Cornelius and Salvation

I. Introduction: Some people object to the command for baptism by using Cornelius as their example. However, Cornelius teaches the exact opposite. Cornelius and his household is a peculiar case of conversion in the book of Acts in that He is the first non-Jewish convert. We must be careful not to make a broad application of this story to all conversions or put it at odds with other passages about salvation.

[!NOTE] Primary Scripture Reading: Acts 10:34-43

II. Briefly tell the story/chart: when was he was saved

III. The Acts 10 manifestation of the Holy Spirit did not save Cornelius

A. Calvinist Dilemma

B. Many religious bodies follow the teaching of John Calvin who taught the salvation of man by grace alone and the impossibility of being lost. Calvin said man was born in sin and cannot seek God unless God regenerates the man so that He will seek God. According to Calvin, at this point of regeneration the person is saved and will then seek God’s will Cornelius was a devout religious man before he was told to send to Peter who would tell him words by which he would be saved. How could Cornelius have been baptized by the Holy Spirit after Peter’s preaching when he had to have already been baptized by the Holy Spirit so he could seek God in the first place?

C. The Bible teaches that we are not born in sin and all have access to eternal life—God did not pick and choose individuals to be saved.

IV. The Holy Spirit proved to the Jews that the Gentiles could be saved

A. Jewish prejudice

B. Acts 10:27-29 - God had to send a vision three times to tell Peter that no man can call unclean those whom God has cleansed. When Peter returned from Cornelius, the Jews chastised Peter for teaching the Gentiles, Acts 11:1-2.

C. The story is as much about Peter and the Jews as it is about Cornelius

D. The Old Law had been abolished by Jesus when He fulfilled it Ephesians 2:11-18 - With the Old Law out of the way, the division between the Jews and the Gentiles had been removed However, the gospel had not been preached to the Gentiles yet. The Jews were to no longer consider the Gentiles unclean but equal. The Jews, steeped in tradition and separation from the Gentiles, needed something profound to show them that the gospel was for all men. Through divine means, God brought together these separate worlds.

E. Divine approval of the Gentiles

F. God sent the Holy Spirit to show Peter and the Jews with him that the Gentiles could be baptized.

G. The Jews were amazed because the Holy Spirit fell on them. This proved that they could have access to salvation (Acts 11:17-18).This did not remit their sins (Acts 15:7-9)

H. Thus, we do not have a pattern for every conversion. The gospel going to the Gentiles was as dramatic of an event as the beginning of the church.

I. In Acts 2, the Holy Spirit fell on the apostles to demonstrate that Jesus had ascended to the right hand of God. In Acts 10, the presence of the Holy Spirit showed that the Gentiles could be baptized in the name of Jesus This was not a common occurrence. Acts 11:15 refers to ” the beginning” of the church, not to every conversion since that time.

V. Response to God’s word saved Cornelius and his household

A. God could have sent the angel with the words of the gospel

B. If it was the coming of the Holy Spirit that saved Cornelius, God could have just sent His Spirit and finished the work without Peter.

C. However, God told Cornelius to send for Peter

D. Acts 10:6 – He will tell you what you must do Acts 10:33 – Tell what has been commanded Acts 11:14 – Words by which you will be saved Peter would teach Cornelius what he must do to be saved. Acts 10:47-48 – Cornelius commanded to be baptized

E. In order to be saved Cornelius needed to hear and obey what God commanded him to do through Peter’s instruction.

F. If the baptism of the Holy Spirit saved Cornelius, Peter would be commanding Cornelius to do something he had not control over. The Spirit follows the will of the Father; not the will of man

G. Peter commanded Cornelius and his audience to be baptized

H. In water for none could forbid them water. It was a baptism that a person could command and obey

VI. Story recap

A. Peter went to a lost man to preach the word of salvation

B. Peter preached Christ to Cornelius and his household

C. Cornelius and his household believed the words of Peter

D. Mark 16:16 – He that believes and is baptized will be saved However, the Jews were not convinced the Gentiles could be saved

E. The Holy Spirit came upon Cornelius and his household as it came upon the apostles when the gospel was first preached at Pentecost

F. Seeing God’s approval, Peter baptized the Gentiles, their response to the words of salvation

G. The sign was such that the Jews in Jerusalem who chastised Peter for being with the Gentiles realized that the Gentiles could be saved and they ceased complaining and glorified God. In a Acts 15, Peter recounted this incident to show that there was no longer a distinction between the Jews and the Gentiles in the kingdom of God

H. After this incident, there is no other account of the Holy Spirit coming upon man in this fashion for they were unique periods of Bible history.

I. Peter and the other disciples continued to preach words by which one could be saved and commanded listeners to obey God.