Sermon by Pastor Brent Kompelien
June 9, 2024
INTRO
William Cowper (cooper) was born in 1731 in Hertfordshire, England. (SLIDE 2) He was a pastor’s kid, and his dad was the rector of the Church of St. Peter, a famous Anglican church that dates back to the year 1200.
William was a smart kid with lots of potential. He was a amazing writer and poet. He also excelled in all his classes in school. But he struggles emotionally and often found himself terrified at the thought of failing. He had done well in his education, and he was advancing toward a career as a lawyer, but he had this haunting fear in his heart.
In 1763, at the age of 32, he finally got his chance. He was offered a prestigious position as a law clerk in the House of Lords. He just needed to pass a rigorous examination. As the test date approached, he got more and more anxious until he ultimately broke down under the strain and his worst nightmare came true: He failed the exam and was rejected from this job he had been striving for all his life.
William spiraled into a deep depression. He was on the verge of losing touch with reality when a familiar friend reached out to him: John Newton.
(SLIDE 3) Newton was a former slave-ship captain who had given his life to Christ. And the Lord turned his life completely around. His feelings of guilt and his remorse over the way he participated in the slave trade had driven him also to the point of despair. But when he met Jesus, he wrote one of the most famous hymns of all time that goes like this: (SLIDE 4) “Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost, but now I’m found; was blind, but now I see.”
Newton invited his friend William to come live nearby. He walked with his friend through his depression and helped him understand God’s grace.
(SLIDE 5, blank) For someone like William Cowper who had cracked under the pressure of living up to expectations and feeling like a failure, he realized the darkness of his own heart as he tried to prove that he good enough to be accepted by others. He needed redemption from his striving, from his anxious fear, and from the terror that he would never be accepted or loved.
It was Newton who told him this simple truth: If a slave-ship captain like me can be forgiven and accepted by Christ, you too can be redeemed from your misery and sin through the gospel of Jesus Christ.
In other words: Because of the grace of God displayed at the cross of Christ, there is no one who is unworthy to be welcomed into God’s family, if only you turn to Jesus in repentance and faith.
The realization of this truth led William Cowper to pen this song in 1779: (SLIDE 6) There is a fountain filled with blood, drawn from Immanuel’s veins; and sinners, plunged beneath that flood, lose all their guilty stains…The dying thief rejoiced to see, that fountain in his day; and there may I, though vile as he, wash all my sins away.
This was William’s only hope. It is the only thing that could get him out of his deep depression and his feeling of being unworthy. His failures, his shortcomings, and his sins are made as white as snow by the blood of the Lamb. (SLIDE 7, blank)
William only came to realize this salvation when he was desperate. Just like the thief on the cross, whom William compares himself to in his song, we all must see the desperate place we would be without Christ.
Friends, we’ve seen over and over again in the book of Acts that there is level ground at the foot of the cross. And today this truth is going to be tested again as the Apostle Peter goes into the house of a Roman soldier, someone whom Jews considered an enemy, someone unworthy of God and unclean and unfit for God’s kingdom. And God shows Peter that all people are welcomed into the family of God, no matter their ethnic heritage, cultural background, shortcomings, or sin, if only they repent and believe in Jesus Christ.
Open with me to Acts 9:32. Raise your hand if you need a Bible. We are going to see a familiar person, the Apostle Peter, come back on the scene now. This account from Acts 9:32-11:18 tells the story of the gospel coming to the first Gentile: Cornelius the Centurion.
Cornelius is the last in a series of conversion stories, and Luke thinks this moment is so important that he spends 77 verses telling the story!
But I want you to notice that there are actually two transformations that happen here. In the strict sense, this story is about the conversion of Cornelius as he comes to salvation in Christ. But in a broader sense, this story is actually more about a transformation in Peter’s heart, and in the hearts of those in Jerusalem who heard Peter’s report, regarding who they think can be accepted into God’s family. The majority of Luke’s focus is on Peter, and we will see why as the text unfolds.
ORG SENT — We are going to read this account in three parts. (SLIDE 8) First, we will see a demonstration of Peter’s authority as an apostle (9:32-43). Second, we will see the story of Peter going to Cornelius’ house (10:1-48). Third, we will see Peter defend his actions (11:1-18).
MAIN 1 — Peter’s Authority (9:32-43). (SLIDE 9)
READ Acts 9:32-43.
A good Bible study question is this: Why did Luke include these two stories here in the book of Acts? (SLIDE 10) You have to remember, the writers of the New Testament wrote with great purpose, and immediately when Luke re-introduces Peter into the story, he includes the account of two miracles. Why?
I’ll just cut to the chase here: The healing of Aeneas and the raising of Tabitha serve to (SLIDE 11) authenticate Peter’s authority as an Apostle because the next event is such an earth-shattering moment. What is about to transpire is the fulfillment of what was promised to Abraham more than 2000 years earlier: that all nations would be blessed through God’s redemptive plan. And this is why Luke spends time here re-establishing Peter’s authority as an Apostle. It is because Peter has a unique role to play in the early church.
