Acts 10

Acts 10:1-48

29. AND THEIR HEARERS Acts 10:1-48 It is not surprising to read that, while Peter preached the gospel to Cornelius and his friends, “The Holy Ghost fell upon them which heard the word” (Acts 10:44). Such a marvelous manifestation of God’s grace may be reasonably expected when men and women come to hear the Word of God with the attitude Cornelius and his friends had when they assembled to hear Peter. (Read Acts 10:30-33). When preachers faithfully proclaim the gospel of the grace of God and those who hear them receive the Word of God with reverent, submissive, obedient faith, the blessings of God’s grace are very likely to accompany the ministry of the Word. In this study, I will use both Peter and Cornelius as examples, showing us what should be reasonably expected both from preachers and their hearers. WHAT SHOULD A PERSON’S BE TOWARD THOSE WHO PREACH THE GOSPEL? Generally, people run to one of two extremes in their attitudes toward gospel preachers. Some hold them in contempt, despising them, ignoring them, or even opposing them, as the Judaizers at Galatia did Paul (Galatians 4:16). Others put preachers on a pedestal, as though they are to be adored and blindly followed, like Cornelius was ready to do with Peter (Acts 10:25-26). Both these extremes are evil. Those who faithfully preach the gospel of Christ are only men.

Therefore, they must not be adored and followed blindly. But every faithful gospel preacher is God’s man. Therefore, he is not to be despised, ignored, or treated with contempt. The servant of God is to be known, loved, and highly esteemed by those to whom he ministers (1 Thessalonians 5:12-13). He is to be generously provided for by those who receive the benefit of his instruction (Galatians 5:6; 1 Corinthians 9:7-14; 1 Timothy 5:17-18). And believers ought to remember their pastors in prayer, follow both their doctrine and their example, and obey the messages they deliver as God’s servants (Hebrews 13:7; Hebrews 13:17-18). WHAT DID AND HIS FRIENDS EXPECT FROM PETER? Cornelius had received a special revelation from God, showing him that Peter was ordained of God to be his instructor in the way of life and faith in Christ (Acts 10:5-6; Acts 10:32). Therefore, he regarded Peter as God’s ambassador. He expected to hear from Peter all that God had commanded him to declare (2 Corinthians 5:18-21). Every faithful servant of God should be held in this high esteem by God’s saints (1 Corinthians 4:1-2). God’s preachers today (pastors, elders, evangelists, and missionaries) are not prophets or apostles. They do not possess prophetic or apostolic gifts. But they are God’s ambassadors to eternity bound sinners. They are sent to proclaim the same message to all men that Peter was sent to proclaim to Cornelius - justification and peace, remission and forgiveness of sins through Christ, who is Lord of all (Acts 10:36; Acts 10:43; Hebrews 7:25). They are sent to preach Jesus Christ the Lord in his substitutionary redemption, sovereign reign, and saving power. You have a right to expect from every man who claims to be a gospel preacher the same thing Cornelius expected from Peter (Acts 10:33). Those who preach the gospel must be men of utmost fidelity to the Word of God and to the souls of men. They must keep back nothing that is profitable, but faithfully declare all the counsel of God (Acts 20:28). God’s express command is, “He that hath my word, let him speak it faithfully” (Jeremiah 23:28). Three things must characterize every gospel preacher. You should expect and require these three things of any man who ministers to your soul. The preacher must be…

1. A man who knows the gospel (1 John 1:1-3).
2. A man who preaches the gospel faithfully, regardless of cost or consequence (1 Corinthians 9:16; Ezekiel 33:7-8).
3. A man whose conduct is consistent with the gospel (1 Timothy 3:1-7; 1 Timothy 4:12-16; 2 Timothy 4:1-5). WHAT DID PETER FIND IN THE AT ? Here are four things Peter found among Cornelius and his friends which every gospel preacher might reasonably expect to find among God’s saints, when he comes before them to expound the Holy Scriptures.
4. Peter found in Cornelius a man who was truly concerned for the souls of men (Acts 10:24). Cornelius knew some people who were perishing. He knew where they could hear the gospel. And he put forth considerable effort, time, and expense to get those people under the sound of the gospel. Surely, it is reasonable to expect all who fear God to behave in the same way.
5. Those men and women were gathered in the appointed place of worship, at the appointed hour with reverence, as in the presence of God to hear the Word of God, expecting to hear God speak to them by his servant (Acts 10:33). Like the young child Samuel in the temple, they came to the house of God saying, “Speak, Lord, for thy servant heareth” (1 Samuel 3:9). Many do not hear from God when his servant preaches simply because they do not come to the house of God seeking a Word from God.
6. Peter found in this band of people a readiness to receive the Word of God with meekness. Not one of them arrived late (Acts 10:33). As far as they were concerned nothing was so important as the hearing of the gospel. They readily received God’s message (Isaiah 66:1-2). They did not try to mold God’s message to their way of thinking. They molded their thoughts to the Word of God.
7. The congregation at Caesarea was willingly determined to obey God. What God said, they immediately believed. What God required, they immediately gave. What God commanded, they immediately did. They submitted to Christ as Lord of all, trusted Christ for the remission of sins, and confessed Christ in believer’s baptism. These men and women did not merely acknowledge the truth of the Word of God. They took it as their only rule of faith and practice. They addicted themselves to it. We must do the same! Hold fast the truth of God (2 Timothy 1:8-13) and proclaim it everywhere (Matthew 28:18-20). WHAT WAS THE RESULT OF THIS MEETING? Peter was faithful to God, his Word, and the souls of men. Cornelius and his friends received the Word gladly. The result was glorious! The Lord God graciously visited and poured out his Spirit upon the band of chosen sinners (Acts 10:44-45). Blessed is the man who has the privilege of hearing a man, like Peter, faithfully preach the gospel. And blessed is the preacher who ministers to such a congregation as Peter found in Cornelius’ house. Wherever such preachers and such hearers are found God the Holy Spirit is present and shall be manifest!

