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for a day of worship for free Grace Baptist Church the only announcement is there's a luncheon today later on so any visitors amongst us today feel free to feel free to stay if in the middle of the sermon you you can smell something pleasant an odour pleasant to the smell it's not your imagination it's dinner cooking upstairs so you're welcome to stay and and even though you may not brought anything people always bring extra so you'll be welcome to to get to know people after after the sermon this morning so that's it for announcements or obviously the B Bible study on Wednesday night please turn with me in your Bibles to Psalm Psalm 24 to begin worship Psalm 24 a psalm of David the earth is the Lord's and all its fullness the world and those who dwell therein for he has founded it upon the Seas and established it upon the waters who may ascend into the hill of the Lord or who may stand in his holy place he who has clean hands and a pure heart who has not lifted up his soul to an idol nor sworn deceitfully he shall receive blessing from the Lord and righteousness from the god of his salvation this is Jacob the generation of those who seek Him who seek your face say lot lift up your heads o you gates and be lifted up you everlasting doors and the King of glory shall come in who is this King of glory the Lord strong and mighty the Lord mighty in battle lift up your heads o you gates lift lift up you everlasting doors and the King of glory shall come in who is this King of glory the Lord of Hosts he is the king of glory Salo a man will please turn with me your hymn books to him number 145 d 145 i'll ask you to stand please [Music] [Applause] [Music] may be seated so let's go to God in prayer and ask his blessing to be upon our time this morning a gracious and our loving Heavenly Father we come into your holy presence now through your son the Lord Jesus Christ and we desire to bring our praises and our adoration before before you the great High God of heaven and earth we praise you this day father that we get to come into your house on this on this rainy day you had father there's a sense of joy and the Spirit of God that we get to worship a God whom we know through the Holy Scriptures how we praise you father that you are the God of creation that you are the God who is who has in the space of six days created all all around us and all was very good and yet even though still stained by sin yet father even the creation B speaks of a good God a kind God a merciful God in the sense that you do not send such torrents that that we are flooded like in the days of Noah father we praise you that you are the God who sends the sunshine but you also send the rain to dry it to dry the ground up and we just gave you our grateful thanks for the bountiful harvest that that is all around us at this time of year as we consider the fields all around us maybe speak of a good God and a kind God who gives good things to to his creation father we praise you that we have here this day a knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ we praise you that we have that knowledge through the revealed Word of God and how we pray Lord that you would be pleased to teach us from your word this day we thank you for all 66 books that we are not left to ourselves but we have our faith it's a propositional faith as a reminder the last hour that it truly is based upon the Word of God and upon propositions from the Word of God it's not our feelings towards you rather rather father it say it is what you have laid down in Holy Scripture it is that that justification that that that sanctification that glorification that is spoken of in the scriptures that we desire to delight ourselves in this day and praise you and and and seek to to worship you in regards to how we pray Lord that you be pleased to Tabernacle amongst us here this day cause us Lord to to know you and to worship use to leave this place having been affected by the Word of God through the Spirit of God we pray your blessing to be upon that word we pray Lord that you would bless your servant as he comes here in a little while to bring bring that message we pray Lord that you would that you would be pleased to own it and and bless it and cause it to be empowered not with his voice or his his ability or his intellect but rather the Spirit of the Living God that you would take that word and apply it to each one's heart here for some on to salvation for others on to sanctification we pray that would be it there'd be a warning to some that would be a blessing to others and encouragement to others Lord we pray that your word would find us out each and all each and every one of us here in this place this day we pray Lord for any and all who are sick amongst us who who are here where perhaps not feeling well or who have not who have not be able to come because of illness because of sickness we pray Lord your rich blessing upon them may they know that that aid and help from from on high to do as they as they struggle in this struggle in this lore world with different ailments we pray Lord that you would be pleased to to to bless them and cause them to even in the midst of their difficulty to still lift their voice and praise and adoration to you and take in the word of God and be blessed by it we do pray but we do ask your blessing to be upon those who unlike ourselves they do face persecution they do face difficulty in this lower world from from their government governments from enemies of ultimately enemies of the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ we know Lord that we are not to expect a life of ease in this world and there are many who suffer greatly for the cause of Christ Lord we pray that you would remember them and cause them Lord to be bold in their testimony cause them to - to hold fast to the Word of God and to their salvation we pray Lord that you would be pleased to give them strength from on high and not in their own not in their own will their own might but rather than that which comes by your gracious Holy Spirit we do pray they would stand up against opposition you would be pleased to it to cause them to to persevere and and even and see the Church of Christ move forward and and be emboldened even by their their imprisonment their difficulties or perhaps even their martyrdom Lord we do ask your blessing upon our own nation we recognize Lord that we are in the midst of it of a of an election we pray Lord that your will we but would be done in this nation of ours we pray Lord that you would be merciful to us as a country cause us Lord to to seek your face and seek your blessing on behalf of this nation so the Church of Christ may continue on to to march on it we would not be molested or held down by by governing authorities we pray though that we will be allowed to to live in peace and the Lord you would be pleased to to to bless us with with a with a sense of righteousness those who are seeking office who are righteous that father you would bless those those efforts we pray that they would be that they would be put into positions of power and influence for the good of the church and for the good of the nation we know Lord you take an interest in these things we see it throughout the whole Old Testament and so Lord we we just pray to that end that you would be merciful to us as a nation forgive us of our sins and cleanse us afresh and the precious blood of your son the Lord Jesus Christ in his name we pray amen well please turn with me your hem books to him number 216 200 [Music] Oh amen you may be seated and please turn with me in your Bibles to Acts chapter 6 as we work through the New Testament in the morning the Old Testament in the evening for you to chapter each each Lord's Day so it's Acts chapter six we'll read the entirety of the chapter now in those days when the number of the disciples was multiplied and there arose a complaint against the Hebrews by the Helenus because their widows were neglected in the daily distribution then the twelve summoned the multitude of the disciples and said it is not desirable that we should leave the Word of God and serve tables therefore brethren seek out from among you seven men of good reputation full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom whom we may appoint over this business but we will give ourselves to continually to prayer and to the Ministry of the word and the same please the whole multitude and they chose stephen a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit and Philip pre-course Nikon or Timman Arminius and nicolas a proselyte from antioch whom they set before the apostles and when they had prayed they laid hands on them excuse me then the word of the word of God spread and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem and a great many of the priests were obedient to the faith and Stephen full of faith and power did great wonders and signs among the people then there arose some from what is called the synagogue of the freedmen sirenians Alexandrians and those from Cilicia and Asia disputing with Stephen and they were not able to