IMPORTANT — I want remind you of an important exchange between Simon Peter and Jesus from years earlier. In Matthew 16:15-19, Jesus asks Peter, (SLIDE 12, 13) “Who do you say I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”
KEY — (SLIDE 14) Peter plays a critical role in the spread of the gospel:
He has already shown that he has used the keys to the kingdom to preach to the Jews in his sermon at Pentecost (Acts 2) and testify that Jesus is the Messiah to the Sanhedrin (Acts 4, 5).
He made is clear that lying and selfishness are incompatible with the gospel and unwelcome in the church as he personally pronounces judgment on Ananias/Sapphira (Acts 5) and Simon the Sorcerer (Acts 8).
Now, he is the one holding the keys to the kingdom for the Gentiles, for all nations and peoples on the earth. Remember, the Apostle Paul is the “chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles” (Acts 9:15). (SLIDE 15) But it is Peter who must “unlock” the Gentile inclusion. As the leader of the Apostles, the “rock” on whom the church is built, Peter represents the Christian movement and is the key figure in welcoming the nations into the salvation offered through Jesus Christ.
Now, we don’t have time to dive into all the details of these two miracles at the end of chapter 9. But theologian John Stott summarized how the healing of Aeneas and the raising of Tabitha hark back to Jesus’ ministry and authenticated Peter’s unique role to have the keys to the kingdom: (SLIDE 16, entire list)
Modeled after Jesus — Both are strikingly similar to Jesus’ own miracles.
Performed by the power of Jesus — Peter says, “Jesus Christ heals you” (9:34).
Signaled the salvation of Jesus — These miracles pointed to something greater.
Led to the glory of Jesus — Many people believed in the Lord (v. 42)
KEY: Luke tells us these miracles in order to show Peter’s unique role and authority to unlock the spread of the gospel to the Gentiles.
MAIN 2 — Peter at Cornelius’ House (10:1-48). (SLIDE 17)
READ Acts 10:1-48.
Who was Cornelius?
He was a Roman Centurion stationed at Caesarea, meaning he was in charge of 100 soldiers at the Roman military base that governed the province of Judea.
He was a “God-fearer” — this is a term used to describe non-Jewish people who acknowledge the Living God of Israel, but they are not converts to Judaism. They are still outsiders, unable to participate in Jewish worship, and considered ritually unclean and unworthy of fellowship with the people of God.
IMPORTANT BACKGROUND:
The OT prophets had foretold of when the Messiah would welcome the nations into his kingdom. In one of the famous Servant Songs of Isaiah, the Lord God says about the Messiah and the people of his kingdom: (SLIDE 18) “I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.” (Isaiah 49:6).
Yet by the 1st century, (SLIDE 19) there was intense prejudice and hatred directed by the Jews toward other nations. They were occupied by the Romans at this time and they were constantly being pushed around and they struggled to keep the purity of their faith. The Jews developed a deep-seated sense of favoritism and pride, thinking of themselves as “God’s chosen people” and everyone else as “dogs”.
KEY — No devout Jew would ever enter the house of a Gentile. This would cause you to be ritually unclean and it would require a week’s worth of sacrifices and ritual cleansing at the temple.
This is why Peter’s vision is so radical. When the sheet descends and there are all kinds of ritually unclean animals on it whom Peter declares he would never touch, he hears a voice from heaven say, “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean” (10:15).
In other words, (SLIDE 20) God is preparing Peter at this moment to receive the visitors from Cornelius, because God was at work in Cornelius’ heart, and the free forgiveness in the gospel of Jesus Christ can even make a Gentile Roman soldier pure and holy and acceptable in the sight of God.
Here’s what happened:
Cornelius calls for Peter in obedience to the Lord’s command. Peter responds in obedience to the Lord’s command. The city where Cornelius lived was called Caesarea. This city is literally named after Caesar, the Emperor of Rome, and it represented everything the Jews hated about being under Roman occupation.
When Peter arrives, he finds that Cornelius had gathered a whole crowd of his family and friends. This would have made it even more daunting for Peter to enter the house! It was not only a Gentile home, it was filled to overflowing with Gentiles!
IMPORTANT — When Peter walks into the house in 10:25-26, there is a critical moment here that shows how God has leveled the playing field at the foot of the cross of Jesus Christ:
Cornelius immediately fell at Peter’s feet in reverence. Rather than take this moment to feel proud about himself, Peter makes Cornelius get up and he says, “Stand up. I am only a man myself” (10:26). Then Peter says, “God has shown me that I should not call anyone impure or unclean” (10:28). He not only refuses to receive undue praise, he also refuses to call these Gentiles “dogs”.
KEY — In other words, in one stroke Peter humbles himself and lifts up Cornelius. He fulfills Isaiah 40:3-5, (SLIDE 21) “A voice of one calling: “In the wilderness prepare the way for the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain. And the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all people will see it together. For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”
Don’t miss this: As Peter preaches the gospel to this whole house full of Gentiles and the Holy Spirit descends upon them, they together see the glory of the Lord and receive the same gift of salvation. And now Peter and Cornelius are brothers in the same family, brought together by the gospel of Jesus Christ, on the same level ground at the foot of the cross!
