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Thoughts About Cornelius - Acts 10
Thoughts About Cornelius - Acts 10
Peter had a dilemma! His understanding of the law of Moses taught him to NOT eat that which was ‘unclean’. So, when given a vision and instructed to ‘kill and eat’, Peter argues with the LORD! NO! By no means! Three times he responds, and each time he received the same response: “What God has cleansed, no longer consider unholy’.
No longer? Peter was correct, under the covenant of Moses, it WAS unholy food! Something changed! No longer is it to be considered unclean. NOW it is acceptable to eat. In order to make such a change, there had to be a change in the very covenant. Such was not just an ‘amendment’ but a changing of covenants. Jesus brought not only salvation but a NEW COVENANT.
Under this new covenant, at least it is apparent that besides the food laws, at least three other things are changed.
· Gentiles can be part of this new covenant: “… in every nation the man who fears Him and does what is right is welcome to Him” (Acts 10:35).
· Gentiles can become partakers of this covenant WITHOUT being circumcised. (Acts 15; Gal. 5:1-6).
· The forgiveness of the New Covenant was conditioned upon believing (Acts 10:43), repenting (Acts 11:18), and being baptized in the name of Jesus (Acts 10:36).
Cornelius is said to be ‘a God-fearer’. This was said to be “a Gentile who worshiped Israel’s God and was in some way attached to a synagogue but who had not submitted to Jewish conversion rites (esp. circumcision) [English Standard Study Bible note). Note that even though Cornelius was such a God-fearer, a devout man, a generous man making large donations to the Jewish people, a man of continued prayer, without Jesus he was lost!
From here on in the book of Acts, we will see the gospel message as it is preached unto ALL nations. Those that believed and were baptized were promised salvation, but those that rejected this gospel stood condemned (cp. Mark 16:15-16). Have you obeyed the gospel?
Hugh DeLong