resist the wisdom and the spirit by what she spoke then they secretly induced men to say we have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God and they stirred up the people the elders and the scribes and they came upon him seized him and brought him to the council they also set up false witnesses who said this man does not cease to speak blasphemous words against this holy place and the law for we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs which Moses delivered to us and all who sat the council looked stedfastly at him saw his face as the face of an angel Amen well let's pray loving heavenly father we do praise you for the fact Lord that you were moving the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ along here in this part of the the book of Acts the Acts of the Apostles we praise you Father this is the same church that continues to march forward in the year 2019 and will continue until the day you call the church home for the in its finality how we praise you father even though there have been those who would speak against the church those who would raise opposition to to your church we know Lord that all of these opposition's will we'll see so we know nothing of the people who were raised who raised their their their voices and and ultimately raised their their their arms against the people of God here in this chapter and the next chapter to come they are no more yet the Church of Christ is continuing to march forward and Lord we praise you that we are your people that Jesus is the calculation he is the shepherd of the church and and how we look to him and pray Lord that you would be pleased to continue to to March the church forward cause us as a local church at free rates Baptist to be like this early early New Testament church to be about the important things and and seek to be biblically ordered in all things so that you might add a blessing and so we might seek that blessing that does come from on high when the people of God are about the things of God in and doing it in an orderly fashion so lord help us in this in this place to to participate in these things to not speak against our those who are in authority over us and pray Lord that we would seek to come along and encourage and and be be that which which you desire in the people of God in the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ Lord bless bless these things we do pray and bless us in the next hour as we listen to the Word of God as we are instructed in the word we pray Lord that we might seek to be subservient to that word and that your spirit would would be pleased to bless the Word of God from this pulpit this day and it's in Jesus precious name we pray amen well please turn with me in your hymn books to the last ham before we do go to the Word of God in her preaching and it's hymn number 381 381 Alaska stand please [Music] [Applause] [Music] amen you may be seated well please turn with me in your Bibles to Acts chapter 10 back to the Apostles chapter 10 as we continue to work through this book of the Bible Acts chapter 10 is the most important passage it shows us the formal calling of the Gentiles to the Covenant promises of God Almighty and Peter is instrumental in this with reference to Cornelius and his household then ultimately the Apostle Paul will be raised up as the apostle to the Gentiles but I want to read the first section beginning in chapter 10 at verse 1 we'll read to verse 16 there was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius a Centurion of what was called the Italian regiment a devout man and the 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 before or come up for a more 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 comment this was done three times and the object was taken up into heaven again amen let us pray our Father in Heaven we thank you for the written word of the living and true God we know it is given by inspiration of God it's infallible it's inerrant and your people truly affirm every jot and tittle we ask God this morning that you would feed our hearts strengthen us and confirm our faith and cause us to grow in that Grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ and for any and all who've come here this morning that are that are not saved those who are still dead in their trespasses and sins we pray the Holy Spirit would be at work in hearts we pray that the Word of God would be taken and applied by the Spirit of God that you would bring that conviction for sin and set forth the supremacy and the glory of Jesus Christ alone to save to the uttermost all who draw nigh to God through him and father we pray now forgive us and cleanse us and watch us from all of our sin and transgression purify us in that precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ and fill us with your spirit guide us by the spirit so that we may receive these things and we pray through Christ Jesus our Lord amen well as I said acts 10 is a most important passage of check of Scripture because we see in it promises made to the people of Israel in the Old Testament coming to fruition we see that God's mercy God's grace God's salvation God's kindness is not simply confined to the nation of Israel but it is to be proclaimed to every tribe tongue people in Asia and we see the formal beginning of that in this call of Cornelius to faith in Jesus Christ the chapter is structurally simple you basically have two visions we looked last week at the vision given by the angel to Cornelius telling him to meet up with Simon Peter in Joppa and now in verses 9 to 16 we have a vision given to Simon Peter so that he will then go to Cornelius after a journey you then have a speech given by Cornelius sort of filling in the blanks as to the the nuts and bolts of this meeting and then you have Peter preached to him the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ this is then confirmed by the Holy Spirit falling upon the household of Cornelius and then it's confirmed in the church in Jerusalem according to chapter 8 chapter 11 verses 1 to 18 in acts so it's a beautiful display of God's grace it is as well a beautiful display of God's purpose to save in a comprehensive manner it isn't confined to one people group but rather the ends of the earth will know the salvation of our God the ends of our of the earth will know the glory of Jesus Christ what he says in Psalm 46:10 is a reality be still and know that I am God I will be exalted among the nation's I will be exalted in the earth that will come to pass that is sure Christ will in fact have dominion from sea to sea well I want to look at this vision that Peter is given under three particulars first the occasion of the vision secondly the vision proper and then thirdly the explanation of the vision it's kind of an interesting passage it's kind of an interesting thing Peter had heard the Lord's Commission to go to make disciples of all the nations Peter arguably had seen the Lord cleansing all foods but then Peter still has this reluctance against going to Cornelius remember it's new it's strange it's not the way that the Jews typically responded to the Gentiles around them and we see that with reference to Peter statement to Cornelius so let's look at the occasion in verses 9 and 10 we have Cornelius taking seriously the vision that he was given he then takes his two servants and then the soldier and he sends them to Joppa to fetch Peter and as they are journeying according to verse 9 Peter went up on the housetop to pray about the sixth hour so it's about noon it's lunchtime and I think that the fact that he's very hungry indicates why the vision is what the vision was in fact and I think the vision is ultimately a parable telling him that he ought not to be reluctant to go to this Gentile Cornelius but he's praying and then he comes into this trance and the word trance is where we get our word ecstasy we're in the vision proper it simply means a state of being in which consciousness is wholly or partially partially suspended it's frequently associated with divine action so in this trance it's not that he was checked out it's not that he was just humming the way some Eastern mystic does but rather God the Lord gives him this vision God the Lord displace to him what he is to know concerning the the subsequent events and with reference to the significance of this vision again we'll explore later in terms of God's explanation and Peters understanding but the point of this is that Peter ought not to be hesitant he ought not to be against going to this household of Cornelius one commentator FF Bruce says Peter had to be prepared for the encounter as well as Cornelius that's what's happening in these visions so not only was Cornelius prepared by this vision from the angel but Peter is being prepared by this vision from Christ he says Peter had to be prepared for the encounter as well as Cornelius and there were scruples to be overcome on Peters side as there were not on Cornelius's remember Cornelius was a God fear that means he was enamored with Israel's religion that means he was interested in Yahweh of Israel so he would have no qualms