Power to Save the "Unclean" 2

Sam said there is a bit of a long text and maybe you've noticed the sermons were short the last two weeks and in my mind I'm thinking I want to save up some minutes for this week and you may not be thinking that way but that's what I was thinking and we'll see how that works out. It is a long text because we're really looking at one of the the most significant shifts in the history of the church. If you look back to Acts 2, if you were with us, this is when the church is born. Jesus Christ has come. He died for those who believe in Him. He rose again, and then days later, after He'd been teaching His disciples, the Spirit came down. And that was the birth of the church. That's when the Spirit empowered those who believed in Christ to proclaim Christ, and we began to see thousands upon thousands added as the church moved on. There's a mission. And if you've been with us, we've seen the gospel. It went out to the Samaritans. These were half Jew, half Gentiles. There was a great division between Jews and Samaritans, and here God is saving those Samaritans to bring them into the kingdom of Christ. We then saw the gospel go to Egypt, to the Ethiopian eunuch. The gospel has gone to the ends of the earth. Then we saw the main man who's been attacking the church, Saul. meet Jesus Christ on the road to attack Jesus Christ and his church, and he's converted. He's going to be the disciple. He's going to be the apostle to the Gentiles. He will suffer greatly for it. And now today we're going to see the key event that demonstrates, and it's important, this is the key event that demonstrates to the church, Gentiles are equal heirs of the kingdom. Gentiles are going to receive the grace of God by believing in Jesus Christ. This is good news for us. I look out and I believe most of us, we're not Jews. We're not born of the line of Abraham by birth. And the story today in Acts 10 is the climactic demonstration that we too can receive the same salvation, the same promises, the same benefits that were given to Abraham through Jesus Christ. They're ours. So this is for us in many ways, but I want us to see two particular things we're going to learn today. The first is something we have to be reminded of regularly. We do not deserve God's blessing. And this is a hard thing to remember, because we always think we deserve better. We constantly think we deserve better, and it's something we need to realize. We do not deserve God's blessing. But in Jesus Christ, we receive all of the heavenly blessings. We're redeemed, we're forgiven. We have a new identity as adopted children of God. So the first thing we see is that it is a gift. It's something promised, not earned. The second thing we need to see is that our text is gonna challenge us in the way we think about the others. Our text is gonna challenge us by the way we think about people who are different than us. And we all think about people who are different than us. We recognize when someone is different. Let me just give a short example. One of the things I love about Jefferson Park is that we are a diverse church. For a church this size, there's a lot of diversity in the room. And the number one thing that is diverse is the age that's represented here. And this is something that's slowly deteriorating in many churches, in age diversity. And so I praise God that we have young, we have old, we have a number of ages spread out through here, represented because we're all united in Christ. Now what's funny is when we have a young couple visiting the church, they look around and they say, there's a lot of old people here. We have an old person, an older seasoned member or visitor of the church, they say, there's a lot of younger people here. We always see the others. We always draw our attention to those that are a little different. And what we need to realize is that as Christians, we're supposed to think about those who are different than us differently than the world. We're supposed to think about those who are in Christ who are different than us in the world, in race, in social status, in culture, in language. If they're in Christ, we don't see those as the differences. We see that we have union with Christ. We emphasize the union we have. It's our simple temptation to look at the differences. It's our simple temptation to look and say this person must not be deserving because look how they're living their life. That denies the gospel. It's our simple temptation to withdraw ourselves from somebody who's not exactly like us. That denies the gospel. Today we get to see again the simplicity of the gospel and the power of the gospel. The particular application is to be convinced that we've received great grace and rejoice with all those who received that great grace by giving it to them. So we're gonna look at Acts chapter 9, 32. I'm going to go over very quickly chapter 9, 32 to verse 43. The main focus of our text is chapter 10, 1 through 11, 18. This is the story of Cornelius. And what I believe is happening here in chapter nine, verse 32, Luke is introducing us back to Peter. Peter's