think around 50 miles, from 
Caesarea to Jerusalem. It took some time. They didn't 
have email. There weren't persons in Cornelius' household, you 
know, texting others in Judea saying, hey, you really gotta 
appreciate this. The Spirit just fell there. They're speaking. 
They didn't have that. It would take some time for this knowledge 
to get back to Judea, and this is a consistent connection between 
the two chapters. As I said, we're not going to 
go jot and tittle through chapter 11 because much of it is repetitious 
to what we've already seen in chapter 10. But with reference 
to chapter 11, the controversy over Cornelius and his household, 
it breaks down this way. First, the reaction in Judea 
in verses 1 to 3. Second, the defense by Peter 
in verses 4 to 17. And then finally, the response 
of the church in verse 18. Now, I don't think we can truly 
appreciate what's happening here to some degree. Because as we've 
been raised, as we've been reared, as we've been taught the Word 
of God, we expect Gentile inclusion in the covenant promises of God. 
Most of us are Gentiles. As far as I know, we're all Gentiles. 
And we have been blessed by God and included in those promises 
given to Old Covenant Israel. Again, these things were not 
unique to the New Testament. We might ask the question, why 
in the world did the Jews struggle so much with Gentile inclusion 
in the covenant promises? If Noah prophesied that Japheth 
would find refuge in the tents of Shem, if God tells Abraham 
on several occasions that in him all the nations of the earth 
would be blessed, If that promise is passed on to Isaac and Jacob, 
and then it's celebrated in the Psalter, it's developed in the 
Prophets, it's shown to be the work of Israel's Messiah, the 
Lord Christ, the servant of Isaiah 42 and 49, He'd be a light unto 
the Gentiles. Why did they struggle so much? 
Well, Calvin suggests this. The Jews thought that Gentile 
inclusion would be this way. They would come through circumcision 
to Israel's God. See, that's the big emphasis 
here in chapter 11, and then it will be picked up on again 
in chapter 15. The Jews perhaps expected Gentile 
inclusion, but not without having become Jews. In other words, 
to be a proselyte, to have subscribed to the ceremonies of Moses, to 
have been circumcised. This is so much of what lies 
behind Paul's teaching in the book of Galatians. In Galatians, 
you had these people called Judaizers. They would come to the churches, 
they would say, it's good for you to believe the gospel, it's 
good for you to believe that Jesus is Messiah, but you must 
also be circumcised. And once you're circumcised, 
then you'll be welcomed in to the family of God Almighty. See, 
it's a faith plus work sort of an approach. It is a faith in 
Jesus plus something that you do, and that will ultimately 
commend you to God. That's why Galatians is in the 
Bible. That's why Romans is in the Bible. 
And that's why these persons were having some difficulty with 
Gentile inclusion. What do you mean? They didn't 
have to be circumcised? What do you mean, Peter, you 
commanded them to be baptized but not circumcised? What do 
you mean, Peter, they don't have to submit to the law of Moses? 
That generated some issues, both here in chapter 11, and then 
it will again in chapter 15, where it's dealt with and treated 
decisively at the Jerusalem Council. So this is a transition period 
where Gentiles and mass start coming into the church and the 
Jews are going, wait a minute, wait a minute, this is not what 
we expected. We did expect Gentile inclusion, 
but they had to come the way that we did as well. That's the 
context. If you miss that, you're gonna 
have trouble. If you get it, then I hope you'll 
have happiness or joy. All right, let's look at their 
statement. This is a great passage, by the 
way. I don't want to be so polemic that we miss what glorious things 
are going on here. Cornelius, a centurion, a battle-hardened 
warrior, troops with him. Hear the gospel of salvation. 
The last hour, we're talking about the doctrine of repentance 
unto life and salvation. And we're talking about the reality 
that God, in his grace, offers forgiveness to sinners. And when 
we look at the scripture, they're not just general, sort of generic 
or vague sinners. What kind of trouble do you think 
a centurion in the first century got into? What kind of trouble 
did Peter himself get into? What kind of trouble did sinners 
get into? The same sorts of things. I think at times we read our 
Bibles and we say, well, you know, that's just them. And, 
you know, they don't have the same sorts of sins that we do. 
Get it in your head that we are great sinners, no matter when 
we live, but Christ is a great savior. That's the emphasis from 
Genesis to Revelation. And these sinners are forgiven. 