associating with Peter Peter however would have qualms about associating with Cornelius because Cornelius was a Gentile and if you're familiar with the Old Testament the Jews were supposed to be a separate people they were supposed to be a distinct people they were supposed to be a people separate unto God they were to be holy for the Lord God is holy and so therefore they wouldn't have that kind of interaction with Gentiles unless of course a Gentile became a proselyte if the Gentile wanted to get circumcised if the Gentile wanted to obey the law of Moses he was accepted in but for the most part there were these boundaries wherein the Jews would not have this kind of familiar interaction with a Gentile he goes on to say that very thing a god-fearing Gentile like Cornelius had no objection to the Society of Jews but even a moderately Orthodox Jew would not willingly enter the dwelling of a Gentile of a Gentile God Fuhrer though he might be now I suspect especially for persons that aren't familiar with this particular chapter how it seems a bit on this vision that is given to him this sheet lowered and all kinds of animals on it what is the significance of this particular vision well one of the ways that the Jews maintain separateness from the Gentiles around them was based on their diet it was based on what they ate in the Vinick his-- Chapter eleven God gave them a prohibition or a command to eat certain animals and a prohibition against eating other kinds of animals we call them clean and unclean this was repeated in Deuteronomy chapter 14 there are these prohibitions against eating the same sorts of things that the Gentiles do you might hear it today it's it's the kosher law Jews can only eat a specific type of meat or if it's prepared in a certain type of way well that comes from the Old Testament this was in fact a boundary marker it was in fact a way for them to maintain distinction from the peoples around them they also couldn't mix fabrics or fibers they there were all these particular rules called the ceremonial law which functioned to keep them separate from the pagans in fact when it comes to these food laws when it comes to these unclean animals the first concern is not food safety the first concern is not health it's not necessarily going to kill you if you eat pork it's not going to kill you if you eat bacon and research being what it is in terms of fat and saturated fat it's certainly not as bad as they once told us it was to eat bacon but in leviticus 11 the issue is not safety the is not health the issue is holiness and that's what God's Word specifies in Leviticus 11 at verses 44 and 45 God says I am the Lord your God you shall therefore consecrate yourselves that means separate yourselves and you shall be holy again we only here or we only think of holy as being morally pure the primary emphasis with reference to holiness or sanctification is to be set apart it is to be distinct from now certainly there is a moral dimension where conformity to God means moral purity but at its basic root the idea is separateness and this is what God is saying and again a Leviticus 11 he has rehearsed in great detail if you've read it Leviticus 11 you know that he deals with all manner of animals and it's at the point where some people say it feels like I'm reading a menu at a restaurant and things that I'm forbidden from eating but in that particular context he says I am Yahweh your God you shall therefore consecrate yourselves and you shall be holy for I am holy neither shall you defile yourselves with any creeping thing that creeps on the earth again it's not make yourself ill it's not compromised your your health it's not defile yourselves like the Gentiles around you are defiled it would be seen in connection with their diet he goes on to say for I am the Lord who brings you up out of the land of Egypt to be your God you shall therefore be holy for I am holy be separate from the pagans because God is separate and then again in leviticus chapter 20 at verses 24 to 26 he says I am the Lord your God who has separated you from the peoples you shall therefore distinguish between clean animals and unclean between unclean birds and clean and you shall not make yourselves abominable by beasts or by bird or by any kind of living thing that creeps on the ground which I have separated from you as unclean and you shall be holy to me for I the LORD am holy and have separated you from the peoples that you should be mine so that's the backdrop to this Euler vision Peter sees this sheet lower down some speculate because Joppa is on the coast he's seen sails and and perhaps that's one of the reasons why in this vision this this sheet this white sheet but in that sheet are all manner of animals there's a mixing between the clean and the unclean there's certainly clean in there but the problem is is that they're mixed with the unclaimed and that's why Peter resists that that command to eat or kill and eat because according to verse 14 he's never eaten that he's never compromised himself he has taken Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14 seriously he hasn't eaten shrimp he's never ingested bacon he's never had Lobster he has kept himself from those things as an observant Jew to distinguish himself from the pagans from the Gentiles around him this was part and parcel of Old Covenant religion there was this ceremonial law which governed the people while they had tenure in the land now notice the instruction that comes after verses 11 and 12 he sees heaven opened and an object like a great sheep 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 again you can see why the text tells us he was very hungry this is the occasion upon which God sends this particular vision he's very hungry he wants to eat so God gives him this vision Peter sees it Peter knows there are unclean animals in there based on his testimony in verse 14 and yet the Lord Christ tells him rise kill and eat now when he objects to this it's not because he's got some pita running through his veins he's not the kind of guy that says meat is murder he's not the kind of guy that would throw you know red paint on somebody who was wearing a fur coat but rather he was a Jew strictly bound to the law of Moses and that ceremonial aspect where he wouldn't ingest those things as a good and observant Jew but in terms of the particular language that is used here this this verb kill J Alexander says kill is in Greek verb denoting sacrificial slaying or the act of killing with a reference to some religious purpose the use of this significant expression shows that the following command and eat refers not merely to the satisfaction of the appetite but to those ceremonial restrictions under which the law of Moses placed the Jews both in their worship and in their daily use of necessary food I don't I light all this so you can have a clear conscience when you have your BLT this afternoon you have to appreciate what's happening here this is massive this is huge and redemptive religion Peter as an observant Jew is being told to do something that he himself had never done and then notice Peters response in verse 14 it's similar to something we see in the Old Testament verse 14 Peter said not so Lord for I have never eaten anything common or unclean again Peter's not asserting sinless perfection Peter's not saying I'm the best guy that's ever been but Peter is saying in terms of Leviticus 11 in Deuteronomy 14 mother never served a sport in terms of Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14 mother never served us shellfish as an adult my wife doesn't cook those things either it is something that we abide by and I am NOT going to arise and kill and eat because these clean animals have been infected by and contagious or had the contagion of these these unclean animals that are mixed with that now put your finger in acts 10 and go back to Ezekiel 4 for just a moment the prophet Ezekiel in Chapter four goes through a very similar situation but in many ways exactly opposite and again for those of you who are thinking I'm not sure where this is going I'm gonna hopefully show you where it's going and then draw out some practical lessons at the end so that you can enjoy your bacon sandwich today in Ezekiel 4 at verse 9 now you got to remember Ezekiel was a prophet at the time of the Exile he lived and moved and had his being prophesying to Israel at the time whether it was the Babylonian captivity Israel as the covenant people of God Almighty had been given stipulations they had been given law on how they were to conduct themselves in the land that they were dwelling in because they violated that law they made themselves liable to the just judgment of God Almighty when you read the book of Deuteronomy in the Book of Leviticus it ends with this covenant curses for those who disobey and covenant blessings for those who obey and in Deuteronomy 28 specifically what is spelled out in great detail is invasion by foreign invaders and by exile and that is precisely what has happened at the time of Ezekiel the Prophet Babylon has come Babylon has destroyed the city Babylon has destroyed