been the primary spokesperson of the church. He's been the apostle who's been leading the charge, and he's been distant for a while. Philip was the apostle, or the deacon, rather, the evangelist, proclaiming the gospel. And now Peter comes back, and let me just read 932 through 43. There's two stories, one about a man who was paralyzed and healed, and one about a disciple who was raised from the dead. And notice the emphasis is on Peter and his power to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ. Now as Peter went here and there among them all, he came down also to the saints who lived in Lydda. There he found a man named Annias, bedridden for eight years, who was paralyzed. And Peter said to him, Annias, Jesus Christ heals you. Rise and make your bed. Immediately he rose, and all the residents of Lydda And Sharon saw him, and they turned to the Lord." Well, what a wonderful story of Peter declaring the power of Christ to heal, and it was done so that others would turn to Jesus Christ in faith. Verse 36. Now there was in Joppa a disciple named Tabitha, which translated means Dorcas. She was full of good works and acts of charity. In those days, she became ill and died. When they had washed her, they laid her in an upper room. Since Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples, hearing that Peter was there, sent two men urging him, please come to us without delay. So Peter rose and went with him. And when he arrived, they took him to the upper room. All the widows stood beside him, weeping and showing tunics and other garments that Dorcas had made while she was with him. But Peter put them all outside knelt down and prayed, and turning to the body, he said, Tabitha, arise. She opened her eyes. When she saw Peter, she sat up. And he gave her his hand and raised her up. Then calling the saints and widows, he presented her alive. And it became known throughout all Joppa, and many believed in the Lord. And he stayed in Joppa for many days with one Simon, a tanner." Here I believe what Luke is doing is reintroducing us to Peter through these great miracles that show he is performing the miracles in the name of Christ. He's very much participating in the power of the gospel in the name of Jesus Christ. A very simplistic way of, it can be simplistic to look to, or to the book of Acts is chapters 1 through 12, that's really focused on Peter and his ministry. 13 through 28, that's Paul. There's a significant shift that takes place. And yes, it's overly simplistic because not all of 1 through 12 is about Peter, but you see there's a significant change that takes place. It begins also with the Jews being in focus and then the Gentiles being in focus. And then there you see the different apostles, the apostle of Jerusalem, the apostle to the Gentiles. I believe here we see Paul, or Luke, bringing Peter back into focus. And it's important to see here A lot of what he's doing is bringing Peter to Joppa. There's two places in the Bible where Joppa is mentioned. The other one is the book of Jonah. From where Jonah was told, go, proclaim the good news to the Ninevites. The Ninevites were not of the promised people. They were not Israelites. They were nasty, wicked people that no one liked. And Jonah, the Israelite prophet, heard God say, go proclaim the good news to the Ninevites. He said, they don't deserve it. Are you kidding me? The Ninevites? So what did he do? He went down to Joppa, and he left the plan of God. He tried to go against the plan of God, leaving from Joppa. So what does God do in his wonderful sovereign plan? He brings Peter to Joppa to say, you're now going to go to the Gentiles and you're going to play the gospel the way Jonah was supposed to originally. God is sovereign in what he is doing in the plan of salvation for us. And one other note here. While Simon is in Joppa, he's staying with a tenor. This is an unclean profession among Israelites. There's all kinds of signs that something interesting's about to happen. Draw our attention, chapter 10, verse 1. And as Luke has been doing, he's been introducing us to different characters. We had in Samaria, we had Simon the magician. Then we had on the road to Gaza, we had the Ethiopian eunuch. We had Saul, who had already been introduced quite a bit. Now we have chapter 10, verse 1. And you can see an outline of the scene. What I did, I just followed the scenes of the story. God prepares Cornelius to meet Peter. Let me read the text. At Caesarea, there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion of what was known as the Italian cohort, a devout man who feared God with all his household, Gave alms generously to the people and prayed continually to God 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 he stared at him in terror and said what is it Lord? And he said to him, your prayers and your alms have ascended to as a memorial before God, and now send men to Joppa and bring Simon, who was called Peter, who is lodging with one Simon a Tanner, whose house is by the sea. When the angel who spoke to him had departed, he called two of his servants, a devout