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Acts Overall

 
Cornelius And His Household (10:1-48; 11:1-18)
 
INTRODUCTION
 
1. Up to this point
the gospel had been somewhat limited in its
 outreach...
 a. It had spread throughout Judea
Galilee and Samaria - Ac 9:31
  b. But other than the Samaritans (who were half Jewish)
it had gone
 only to the Jews
 
2. With the conversion of "Cornelius And His Household" the first
 Gentiles are saved...
 a. A conversion noted not only because they were the first Gentiles
 b. But also because of the miraculous events that precipitated the
 conversion
 1) An angel appearing to Cornelius
 2) Peter's vision
followed by the Spirit's instruction
 3) The Spirit falling upon Cornelius
his family
and close 
 friends
 4) Cornelius and his household speaking in tongues
 
3. As in the case of Saul of Tarsus
we have more than just one account
 of the conversion...
 a. There is Luke's description - Ac 10:1-48
 b. There is Peter's description
as he is called to defend his 
 actions - Ac 11:1-18
 
4. Important questions are raised as we consider the events of this 
 conversion...
 a. Exactly when did the Spirit fall upon Cornelius and his company?
 b. What was the purpose of the Spirit falling upon them?
 c. Were they saved when the Spirit came upon them
or later when 
 they were baptized?
 
[These are some of the questions I intend to answer as we examine the
conversion of "Cornelius And His Household". Since we have two 
accounts
let's consider them together as we start with...]
 
I. A HARMONY OF THE CONVERSION OF CORNELIUS AND HIS HOUSEHOLD
 
 A. THE ANGEL APPEARS TO CORNELIUS...
 1. Cornelius
a centurion
is a very religious man - Ac 10:1-2
 2. The angel appears to him - Ac 10:3-6
 a. With an announcement that his prayers and alms have been 
 noticed by God
 b. With instructions to send for Peter; please note:
 1) The angel said
"He will tell you what you must do."
  - Ac 10:6
 2) As Peter recounts it
"...who will tell you words by 
 which you and all your household will be saved." 
 - Ac 11:14
 3. Cornelius then sends two servants and a devout soldier to 
 Peter - Ac 10:7-8
 
 B. PETER HAS A VISION...
 1. While the three men are traveling toward Peter
he has a 
 vision - Ac 10:9-16; 11:4-10
 a. It involves a sheet descending from heaven
containing all
 sorts of creatures
  b. A voice tells Peter to "kill and eat"
 c. Peter objects
for he has never eaten anything common or 
 unclean
 d. The voice tells him
"What God has cleansed you must not
 call common."
 2. Three times the vision is repeated
 
 C. THE SPIRIT TELLS PETER TO GO WITH THE MESSENGERS...
 1. The men from Cornelius arrive as Peter contemplates the vision
 - Ac 10:17-18; 11:11
 2. The Spirit tells Peter to go
"doubting nothing
for I have 
  sent them" - Ac 10:19-20; 11:12
 3. Peter receives the men and takes six with him as they go to
 Cornelius - Ac 10:21-23; 11:12
 
 D. PETER ARRIVES AT CORNELIUS' HOUSE...
 1. Cornelius has gathered his family and close friends - Ac 10:24
 2. Peter deflects an attempt by Cornelius to worship him - Ac 10:
 25-26
 3. Peter explains his presence a violation of Jewish custom
but
 now understands "I should not call any man common or unclean"
 - Ac 10:27-28
  4. Asked by Peter to explain why he was called
Cornelius 
 recounts the appearance and instructions of the angel 
 - Ac 10:29-32; 11:13-14
 5. Cornelius and his household were ready "to hear all things
 commanded you by God" - Ac 10:33
 
 E. AS PETER BEGINS TO SPEAK
THE SPIRIT FALLS UPON THE LISTENERS...
 1. At this point
we need to carefully note the actual sequence
 of events
 2. Luke's record gives attention to the sermon first
and then 
 the Spirit coming upon the Gentiles - cf. Ac 10:34-44
 a. But Luke also says that "while Peter was still speaking...
 the Holy Spirit fell"
 b. From this we do not exactly when the Spirit fell
 c. It could have been at the beginning
in the middle
toward
 the end
of his sermon
 3. Peter
however
explained what happened "in order from the 
 beginning" - Ac 11:4
 a. He describes the events as they happened
 b. He says "as I began to speak
the Holy Spirit fell upon 
 them" - Ac 11:15
 4. So we learn from Peter that the Spirit actually came upon the
 Gentiles at the BEGINNING of the sermon!
 5. With the Spirit falling upon the Gentiles
they began speaking
 with tongues
which amazed Peter and his Jewish companions 
 - Ac 10:45-46; cf. Ac 2:4
6
8
11
 
 F. PETER'S SERMON TO THE HOUSEHOLD OF CORNELIUS...
 1. He begins with a full perception that God shows no partiality
 - Ac 10:34-35
 a. A perception started with the vision of the sheet and 
 unclean beasts
 b. A perception continued with the Spirit's instruction to go
 with the messengers
 c. A perception made clear with the Spirit falling upon the 
 Gentiles - Ac 11:15-17
 2. Peter then proceeds to proclaim Jesus Christ - Ac 10:36-43
 a. As Lord who was anointed with the Holy Spirit and power 
 - Ac 10:36-38
 b. Who was killed
but then raised from the dead and seen by
 eyewitnesses who knew Him well - Ac 10:39-41
 c. Who has commanded the apostles to proclaim Him as ordained
 by God to be the Judge of the living and dead - Ac 10:42
 d. Through Whom remission of sins is offered to those who 
 believe - Ac 10:43
 