the temple and Babylon has carted off to dance into the land of Babylonia Ezekiel is told to preach to teach and to encourage those who are faithful and to interpret this situation and show them that it's their fault they're in this particular position and with reference to Ezekiel and some of the other prophets they had to engage in what was called acted parables they would do something symbolic that would then be for the people to learn and in Ezekiel 4:9 says also take for yourself wheat barley beans lentils millet and Spell for those of you who have an affinity for health foods probably seen Ezekiel 4:9 bread I know I've seen it somewhere I don't have a particular affinity for bread in general so I don't need specialized breads I mean I love bread but I try to stay away from bread but Ezekiel 4:9 bread comes from this passage it was a particular predator zekiel was commanded to make but the way that Ezekiel was commanded to bake it was contrary to these laws concerning cleanliness and uncleanness so he tells him to take these particular grains he says put them into one vessel and make bread of them for yourself during the number of days that you lie on your side 390 years a days you shall eat it and your food which you eat shall be by weight 20 shekels a day from time to time you shall eat it you shall also drink water by measure one-sixth of a hen from time to time you shall drink the end game is is that Israel in captivity is going to go through severe dietary restrictions in other words the Babel are gonna give them three hots and a cot they're not going to get all kinds of profusely good foods they're not going to engage in the sorts of things that they had been you know sort of been uh used to and so this is an active parable to describe to them what they will endure but notice in verse 12 and you shall eat it as barley cakes and bake it using fuel of human waste in their sight no give you a second to go ooh as you ponder the implications of that but the issue is cleanliness unclean nests use human dung dry it out fire it up and use that to bake your bread that's going to be this parable to Israel to underscore for them the misery that they are facing is this as a direct result of their having violated the covenant verse 13 then the Lord said so shall the children of Israel eat their defiled bread among the Gentiles where I will drive that this is part of the curse you've been driven into exile you're gonna eat defiled food you live like defiled Gentiles you're gonna eat food that defile Gentiles eat now notice Ezekiel's response very similar to what Peter does so I said O Lord God indeed I have never defiled myself from my youth till now I have never eaten what died of itself or was torn by beasts nor has abominable flesh ever come into my mouth again he like Peter is not asserting sinless perfection I've only ever done what's right now he's sang in terms of Allah vidiq is 11 and Deuteronomy 14 I have told the law line my wife my beloved the desire of my eyes doesn't serve me so shellfish my beloved my wife my desire of the eyes does not serve me that which is unclean so he's able to maintain fidelity like Peter in the same sort of a way and then God in His grace and in his kindness makes this concession verse 15 then he said to me see I am giving you cow-dung instead of human waste and you shall prepare your bread over it again we might still say ooh but at least this isn't unclean at least this isn't abominable the way that human dung was so going back to the to the book of Acts in Acts chapter 10 both men are given the same sort of instruction by our God and both men are horrified at the thought of actually ingesting something that was unclean but both men do it for exactly the opposite reasons and I think goodness Johnson explains this well he says instead of symbolizing Israel's pollution along with the Gentiles as Ezekiel's unclean diet was to do Peters diet was to symbolize the Gentiles purification along with Israel so on the one hand in Ezekiel for this command baked these barley cakes with human dog was to show that Israel had become defiled alongside of the Gentiles but in acts 10 as he has this vision from the Lord and the Lord says arise kill and eat it signifies the exact opposite the Gentiles are purified not every single one is saved but they're no longer in the category of unclean such that Peter can now go to the household of Cornelius to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ that's the significance in this particular vision he goes on to say the command that shocked Ezekiel announced the defilement and rejection of Israel but the command that shocked Peter announced the cleansing and the reception of the Gentiles if you see that it's perfectly consistent one with the other with the exact opposite outcome for zekiel this unclean diet demonstrated the defilement of Israel but with reference to Peter this unclean diet demonstrated the purification of the Gentiles again not that every single Gentile is saved but they are no longer classified as the unclean thing that we have no truck with Peter learned the lesson well and he goes to the household of Cornelius and that brings us thirdly and finally to the explanation of the vision notice the Lord's explanation in verses 15 and 16 Peter says not so Lord for I have never eaten anything common or unclean didn't you love how God doesn't say how dare you talk to me that way how dare you address me that way no God teaches him God instructs him but God knows our frame he knows what we're but dust and he pities us you know there's very often times in scripture where a man will will pray to God and if you and I were God we'd say how in the world could you address me that way how dare you don't you know to whom you're speaking it's not that case or not that way here God in His grace is leading God and His grace is instructing God and His grace is moving Peter along so that Peter will do what God has purpose for him to do so in verse 15 a voice spoke to him again the second time what God has cleansed you must not call comment now the language suggests to purify through ritual cleansing to make clean or to declare clean in other words if God has made something clean visa v this particular animal you're not supposed to condemn it if God has made clean Gentiles then you're not supposed to condemn them God announces at this particular point that those ceremonies I would suggest had already been abrogated but in this point he is telling him those ceremonies are no longer for us Bruce again says the divine cleansing of food and the vision is a parable of the divine cleansing of human beings in the incident to which the vision leads up it's two parable now I understand good men differ on this some men say the primary emphasis is that Peter shouldn't treat Cornelius is unclean any more but we still can't eat bacon and we still can't eat shellfish there are some who argue that way and I would respectfully disagree with them but I wouldn't say they're completely out to lunch because the primary emphasis no pun intended they went out to lunch having lobster that the the primary emphasis is that he's not supposed to call Cornelius unclean he's supposed to go preach to Cornelius but in my head if this is the analog or the parable then the parable is true as well and I think arguably in mark chapter 7 Jesus does purify foods and I think the rest of the New Testament does and to demonstrate that not at great detail but a little bit because I think it's an important issue to sort of understand but in terms of what God has cleanse you must not call comment this is what we call the ceremonial law now for those who have not been in our church and this is all brand new to you you're free to talk to me after to try and get some clarification you're free to take one of our confessions of faith and look at chapter 19 specifically God is a God who has given law that law has a three-fold division there is moral law and that simply reflects and shows us the moral perfections of God Almighty that moral law is summarily comprehended in the Ten Commandments that never changes there's no fluctuation there's no increase there's no decrease there's no movement from that solid base that's why in our church we affirm the Christian Sabbath because we do not confess that God gave 9 of the Ten Commandments but we confess that God gave all 10 and as I said they are a perfect revelation of his will for us so the moral law is unbending the moral law is inflexible if you're interested in moral law come back tonight because we're gonna start a study in the Ten Commandments on the moral law of God but Israel was also given this ceremonial law again in this instance food laws to keep them distinct and separate from the pagans around that there were other aspects of the ceremonial law that pointed forward to the Lord Jesus Christ they prefigured they typify they they demonstrated they showed what Messiah would do when he came so when Messiah comes he fulfills that and thus abrogates it and then the third division in the law is what's called the judicial law and that was laws given to