soldier from among those who attended him, and having related everything to them, he sent them to Joppa." So here we see a new character. It's Cornelius. He lives in Caesarea. This is a significant coastal city built by Herod the Great. It was a major Roman outpost in Israel. Secondly, he's a centurion. He's a Gentile. His job is to keep the Roman peace in Israel. He has a great authority. He probably oversees about 100 men. And then we see this significant tidbit. We know where he's from, we know what he does, and then we see he's a devout man. He's devoted. He's a God-fearer. He has not, he has rejected worshiping the pagan gods of Rome. He, he worships Yahweh. And he practices this faith by giving alms. He prays continuously. Luke is going out of his way to make sure we understand that this is a man who is seeking God. Cornelius receives this vision. He's terrified, he responds, what is it Lord? And he's told a very specific, he's given very specific instructions. When God reveals himself like this, he's normally giving very specific instructions. Go find this particular guy in this particular house for this particular reason. Now, we need to realize something, that Cornelius gets very simple instructions, and he simply obeys them. It's very simple for scene one. Cornelius is getting prepared to hear the gospel, and it's very simple. We need to realize that Peter's preparation is much more complicated. Let's turn to scene two. God prepares Peter to meet Cornelius. So that was one day. The next day, verse 9, as they were on the journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the housetop, about the sixth hour to pray, and he became hungry and wanted something to eat. But while they were preparing it, he fell into a trance and saw the heavens opened and something like a great sheet descending, being let down by its four corners upon the earth. In it were all kinds of animals and reptiles and birds of the air. And there came a voice to him, rise, Peter, kill, and eat. But Peter said, by no means, Lord, for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean. And the voice came to him again a second time, what God has made clean, do not call common. This happened three times, and the thing was taken up at once to heaven. Now, while Peter was inwardly perplexed as to what the vision that he had seen might mean, behold, the men who were sent by Cornelius, having made inquiry for Simon's house, stood at that gate and called out to ask whether Simon, who was called Peter, was lodging there. And while Peter was pondering the vision, the Spirit said to him, Behold, three men are looking for you. Rise and go down and accompany them without hesitation, for I have sent them. Peter went down to the men and said, I'm the one you were looking for. What is the reason for your coming? And they said, Cornelius, a centurion, an upright and God-fearing man who was well spoken of by the whole Jewish nation, was directed by a holy angel to send for you to come to his house and to hear what you have to say. So he invited them in to be his guest. So the men from Caesarea sent by Cornelius, they're on his way, Peter's up there praying, and then all of a sudden a trance falls over him. And this great sheet with three different kinds of animals. There's the animals, the birds, and the reptiles. And according to Leviticus 11, these are unclean. According to the Old Testament law, these are unclean, they're not fit to eat, but yet then God commands Peter, rise, kill, and eat. Peter, because this is contrary to everything he understands about the Old Testament law, he argues. He objects. Now, you have to love Peter here. I've never eaten anything common or unclean. What are you saying, God? And God gives him a very clear declaration. You do not have the right to call something unclean or common that I have declared clean. Now, God is doing something significant in the history of his revelation. There is a change in the command taking place, and we have to show Peter, and as God does, show Peter a lot of grace. What's interesting is that this has to happen three times. Peter and God going back and forth. Rise and eat. No, I can't. Don't call it unclean. Rise and eat. No, I can't. Don't call what I call clean, unclean. Peter is inwardly perplexed. And quite frankly, we should be too at some level. As we look at this text, this is difficult. This is a bit of a dilemma. Because we have God in the Old Testament, that period before Christ's coming, declaring some foods unclean. And then after Christ has risen and the spirits come, we see them being declared clean. It is a little perplexing. It is a dilemma. And I want us to walk through this a little bit slower than we normally do just to make sure we understand what's happening and why God has the right to not change his mind. He's changing his command. So let me walk through a few truths that we need to see here. First, God created all animals, birds and reptiles, and declared they were all good. There is not an animal, a reptile, or a bird that God did not create. None of them were created automatically cursed. None