These sinners receive the Holy Spirit and these sinners are 
now magnifying and praising the God of Israel. It really is beautiful. Now notice in verse one of chapter 
11, the report circulates in Judea. And then in verses two 
and three, we see the problem. We see the controversy. We see 
the reaction, again, of Jewish believers. Verse two, and when 
Peter came up to Jerusalem, those of the circumcision contended 
with him. Now that's interesting because probably in Jerusalem 
at this time, every believer was circumcised, right? They 
didn't have sort of the Gentile wing of the Jerusalem church 
at this moment. So when it describes those of 
the circumcision, it probably underscores a subset within the 
church of Jewish believers of those who are fastidious, those 
who are sticklers. Those who were bent on making 
sure that if anybody comes to our God, they come not only through 
Jesus, but they come through the circumcisional knife. You 
see, that was their emphasis. But as we look at this passage, 
they're not mean-spirited. They're not party-driven. They 
may be a bit fired up. They may be a bit shocked at 
what's happening. But once Peter makes his defense, 
what do they do? They submit. They're silent. 
They glorify God. They appreciate what Peter has 
said. See, I said it a couple of weeks ago. In the early church, 
they were able to debate. In the early church, they were 
able to have some dissension. In the early church, they were 
able to deal with their issues. They were able to come together 
and talk like men and not worry about offending everybody. I 
think the church has co-opted the secular culture's mindset. We're so afraid to ever offend 
anybody. We'll never lift up our voice. 
We'll never cry aloud. We'll never spare not. We'll 
never tell anybody anything they don't want to hear. Well, brethren, 
that's simply not the way real men do theology. They may disagree. They may ask each other questions. 
In some instances, they may even get a little upset with one another, 
but they still love each other. They're still brothers and sisters. 
They don't part company. They don't say, you're dead to 
me. I want no truck with you ever again. I think we can learn 
a lot, not only from these men, but from our forebears in the 
theological realm. Persons that could discuss, persons 
that could even disagree, persons that could get fired up, but 
persons that were not snowflakes who needed their little safe 
spaces because he's saying things that I don't want to hear. We 
see it in the world, it happens in the church. I don't get it. 
I've always thought theology's for big boys. We gotta deal rightly, 
righteously. There's no one who has it all 
figured out. There's nobody that has every 
right answer. There's nobody that can pontificate 
to the rest of us knaves and tell us how to set things straight. 
And also intriguing is that when Peter is rebuked and challenged, 
notice what he doesn't do. I'm Simon Peter. I'm an apostle 
of Jesus Christ. Do you know who you're talking 
to? Do you dare question me? The papists tell us he was the 
first Pope. The papists tell us that he was 
the one that they patterned the papacy after. Boy, how un-Pope-like 
of him to actually be challenged by the rabble and then to give 
a defense. See, it wasn't the way the papers 
tell us, but it wasn't the way that Protestants often function. 
Oh, we can't disagree with one another. Brethren, I thank the 
Lord God Most High that in the context of our church, there 
are legitimate disagreements here. Not on Trinity, not on 
soteriology, not on who Jesus is, but on some periphery, that's 
okay. That's healthy. That means anti-cult. If we all think the same way, 
if we all dot the I's the same way, if we all cross the T's 
the same way, that would really scare me. Thankfully, I know 
better because I hear from people and we don't always dot I's and 
cross T's the same way. But we do when it comes, as I 
said, to theology proper, who God is, Trinitarianism, who Jesus 
is, hypostatic union, one person, two natures, and how man is saved. We're justified freely by grace. See, if 1043 means anything, 
it means that the doctrine of justification by faith alone 
is biblical. It wasn't a Lutheranism. a Luther 
imposition upon the text. It wasn't a Calvinistic imposition 
upon the text. Scripture from Genesis to Revelation 
affirms grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone for salvation. And in this particular juncture, 
that excludes circumcision as a means by which we are accepted 
with God. So this party, this group, this 
subset in the Jerusalem church rebukes Peter in verse 3. You 
went into uncircumcised men and ate with them. Well, he doesn't 
say anything about them being saved or baptized. I think it's 
a lesser to the greater. If you ate with them, don't think 
for a moment we're down with you suggesting that the Spirit 
came upon them and that you baptized them. We are offended at the 
thought that you would have gone in and eaten with those Gentile 
dogs. We are offended at the thought 
that you would have defiled yourself with those filthy animals. We 
are offended at the thought that you would have degraded yourself 
and still said you're an apostle of our Lord Jesus Christ. That's 
kind of the impetus behind it. And again, before you say, well, 
I just don't see it, Peter rehearses that in 10-28. Notice what Peter 
says in verse 28 in chapter 10 when he goes to Cornelius' house. 