Israel as a body politic or a Commonwealth on how they were to govern themselves as they lived in the land in other words it was to take the Ten Commandments and to give concrete applications of those Commandments in society for instance Israel was forbidden have a rooftop that didn't have a fence around it as we see in this passage Peter went up on the roof to pray he couldn't do that here but in those situations they had flat roofs and so they had to put a fence up because if somebody fell off the roof and died you could be criminally liable for a violation of the six commandment so it was these general principles of the moral law and Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5 taken out and applied to society now our confession of faith says that it is expired with that Commonwealth in other words there's no longer a theocracy called Israel that's living in is in that particular land but there is general equity binding can we learn from that Old Covenant law maybe we don't have a flat roof but we have a swimming pool and we would be fools to not put a fence around the swimming pool and see our neighbors kids drown in it so there is general equity there is wisdom to be garnered there is great blessing to to following that law of Moses but in terms of its application to a particular Commonwealth it has expired with that people so that's the threefold division of the law so you cannot suggest well God changed his mind God had at one time an affinity or a problem with shellfish and now he's okay with that one time he thought pigs were terrible filthy creatures and and only Gentiles should eat them and and now it's okay for us to have bacon God always purpose that that ceremonial law would be temporary there's no change in God there's no mutability in God there's no possibility in God but rather God in his decree God and His purpose gave this law to Israel the moral is always the ceremonial was temporary as was the judicial that is consistent biblical theology and if we falter at this point we're going to have a whole host of problems as new covenant Christians because we're not thinking the way the Bible tells us to think in this matter of law and then that's God's explanation what God has clans you must not call common verse 15 this was done three times and the object was taken up into heaven again this three times confirms that in fact it is from the Lord and that Peter must in fact obey and comply so that's God's explanation but notice Peters ex understanding how does Peter interpret this vision that's the big question does Peter immediately leave and go get a bacon sandwich no he doesn't do that he does what he understands is the main point of the vision that has been committed to him notice in verse 28 in verse 28 as he approaches Cornelius he says 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 so it wasn't in the first place shrimp it wasn't in the first place bacon it was in the first place Cornelius it was about evangelization of the Gentiles God has shown me I am NOT supposed to call you unclean I am here Cornelius to welcome you to Christ as Savior that mediator to Israel's God I'm here to extend to you the the mercy of God in and through the gospel of his beloved and glorious son drop down to verses 34 and 35 again the same emphasis Peter opened his mouth and said in truth I proceed that God shows no partiality but in every nation whoever fears him and works righteousness is a cow accepted by him that doesn't mean there's actually persons and nations that are righteous and are accepted by God based on their works the idea is is that God is no longer not accepting Gentiles and see the big issue for the Jerusalem church in chapter 11 and then the Jerusalem Council in acts 15 is this do we require Gentiles who have confessed faith in Jesus to be circumcised in other words do we require Gentiles to be circumcised and to abide by kosher laws in order to be called the believing people of God the redounded answer in Acts and acts 11 acts 15 and the book of Galatians is no we don't it's not the case that a Gentile believes the gospel and get circumcised and then is accepted by God in other words Gentiles don't have to become Jews in order to be saved that's the issue that is driving this scene this section Vera chapter 11 and chapter 15 as well Philip Roth says Peters vision and speech show that he has now understood that if food distinctives have been abolished national israel is no longer the exclusive theater of divine love peter is seeing the gospel going to every tribe tongue people in asia again we might say well Peter you should have seen that in Noah's words and in Genesis chapter 9 you sure should have seen it and God's promise to Abraham that in him all the nations of the earth should be blessed you sure should have seen it in the prophets where they talk about the Gentiles coming to Israel's God he sure should have seen it in the Psalter which says all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him again should we fault Peter for not seeing the obvious when in many instances each and every day you and I don't see the obvious either this was novel it was strange it was a new thing it wasn't the case that they had grown up under this kind of a mindset where they went and had dinner at Gentile homes and then they invited those Gentiles to come unto Jesus apart from circumcision apart from the ceremonial law apart from obedience to Moses that was just not done in Peters childhood and Peter's adulthood so we shouldn't blame him for having to to have this vision but rather we should praise God that God gave him this vision to lead him along the way so that he would understand and so that he would say what God has cleansed I am not at liberty to condemn I am not at liberty to call unclean and then in terms of the amplification of this one passage and then we go to some application turn to acts 15 acts 15 as I said this is what's called the Jerusalem Council and essentially what the Jerusalem got together for was this issue Gentiles are starting to confess faith in Israel's God Gentiles are starting to believe in Israel's Messiah Gentiles are starting to confess that Jesus Christ has forgiven them of their sins how do we deal with these Gentiles that's what acts 15 is about in fact if you look at verse 1 it sets the context in certain men came down from Judea and taught the Brethren unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses you cannot be saved you see you see this I'm not trying to confuse anybody I think it's all very crystal clear you had this transition period where Gentiles are coming to faith and certain Jews are saying wait a minute we've come to faith but we had to get circumcised which we can't eat shrimp wait we've never had a bacon sandwich these guys can't just sort of march into the presence of Yahweh through His Son Jesus Christ without having fulfilled some Torah that that's just unconscionable you kind of see how persons might think that can't you that's the context and so they convened this council to give explanation as to how they're supposed to deal with these Gentiles are being who are being included in the Covenant promises of God now notice they first speak with Peter Peter first reports and in verses 7 to 11 verse 6 tells us the Apostles and elders came together to consider this matter and when there had been much dispute Peter rose up and said to them men and brethren I love that there had been much dispute so they all went home no they continued to work through it boy this this generation can learn from the past we dispute we get offended and that's it it's all over brethren good men dispute good men throwdown good men disagree and good men remain friends and brothers they don't just say forget it I can't have any more fellowship with him because he disagrees with me what an arrogant wicked vile approach in God's world if we can't dispute and remain brothers and sisters and friends I'm not talking about disputing the deity of Jesus I'm not talking about disputing the tri-unity of God I'm not talking about disputing you know justification by faith alone but but in this was a big one this is actually a soteriological debate who's in who's included in the covenant promises of God so they dispute they have a problem later on in acts 15 Paul and Barnabas separate it's again we just can't comport with that wait a minute one of them both of them had to be wicked evil and wrong no maybe good man at times just agree to disagree and go their separate ways that that's almost like we can't do that anyway we've lost the ability as a body politic in Canada and in America to actually talk to each other and disagree oh you you believe that I can't we just shut down everything we just have no more interaction we have no more discussion we have no more nothing that is the wrong approach and I think we can learn from our four bears now notice what Peter ices up and says verse seven men and brethren you know that a good while ago God chose among us that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe Peter knew Peter understood Peter saw the emphasis in acts 10 so