of them were created not good. We know from Genesis 1, everything he created was good. We can even see in Genesis, there's this interesting command where God says, all these trees are good for you to eat, but this one tree you can't eat. And it's not clear that there was something about that tree that made it unfit to eat, other than the fact that God commanded, this one you just simply can't eat. Second, so God created all things good? He has authority over all these things to determine what they're made of useful. The second thing we need to see is that in Leviticus 11, God was teaching Israel about sanctification. about their difference and how they're called to be a different people because of God's love and called to live differently. And he declares some animals unclean to eat and some clean to eat. God has the authority to say this about the different things he has created because he is the author of the law and he's the creator of all these things. Third, So he created all things. He has the authority to command. In Leviticus 11, that's somewhere unclean. And then we see Jesus, God's son, fully divine. He also is the new law giver. In Mark 7, 19, it makes it clear that Jesus, in that moment, was declaring that all foods were clean. In Mark 7, the context of this is the Jews were arguing about what his disciples were reading, and Jesus says, it's not what goes into you that defiles you. It's what's in your heart and comes out from your heart that defiles you And mark makes the the clear parenthetical in Interpretation for us at this point. Jesus is saying all foods are clean God has changed his command and this is okay for God to do He is the good and gracious law giver and what we see here is something we've seen in a number of texts when Jesus came a lot changed and He's the new Moses. He can change the dietary laws. He's the Lord of the Sabbath. He can change the Sabbath laws, and has. He's the great high priest and the perfect lamb. We no longer make sacrifices like the Jews were commanded to do. The law has changed, and it's good for us because Christ has come to fulfill much of that law and give a new law. Now, I'm going to give an analogy, and it's a very, very weak one. What God is doing here is almost kind of maybe like a parent one day telling a child, you can't have ice cream, and then another day telling that child, you can have ice cream. Weak analogy. But this is where the analogy connects. The child has to trust that the parent's good. The child has to recognize the authority of the parent to determine what they can have and what they can't have on any different day. And the parent has to be making good decisions. But the thing for the child is simply to recognize, my parent has authority. And it's good for me to listen to that authority and not to fight against it. And for God's people, it's good for them to hear, He has authority. Whatever He commands is good. Whatever He says is trustworthy. I will listen and I will obey. God has the right to command what He wills. His commands are good because He is good. Man is called to submit to Him and trust Him. Now, here we see the food change points to an even more important change. The food change is one thing, but we're gonna see it has greater implications, and Peter makes it very explicit in a moment, but I'm gonna go ahead and kinda jump ahead a little bit in that The food law change shows another kind of change because for 2,000 years God was focused on one nation and people group, that is Israel. He never forgot the other nations. He sent Jonah to the Ninevites. But there was one nation for 2,000 years that had a special love and commitment to. And now this dream to eat food and to not call unclean what he's declared clean, it has a greater significance. It has a very particular significance for Peter because these Gentiles are going to invite Peter into the home, and the first thing you do when you bring someone into your home is what? You offer them something to eat. Would you like something to eat or drink? And it is unlawful for a Jew to eat with a Gentile. And God's saying, quit calling these things unclean. Their food is not unclean. They are not unclean. I am changing my focus so that it's now on the people who believe in Jesus Christ from every kingdom, every nation, every tongue. Peter needed preparation. He still doesn't quite get it yet though, does he? He's arguing three times. God, no. He still doesn't get it, but God has decided he needs to prepare this disciple to listen to him and be committed to his plan. Now I want you to notice something that we see here that is added from the disciples. Look at verse 22. They said, Cornelius, a centurion, an upright and God-fearing man who was well spoken of by the whole Jewish nation. That wasn't said earlier, but we see he has a good reputation. He was directed by holy angels to send for you so that you might come to his house so that to hear what you have to say. Peter, he needs to hear what you have to say. You proclaim the gospel. This is an added focus here. Peter, the Gentiles need to hear what you have