It says, then he said to them, you know how unlawful it is for 
a Jewish man to keep company with or God go to one of another 
nation. But God has shown me that I should 
not call any man common or unclean. Think Jonah. I've often said 
Jonah is the only preacher in the history of the world who 
got mad that God blessed his preaching. I don't get it. That's not me on a Monday morning. 
God, I can't believe you actually blessed the preaching and, you 
know, hordes of people got saved. I can't ever tell you I've made 
that complaint. The other might be the case, 
and hopefully it's not a wicked sort of complaint, but Lord God, 
I'd love to see the spirit fall upon those who are dead in their 
trespasses and sins, such that they would confess the glory 
of God, that they would confess saving faith in Jesus. But this 
was precisely Jonah's problem. He didn't wanna go to Nineveh. 
Why? Because he didn't like the sunshine. He didn't like the climate. He 
didn't like the people. He was a nationalist. He was 
one that didn't want the grace of God to sort of spill over 
into the pagan countries that he didn't approve of. That's 
the point in Jonah 4. God says to him, you're upset 
about this plant that you didn't plant. You're upset about this 
plant that you didn't give life to? And what does God say at 
the very end of the prophet Jonah? Should I not pity Nineveh, that 
great city that has 120,000 that don't know their right hand from 
the left? Or the 20,000, I can't think 
of the exact number right now, that don't know their right hand 
from the left? You see, brethren, that was incipient in the heart 
of Jews. As the chosen people of God Almighty, 
they began to get proud. They began to think that it was 
because of them, their scriptures notwithstanding. In the book 
of Deuteronomy, I think it's in chapter 9, God tells them, 
I didn't choose you because you were more numerous. I didn't 
choose you because you were more righteous. God set his affection 
upon Israel based on his good pleasure, based on his sovereignty. But you see, they took it as, 
well, we're really special. We're better than the rest. Those 
Gentiles are dogs. Those pagans are dirt. Those 
people around us are not to be trusted. We need to stay away 
from them. There's an ancient Jewish writing, 
Jubilees 22, 16, tells us, have no truck whatsoever with anybody 
from the nations. Then as well, with reference 
to this book, you see how it's still gonna flesh itself out 
in chapter 15. But look at Ephesians 2, just 
to get a sort of an idea on how Gentiles were looked upon. Ephesians 
chapter 2. Ephesians 2 verse 11, Therefore 
remember that you, once Gentiles in the flesh, who are called 
uncircumcision by what is called the circumcision made in the 
flesh by hands, that at that time you were without Christ, 
being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from 
the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the 
world. See, that's how they were positionally. That's how they 
were religiously. That's how they were, and that's 
how they were treated. They were outsiders. They were 
strangers to the covenants of promise. They were aliens to 
the Commonwealth of Israel. They were not brought nigh. They 
were not brought in. They didn't have any interaction 
together. So going back to Jerusalem in 
Acts chapter 11, verses 2 and 3, this is somewhat expected 
when these sorts of things transpire. One commentator made this observation. 
He says, by choosing and blessing one family, God intended to bless 
all the families of the earth. It's been a beautiful thing that 
we've seen in our studies in Genesis on Wednesday night. Every 
time God speaks the seed and land promise, he always connects 
blessing of the nations. In you, Abraham, all the nations 
of the earth will be blessed. In you, Isaac, all the nations 
of the earth will be blessed. In you, Jacob, all the nations 
of the earth will be blessed. Not by virtue of Abraham, Isaac, 
and Jacob, but by virtue of their seed, the Lord Christ. Galatians 
3.16 tells us that Jesus is the seed. And it's Jesus in whom 
and through whom the nations of the earth are blessed. That's 
why Jesus says, go therefore and make disciples of all the 
nations. This is why in Psalm 2, the Lord 
Christ says, or the father rather says to Christ, ask of me and 
I will give you the nations for your inheritance, the ends of 
the earth as your possession. There's always the purpose and 
the plan. But again, Israel got proud, the Jews got, puffed up. So this fellow said, so psalmists 
and prophets foretold the day when God's Messiah would inherit 
the nations, the Lord's servant would be their light, all nations 
would flow to the Lord's house, and God would pour his spirit 
on all mankind. The tragedy was that Israel twisted 
the doctrine of election into one of favoritism. That's why 
when Peter says in verses 34 and 35, he says, I perceive that 
God shows no partiality. That vision was revolutionary 
for Peter. When God tells Peter, arise, 
kill and eat, Peter says, no, Lord, I've never ingested an 
unclean animal. God says, go, I've cleansed it. 