God verse eight who knows the heart acknowledged them by giving them the holy spirit just as he did to us and made no distinction between us and them purifying their hearts by faith what God has cleansed don't call common in this instance with reference to George Cornelius and his household the cleansing went all the way to the purification of the heart by faith it's a beautiful testimony and a statement concerning God's grace to these Gentiles and then notice in verse nine and made no distinction between us and then purifying their hearts by faith now therefore verse nine why do you test God by putting a yoke on the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear you see what Peter is saying you want them to abide by the ceremonies that none of us could you want them to not only believe the gospel but obey the law of God in order to be accepted he says none of us could do that none of our fathers could oh sure Peter could nod to the Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14 but somewhere among those ceremonies Peter was it was off see that was the problem in Old Covenant Israel the law in Exodus 20 the law in Deuteronomy 5 wasn't the means by which they would be saved it was a means by which they wouldn't be they would be instructed in their need for salvation that's one of the emphases in the prophet Ezekiel in chapter 20 the zekiel says to that you're in this mess because of you you're in this mess because of your unwillingness to obey God and Peter is saying the same thing you're putting a yoke on these Gentiles that we can't bear up with doesn't Jesus do that in Matthew chapter 23 they lay heavy burdens on their hearers but they themselves won't won't do anything to lift it they themselves won't do anything to try and help out and then notice what he says in verse 11 but we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved notice in the same manner as they grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone irrespective of circumcision irrespective of diet irrespective all of all those ceremonies that were in the Old Covenant that were temporary that set forth certain truths concerning Jesus but were destined or purposed to be fulfilled by Christ and thus be abrogated and then notice one final place in acts 15 just so we can get our bearings as to what's happening here notice how they respond in this instance in verse 23 they debate they discuss and then they agree to write this letter with some simple instructions not as an exhaustive detailed list of a Gentile list of do's and dos don'ts but rather it's to facilitate this transition period when Gentiles are coming into the church and so in verse 23 they wrote this letter by that the Apostles the elders and the brethren to the brethren who are of the Gentiles in Antioch Syria and Cilicia greetings since we have heard that some who went out from us have troubled you with words unsettling your soul saying you must be circumcised and keep the law to whom we gave no such commandment it seemed good to us being assembled with one Accord to send chosen men to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul men who have risked their lives for the name of the Lord Jesus Christ we have therefore sent Judas and Silas who will also report the same things by word of mouth for it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things that you abstain from things offered to idols from blood from things strangled and from sexual immorality if you keep yourselves from these you will do well farewell now the point again is not a comprehensive list of laws for Gentiles who are included in the Covenant promises of God it's for this period of transition it's for this time when the Gentiles are coming in and the Gentiles are so are told you know know you bacon you don't eat your bacon sandwich in front of the Jews necessarily don't don't eat things that that they were forbidden in their presence so I mean can't ever do that but in terms of facilitating this unity this union that we have these are some things the Holy Spirit is given to us and this will help facilitate the inclusion of the Gentiles so that's exposition I want to draw out a few closing and a concluding thoughts again I think this was a bit more teaching than normal but it's a difficult passage and there's a lot of different understandings about this vision and about the significance a lot of you know questions about God's law and you know for instance the the Bible forbids the eating are in the Old Testament Bible forbids the eating of shellfish and there's persons that have made a parody site that you know God hates shrimp and and it's to mock Christians because my Christians say well you know the Bible condemns for instance homosexuality yeah but it also condemns eating shrimp and so these people have made this site God hates shrimp it's probably still up there I don't know who would have taken it down but it's to mock Christians for what appears to be inconsistency you understand that right the Old Covenant law you had prohibit prohibitions against mixing fibers but you also had these moral admonitions about mixing you know genders and engaging in perversion and the various sorts of things that the Bible condemns how do we navigate through there in a consistent way it's to have a biblical understanding of God's law this is crucial if you do not understand God's law you're going to have problems in this day and age as a Bible believer who says I believe in God's law it is under attack it is under assault and more often than not by people who have no understanding whatsoever between the differences in sexual perversion and shrimp and if we can't navigate through that with a proper response we look like the fools they assume that we are at some point the church has to stop helping the world by looking so foolish let's not make their job easier let's not make it better on them when Christians can't think beyond this particular thing and provide somewhat of a comprehensive approach to how to deal with God's law Romans 6:14 a famous passage famously abused by a whole host of Christians you are not under law you're under grace therefore to demand that the people of God keep the Sabbath on Sunday is legalism that's not what Romans 6:14 means at all and if you don't get that you need to study more there's a whole wing of persons that don't get that and they need to study more brethren this is serious business we are laughed at by the world we are mocked by the world and more often than not we help them in this endeavor because we don't know anything so to that end I wanted to spend a little bit of time to try and say there's threefold division within the law and the food laws were ceremonial it was always purposed by God to be abrogated or fulfilled by Jesus Christ and therefore it was by design temporary so in terms of some practical observations first we see the grace of God in this vision to peter.kenny doesn't say Peter I can't believe you're answering this mediate me this way I cannot believe you have the arrogance I happen to know that one day back in so-and-so you ate a shrimp he doesn't do that did Peter really never have a shrimp or bacon yeah he says he didn't same with his iki oh it's amazing when you know how good shrimp and bacon are right once you get hit as I want to keep eating drumbeats sure I'm the bacon but but God in His grace gives in this vision God in this grace says give me your hand I want to lead you to the household of Cornelius it's beautiful thing God deals with his children in that way so I'm 103 is a reality he knows our frame he pities us he knows that we're but dust he doesn't come screaming at us every single time we simply say something wherein we need a bit more education or knowledge secondly I think in the passage in the passage as a whole we see the glory of God in the salvation of sinners we see the grace of God Almighty in the salvation of Jew and Gentile we see the glory of the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ through whom these two men Jew and Gentile are made one new man in Christ Jesus it's beautiful piece of Scripture in Ephesians chapter 2 there's actually a group of people out there they're called dispensationalists they like to tell you there's this great big distinction between Jews and Gentiles but Sheikh Paul writes Ephesians 2 to tell you there's not a great big distinction between Jews and Gentiles there was a distinction between Jews and Gentiles they were two peoples but in Christ those two have been brought together and they've been made one new man what God has joined together let no man separate why would anybody want to separate these two well I know why because they've got an odd view of the end times ultimately thirdly the reality that Gentiles do not have to become Jews in order to be saved it's good news for you and I isn't it it's not belief on the gospel and get circumcised belief on the gospel and change your diet belief on the gospel and obey the ceremonies of Moses belief on the gospel and there's no end that's what Acts 11 teaches us that's what acts 15 teaches us and that's what the entirety of the