to say. And Peter seems to respond. So God's prepared Cornelius. and a vision, a very specific vision. God has prepared Peter, not with a vision of Cornelius, but with a vision of the sheet that's telling him, there's a change in my command. And I want to step back for a moment, and I want you to see probably the most important thing to see in this passage, in that the primary character of this story is God. He's orchestrating. He's moving. He's changing people. He's preparing Cornelius. He's preparing Peter. He brings them together. He unites them. He pours out His Spirit to demonstrate you are now one people if you believe in the one Savior, Jesus Christ. But the beauty of it is God is the character who's moving all these things together. He's one who's powerful to bring about a gospel that saves us. He's one who's powerful to accomplish this plan of salvation that's going to correct the Jews and their understanding of who receives the good news, and he's powerful to bring about those who have not been participating in that good news. As we look at God as a primary character, there's this one application. He's so trustworthy. God's trustworthy. We can look to God and how he's orchestrating this for the good of those who are seeking him, and we can say, we can trust him. Our salvation is secure because He is able to provide it. Our sanctification is sure because this is what He's committed to, changing us so that we're more conformed to the image of Christ. Our sin is defeated. We're no longer slaves. Our circumstances are all under His control. His grace is sufficient. As little as the story, God is active in changing His people, bringing about His plan of salvation. Now let's look to the climactic moment here for Cornelius. Section 3. God saves Cornelius the Gentile. Third day. The next day he rose and went away with them and some of the brothers from Joppa accompanied him. We know from chapter 11, verse 6. And on the following day, they entered Caesarea. Cornelius was expecting them and called together his relatives and close friends. When Peter entered, Cornelius met him and fell down at his feet and worshipped him. But Peter lifted him up, saying, Stand up. I, too, am a man. And as he talked with him, he went in and found many persons gathered. And he said to them, You yourselves know how unlawful it is for a Jew to associate with or to visit anyone of another nation. But God has shown me that I should not call any person common or unclean. So when I was sent for, I came without objection. I asked then, why you sent for me? And Cornelius said, Four days ago, about this hour, I was praying in my house at the ninth hour, and behold, a man stood before me in bright clothing and said, Cornelius, your prayer has been heard and your alms have been remembered before God. Send, therefore, to Joppa and ask for Simon, who is called Peter. He's lodging in the house of Simon at Tanner by the sea. So I sent for you at once. and you have been kind enough to come. Now therefore we are all here in the presence of God to hear all that you have been commanded by the Lord. So Peter opened his mouth and said, truly I understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him. As for the word that He sent to Israel, preaching good news of peace through Jesus Christ, He is Lord of all. You yourselves know what happened throughout all Judea, beginning from Galilee after the baptism that John proclaimed, how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him. and we are witnesses of all that He did, both in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They put Him to death by hanging Him on a tree. But God raised Him on the third day and made Him to appear, not to all the people, but to us who have been chosen by God as witnesses, who ate and drank with Him after He rose from the dead. And He commanded us to preach to the people, and to testify that he is the one appointed by God to be judge of the living and the dead. To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name. While Peter was still saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell on all who heard the word. And the believers from among the circumcised who had come with Peter were amazed because the gift of the Spirit was poured out even on the Gentiles. For they were hearing them speaking in tongues and extolling God. Then Peter declared, Can anyone withhold water for baptizing these people who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have? And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to remain for some days. The meeting takes place. It's a large number. As I said, from 11-12, Peter tells us there's six men accompanying him. And then Cornelius, he's invited all his friends and family. We can see this in verse 24. 