No longer call it common. Do what I'm commanding you. He 
goes on to say, the tragedy was that Israel despised or twisted 
the doctrine of election into one of favoritism, became filled 
with racial pride and hatred, despised Gentiles as dogs, and 
developed traditions which kept them apart. Again, I don't think 
you'll find a particular text in the Old Testament that says, 
don't have any interaction whatsoever with a Gentile. Well, the idea 
was if we eat with them, we'll ingest their unkosher food, and 
then we will contract defilement. We will be unclean. So what do 
they do? Don't eat with them. Don't go 
near them. It's like the Sabbath. Don't work on the Sabbath. OK, 
we're going to outline how many steps you can take on a Sabbath 
day to make sure that you never break it. Again, the motivation 
behind it is good, but it's also artificial, and it's contrary, 
and it heaps up things that ought not to be heaped up. But back 
to this quote. He says, no Orthodox Jew would 
ever enter the home of a Gentile, even a God-fearer, or invite 
him into his house. So that's the nature of their 
complaint. And again, that brings us to 
the defense by Peter. Gil says, he did not insist upon 
his authority as an apostle, and much less pretended to a 
primacy to the rest of the apostles, but submitted to have his case 
heard, examined, and judged of by the body of the brethren. 
It's a beautiful thing. So now he reviews basically what 
we've already seen in Acts chapter 10. He speaks of his vision here 
in chapter 11 verses 4 to 10. We know what the vision was. 
The sheet comes down. It's filled with animals both 
clean and unclean. God says, rise, kill and eat. 
Peter's objection isn't, well, I can't see any clean animals. 
They become unclean by being mixed with the unclean. And so 
he wants nothing to do with that. And there he imitates very similar 
to the prophet Ezekiel in Ezekiel chapter four. So he rehearses 
this vision that he had seen. He then highlights the instruction 
by the Holy Spirit in verses 11 and 12. He says, the Spirit 
came, confirmed the vision, and told me that there were men coming 
and that I needed to go with them. So it's, again, divine 
initiative. The hand of God is all over this 
account, all over this situation. He then highlights the meeting 
with Cornelius that he has in verses 13 and 14. And notice 
what he says. Verse 14. Who will tell you? Okay, back to verse 13 for a 
moment. 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, 
who will tell you words by which you and all your household will 
be saved. That indicates that up to this 
point, though Cornelius was a God-fearer, though he was interested with 
Yahweh of Israel, though there was some degree of piety that 
he exercised, he wasn't saved. He needed to hear the gospel. 
And I think verse 14 is conspicuous this way as well. There's no 
salvation apart from the gospel. If men don't hear, and by that 
I mean women and boys and girls, I mean creatures, if they don't 
hear the gospel, they're not going to go to heaven. There's 
not enough in general revelation to save them. There is enough 
in general revelation to damn them, but not to save them. Sinners 
are rendered without excuse when they look at the created order 
and they deny the existence of God. But they cannot look at 
the created order and learn of blood atonement. They can't look 
at the created order and learn of Christ crucified and resurrected. That's where we come in. It's 
about declaration. It's about proclamation. It's 
about telling sinners the good news. That's why Christian pulpits 
must be gospel pulpits. They must be about this message 
such that sinners can hear these things and believe and be saved. 
If we just amuse men Sunday in and Sunday out, if we just entertain 
them Sunday in, Sunday out, if we give them a handful of principles 
to have a happier life, they're going to end up in hell. We preach 
Christ crucified, Paul said, to the Jews a stumbling block 
and to the Greeks foolishness, but to those who are being saved, 
Christ the wisdom and power of God. Verse 14 is an emphasis 
on how absolutely crucial the gospel is. And then notice he 
speaks of the conversion of conversion and baptism of Cornelius in verses 
15 and 16. And then he gives us the rationale 
behind his baptism of Cornelius and his household here in verse 
16. He says, then I remembered the 
word of the Lord. How he said, John indeed baptized with water, 
but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit. John makes that 
declaration in Luke's gospel, but Christ affirms it in Acts 
chapter one, verse five. So you see the nature of Peter's 
argument. I preach to them the gospel, 
the person's heard the gospel, the person's believed the gospel 
according to verse 17, the Holy Spirit comes upon them. Of course, 
I'm gonna baptize them. See, Peter is giving a defense 
of his actions with these Gentiles, and Peter is making his case, 
and Peter is confirming that this is in fact of God, and this 
is the way that we're gonna receive these brothers and sisters into 
the life of the church. See, that's where the rubber 
meets the road, brethren. There's a transition period. 