book of Galatians teaches us Galatians is about no ends no you know additions no supplementation its grace alone through faith alone in Christ Jesus alone you have Paul's famous declaration in Galatians 2:20 one I do not set aside the grace of God for if righteousness comes through the law circumcision kosher diet whatever other national identity badges that might have been associated with Israel or even not committing murder not committing idolatry if righteousness comes through the law then what then Christ died in vain the glory of the Christian gospel is that he came for sinners to save and that the call of the Christian gospel isn't fix yourself stop sinning make yourself better obey the Lord and then come to the Lord that's not the gospel the gospel says come the gospel says believe the gospel says look ye and be saved all the ends of the earth for I am God and there is no other see the gospel doesn't come to men women boys and girls who can help themselves the gospel comes to those who are helpless the gospel comes to those who are guilty the gospel comes to those who are sinful the gospel comes to those who are at enmity with God that means they hold God in contempt and God holds them in contempt the gospel comes without strings attached and that's what the Jerusalem Council demonstrates that's what the saving of Cornelius demonstrates that's what this acts 11 148 demonstrates and that's the beauty of the book of Galatians dare I said it was the beauty of the Protestant Reformation because Rome taught belief in Rome taught faith plus Rome taught this in know the sound of the gospel is that it comes to needy guilty sinners there's a bit in the Prophet Jeremiah Jeremiah chapter 3 and God says to Israel return ye back sliding sinners and I will heal you the gospel comes to people that can't heal themselves see we're not smarter wiser or more ingenious than the rabble around us we're guilty vile helpless weak spotless lamb God was he full atonement can it be hallelujah what a savior that's who the gospel comes to and when we start adding when we start supplementing when we say faith plus whatever our Shibboleth has to be we have failed we have rejected we have been generated into Roman Roman ISM and into Galatian ISM and into the heresy of Judy icing and we are not supposed to do that if we cannot preach Christ and him crucified to the Jews a stumbling-block unto the Greeks foolishness but to those who are being saved Christ the wisdom and power of God then we've not learned the truth we've not learned Christ third the purpose of God in the abrogation of the food laws again persons go to mark seven where Jesus is dealing with the disciples and the Pharisees and he says it's not what what goes into the man that's the problem it ain't bacon it ain't shrimp it's what comes out of the man it's the adultery it's the murder it's the the the wicked speech it's the vileness see this is the the problem with all non-christian religion this is the problem with all secular humanism they want to fix things by controlling externals get rid of guns and everybody will be happy get rid of this food and everybody will be happy get rid of alcohol everybody will be happy get rid of cars everybody will be happy the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked if a man doesn't have a gun he'll use his hands if he doesn't have his hands he'll uses a rock there's always a way to dispatch somebody from this world if a man is purposing in his heart to destroy there's always a way for a man to find vent for his sin pollution Christianity doesn't just police the externals it purifies the heart it deals with man where he needs to be dealt with we need a redemptive religion and that's what Christianity brings Christ is the one who stood in the place of guilty sinners such that we might have everlasting life so when we see this in Mark's Gospel it seems to be that mark makes the note that he thus purified all foods but if the so Jellicle argument there doesn't hold we have Romans 14 14 kingdom of God isn't about eating and drinking we have first Timothy 4 first Timothy 4 Paul says there's going to be doctrines of demons in the last days you know what these doctrines of demons are going to do they're gonna make you go out and have a black mass they're gonna make you go out and sacrifice a young virgin that's not what they're gonna do they're gonna forbid marriage and they're gonna forbid meats things that God has given to be enjoyed now again it could envision a Gentile diet and whatnot but probably it has in the mind these Jews that were still fast EDIUS upon the kosher rules Paul says every creature of God is given by God and it's sanctified by prayer and thankfulness you can eat that steak for the glory of God you know those of you who are familiar with potpourri you were told there's a child like I was you couldn't eat meat on Friday really that's what God's about I'm gonna eat the fillet a fish on Friday I really seem to me that McDonald's knew when Lent was and you'd see all these sort of fillet if I can't prove this it's conjecture but it seems like they fly the flag of the filet-o-fish it went because they know Pope Asur papist can't eat meat on Friday why not be the place that'll sell them they're their fish sandwich but but that's the kind of stuff we were subject to in that Galatian is up and that approach to acceptance with you really my problem is is that I may eat meat on Friday if you knew me for like two seconds you'd say that's not your problem me just having a general understanding of the people in this audience it's not your problem that you meet on Friday dad ain't it you see we have the threefold division of the law and the food laws were ceremonial they were purposed to separate the nation from the pagans around them there's no longer a theocracy the church is described as a holy nation but not physically and temporally it's not like we occupy a particular parcel of the world and there we are in our in our Conclave and we're a theocracy and we just do our bit no we're a holy nation in the spiritual sense we live in the world in 1st Corinthians chapter 10 the so Paul says don't ask questions for conscience sake for the earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof in the context of meat sacrificed to idols he says don't ask just eat it now if someone offers it to you and says it was it was offered to saya idols and their conscience is bothered then don't eat it for the earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof it's intriguing he uses Psalm 24:1 in both instances go ahead and eat just don't ask if if you don't ask you don't know that it's been offered the Brethren this isn't me making this up you can check this on your own later first Corinthians 10 in fact let me just read it to get it in front of us all things are lawful for me but not all things are helpful all things are lawful for me but not all things edify let no one seek his own but each one the others well being eat whatever is sold in the meat market asking no question for conscience sake for the earth is the Lord's and all its fullness that meant as a believer in Corinth when you went to the market you could just buy was on the Shelf was that offered to sales was that in Chapter eight he says we know that an idol is nothing if you're eating it offends a brother then don't eat it by all means but not because there are really idols and this was really you know food that was sacrificed I that's not the issue the issue is if you're offending a brother then you should willingly abdicate willingly give it up but in this instance brethren the church in the world was to go to the to the to the local market and just buy the meat on the shelf again the I think it's a ceremonial threefold division of the law issue and in our confession it says all which ceremonial laws being a point that only the time of reformation are by Jesus Christ the true Messiah and only lawgiver who was furnished with power from the Father for that and abrogated and taken away and then the final thing I want to bring out I I think this is keenly practical it's something I've tried to deal with for 22 years that I've been here and it's something I hope I deal with for the next 22 years if I happen to be here I don't know I could get hit by a car today I could eat bad soup who knows I could eat pork I could go the way of all flesh there's a principle at least in this passage that we need to appreciate when God says what God has cleansed you must not call common what God has cleansed you must not call common there is a principle at least embedded in the text of the doctrine of Christian Liberty if God does not condemn something then we can't either you get that but we do don't win we do sometimes well you know if you listen to the modern media of decanas though we'll get guns just March all around the world kill people I happen to know there's gun owners in this church that don't kill anybody be very careful before condemning something that God hasn't God speaks very favorably of self-defense I'm just using a hot topic issue God blesses Cornelius who was a Centurion