Alongside the conversion of Saul, the story of Cornelius is one of the most significant in Acts for the progress of the gospel and the life of the church. We're going to look at this story through its two main character, Cornelius and Peter.
1. Cornelius
The description Luke gives of Cornelius is very striking. A Roman centurion yet a man who was well-disposed towards the Jewish faith. He and all his family were devout and feared God. Cornelius gave generously to those in need and prayed to God regularly. His life was not lived carelessly or callously. Cornelius cared for others and called in all sincerity to the one true God.
The picture Luke paints raises a significant question. What was his status before God? Was he already saved but needing to know of Jesus (i.e. much like an OT believer)? Although the portrait of him is one of genuine piety, the account Luke gives makes it abundantly clear that he needed to be saved:
10:43,44 - As Peter explains about faith in Jesus, the Holy Spirit is given to his hearers, strongly suggesting that it is at this point they came to believe in Jesus;
11:14 - "He will bring you a message through which you and all your household will be saved".
11:18 The church summarises their understanding of the event like this: "God has granted even the Gentiles repentance unto life".
So he was sincere in his seeking but not yet saved. From what we have seen, a number of important points need to be made:
i) We must not despise sincere seekers of God. Sometimes it's said that the first prayer God hears from a person is their prayer to be saved. Clearly that was not so with Cornelius.
Or it may be said that a non-Christian cannot please God; again, the example of Cornelius challenges such a blanket statement. We're told that his prayers and gifts had "come up as a memorial offering before God" (10:4). That term is drawn from the OT and signifies God is pleased with the offering.
David Smith, an experienced missionary and lecturer, once wrote of this story that "It is an astonishing picture and one that demands careful and honest reflection. Here is an unconverted outsider who is devout, prayerful, generous and hungry for truth." He then quotes John Calvin who said "as we boast loudmouthed of Christ, how far removed most of us are from the example of this holy man".
It is a cause for shame when our lives are put in the shade by the example of others; we do need to reflect carefully and honestly on this.
ii) Sincere seekers still need to be saved. But however sincere and earnest Cornelius was in his seeking after God and in his passion to live a good life, as we've seen, he still needed to be saved. Sincere religious devotion, even to the one true God, is not what makes a person right with God. It is faith alone in Christ alone that brings forgiveness of sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit.
While we must ensure we don't despise or pour scorn upon the genuine desires of sincere seekers, we must also make sure we don't compromise on this point.
iii) A great encouragement. Whilst this is a challenging scenario, it is also tremendously encouraging: God is at work in this man's life! The context of his life was not particularly conducive to his being a sincere and genuine seeker of God; he was from a pagan background and, as a centurion, he moved in a ruthless and violent world.
But he had clearly had contact with the Jewish faith and had been attracted to the one true God. So don't despair for people today! The context is very bleak but God is able to stir people's hearts to seek him. And when he does that, he'll make a way for them to hear his gospel.
2. Peter
But are we willing to take the gospel to people? That was the great challenge to Peter in this situation. The town where he was staying had historical echoes of an earlier servant of the Lord who ran from the call to preach the gospel to Gentiles (Jonah sailed from Joppa). Will Peter do the same?
The early indications are not particularly favourable. He has a vision in which the Lord calls him to kill and eat unclean animals. Peter's response, presumably repeated with each vision, is to say "Surely not Lord". Cornelius had responded straight away to what the Lord had said to him; Peter is quite hesitant.
But that isn't the whole story. His initial hesitation and perhaps confusion does not stop him from obeying the Lord's call. And as he encounters Cornelius, the signs are more promising. He won't accept Cornelius bowing to him; for a Jew who shouldn't even be there, this is very promising! As John Stott has said, "Peter refused both to be treated by Cornelius as if he were a god, and to treat Cornelius as if he were a dog."
And as he talks with Cornelius, it is plain that he has reflected on the vision and its meaning and has concluded that the Lord is telling him that he "should not call any man impure or unclean".
Peter has grasped one of the great theological implications of the coming of Jesus. God's plan was and is to save from every nation, that his election of Israel was for the sake of the world, that there is no intrinsic difference between Jew and Gentile. All are acceptable to God through the Lord Jesus.
The issue isn't settled for him once and for all; he does struggle with it later but the great change in his thinking has been accomplished here. He sees what God is doing and rightly asks "Who was I to think that I could oppose God?"
I want pick up and apply a number of lessons from Peter:
i) The gospel is for all people, regardless of race and culture. It is even for people we may find ourselves despising - fanatical Muslims, asylum seekers, drug addicts, homeless beggars, and so on. Are we so very different to some of the more bigoted Jews of Peter's day? Do we say, "Surely not, Lord!"
ii) Obeying God's call may involve us in being criticised by our brothers and sisters. Peter went back to Jerusalem and was hauled over the coals: "You went into the house of uncircumcised men and ate with them".
What is more important to us, doing God's will or keeping in with our brothers and being thought be to orthodox? Peter held out and won over his brothers. May we be given grace to do the same.
iii) Peter's whole world was being turned upside down. At times, the Lord does that to us, wanting to take us on in our thinking and in our appreciation of his amazing grace. But that may mean leaving our comfort zones and thinking in new ways, not in terms of fundamentals but regarding the application of truth.
Our western world is in turmoil, everything is changing and so rapidly. Will we ask God for wisdom and courage to respond to the changes or will we retreat into the safety and comfort of answers and approaches that are comfortable but inadequate? Peter felt the pain but he went with it; as the Lord speaks to us, may we do so too.