There is this Gentile now sitting with Jew, worshiping the same 
true and living God. Shared with you before that account 
of John Jasper, that black slave who was dealing with tobacco 
and he had, not dealing with it, he worked as a slave in a 
tobacco factory. And as he's standing there, as 
he's working his tobacco, he's thinking about texts, he's thinking 
about gospel and the Lord God saves him. And he starts talking 
to everybody working around him about the Lord God saving him. 
And then the manager hears it, or the master hears this and 
calls him into his office, because it's creating a bit of a ruckus 
there on the factory floor. And so Jasper goes up to the 
master, and the master says, tell me what you're doing. He 
says, well, the Lord God saved my soul. And the master extends 
his hand to him, and he says, welcome to the faith, brother. 
Go preach this word. And Jasper's dying testimony 
was, I won't stop until I take my last breath. It's a fascinating, 
glorious, wonderful story. And incidentally, he was most 
known for, John Jasper, being a geocentrist. He taught that 
the Earth was the center of the universe, and he was most famous 
for that. He was called a philosopher. 
His biographer said, I never believed in geocentricity. I 
still don't believe in geocentricity, but hearing Jasper preach on 
geocentricity convinced me of geocentricity. So he had great 
persuasive powers as a preacher. So what he learned on that factory 
floor, what the master gave him leave to do, that's what he did 
till he died. The point is a master shook a 
slave's hand. Black people shake white people's 
hands. Dutch people, American people, 
Canadian people. I know that's not ethnicity. 
You get the point. Every tribe, tongue, people, 
and nation. See, this is what the church 
is working with at this point. This is why the Jerusalem Council. How do we deal with these Gentiles 
entering in? How do we make this transition 
smooth? That's why in Acts 15, it's not 
a comprehensive code of ethics for new Gentile believers. It's 
a way for them not to give offense to the Jews. It's a way for the 
Jews not to give an offense to the Gentiles. See, in the gospel, 
we have solidarity. In the gospel, we have unity. 
In the gospel, whether you're young or you're old, whether 
you're black or you're white, wherever you're from, you're 
brothers and sisters in our Lord Jesus Christ. That's what Peter 
is saying. Who was I to forbid what God 
is obviously doing in bringing Cornelius and his household into 
the fold? Of course I'm going to baptize 
him. Of course I'm going to engage in this. And that's the concluding 
statement he makes in verse 17. 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? Let me just amplify 
that. If God gave them, Gentiles, the 
same gift, the Holy Spirit, as He gave us, Jews, when we believed 
on the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could withstand 
God? That's impeccable logic, and it certainly holds sway with 
these persons that objected and who contended with them. Matthew 
Poole says, to deny baptism unto any unto whom it doth belong 
is to withstand God, and to keep back the token of God's love 
from such unto whom it is sent. Now having made that statement, 
that summary, that review, notice their response in verse 18. When 
they heard these things, they became silent. That's good too. When you've gotten beaten in 
an argument, it's best to stop. That's another lesson this generation 
could desperately stand to learn. You've been beat like a drum. 
Just own it, OK? Don't come back with another 
sort of rejoinder. You look foolish. Everybody sees 
it. You need to embrace that, OK? That's a message I think 
needs to be preached, you know, churchly and politically. There's 
no shame in saying, oh yeah, I was wrong. You know, that's 
actually expected of us as God's people, this hyper-defensive, 
I'm never wrong, I'm always right, everybody just sort of, you know, 
sit at my feet and learn. That's contrary to the spirit 
of our Lord and Savior. Brethren, these men were silent. 