if Cornelius and his hundred troops live today they would have guns that would just be the way that they would have truck in this world if God has not condemned it is not our prerogative to condemn either now I think we all resonate with that especially when it's our Liberty that somebody's condemning but do we resonate when it's somebody else's Liberty that we're condemning this happens in Mass brethren we judge each other we really do it's in the New Testament Romans 14 Paul tells us there's particular rules for the weak brother and the strong brother in the context the weak brother only eats vegetables now that doesn't mean Paul was you know just me you know keto diets sort of a guy it had to do what the Jewish Jewish diet as well but the weak brethren didn't let themselves eat meat the strong brethren ain't me now there's temptation for the strong brother to eat as meat you know he's got his big turkey Shawn on it right in front of his weak brother Paul says don't do that but there is a contrary problem with the weak brother where he judges the strong I can't believe he eats a turkey leg Paul says don't do it don't go down that path if you're a weak fine my encouragement is that you get strong if you're strong fine but do not take that Liberty and parade it in front of your brethren in the in the in a means to to up break that know you stand before God you stand before Jesus God has legislated God has regulated God has given a whole host of commands as to what we should do and he's given a lot of commands as to what we shouldn't do but there are other things that he simply hasn't addressed guns forints well it I actually think it is addressed alcohol that's another hot topic item the Bible forbids drunkenness it doesn't forbid alcohol if you don't want to drink fine if you as a stronger brother want to drink fine but if it causes a brother for whom Jesus died to stumble then don't drink there are rules for how we function one with another and you know what one of them never is judge everybody different from you and look down upon them that's not a rule I can find now if you can find that you can show me in the New Testament then I'll say yeah and amen but it ain't there I'm gonna tell you it ain't there there are matters of Christian liberty and our confession embodies the principle beautifully God alone is the lord of the conscience and has left it free from the doctrines and commandments of men which are in anything contrary to his word or not contained in it we get a B in our bonnet that our way of doing something is the best way well it may be you may have stumbled onto the best way but if there's not chapter and verse that that is the best way you can encourage brethren you can show them how you do it but you can judge them if they don't do it the same way if I came on a Sunday morning and said in order to be a godly Christian you need to read your Bible and pray that means you're up at 5:00 and that means you're in your Greek New Testament at 5:01 that's overreach brethren none of you should say oh that's good no you could read at 5:01 p.m. if you'd like you can read at 8:35 p.m. if you'd like it's the doing of it that is encouraged and even then there's not chapter and verse let's say you got hit by a car that day you're consuming consuming thought ought not to be well I didn't get to read my Bible to know you're consuming thought ought to be nutrients and blood flow and health and doing what the doctors tell you so that you don't die on the table that should be the consuming thought see there's overreach that happens by the federal government we all cry foul but there's overreach that happens in the context of the church with elders to people we should cry foul and it certainly should be foul if we do that to each other preferences are not God's law I'm gonna say this forever until I die and hopefully and and I'm not saying it's all I got the same thing I told somebody recently yeah I judge it's inevitable it's part of us factor a Hajj or Charles Hodgman is systematic theology says it is a common saying that every man has a pope in his own bosom that is the disposition to lord it over god's heritage is almost universal men wish to have their opinions on moral questions made into laws to bind the conscience 'as of their brethren again just look at the Church of Rome as exhibit a Exhibit A of that but but there are Protestant churches that do the same sort of thing Calvin on our text what God has cleansed you must not call comment he says furthermore this is a place of great importance to beat down the froward nests of men which they use too much in perverse judgments there is no man almost which does not grant Liberty to himself to judge of other pens doings now as we are churlish and malicious we lean more toward the worst part so that we take from God that which is his this voice alone ought to suffice to correct such boldness that it is not lawful for us to make this or that unclean but that this power belongs to God alone if God has cleansed something were not to call it unclean if God has never condemned something such that it needs to be cleansed we certainly can't call that condemned either there is a principle of Christian Liberty in Peters vision that I think we all need to take a hold of and to guard our hearts from the judgmental ISM that is so rampant in churches that we are obnoxious to one another and we are pharisaic and we are more like the federal government than we ought to be now brethren finally we look at verse 43 if you are not a believer this morning you may not understand about shrimp you may not understand about bacon you may Dunn may not understand about trances you may not understand about Gentile inclusion in the faith or in the in the covenant of grace but I hope you'll understand verse 43 Peter preaching to the household of Cornelius says in verse 43 to him that's Jesus Christ to him all the prophets witness that through his name whoever believes in Him will receive remission of sins that's where I want to end because that's where Peter ends and that's most important we need to guard our hearts against a judgmental attitude we need to guard our hearts against a doctrine or a perversion of the doctrine of Christian Liberty we need to guard our hearts against separating what what god has brought together Jew and Gentile but of all of us we need to appreciate that in Christ Jesus there is forgiveness if you are here this morning you have broken God's law maybe nobody in your life has told you that but I'm going to tell you right now you're not supposed to engage in idolatry you're not supposed to blaspheme the name of God you're not supposed to break his Sabbath you're not supposed to be insubordinate the governing authority you're certainly not supposed to murder commit adultery steal lie and coven all of us have done that all we like sheep have gone astray there is none righteous no not one but to him all the prophets witness that whoever everyone who believes in his name will receive mission of sentence will receive forgiveness will receive the blessing of purification of the heart by the grace and power of God Almighty so if you're not a believer this morning I exhort you I encourage you I tell you to look unto Him that one in whom alone there is forgiveness and mercy that one who is Jesus Christ our Lord will let us close in a word of Prayer father we thank you for your word we thank you for this section in acts 10 and the great things that it teaches us concerning your great grace and God help us as well not to engage in the sorts of sins that that scripture so frequently mentions with reference to one another help us to be charitable help us to be loving help us to exercise liberties responsibly to not exercise them responsibly to do so in a posture of love and kindness and care and affection rather than in a judgmental or churlish attitude as Calvin reminds us help us father to glorify you and thank you Father for the gospel of our salvation and we pray in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ amen we're going to close by singing the doxology in praise to God that's number 568 in your hem books 568 will stand as we sing and then I'll close us with a brief benediction and then pray for God's blessing upon our meal [Music] the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all amen Father thank you for this good word given by the Apostle to the church in Corinth thank you by extension it is for us and God help us to know these blessings to know the joy of being found in Christ Jesus our Lord and thank you for the food that you have provided to us thank you for them the provision the kindness the bounty the psalmist says you load us daily with benefits and we see that in the spiritual realm to be sure but we see a temporally and physically and we thank you for the food that we are about to eat we thank you for the hands that prepared it and for your kindness and giving it to us and bless us and help us to glorify you as we eat and drink and we pray in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ amen well you may be seated for a brief time of meditation