But not everyone understood this or could accept it.
MAIN 3 — Peter Defends His Actions (11:1-18). (SLIDE 22)
READ Acts 11:1-18.
News spreads throughout Judea that Gentiles believed in Jesus, and people in Jerusalem criticized Peter for having table fellowship with Cornelius and his family. Why is that? Why would people be upset?
There was probably some fear. There was probably some misguided pious aspirations. There was probably some ethnic or religious prejudice. KEY: (SLIDE 23) Something in the hearts of these early believers in Jerusalem needed to change.
So, what does Peter do? He tells the story. (SLIDE 24) He shares a testimony. And the lead character of this testimony is God!
IMPORTANT — Remember, God is the lead character of the book of Acts. Luke tells us that God has been directing everything in his perfect timing. Did you notice how God tells each person exactly what to do and when to do it?
KEY: (SLIDE 25) God brought Peter and Cornelius together. He joined them in fellowship as brothers under the Lordship of Jesus Christ. They are in His hands! They are fulfilling His will! This wasn’t Peter’s idea; it was God’s plan! Through Christ the dividing wall of hostility has been destroyed, as Paul says in Ephesians 2. And Peter and Cornelius are bringing to fruition God’s design for the church to be a unity of all nations, tribes, peoples, and languages in the gospel of Jesus Christ.
APPLY (SLIDE 26, blank)
The book of Acts has challenged us with this before, and we need to be challenged with it again: Who are the people in our community, in our nation, in our world whom you may deem unfit or unworthy of God? Is anyone outside of the reach of God’s grace? Is there anyone in your life whom you think is too far gone for God’s redemption?
ILLUST — Let me tell you a story. More than 10 years ago, I served as an associate pastor in a church in Berkeley, California. One of my responsibilities was to handle the benevolence requests that came it, typically from homeless people or people in terrible situations.
One day I got a call at our office from a guy named Jason. He asked if he could meet with a pastor. He said he was a believer and that he lived in downtown Oakland, and if you know anything about the Bay Area, there are parts of Oakland that are incredibly dangerous and scary.
I’ll admit, when I heard where he lived, I immediately had my guard up. My heart was not receptive or soft to him. I felt skeptical, fearful, and even somewhat annoyed that I would have to go to downtown Oakland to meet with him.
I met with him at a coffee shop in downtown, and he told me that he recently lost his job and was living with his dad in a one-room apartment. His dad was addicted to drugs and Jason desperately wanted to get out of that place. He said that he could sense something incredibly dark about that apartment building, and he just wanted out.
I wasn’t prepared for what happened next. He invited me to see his living situation first-hand. He didn’t explain, he just said, “I want you to see how bad it is.”
Something in me said, “Go with him.” So we walked three blocks south to a shabby old building, and as we entered I could see Jason’s body physically tense up. I could sense the darkness in this place, and I since I had my Bible with me, I literally held it over my heart like a shield! I think I felt a little of the same trepidation that Peter must have felt before entering Cornelius’ house.
We walked into the building and went upstairs, and at the top of the stairs was a large man staring down at us, and he yelled, “Hey! What are you doing in here?”
Jason never broke stride. He simply walked up the stairs and calmly said, “This is my pastor. Step aside, we are coming through,” and he waved his arm and the man stepped aside.
When we got to his room, I took one peak inside. It was maybe 8x10, covered in junk and drug paraphernalia, and there was his dad, stoned out on something.
We exited, and once we were back on the street, Jason turned to me and said, “That man at the top of the stairs is the drug dealer who controls that whole building. He is always packing a gun. I don’t know what came over me, God just told me to keep walking up the stairs, and I just prayed, ‘Lord, move that man aside.’” And with tears in his eyes, he told me that he felt helpless and that he needed God to get him out of that situation.
This was an earth-shattering moment for me. I saw the dark underbelly of downtown Oakland, I walked straight at a drug dealer with my Bible over my heart, and witnessed the suffering and the terrible consequences of sin.
It hit me: Brent, your heart was so hard. You didn’t take Jason’s faith seriously, you didn’t think it was worth coming to Oakland, you didn’t see the misery of people right under your nose. Are these people unworthy of the grace of God, unfit for forgiveness, or too far gone for redemption? Is someone like Jason who is in such a terrible situation, so different from me, so opposite of my experiences, so distraught in the terrible consequences of sin in his life, is he loved by God too? Is his life worth saving? Is it possible for us to be united in the gospel, brothers in the Lord, brought together because we both need Jesus just the same?
ASK: Who is it in your world whom you may deem unfit to be welcomed into the family of God? Are there people you’d rather not associate with, whom you’d prefer if they stayed at arm’s length, whom you find repulsive and unclean and unworthy of God’s grace?
Or could you have a change of heart? Could you respond like these early believers in Jerusalem who heard the testimony of God’s work and saw evidence of his redeeming grace in the lives of their worst enemies, and suddenly praise God that his kindness that leads to repentance had given new life to the people whom they deemed most unworthy?
May we be reminded of the desperate place we would be without Christ, and rejoice that the grace of God is available to all who repent and believe.