They got beat. They were bastard. They knew 
it. They said, okay, Peter's right. Not just because he's 
Peter, but because he has given us a compelling reason as to 
why he's right. But it doesn't stop there. When 
they heard these things, they became silent and they glorified 
God. See, it's so beautiful, isn't 
it? We talked in the last hour about certain persons that, you 
know, we don't always, We don't always appreciate the grace of 
God. Let's say some notoriously bad human being on death row 
gets saved today. There's that sort of in us somewhere 
thinking, you know, it's not really fair. He's a horrible 
specimen of a human being. Well, it's not fair. It's not 
fair that you and I go to heaven. That's what grace is. We don't 
sing amazing fairness, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch 
like me. We sing amazing grace, how sweet the sound that any 
guilty, vile, helpless sinner ever stands in the presence of 
God is a testimony not to the guilty, vile, helpless sinner, 
but to the Christ of that guilty, helpless, vile sinner. Remember 
when Zacchaeus is told by our Lord to make haste and come down 
that tree. He does it immediately, by the 
way. Oh, you know, I'm going to sit up perched on this tree 
for another couple of years, Lord, just to consider my options. 
I kind of want to make sure I really know my... He comes down from 
the tree. As the best general rule you'll 
ever hear, when God tells you something, do it. If Christ is 
standing at the sycamore tree and he tells you to hurry down, 
hurry down. So Zacchaeus shimmies his way down. Zacchaeus affirms 
his faith, calls him Lord, affirms his repentance by saying, I'll 
gladly give back. And then the crowd grumbles. The crowd murmurs. The crowd 
is disgusted by this show on the part of our Lord. The crowd 
functioned that way, or at least the religious of the crowd, in 
Luke 15. Luke 15, 1 and 2, we see all 
the tax collectors and the sinners drawn near to Jesus to hear Him. 
What's verse 3 tell us? Then the scribes and the Pharisees 
said, this man receives sinners and eats with them. Little did 
they know they were preaching the glorious gospel of free and 
sovereign grace. I love those instances where 
they complain, and the nature of their complaint is gospel 
truth. Isn't that what we hang our souls on? This man receives 
sinners and eats with them? Isn't that exactly why we're 
here this morning? Is because that man receives 
sinners and eats with them? And of course, Christ affirms 
that by telling the story of the shepherd, by telling the 
story of the woman, and by telling the story of the father with 
the prodigal. He affirms it thrice, three times, that, yes, I do, 
in fact, receive sinners and eat with them. So in this instance, 
they see the grace of God, and what do they do? They praise, 
they worship, they glorify. They're happy. This is what the 
salvation of God does to the people of God. It causes celebration. They don't open their hymn books 
and just kind of meander out the words. Brethren, we should 
be singing praises to God. He saved us from our sins. after the service, instead of 
running out of here as soon as we can, let's talk about the 
grace of God that has saved us from our sins. When somebody 
is baptized and identifies publicly with our triune God, stick around 
for a few moments, give them a hug, welcome them to the family 
of God. Be the master to John Jasper, 
extend your hand and welcome him in to the family of God Almighty. Salvation makes the people of 
God It fills their hearts with joy. That's why that instance 
with Jonah sitting under that tree, all upset and all discouraged 
is just, it really is mind blowing. Jonah, you're the only man that's 
ever complained that God blessed his preaching. Everybody else 
has been contrary to that. And then notice what they do. 
They see, they attribute, they ascribe. It says, then God, or 
they glorified God saying, then God has also granted to the Gentiles 
repentance to life. They recognized grace. See, if it comes to the Jews, 
we recognize it. Now it's coming to the Gentiles, 
we recognize it. We see that God granted the Gentiles 
repentance to life, which underscores that repentance is a gift given 
by God. Faith is a gift given by God. 
He gives these to the elect so that they can close with Christ 
and may know the joy of being found in Him. So these Jews, 
these believers in Jerusalem, they're silenced by Peter's report, 
and then they end up praising and glorifying God because they 
recognize the graciousness of God in including the Gentiles 
in the covenant promises of God. So the controversy is dealt with 
by our beloved brother Peter. These brothers, these sisters, 
these saints in Jerusalem are now praising God for Gentile 
inclusion. Again, completely foreign and 
completely contrary to prior to their salvation. Imagine being 
the sort of person that would wake up in the morning and thank 
God that you're not a Gentile. To go into the point where you're 
having the supper of the Lord with the Gentile. To be sitting 
next to a Gentile, to call a Gentile brother. See, that's what's happening 
in the church. That's what happens in Jesus 
Christ. That's the emphasis in the book 
of Revelation. Every tribe, every tongue, every people, every nation. 
I think our churches on earth should image that. They should 
mirror that. It shouldn't just be one demographic. 
