THE NECESSITY OF THE GOSPEL

Posted by Pastor Greg Allen on November 2, 2022 under AM Bible Study |

AM Bible Study Group: November 2, 2022 from Acts 10:1-8

Theme: Even those who are reverent and God-fearing still need to hear and believe the gospel.

(All Scripture is taken from The New King James Version, unless otherwise indicated).

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The Book of Acts is a book about an amazing transition. In it, the God of Israel was bringing about something utterly astonishing to the Jewish people. And that is the uniting of the Jews and the Gentiles into one new man in Christ.

The first hints of this amazing plan were found early in the book. In Acts 1:8; the Lord Jesus had told His apostles;

“But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8).

Then, later on, we see it demonstrated in Acts 8:26-39; when God called the evangelist Philip to bear witness of the gospel to a high-ranking Ethiopian official—who would then, no doubt, share that gospel with his own people. After that, we see it very clearly when the Lord converted and commissioned the former-persecutor Saul of Tarsus; and promised that “he is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel” (Acts 9:15).

And it wasn’t simply that God would bring the good news of Jesus to the Gentiles. That alone would be gracious enough. But it was His plan to do something even greater—even more astonishing. It was His plan to unite the two most distinct groups in humanity—Jew and Gentile—into one new people group. As Paul later said to the Gentiles in the Book of Ephesians concerning Jesus;

For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity. And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off and to those who were near. For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father (Ephesians 2:14-18).

This was a ‘mystery’—that is, a plan of God that He had formed in eternity past, but only revealed it to humanity at a point of time in history. The apostle Paul considered it a great privilege to proclaim this great mystery in God’s plan. In Ephesians 3:5-6;

which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets: that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel (3:5-6).

The Book of Acts—to a large extent—tells the unfolding story of the fulfillment of this remarkable plan of God. But the fulfillment of it didn’t necessarily come easy. It was a difficult time of transition for the Jewish believers. It was hard for them to accept this new reality—that Gentiles could be united by faith to the promises concerning the Jewish Messiah and become saved. And so; as we come to a new section of the Book of Acts—in Acts 10:1-11:18—we see not only how God made this great plan official; but also how hard it was for the Jewish believers to conform to it.

But at the end of it all, those Jewish believers were able to declare—with humble awe—“Then God has also granted to the Gentiles repentance to life” (Acts 11:18).

* * * * * * * * * *

Now; the story we find in this section of Acts is a very long one. And we really need to see it as a whole. But in order to learn all that we can from it, we’ll go ahead and break it up into smaller divisions.

It begins with a first division; that is, the story of a gentile—living in the beautiful city of Caesarea along the Mediterranean coast. Acts 10:1-8 tells us;

There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of what was called the Italian Regiment, a devout man and 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 for a 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 (Acts 10:1-8).

As this story unfolds, we see that these men sent from Cornelius arrived at Joppa; and that Peter—in obedience to the Lord—went to his house, shared the gospel with them, and the whole household believed. This makes the ancient city of Caesarea—which still stands today—a remarkable place in world history. It was in that city that the Gentiles first heard the gospel and believed and were recognized as being of the same body as believing Jews.

But there’s a lesson to be learned in just these verses alone. It shows us the absolute necessity of the gospel. As the story of Cornelius teaches us, even those who are reverent and God-fearing still need to hear and believe the gospel.

First, notice what we’re told about …

1. THE KIND OF MAN CORNELIUS WAS (vv. 1-2).

By this time in history, the city of Caesarea had become a major headquarters for Roman military rule in the region Later on in Acts 23:23-24, the apostle Paul would be taken there by a large Roman army in order to be brought under the protection of Governor Felix; who had his headquarters there. And in verse 1, we’re told, “There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of what was called the Italian Regiment …”

As a centurion, Cornelius was a high-ranking officer in the Roman army. He was responsible for a regiment of 100 Roman soldiers. It’s significant that he was a centurion; because every time a centurion is mentioned in the New Testament, they prove to be remarkable men who were presented favorably—often proving to play a significant part in the Bible’s story:

• The centurion who Jesus praised for his faith (Matthew 8:5-13);
• The centurion at Jesus’ cross who declared that He was the Son of God(Matthew 27:54; Mark 15:44-45;)
• The centurion who rescued Paul during the riot in the temple (Acts 21:32);
• The centurion who prevented Paul from being scourged (Acts 22:25);
• The centurion who foiled an attempt to assassinate Paul (Acts 23:17);
• The two centurions who provided Paul safe travel to Caesarea (Acts 23:23-24);
• The centurion who was commissioned by governor Felix to keep Paul and provide him liberty while under custody (Acts 24:23); and
• The centurion who accompanied Paul on his trip to Rome (Acts 27:43; 28:16).