Acts 10:9-16

30. “NOT SO, LORD” Acts 10:9-16 The Lord God let down a sheet from heaven “wherein were all manner of four footed beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air. And there came a voice to him, Rise, Peter; kill, and eat. But Peter said, Not so, Lord.” Once more impetuous Peter made a terrible blunder. We must not be judgmental or censorious of him in his error. Who are we to put ourselves in the place of judgment over God’s saints? (Read Romans 14:4). Few men are half the man Peter was.

But he was a man, and his errors as a man are written in the Scriptures for our learning and admonition (Romans 15:4). I do not doubt that Peter meant well, though he did wrong. His words were not intended by him to suggest all the evil that others have seen in them. Still, his error was significant enough for the Lord God to rebuke him sharply (Acts 10:15-16). The Lord God told Peter to do something and Peter said, “Not so, Lord!” The simple fact is - All God’s people in this world have a constant struggle with sin, rebellion, and unbelief, because we all still live in the body of flesh. No believer is the servant of sin (Romans 6:17-18), but no believer lives without sin (1 John 1:8-10).

Though redeemed by the blood of Christ, called by grace, and robed in righteousness, God’s saints in this world are sinners still. Sin is mixed with and mars all we do. DAVID was a man after God’s own heart, but he still had a great struggle with personal sin (Psalms 73:1-26). PAUL was perhaps the greatest of all the apostles, but his warfare with sin was real (Romans 7:14-24). PETER was a man who died for Christ, but he too was a sinner until he drew his last breath in this world. We would be wise to learn from his mistake. THOUGH HE IS IN CHRIST, THE STILL BEARS THE IMAGE OF ADAM. Though we have a new nature created in us by the work of God the Holy Spirit in regeneration, the old nature has not been eradicated. Though Christ lives in us and reigns in our hearts as King, old man Adam still lives in us. He has been nailed to the tree and crucified, but he is a long time dying and struggles hard to gain supremacy. Believers are new men in Christ, but we are still men and sin dwells in us. We are saved sinners, redeemed sinners, sanctified sinners, forgiven sinners, but we are all sinners still! As it was with Peter, so it is with every believer - Our struggle with sin is both real and constant (Galatians 5:17). Peter was saved by the grace of God, but he was still Peter. If I had never read this passage of Scripture and someone related the story to me, without telling me who had spoken so rashly to the Lord, I think I would have recognized that it was talking about Peter. Who else would have openly said, “Not so, Lord”? Yet, we are all very much like him. Though grace reigns in us, the beast of sin still rages in us. There is a new man created in us, but the old man is still there. The inclinations to evil are not dead. We will, each of us, have to struggle with the peculiar weakness of our old nature for as long as we live in this world. It is true, even among God’s saints in this world, “The very best of men are only men at best.” This was not the first time Peter rebuked his Lord in ignorance (Mark 8:31-33). This was not the first time he impulsively refused his Master’s command (John 13:8). We are all too much like Peter in this regard, saying, “Not so, Lord,” foolishly imagining that we know better than God what ought to be! When we argue with God’s providence, question his Word, or do not obey his will, we are saying, “Not so, Lord!” In our hearts we know that the Lord knows best. Yet, we often speak and act as if we know best! Neither was this the first time Peter flatly, almost arrogantly, contradicted his Lord (Matthew 26:31-35). Like other believers, Peter was redeemed, regenerated, and filled with the Spirit; and, at the same time, he was rash, impudent, impulsive, and sinful. Yet, Peter did have his good points. Grace was evident in this feeble man’s heart. Grace was the ruling principle in him. This is evident in the fact that Peter acknowledged his fault. Luke would not have known what happened in Joppa if Peter had not told him (Acts 11:4-9). Peter was rash, but he was real too. He was blunt, but he was bold. He was hasty, but he was honest. There was no cunning or craftiness about him. What should we learn from these things?