It shouldn't just be one sort of people group. If in heaven 
it's going to be every tribe, tongue, people, and nation, it 
ought to be that way on earth. If we're gonna have to deal with 
each other for world without end, we better learn how to now 
on this side of heaven. There ought to be love in our 
hearts, affection in our hearts for persons from all those backgrounds, 
from all those places that were united together in Jesus Christ. 
Doesn't that make you happy in this context? Have you ever had 
sort of interaction with somebody in this church or outside our 
church, some other Christian brother or sister, and you've 
mused to yourself, you know, we have nothing in common. Absolutely, 
positively, nothing in common. And yet together in Christ, we 
have everything in common. Everything in Christ. So that's our exposition. I wanna 
close with just a couple of thoughts, really, really quick. First, 
we see the unity of the people of God. There is a system of 
thought out there that wants to eventually divide the people 
of God. We don't want to divide the people 
of God. We want the people of God to remain a unity as God 
has purpose for them to be a unity. In Jesus Christ, according to 
Ephesians chapter 2, He is making one new man. From Jew and Gentile, 
He brings them together and He makes one new man. What God has 
joined together, let no man rent asunder. Let us not Split that 
in some future age so that the one group can get special privileges 
living on earth That is not biblical. That is not good and it introduces 
Amongst the people of God a division that Christ and his cross work 
has overcome Why would we do that? 1 Corinthians 12, 13, for 
by one spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or 
Greeks, whether slaves or free, and have all been made to drink 
into one spirit. I mentioned Ephesians 2, you 
can read that for yourself, 14 to 22. And then in Ephesians 
4, 4 to 6, 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. Brethren, the unity of God's 
people is cause for celebration among God's people. We ought 
to love each other. We ought to care for each other. 
We ought to be friendly toward one another. And instead of saying, 
well, you know, that person comes from this background. Brethren, 
enjoy the union in Christ that you share. That's why Paul is 
upset with the church at Corinth when they're celebrating the 
supper. It's because they've introduced division. They've 
introduced division by way of the haves and the have-nots. 
Some in the context of the church are eating and drinking to the 
point of gluttony and drunkenness. Others are neglected. Paul is 
not happy with that. It betrays the oneness of God's 
people. If you have, give it to them 
who have not. Foster unity, foster that fellowship, 
foster that friendship. And then the final observation 
from our text in terms of a practical note, the salvation of sinners 
by God. We need to appreciate the impartiality 
of God. It doesn't matter what nation 
you come from. You're a sinner. You're fit to 
come to Christ. That's what you contribute, as 
Luther said. The only thing you contribute 
to your salvation is the sin you need saving from. We all 
have that, whether you're, you know, wherever, tribe, tongue, 
people, nation, that's it. There's no impartiality. He's 
not just looking at the Jews. He's not just looking at this 
group of Gentiles. He's not just saying, oh, you people in this 
particular ethnic situation. No, come on. That is absolutely 
offensive to what scripture tells us. Every tribe, tongue, people, 
and nation. Secondly, the necessity of the 
word for salvation. And when we ask what's the characteristics 
in the preaching of that word, 10, 34 to 43 tells us it's about 
Jesus. So the gospel isn't your good 
feelings, the gospel isn't your experience, the gospel isn't 
the warmth that comes when you consider Jesus, the gospel is 
the truth that Christ lived, Christ died, Christ was raised 
the third day. as well, the grace of God that 
enables the elect to believe the word and to repent of their 
sin. Isn't that what they recognize 
according to 1118? Then God also, or has also, granted to the Gentiles 
repentance to life. That underscores the grace necessary 
The Spirit doesn't come apart from the grace of God. That's 
why I always encourage us, as a church, on Sunday morning, 
Sunday afternoon, before we come to church tonight, if the Spirit 
doesn't come here, brethren, then we exercise in vain. You 
could preach the word Spurgeon, could fall out of heaven, occupy 
this pulpit, and preach one of his glorious sermons, but if 
the Spirit ain't here, you're not getting saved. The Spirit 
ain't here, you're not getting edified. See, for some reason, 
the Reformed have backed off emphasizing the Spirit because 
we don't want to be Charismatics and Pentecostals. That is absolutely 
nonsensical in terms of argument. Do you know that John Calvin 
has been called the theologian of the Holy Spirit? I don't think 
any of us would fill in that blank. John Calvin, the predestinarian. John Calvin, the guy who had 
Servetus killed. John Calvin, the monster of Geneva. 