 G. PETER COMMANDS THEM TO BE BAPTIZED...
 1. How could anyone forbid water to those who had received the 
 Spirit just as the apostles did? - Ac 10:47; cf. 11:17-18
  2. So Cornelius and his household were commanded to be baptized
 in the name of the Lord - Ac 10:48
 
[The events surrounding this conversion are certainly remarkable. They
evidently were intended to convey important truths. As we endeavor to
glean what those truths were
here are some...]
 
II. OBSERVATIONS REGARDING THIS CONVERSION
 
 A. RELIGIOUS PEOPLE NEED TO BE SAVED...
 1. Many people believe that if you are religious
you will be 
 saved
 a. That if you go to church
do good
etc.
you have a hope of
 heaven
 b. That you will have earned the right to enter heaven
 2. Yet
though Cornelius was a man who...
 a. Was a devout man
 b. Feared God with his whole family
 c. Gave alms generously
 d. Prayed to God always
 ...he still needed to be told "words by which you and all your
 household will be saved"
 3. Clearly
being religious isn't what saves you (it's the blood
 of Christ!)
 
 B. THE GOSPEL IS FOR ALL...
 1. Peter perceived that God is no respecter of persons - Ac 10:
 34-35
 2. Indeed
God desires that ALL men be saved - cf. Jn 3:16; 1 Ti
 2:3-6; 2 Pe 3:9
 -- Therefore He has not predestined some to be saved and others 
 lost!
 
 C. THE PURPOSE OF THE SPIRIT FALLING...
 1. Some presume that the purpose was to save Cornelius and his
 family
 a. That therefore they were saved before obeying the command 
 to be baptized
 b. But the Spirit came upon them as Peter "began to speak"

 before they could hear words by which they could be saved! 
 - cf. Ac 11:14-15
 2. The purpose of the Spirit can be gleaned from the following:
  a. The effect it had on the Jewish brethren who were present

 and Peter's response - Ac 10:45-47
 b. The reaction of the Jewish brethren in Jerusalem when Peter
 told them what happened - Ac 11:17-18
 c. Peter's explanation at the council held later in Jerusalem 
 - Ac 15:7-11
 3. The purpose of the Spirit falling on them was therefore to 
 show Jewish brethren...
 a. That God was no respecter of persons - Ac 10:34-35
 b. That God was willing to grant them opportunity to repent 
 and have life - Ac 11:18
 c. That Gentiles could be saved in the same way as Jews...
 1) By faith
repentance
and baptism - Ac 15:9
11; cf. 2:38
 with 10:48
 2) Which faith comes through hearing the word of God - Ro 
 10:17
 
 D. THE POINT AT WHICH CORNELIUS WAS SAVED...
 1. Remember that Cornelius was told to send for Peter
who would
 tell him:
 a. "what you must do." - Ac 10:6
 b. "words by which you...shall be saved." - Ac 11:14
 2. From this
and from what we have already seen in other 
 conversions...
 a. Cornelius was not saved until he heard the "words" (i.e.

 after the sermon)
 b. Cornelius was not saved until he obeyed what he was told to
 do
 c. What were the words he was told to do?
 1) Certainly they were told to believe
as implied in 
 Ac 10:43
 2) Clearly they were told to be baptized
as commanded in 
 Ac 10:48
 3. Thus Cornelius and his household were not saved until they 
 "believed and were baptized"! - cf. Mk 16:16; Ac 8:12
13
 
CONCLUSION
 
1. So while miraculous events surrounded the conversion of "Cornelius
 And His Household"
their salvation was no different from what we
 have already seen...
 a. They heard the gospel of Jesus Christ
 b. They were taught to believe and be baptized
 -- Thus they were saved "in the same manner" as all those previously
 
2. As Peter said at the council
it is "through the grace of the Lord
 Jesus Christ" that both Gentiles and Jews are saved - cf. Ac 15:11
 a. We are saved by grace
not works - cf. Ep 2:5
8; Ti 3:4-5
 b. For it is not enough to be religious...
 1) Who could be more religious than Cornelius?
 2) Or even the 3000 at Pentecost
or the Ethiopian eunuch?
 
3. The grace of God which saves does require a response
however...
 a. A response of faith - Ac 10:43
 b. A faith in Jesus that comes by hearing the gospel - Ac 10:42
 c. A faith which expresses itself in obedience - cf. He 5:9
 1) E.g.
repentance and baptism - cf. Ac 2:38; 3:19; 10:48
 2) Not as works of merit
but as acts of faith by which one
 receives God's grace
 
Those of us who are not descended from Israel can rejoice in what God 
revealed with the conversion of "Cornelius And His Household". As 
properly concluded by the Jewish brethren in Jerusalem:
 
 "...God has also granted to the Gentiles repentance to life." 
 (Ac 11:16)
 
Have you taken advantage of this wonderful gift
by responding to the 
gospel of Jesus Christ?

－－《Executable Outlines》