Every centurion in the Bible proved to be a remarkable individual that God—in some way—used. And the same is true of this man Cornelius. We’re told that he was serving in what was called the Italian Regiment; a select cohort of elite Roman soldiers whose significance is shown in the fact that it was stationed in the city in which the governor had his headquarters. This was a significant man among significant men.

But he was also a significant man with God. We’re told in verse 2 that he was “a devout man and one who feared God with all his household, who gave alms generously to the people, and prayed to God always.” This Gentile demonstrated a profound devoutness of character in that he reverenced the God of Israel, taught his whole household to worship Him, gave generously to the needs of the Jewish people; and prayed to the God of Israel—as best he knew how to do so—as an ongoing habit of life. He may have, in fact, been demonstrating a greater devotion to the God of Israel than many Jewish people of his day!

But his devoutness and piety were not enough to save his soul. And so; we go on to see …

2. GOD’S GRACE TOWARD CORNELIUS (vv. 3-4).

We’re told in verses 3-4; “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 for a memorial before God.” God was having mercy on him and giving him what he needed in order to be saved.

It’s interesting to note that the angel didn’t then preach the gospel to Cornelius then and there. In the Bible, it seems that it’s not given to angels to preach that message. 1 Peter 1:12 tells us the message of the gospel is something that was hinted at to the Old Testament prophets;

To them it was revealed that, not to themselves, but to us they were ministering the things which now have been reported to you through those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven—things which angels desire to look into (1 Peter 1:12).

Through this angelic messenger, it was communicated to Cornelius that God had heard his prayers favorably. That alone is a great expression of God’s mercy. As the apostle Peter would later put it, “in every nation whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him” (v. 35).

Now; as great as this Gentile man’s reverence toward God was, that alone could not save him. But God was moved to respond to him by leading him with the message of the gospel that would save him. His life was a demonstration of the fact that the Lord allows Himself to be found by those who sincerely seek Him.

And so, we then go on to read of …

3. THE COMMAND GOD GAVE CORNELIUS (vv. 5-6).

The angel told Cornelius, “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” (vv. 5-6).

The time at which this command had been given to him would have been at the ninth hour of the day from sunrise); which would put the time at around 3:00 PM in our reckoning. Interestingly, that matches the hour of prayer that the Jewish people observed in their worship in the temple (see Acts 3:1). The angel told Cornelius to call for Peter at Joppa. When last we read of Peter, at the end of Acts 9, he was staying in the coastal city of Joppa in the house of Simon the Tanner. In the providence of God, Peter had already been kept in Joppa for such a time as this. (The best manuscripts do not contain the addition that we find in verses 6 and 32, that Peter would tell Cornelius what he must do. But it’s clear from 11:14 that the angel did tell Cornelius that he “will tell you words by which you and all your household will be saved”.)

Being a reverent man who was generous to the Jewish people and who prayed to God was not enough to save Cornelius. Such good works—even sincerely performed—cannot save us. Only faith in the work of Jesus on the cross can save us. But God will, in mercy, look upon the hearts of those who sincerely seek Him, and will send the message to them that they might hear and believe.

And so; that leads us to …

4. CORNELIUS’ OBEDIENCE (vv. 7-8).

Verses 7-8 tell us; “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.” These men were, no doubt, entirely sympathetic to Cornelius’ reverence toward God, and could be trusted to faithfully fulfill their mission.

Caesarea was approximately 40 miles north of Joppa; so, these three men probably left late in the afternoon or early evening, slept along the way, and resumed their journey in the morning in order to arrive to Peter at about mid to late afternoon the next day. And as the story unfolds to us, they came to Peter, told him what their mission was, and Peter left to declare the gospel to Cornelius and his household. All believed and were saved.

* * * * * * * * * *

This story illustrates an important principle to us. No human being—not even a very devout human being such as Cornelius—can be saved merely by sincere religious piety. He or she needs to hear and believe the objective message of the gospel. But it also shows us that God, in His great mercy, will send His servants to proclaim that gospel to those who have been appointed to believe it unto salvation.

Let’s remember the power of the gospel that’s described to us in Romans 10:9-13;

that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Romans 10:9-13).

But let’s also remember what it says in verses 14-15;

How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written:

“How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace,
Who bring glad tidings of good things!” (vv. 14-15).

May we, by God’s help, be His ‘Peter’ to some ‘Cornelius’—somewhere—whose heart He has prepared the saving gospel message. Because as this story shows us, even those who are sincerely reverent and God-fearing still need to hear and believe the gospel by which they can be saved.

AE