That's how we would answer that. But men who know, men who have 
studied, men who have read the Institutes, men who have read 
Calvin, have called him the theologian of the Holy Spirit. Why is it 
that the Reformed aren't emphasizing the Spirit of the Living God? 
You don't have to be John Wimber and power religion in order to 
emphasize the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the third 
person of the triune God. He is ours, He is with us. And 
without Him, in terms of the public preaching of His Word, 
there's not gonna be people getting saved. You wanna see people saved? Pray for this group, that the 
Spirit comes under the preaching of God's Word. I mean, really, 
don't we all want people saved? You may not go to China, you 
may not go to Timbuktu, you may not stand on the streets, the 
steps of Ottawa, you know, and shake your finger in the prime 
minister's face and telling him, you know, like John the Baptist 
does with Herod, it is unlawful for you to have your brother's 
wife. You may not ever do that. But boy, you can certainly pray 
before church to the Holy Spirit to come. What's the prophet say 
in Isaiah 64? Rend the heavens and come down. You got to get that in its context. 
Isaiah 63 and 64, the prophet knows that God is not with them 
in the way that they want God to be with them. And he rehearses 
the sinfulness. It's in chapter 64, that famous 
passage, all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags in your 
sight. He knows the problem with Israel. He knows the ethical violations. 
He knows the transgression of God's law. And he knows the fundamental 
fix, rend the heavens and come down. We can't fix this ourselves. We can't make ourselves better. We can't make ourselves commendable. Rather, God, we need you. We 
saw it in the book of Lamentations at the very end. Restore us. cause us to return unto you. 
Brethren, if we do not have the Spirit as we gather here on Sundays, 
our precious kids, our grandkids, they're gonna hear sermons. They 
may be theologically orthodox. They may be able to dot some 
I's and cross some T's, but without the Spirit, they're not saved. 
That is absolutely crucial as we gather together morning, evening, 
Wednesday, whenever. And then finally, the emphasis 
on justification by faith alone. Look at 1043, to him all the 
prophets witnessed that through his name, whoever believes in 
him will receive remission of sins. Notice in 1117, if therefore 
God gave them the same gift as he gave us when we believed on 
the Lord Jesus Christ. You and I are not saved by combination 
of faith and works. We are saved by grace alone, 
through faith alone, in Christ alone. Belief in the truth concerning 
Jesus, that is the one thing needful. Paul will later write 
in the book of Galatians, knowing that a man is not justified by 
the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. Even we 
have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by 
faith in Christ and not by the works of the law. For by the 
works of the law, no flesh shall be justified. Galatians 6.15, 
the apostle says, for in Christ Jesus, neither circumcision nor 
uncircumcision avails anything but a new creation. Now, Galatians 
doesn't come long after Acts 15. In fact, when we get to Acts 
15, you've got to kind of piece it together. When does Galatians 
2 happen relative to Acts 15? And it's not like, you know, 
25 years later. Galatians is Paul's commentary 
on what's happened at the Jerusalem Council. No Jew, no Gentile ever 
goes to heaven based on faith plus works. All Jew Gentile that 
go to heaven goes based on faith in Jesus Christ. And that's why 
Paul in Galatians 6.16 can say, and as many as walk according 
to this rule, peace and mercy be upon them and upon the Israel 
of God. He is not suggesting a distinction 
between Jew and Gentile. He is saying that Jew and Gentile 
is the Israel of God. Better, he is saying Jesus is 
the Israel of God, and that Jews and Gentiles who believe in Jesus 
are the Israel of God by virtue of his work on their behalf. 
And then that final text that we always ought to pay attention 
to is Galatians 2.21. Paul says, I do not set aside 
the grace of God. For if righteousness comes through 
the law, then Christ died in vain. That underscores the necessity 
of faith in Christ alone as the means by which God receives us 
onto heaven. It's not faith plus works. It's 
not faith plus circumcision. It's not faith plus your law 
keeping. It's not faith plus your sanctification, the way 
Catholicism and federal vision and new perspective on Paul. 
I don't know why we want to twist this or distort it. It's such 
a wonderful message. God is in Christ reconciling 
the world to himself. Let's just rejoice and be happy 
and pray that the spirit comes and that a multitude more will 
believe on him and be saved. Let us pray. Our Father, we thank 
you for your word. We thank you for its clarity 
in terms of setting forth Christ.