Skip to content The Gospel's Reach Beyond Boundaries in Acts 10-11 Sep 4 · 14 min ...more
The Gospel's Reach Beyond Boundaries in Acts 10-11
September 4, 2025 · 14 min
Discover how God breaks barriers, bringing Gentiles into His grace through Peter and Cornelius.
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The Gospel to the Gentiles: God's Initiative 0:10 Good morning. Welcome to Stand on the Word. Thanks for joining me this morning as we look at Acts chapters 10 and 11. So here's the question for you this morning. Who initiated the presentation of the gospel to the0:21 Gentiles? We're gonna answer that question this morning as we read this passage. Verse 18 of chapter 11. When they heard these things, they became silent, and they glorified God saying, then God has also granted to the0:32 Gentiles repentance to life. Now based upon what scholars say, this occurred around the year 40 AD, 5 to 10 years after the start of the church in Jerusalem. The0:44 gospel had gone not only there in Jerusalem, but it had gone out to Judea and Samaria and beyond with the salvation of the Ethiopian, official. Remember, we read that where Philip shared the shared the0:55 gospel with him. He was a Gentile proselyte to the Jewish faith. However, in this chapter, and this is the difference here, this moves to Gentiles who were not converts to1:07 Judaism. The Ethiopian had been a convert to Judaism. Now from the reaction of the apostles, they must have thought that gentiles needed to be circumcised, that they needed to1:19 become Jewish converts and keep the law of Moses to become followers of Christ. But here in this chapter, we have a Roman military official, Cornelius, in1:31 Caesarea, which was the Roman capital of of what was called Palestine. It it is believed that he was the head of the military unit that protected the Roman governor. Now Cornelius1:43 was a significant man who did not appear to have been a convert to Judaism. Alright? But nonetheless, sought the 1 true God. Now it's through seeking1:55 his seeking God that the gospel introduced by the holy spirit coming to the Gentiles by God's own orchestration. Alright? God is the 1 who2:07 initiated the gospel being presented in his timing to the Gentiles. Peter was sent by God as a messenger, but we'll soon see that Paul is the 1 who became the2:18 apostle to the Gentiles. Let's let's start in verse 1. There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of what was called the Italian regiment, a devout man and 1 who feared2:30 God with all his household, who gave alms generously to the people and prayed to God always. About the ninth hour of the day, that's 3 PM, he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God coming in and saying to him,2:42 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 for a memorial before God. Now send men to Joppa and2:54 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. Interestingly, Joppa was3:06 the place about 800 years previous, that, someone had been sent to, to bring a message of repentance to Gentiles. Remember? Jonah went to Nineveh3:18 from Joppa. Alright. He was lodging with Simon the tanner whose house was by the sea. He will tell you what you must do. So he immediately acts upon, the angel or the messenger of God and what he told him to3:30 do. Verse 9. 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. It was about noon. Then he became very hungry and wanted to eat, but while3:42 he while they made ready, he fell into a trance. And saw heaven opened, and an object like a great sheep bound at the 4 corners descending to him and let down to the earth. In it were3:54 all kinds of 4 footed animals of the earth, wild beasts, creeping things, and birds of the air. By the way, I think that may have been the first Cajun gumbo. Verse 13. And a voice came to him,4:05 rise, Peter, kill and eat. But Peter said, no. Not so, lord, for I have never eaten anything common or unclean. And a voice spoke to him again a second time. What god has cleansed, you4:17 must not call common. Verse 16. This was done 3 times, and the object was taken up into heaven again. Now when you see something stated or done 3 times, it is an4:29 emphatic declaration to get your attention. Exclamation point. Now when Peter wondered within himself what this vision which he had seen meant, meant, behold, the men who had been sent4:41 from Cornelius had made inquiry for Simon's house and stood before the gate. Now this was not so much about food as it was preparation to receive the Gentiles into4:53 the church, which they were considered unclean. Now in verse 28, we actually see that Peter clearly got the message from this vision that he saw. Verse 28 says, then he said to them,5:04 you know how unlawful it is for a said to them, you know how unlawful it is for a Jewish man to keep company with or go in or go to 1 of another nation, but God has shown me that I should not call any man common or5:16 unclean. So Peter goes down, meets the 3 men sent by Cornelius. They spend the night at Simon the Tanner's house. The next day, they head to Caesarea, and they meet with Cornelius. Verse5:28 34. Then Peter opened his mouth and said, in truth, I perceive that god shows no partiality. But in every nation, whoever fears him and works righteousness is accepted by him. The word5:39 which god sent to the children of Israel preaching peace through Jesus Christ, he is lord of all. To him, all the prophets witness that through his name. Whoever believes in him will receive remission of sin. Whoever,5:51 doesn't matter the nation, nationality, doesn't matter their background, doesn't matter rich or poor, if they believe in him, will receive remission of sins. While Peter was still speaking these words, the6:03 Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard the word. Tells me that, you know, believe it's believing. They were believing. The Holy Spirit fell. And6:15 those of the circumcision, that is those who came with Peter, who believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the6:27 Gentiles also. For they heard them speak with tongues and magnify God. Then Peter answered. Now let me stop there for moment because there there are various interpretations of what6:38 is described here. But before I go any further, let me acknowledge that this passage of scripture is 1 that many people fight over. I'm not going to be dogmatic,6:50 because I I believe some things are not totally clear, and you're free to disagree with me on my interpretation of this passage or what I'm going to share based upon what I think,7:03 you know, many scholar again, scholars have different views, but I have a view. I do not believe in the cessation of the gifts of the holy spirit. Meaning, I7:14 believe what was available in the New Testament church that we're reading about here in the book of Acts is still available to us. Okay? I believe that. I know there a lot of my friends, a lot of my7:26 colleagues, a lot of my fellow pastors don't believe that, and and I'm not gonna fight with them over that. I just believe that the Holy Spirit is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and he's continuing to work.7:38 Remember what Jesus said. Right? In John chapter 14 verse 12. Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in me, the works that I do, he will do also. And greater works than these, he will do7:50 because I go to my father. He was going to the father. He was gonna send the Holy Spirit that empowered us, empowered the apostles, and I believe he empowers the church today. Now the speaking in tongues, which some8:00 scholars say was Hebrew, was an unknown tongue to those speaking it. It was evidence to Peter and to those with him that the holy spirit had come upon the Gentiles just like he did8:12 upon them at Pentecost. So it was a it was a a a very clear sign to them that the gospel was going to the Gentiles. So having received the word and the evidence of the Holy Spirit,8:24 Peter says, it's time to be baptized. Verse 47. Can anyone forbid water that these should not be baptized who have received the Holy Spirit, just as we have? And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord.8:35 Then they asked him to stay a few days. Now in chapter 11, Peter goes to Jerusalem. He explains and defends the presentation and the acceptance of the gospel to the Gentiles.8:47 Verse 1. Now the apostles and brethren who were in Judea heard that the Gentiles had also received the word of God. And when Peter came up to Jerusalem, those of the circumcision contended with8:59 him, saying, you went in to uncircumcised men and you ate with them. Alright. We still have that legalism. Alright. And and we're gonna see more of this.9:11 Some Jewish Christians in the early church did not want to let go of the old covenant, sign of circumcision, even though baptism was the sign, the outward sign of the new covenant,9:23 and this took some time to overcome. Verse 4, but Peter explained it to them in order from the beginning saying and so he goes through the whole thing. Peter goes, recounts the entire episode,9:35 including verse 16. Then I remember the word of the Lord, how he said John indeed baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit. If therefore God gave them the same gift as he gave9:47 us when we believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could withstand god? Good question. Notice what Peter points to to confirm9:59 what he had witnessed as being of god. It was in alignment with god's word. It was in alignment with what Jesus had said. Verse 18. When they heard these things, they10:11 became silent. Argument's over. And they glorified god saying, then god has also granted to the Gentiles repentance to life. Right?The Church in Antioch: Boldness and Growth 10:23 There's some things we don't understand. And then quite frankly, there's some things that I see that I don't understand. And if it's not contrary to scripture, I just don't think we should I don't think we should10:35 fight about it. I'm not dismissing the need for doctrine. It's all important. But I think we the the church spends a lot of time10:46 arguing over some things that are not really clear in scripture. Alright. The remainder of the chapter provides further details about the development of what is now being recognized for the first time here in the for the10:58 first time in Antioch as the Christian faith. That's what it's called for the first time. Now just a note on Antioch, this was the, the third major city of the Roman Empire, surpassed only11:10 by Rome and Alexandria. It was called the Queen of the East. It was the doorway to the Great Eastern Highways.11:22 Decadent city. And so it's it's it's quite significant that the church was began the was being established here. The city worshiped the, the fertility goddess,11:34 the Ashtaroth. It was, probably like some of America's most prominent cities today. I mean, it was it was a it was an evil city. But guess what? The message11:46 of truth took hold. Alright? Because there was boldness, and there was courage, and there was conviction. And the message took root, and the gospel11:58 spread. And guess what? It happened then, and it can happen now as well. We just need to be faithful to the call of God to be bold12:10 in our conviction of the truth and courageous in sharing it. Father, we thank you for your word, and we thank you for the power of the Holy Spirit. And and, lord, we look12:22 to the gift of the Holy Spirit to be empowered to walk with boldness, with courage as we saw in the apostles, lord, in the early church. And we pray for,12:34 lord Jesus Christ to be lifted up and the father to be glorified through the work that you do through our hands, as the as the disciples prayed that, lord, that with all boldness,12:46 they would speak your words and, lord, that you would affirm that by the things that you do in in affirming the the word of truth in touching lives and12:58 transforming men, women, and children. So father, we pray that as it happened then, it will happen now and give us the same courage, conviction, and boldness. We pray and ask this in Jesus'13:10 name. Amen. Alright. Thanks for joining me this morning. And, by the way, coming up, this weekend will be our, monthly stand on the word bible study. If you're in the Baton Rouge area, you can join us at our Baton Rouge13:21 facility. If not, hopefully, this month, we, will have all the bugs worked out, and, you will be able to join us on the stand firm platform. Last time, we had, something wrong with the platform13:33 provider, but I think we've worked that out. And so you can join us at 7 PM central time, 8 o'clock eastern for this Saturday night stand on the word bible study. We'll be looking not only at Acts,13:45 but we'll also be looking at the book of James. So until next time, keep standing on the word.13:54 Today's study comes from the Stand on the Word Bible Reading Plan available for free at f r c dot o r g slash bible. By following along in just a few minutes a day, you14:06 can read through the entire Bible in just 2 years. Learn more and request the free reading guide at f r c dot o r g slash bible.In this video 0:00 The Gospel to the Gentiles: God's Initiative10:21 The Church in Antioch: Boldness and Growth
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