1. A person may have many faults and yet be a true believer.
2. As our Lord was patient and longsuffering with Peter, and as he is with us, we ought to be patient and longsuffering with one another (Ephesians 4:32 to Ephesians 5:1).
3. Though we are in Christ, we must guard against the evil tendencies of our old nature (Colossians 3:12-17; Romans 6:11-14). The flesh is never dormant! THOUGH WE ARE SAVED BY THE GRACE OF GOD, OUR FLESH STILL REBELS AGAINST GRACE. Peter’s “Not so, Lord,” was the response of his flesh to the great principle of the gospel that God had just set before him - The total abolition of law worship. Peter had to learn that we are not under law but under grace (Romans 6:14-15), and it took him a while to learn it (Galatians 2:11-16). Legalism is natural to man. Our flesh kicks against the glorious free grace of God in Christ. It is the spirit of legalism remaining in us that causes us to lose our assurance or gain it by the evil or good we do. It is the spirit of legalism that causes us to neglect our duties and responsibilities because of personal inadequacy (ie: Prayer, The Lord’s Table, etc.). It is the spirit of legalism that sets up rules of life for others to live by, which God has not given in his Word. It is the spirit of legalism which tries to motivate believers with threats of punishment and promises of reward.

It is the spirit of legalism that causes men to set themselves up as the judges of God’s saints. When will men learn that Christ is the end of the law (Romans 10:4)? We are not under the law, but under grace! We are not slaves, but children in the house of God. God’s elect are not lawless antinomians, but we are no longer debtors to the law to live after the law. Christ fulfilled the law for us, and we are free from the law! Peter also had to learn that all men and women are equal before God (Acts 10:34). God has no regard for those things that separate men and women from one another, and neither should we (James 2:1-9; Acts 17:26). THOUGH WE ARE NEW IN CHRIST, THE ‘S OLD NATURE SHOWS ITSELF IN MANY WAYS - By rebellion against gospel doctrine; by rebellion against revealed duty; by murmuring against God’s providence; by proudly despising our place of service! Let us ever put off these things of the flesh and put on Christ! So long as we are in this body of flesh we will have to struggle with sin. God will not eradicate, or even alter the evil tendencies of our flesh. Yet, though we are weak, fleshly, and sinful, GOD’S GRACE IS (2 Corinthians 12:3-9).

