Salvation Comes to the Gentiles - Part 1

Acts 10 opens another huge turning point in the history of the church. The Lord reveals that salvation has come to the Gentiles, those long treated by Israel as outcasts, unclean, and outside the blessing of God. The Old Testament had always pointed this way. God told Abraham that “all the families of the earth” would be blessed through him, Isaiah spoke of salvation reaching “to the end of the earth,” and David said all nations would worship before the Lord. Jesus said the same thing plainly. Other sheep would hear his voice, repentance would be proclaimed to all nations, and disciples would be made of all nations.

Israel, however, had become prideful and self-righteous. The Jewish people had been raised with a deep suspicion of Gentiles, and Peter still carried some of that mindset. So the Lord orchestrates events in a way that could only have come from him. God prepares Cornelius in Caesarea, and God prepares Peter in Joppa. Cornelius is a Roman centurion, a Gentile, but also a devout man who fears God, leads his household well, gives generously, and prays continually. The power of a believing father shows up in his household, because those under his care are also drawn toward God.

God answers Cornelius with clear instruction. The angel tells him to send men to Joppa for Simon Peter, staying with Simon the Tanner by the sea. God leaves no room for Cornelius to reinterpret the command. Cornelius simply obeys.

The Lord then prepares Peter. Peter goes to the rooftop to pray, becomes hungry, and falls into a trance. A great sheet comes down from heaven filled with animals, clean and unclean, and the voice says, “Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.” Peter answers in true Peter fashion, “By no means, Lord,” because he has never eaten anything unholy or unclean. But God answers, “What God has cleansed, no longer consider unholy.”

The vision carries two ideas. God is abolishing the old dietary restrictions, and God is dismantling the wall between Jew and Gentile. Leviticus had separated Israel from the nations, but Jesus had already taught that true defilement comes from the heart, not from food entering the stomach. The Lord shows Peter the vision three times, because Peter needs it that clearly.

The Spirit then tells Peter that three men are looking for him and that he must go with them “without misgivings.” God prepares the hearer, God prepares the messenger, and God requires obedience from both. Salvation belongs to the Lord. The church’s task is to speak, but God opens, turns, softens, and changes the heart.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. God prepares the hearer first [01:16:51] Cornelius did not stumble into salvation by accident. God had already been drawing his heart, shaping his prayers, and bringing him to the place where the gospel would finally be heard. Evangelism becomes less anxious when a believer remembers that God is already at work before any human word is spoken. [76:51]
• 2. Obedience does not need full clarity [01:15:11] Peter did not yet understand the whole meaning of the vision when the Spirit told him to go downstairs. The command came before the full explanation, and obedience had to move while the mind was still catching up. Faith often looks like taking the next clear step while trusting God with the parts that still feel confusing. [75:11]
• 3. God cleanses what man rejects [01:10:54] Peter’s categories of clean and unclean were being taken apart by the voice of God. The issue was bigger than food, because the Lord was preparing him to stop calling Gentiles unholy when God had opened the door of salvation. A Christian must be careful not to preserve old prejudices under the language of holiness. [70:54]
• 4. The heart is the real issue [01:09:26] Jesus had already taught that food does not defile a person, but what comes out of the heart does. External rules can never make a sinner righteous, and religious habits can easily hide pride rather than cure it. God’s concern reaches deeper than visible behavior, all the way into what a person loves, trusts, resents, and worships. [69:26]
• 5. God saves, believers speak [01:19:58] The responsibility of a Christian is not to manufacture salvation in another person. God opens hearts, turns hearts, and changes hearts, while his people are called to speak truthfully and prayerfully. Prayer for a prepared heart is not a side issue in evangelism, because without the Spirit’s work, words can go in one ear and out the other. [79:58]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [36:36] - The Father’s Voice
• [37:20] - Acts 10 and Salvation to Gentiles
• [39:20] - God’s Promise to Bless All Nations
• [42:21] - Jesus Was Clear About All Nations
• [44:27] - Cornelius the Devout Centurion
• [57:38] - An Angel Gives Clear Instructions
• [60:26] - Cornelius Obeys and Sends Men
• [62:27] - Peter’s Rooftop Vision
• [64:10] - What God Has Cleansed
• [66:35] - Israel Set Apart by Dietary Laws
• [71:09] - God Dismantles Peter’s Categories
• [74:44] - The Spirit Sends Peter Forward
• [76:29] - God Prepares Hearts and Messengers
• [79:58] - Pray for Prepared Hearts