25 to 26, there's this initial encounter. Cornelius bows down. He is a man of great powers, a centurion, but he also knows that he needs to humble himself before other men of great power. And he bows down before him, and Peter corrects him. I'm a man just like you. Get up. Now, verse 28 is fantastically Peter. He breaks the ice in the meeting by saying, it is unlawful for me to meet with you. You're another kind of people from another nation. I'm not supposed to be here. Look at halfway through verse 28. But God has shown me. But God has shown me that I am supposed to be here and not call you common or unclean anymore. Now, I love Peter because he's not afraid of saying what is awkward, to make sure everyone feels the awkwardness in the room. I would like to think this is a spiritual gift, but I'm not so sure about that. Peter has the unique ability to make sure that everyone realizes what is taking place. We gotta capture this moment of awkwardness. I'm not even supposed to be here, guys. But God, but God is doing something unique. It's important we see that Peter has picked up on the implication and the application of the vision he's received. Do not call foods unclean, eat them. And do not call any man unclean. The gospel is supposed to go out to all so that all may hear, believe, and be saved. There's now no distance in the Christ kingdom. Jew, Gentile, slave, free, Greek, barbarian, male, female. Christ's kingdom does not make distinctions anymore, and the citizens of that kingdom are commanded not to make distinctions anymore. Verse 29. Peter gets right to it. I'm not supposed to be here, but God sent me, so what do you want me to tell you? Why have you sent me? Peter starts. Cornelius says, I've received a vision. He walks through the story we've already seen. We want to hear what you have been commanded by the Lord. We know that you are a man who has a message from God. We want to hear it, verse 33. And notice how Peter starts verse 34. God shows no partiality. This is a big, bold statement. God shows no partiality. partiality. I now understand this. In every nation, those who fear Him, those who seek Him, they're accepted. God shows no partiality. Now, we live in a melting pot society with lots of racisms and other isms. So we hear that God shows no partiality, and we acknowledge this is good, and we also acknowledge this is hard. For Peter it's not just hard. This is changing every possible category he's had in his mind about other people. There's gonna be a lot of repentance of thinking one way that's not going to make him think another way. This is hard for Peter. But he's a submissive, teachable disciple of Jesus Christ. He's willing to change to make sure he thinks God's thoughts after him. He has to change the category of who are God's people and who are the others. Because it's not just Israelites anymore, it's any kind of person who's going to believe in Jesus Christ. This is something that's hard for us to even gather, even 2,000 years later. When I say my brothers, I'm actually referring to other brothers, other believers in Jesus Christ. What's fascinating is that there's somebody on the other side of the world who speaks another language, who's from another nation, another race, another culture, and I have more in common with that brother than somebody who belongs to my immediate family who's not a Christian. I have more in common with the one who's been adopted in the family of Jesus Christ halfway around the world that we can't even have a conversation because they have different languages. I have more in common with them because of what Christ has done for both of us than a non-believer in my own family, my biological family. This is a hard thing for us to grasp, and it changes what we think about ourselves, about others. You see, when somebody sounds different, when they have a different accent, a different language, if they're singing that new song of Jesus Christ's salvation, we rejoice in it. We don't focus on the difference, we focus on the unity. And I would like to make a simple application or implication there. When somebody sings out of tune, show them the same grace. That was purely selfish. When someone looks different, but they believe in Christ, rejoice that they're a sister in Christ, purchased by the precious blood of Christ. Peter is making significant changes in the way he thinks, but he's being conformed to God's truth by the Spirit. God is bringing a different kind of people about here. And it's beautiful, and we need to recognize the world is longing to see how all the differences, all the different kinds of people can be unified in peace, and God's plan is for them to see it in the church. You're the instrument for world peace. We are how God is supposed to show the nations, to show the world how different kinds of people can be united, and it's by being united in Him. In order to do this, the church has to seek to honor Christ, to love His gospel and His glory more, to seek to maintain the unity of the church. God shows no impartiality, neither should we. God abounds in grace, so should we. Look at verse 36. There is no partiality. And then he makes it very clear. One of the benefits and one of the blessings of the Israelites is that the Savior was going to be born an Israelite of the tribe of Judah of the line of David. And it's very clear, Jesus of Nazareth, He has been appointed this man. He was given the power of the Holy