Acts 10:34-44

32. “HE US TO PREACH” Acts 10:34-44 Peter was in Caesarea preaching the gospel to Cornelius and his friends. In Acts 10:42 he declares why he was there. “He commanded us to preach unto the people.” Before the Lord Jesus ascended back into heaven he left his church, his apostles, and all who after them would serve him with a specific responsibility. “He commanded us to preach unto the people.” That is the singular responsibility of every local church and of every servant of God (Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:15-16; Luke 24:46-48; John 20:21-23; Acts 1:8). The apostle Peter had many faults and failures. He was, like all other gospel preachers, only a man. Yet, he was faithful to the charge and responsibility God gave him. It mattered not where the Lord sent him, he went forth preaching the gospel. It mattered not who his hearers were, he preached the gospel to them. It mattered not what the results might be, Peter was a preacher, so he preached the gospel wherever God’s providence opened the door. He was happy to preach to thousands in the temple, to the powerful Sanhedrin, or in the home of a Roman soldier who had gathered a few friends to hear the good news. What an example he sets before us! The church of God must never lose sight of the purpose for her existence in this world (1 Timothy 3:15). The church is to be a sounding board for the gospel (1 Thessalonians 1:8), no more and no less. The church of this age has lost sight of her mission. That is why she is so weak and pathetic. The church of the living God is not a social club, an entertainment center, or a political force. The church of God is, by divine commission, a preaching center! The ministry of the church is preaching! As preaching is the business of the church collectively, so preaching is the business of God’s preachers specifically (2 Timothy 4:1-5). God’s servants are not called to be counsellors, psychologists, social workers, or religious promoters. God’s servants are watchmen to warn of impending danger. They are preachers, men with a message from God for his people. It is the responsibility of every man who is called of God to preach the gospel to disentangle himself from the affairs of this world, and to give himself relentless to the business of preaching the gospel (1 Timothy 2:12-15). All who are sent of God to preach the gospel preach the same thing. In the sermon described in our text Peter declared that he was preaching by divine commission; and God the Holy Spirit shows us what every God sent preacher preaches. Peter is here set before us as an example, or pattern of all true gospel preachers in three things.
33. He was sent of God. God himself put Peter into the ministry. God alone determined what he preached, where he preached, and when he preached.
34. He preached with divine authority. “Every true minister must speak because he is commanded to speak; he must speak what he is commanded to speak; and he must be prepared to fall back upon the authority of the Word of God continually” (C.H. Spurgeon). The preacher’s doctrine must be the doctrine of God, plainly revealed in Holy Scripture (Isaiah 8:20).
35. His message was always the same in its essence. Peter preached the Person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ (Compare Acts 2:14-40; Acts 3:11-26; Acts 4:8-12). Jesus Christ himself is the theme of Holy Scripture and the theme of every sermon that is of God (Luke 24:44-47; John 1:45). The mission of the church is preaching. The work of the preacher is preaching. But what is to be preached? What kind of preaching is both honoring to God and useful to the souls of eternity bound men and women? For the answer to those questions we need only to look into the Word of God and read the sermons of those apostles who preached with the inspiration and power of God the Holy Spirit. Acts 10:34-44 sets before us an example of apostolic preaching. By this standard all preaching, all preachers, and all churches must be judged to determine whether they follow the pattern of the New Testament. IS THE OF THE AND THE OF DIVINE GRACE (Acts 10:34-35). The grace of God is both sovereign and free. God is not gracious to sinners because of who they are, what they do, or what they have. God does not accept or reject anyone because of anything in them (John 1:11-13). He alone has determined to whom he will be gracious (Romans 9:15-18). Acts 10:35 describes the character of God’s elect, not the cause of his saving grace. All who are born of God fear him, work righteousness, and are accepted by him through the merits of Christ, the sinners’ Substitute. NEW IS THE OF PEACE AND TO GOD THROUGH JESUS CHRIST (Acts 10:36). The gospel is “the word of reconciliation” (2 Corinthians 5:16-21). All people are by nature God’s enemies. We must be reconciled to God and brought to terms of peace with him, or perish under his wrath. The only way peace can be obtained is by Jesus Christ. He obtained peace by his blood for all God’s elect (Ephesians 2:14-15; Colossians 2:14-15). He offers peace to sinners in the gospel (Matthew 11:28-30). When he comes to sinners in saving power, the Prince of Peace brings peace (Romans 5:1; Colossians 1:20-21). ALL WHO PREACH THE GOSPEL DECLARE THE AND REIGN OF CHRIST. “He is Lord of all” (Acts 10:36). God the Father has turned the universe over to the rule of his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, as the God-man Mediator (John 17:2; Romans 14:9). As the reward of his finished work of redemption, the Lord Jesus Christ, as a Man, possesses universal dominion (Isaiah 53:10-12), and exercises that dominion for the saving of his people. He is Lord of all men, all providence, all creation, and all events. The only way sinners can be saved is by bowing to his dominion as Lord (Luke 14:25-33). That is what faith is. TO PREACH THE GOSPEL IS TO EXPOUND TO SINNERS THE MEANING AND OF OUR SAVIOR’S DEATH (Acts 10:37-41). W. A. Criswell wrote, “When a man preaches the historical facts of Jesus, he is preaching Jesus. When he affirms the historical facts of the Christian faith, he is preaching the Christian faith. When he believes the historical facts of the Christian faith, he is believing the faith itself.” That is the deadly error of this age! Preaching is not the declaration of facts, but of a Person. We exercise faith in a Person, not in facts. To preach the gospel is to declare the meaning of Christ’s work. Peter explained to Cornelius the meaning of all the facts he had heard about Jesus of Nazareth, and affirmed his personal knowledge of the risen Christ (1 John 1:1-3). GOSPEL THE OF (Acts 10:42). “Hear the Word of God, and be persuaded of this, that Christ, whose gospel and word you hear, will judge you according unto it” (Matthew Poole). (See John 5:26-27; Acts 17:31; 2 Corinthians 5:10-11; 2 Timothy 4:1). In that great day, all who are saved will be justly saved through the merits of Christ, and all who are damned will be justly damned because of their own sin (Revelation 22:11). TO PREACH THE GOSPEL IS TO DECLARE THE OF SINS THROUGH JESUS CHRIST FOR ALL WHO BELIEVE (Acts 10:43). God delights in mercy. Therefore, he pardons iniquity (Micah 7:18). And he does so justly, through the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ (1 John 1:9). These six things characterize the message of all true churches and preachers, and form the essence of every believer’s testimony to men. But all our preaching and witnessing is vain unless God the Holy Spirit makes the word of grace effectual (Acts 10:44).