Bible Reading

Acts 10:1-20
“Now there was a man at Caesarea named Cornelius, a centurion of what was called the Italian cohort, a devout man and one who feared God with all his household, and gave many alms to the Jewish people and prayed to God continually. About the ninth hour of the day he clearly saw in a vision an angel of God who had just come in and said to him, ‘Cornelius!’ And fixing his gaze on him and being much alarmed, he said, ‘What is it, Lord?’ And he said to him, ‘Your prayers and alms have ascended as a memorial before God. Now dispatch some men to Joppa and send for a man named Simon, who is also called Peter; he is staying with a tanner named Simon, whose house is by the sea.’ When the angel who was speaking to him had left, he summoned two of his servants and a devout soldier of those who were his personal attendants, and after he had explained everything to them, he sent them to Joppa. On the next day, as they were on their way and approaching the city, Peter went up on the housetop about the sixth hour to pray. But he became hungry and was desiring to eat; but while they were making preparations, he fell into a trance; and he saw the sky opened up, and an object like a great sheet coming down, lowered by four corners to the ground, and there were in it all kinds of four-footed animals and crawling creatures of the earth and birds of the air. A voice came to him, ‘Get up, Peter, kill and eat!’ But Peter said, ‘By no means, Lord, for I have never eaten anything unholy and unclean.’ Again a voice came to him a second time, ‘What God has cleansed, no longer consider unholy.’ This happened three times, and immediately the object was taken up into the sky. Now while Peter was greatly perplexed in mind as to what the vision which he had seen might be, behold, the men who had been sent by Cornelius, having asked directions for Simon’s house, appeared at the gate; and calling out, they were asking whether Simon, who was also called Peter, was staying there. While Peter was reflecting on the vision, the Spirit said to him, ‘Behold, three men are looking for you. But get up, go downstairs and accompany them without misgivings, for I have sent them Myself.’” [44:24]

Matthew 15:11
“It is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person.” [01:08:26]

Genesis 12:2-3
“And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” [39:39]

Isaiah 49:6
“he says: ‘It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to bring back the preserved of Israel; I will make you as a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.’” [40:21]

Observation questions

1. In Acts 10:1-2, what details are given about Cornelius’s character, habits, and household?
2. What specific instructions did Cornelius receive, and how did he respond to them? [59:17]
3. What did Peter see in the vision, and how did he answer the command to “kill and eat”? [01:04:10]
4. What are some repeated signs in Acts 10:1-20 that God is directing both Cornelius and Peter very clearly? [01:15:11]

Interpretation questions

1. Genesis 12:2-3 and Isaiah 49:6 show that God intended to bless all nations from the beginning. How does Acts 10 reveal that this was not a new plan, but the unfolding of an old one? [42:31]
2. Peter says, “By no means, Lord,” even after hearing the command. What does that response reveal about how deeply old categories of clean and unclean were still shaping his thinking? [01:11:19]
3. Jesus says that defilement comes from the heart, not from food. How does that truth help explain why the vision in Acts 10 is about more than diet? [01:09:47]
4. The Spirit tells Peter to go with the men “without misgivings” before Peter fully understands everything. What does that suggest about the way God often leads his people into obedience? [01:15:45]

Application questions

1. God had already been at work in Cornelius before Peter ever arrived. How might that change the way a person thinks about sharing the gospel with a family member, friend, or coworker? [01:16:51]
2. Peter had to let God tear down old categories that no longer matched God’s heart. Are there any people a person may quietly treat as unlikely, unwelcome, or too far gone? What might it look like to repent of that? [01:10:54]
3. Cornelius obeyed clear instruction right away, and Peter was told to move before he had full clarity. Is there an area where the next faithful step is already clear, even if the whole picture is not? [01:15:11]
4. If the real issue is the heart, not just outward behavior, what sins of the heart need more honest attention right now—pride, resentment, self-righteousness, fear, or something else? [01:09:26]
5. God is the one who opens hearts, turns hearts, and changes hearts. How could that truth bring relief to someone who feels pressure to say everything perfectly when talking about Jesus? [01:20:16]
6. Prayer for prepared hearts is not a side issue in evangelism. Who specifically comes to mind right now that needs prayer, and what would it look like to begin praying regularly for that person before saying another word? [01:19:15]
7. Cornelius led his household in a Godward direction. For those who have influence in a home, among children, or over others in daily life, what simple patterns could help make that influence more faithful and intentional? [55:38]