Spirit to live out the life that man could not live. And notice in verse 39, the Jews from whom He was born, from whom He was come to save, they put Him to death. He was hung on a cross. He's cursed. He suffered on the cross the sins and the penalty of sin of those who believe in Him. He's the great substitute. He came to die in our place so that we believe in Him, we're forgiven. We're declared righteous even though we're guilty. He was treated as if guilty even though He was righteous. And then God raised Him on the third day to show that He is the exalted Son who brings salvation. Peter proclaims this gospel to Cornelius. This is a gospel that saves Cornelius, the same gospel that can save you today. You have to see that God has been bringing about a plan of salvation from the beginning, before the time began. He knew who He'd become. He knew we would be sinners. He knew we could not save ourselves. And so He had planned and declared these promises and built up this plan of salvation so that when Christ came in the fullness of time, it was amazing how He fulfilled every promise. how this righteous man died on the cross so that you, an unrighteous man or woman, could believe in Him and now be forgiven. The first thing you have to see is that you do have sin. You haven't worshipped God the way He deserves to be worshipped. You haven't treated others the way they deserve to be treated. You haven't acknowledged God and His sovereignty and the deserving of worship. Rather, we focus on our own worship. We love ourselves more than God. This is why Jesus came to die. So the penalty for our sin could be paid in full so that we could believe in Him. If you're not a Christian this morning, that's what you must believe. That is what we must believe to be saved. That we need a Savior, and that is Jesus Christ. Let's look to the fourth scene. I'm sorry, I'm not gonna skip ahead that quickly. Verse 44. The gospel was proclaimed, and while Peter was still saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell on all who heard the word. And this demonstrates that they've received that word, and the believers who are on the circumcised, they're amazed. They see that the gift of the Spirit, it's even poured on the Gentiles. This is a new change. These new people are now part of the kingdom. Peter makes the proper deduction. Can anyone withhold water for baptizing these people? Can anyone keep these people from being identified with Christ and committed to Christ? Because they have received the Holy Spirit just as we have. That's important. There's one gospel, one Savior, one Spirit, one baptism. God has made it so that there's no denying these people are not supposed to be brought into the kingdom and received and welcomed. They have received the Spirit in the same way by hearing the Gospel, and now they're baptized. It's a beautiful declaration that shows that God is bringing them to be one people. Now let's look to our last scene. Chapter 11. God unites His church, Jews and Gentiles. We heard this right earlier, so let me just walk through very quickly and carefully what happens. News spreads fast, verse 1. The apostles and brothers who were throughout Judea heard the Gentiles and received the word of God. Verse 2 and 3, it shows why that sheet was so important. When he goes back, notice what they criticize him for. You're eating with Gentiles? They're not arguing over the Holy Spirit event. They're not arguing over the salvation event. They're arguing over the food. Now let's step back from this story, and I want you to see that verse 48 would have been a wonderful way for Luke to end this story and move on. Verse 48 provides a proper conclusion, but that is not Luke's main point. Luke's goal in this story, and now retelling this story, is to make sure the Jews are fully corrected and convinced you are not to withhold fellowship, hospitality, and welcoming to the Gentiles. This story is told so that we all rejoice and that the Gentiles have received the same salvation, and it's told so that the Jews are corrected. You cannot withhold fellowship. The proper emphasis here, as it began with Peter being corrected over the unclean and clean debate, is that the Jews have to accept God has changed His command. He is now going out to all people. Verse 2 and 3. You ate with these people. What we see here, eating is so important to this culture. It's sharing your life with somebody. It's not done casually. Like, we do many things casually that are very sacred in Scripture. Eating shows that you're united with them. And let's just be clear, if Jewish Christians aren't going to eat with Gentile Christians, recognize the spirits come upon them, they can't take the Lord's Supper together. Unless we correct this eating problem, we're not going to the Lord's Supper as one different, as one people who were once far apart. So, in response to this, Peter doesn't, Peter goes into the vision of the sheet. He goes in the vision of what happened with Cornelius. He explains the events, and then look at verse 15. As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell on them, just as on us at the beginning. And then I remember the word of the Lord, how He said, John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit. If then God gave them the same gift to them as He gave to us when we believe in the Lord Jesus, who was I that I could stand in God's way? How is it that if I'm seeing the same gospel proclaimed, and then the same signs performed, and the same Spirit come down, how could I possibly withhold baptism and the fellowship of food? How could I possibly do that? Look what happens. When they heard these things, they fell silent. They couldn't argue. God was doing something unique. God was doing something powerful, they couldn't argue. And then they glorified God. Then to the Gentiles also, God has granted repentance at least a lot. If only we had more events like this throughout church history, where all of the people are disagreeing, simply stop, get quiet, and praise God for how we're united simply in God's Word. Sadly, this seems to be unusual, not just in redemptive history, but in the history of the church. That this is a glorious time. Our argument, we realize, is silly because of what God is doing. Our argument is selfish because it doesn't align with what God's word says, and then they begin to praise once they repent. It's a beautiful story that tells. of how God is changing His command, and He's changing the focus of His kingdom, and now the kingdom is for all kinds of people. Now, this is hard. This is a hard kind of unity. God doesn't desire a cheap unity for His church. Cheap unity is when we unite with those who agree with us. That's cheap unity. What God desires for unity is when we all commit to, by God's grace, uniting ourselves with His truth, and then showing grace to others who are trying to be united with His truth. That's the kind of unity the church is supposed to have. It's a unity of truth and spirit. It's a theological unity where we're all seeking to be conformed together by God's grace, showing grace. And if you remember, or if you're familiar with Galatians, Peter stops eating with Gentiles at one point. Peter actually forgets about the lesson he's learned or he lapses and he stops eating with Gentiles and Paul says, I had to go tell him in his face. You're doing this wrong. You're denying the gospel the way you're keeping yourself from Gentiles. That's in Galatians chapter two, 11 to 14. We're all supposed to be seeking to be conformed by God's Word so that we're not holding on to what we think is the most important truth, but we're simply being all conformed together to God's truth. This story is written in a way that it's confronting Jews to recognize you now have Gentile brothers. The story is important for us because it tells us two things again. One, we are completely dependent upon the one God of grace to give us salvation. We weren't born into it. We haven't deserved it. Our works declare we should not have it, but yet, God. God, the merciful one, sent his son so that we could be saved. And secondly, we're united to other brothers and sisters who do not deserve the salvation themselves. This is why the church must be a place of grace, showing grace. It's not a cheap unity we're after. It's a rich unity that is hard and requires repentance. There are two truths that must rule our lives. We're a family of believers who've received salvation. It's something we've received, and then it declares we give. We receive grace, and therefore we give grace. We've received love, therefore we give love. We received a welcome from God we don't deserve, therefore we give a welcome from God that others don't deserve. In order to be this kind of people, there's three things we have to do. One, we must see God as He is, as He's revealed Himself. He's a good and loving God who sent his son to die for us. Secondly, we must see ourselves as God sees us. Sinners who need salvation and have received a grace we do not deserve. And third, we must see the brothers as God sees them. Sinners to love because Christ has loved them. Not because of their culture, race, behavior, status in society, or anything else. We love the brothers as Christ has loved us. Will you pray with me? Father, we thank You for this story that demonstrates so clearly that You are saving all kinds of people. We thank You that You have shifted salvation so that we get to be recipients. We thank You for sending Your Son so that when we exalt Him, all different kinds of people can look to Him and be saved. And I pray that would happen today. And I pray for the divisions. That could take place in this church and other churches that we would know how to move beyond them by not holding on to our personal preferences and opinions, but seeking to be conformed to the image of Christ, trusting and submitting to Your Word alone. We've had a glorious calling. We praise You, God. We have a demanding command to maintain the unity You've purchased. May you give us the grace to maintain that unity, and may you give us the grace to show others grace so that we might maintain that unity. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.