From Religion to Salvation
BY CHARLES W. JAMES
IN ACTS 10, God records for us the remarkable conversion of a Roman centurion named Cornelius. He was a religious man. Verse 2 describes him as "a devout man, and one that feared God with all his house, which gave much alms to the people, and prayed to God alway (sic)." Being a Gentile, he did not belong to the Jewish religion by ancestry. But neither was he at home with the pagan Roman religions and the prevailing culture that was filled with violence and sensualism.Acts 10:34-38 This, then, is a man who had a religion of his own and had led his family in the devotion of it. It has given him the moral guidance that he desires, but does not require his becoming a Jew. It has stood against the dark paganism of his culture, yet has not required him to repudiate the Roman Emperor who is thought to be divine. It seemed to be a comfortable compromise between the self-righteous separatism of the Jews and the moral decadence of the Romans.
That he was personally devout, had a reverence for God, and regularly gave money to the poor won him a good reputation in Caesarea, where he lived. He is even "of good report among all the nation of the Jews" (v. 22).
But given all this, he was not a child of God. In Acts 10, we see how God in His sovereign grace took him out of his self-made religion and brought him into the reality of salvation. The chapter begins by showing how God, in His wise governance of the lives of both Cornelius and the Apostle Peter, arranged a meeting between the two.
Two visions. One day at three o'clock in the afternoon, the Lord appears to Cornelius in a vision and tells him to send for Peter who, at that time, is staying with a friend down at the coast at Joppa. Obediently Cornelius sends three servants to Joppa to fetch Peter. Just before they arrive, the Lord gives Peter a vision also instructing him to receive those Gentiles. Peter then obediently went to the house of Cornelius even though in those days, a Jewish person would not enter a Gentile home.
God then uses Peter's testimony to convert Cornelius from putting faith in his own religion to trusting in the reality of Christ. What did Cornelius hear that effected his conversion?
I. He learns that God does not show favoritism.
Peter begins by telling him, "Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons" (v.34). This is a truth that Cornelius needs to know.Being neither a Jew nor a devotee of the pagan religions, Cornelius has been an outsider to the religious communities. He would not worship with the Jews because he has not converted to Judaism. Being a man who fears God, Cornelius does not believe in the divinity of the Roman Emperor nor does he want to join the ranks of pagan worshippers in his community. He has to create his own religion and worship with his family alone.
But when Peter declares that "God is no respecter of persons"especially when it comes to ethnic, social and cultural backgroundsCornelius begins to have hope.
Accepted by God. Peter continues: "But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him" (v.35). This description fits Cornelius well.
One reason is that God the Father has started drawing Cornelius to Jesus and has given him that fear of God. He has been working His saving and electing love in Cornelius, who in turn has responded by living a holy life. Cornelius now realizes that, though not a Jew, he is eligible to receive God's grace and mercy, and that he is acceptable to God.
God's action. By nature, every human has an intellectual, cultural, emotional or whatever barrier that keeps him from hearing the salvation message. It can only be removed by God Himself. But once God has opened that person's spiritual ear, he begins to hear the gospel. Thus, Cornelius, who has assumed that only the Jews were God's people, now understands that the living God is the God of all nations.
Writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Paul gives Gentile believers the same reassurance in Ephesians 2:11-13:
Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh...ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world: But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.II. He hears the whole truth about Jesus.
Cornelius has no doubt heard something about this preacher from Nazareth performing miracles in and about Galilee. The word has spread throughout all Judea that this man, anointed of God, has done mighty works. But having learned only a few facts about Jesus. More likely than not, he concludes that Jesus is another Hebrew prophet that has come to call Israel back to her ancient faith.In verses 36-38 we find Peter recounting to him what everyone has heard. Yes, this Jesus has power from God. He did cast out devils and heal the sick. But that's not all; there is something else you need to know about this Jesus. So, in verses 39 and 40, Peter goes on to reveal that this Jesus was slain and hanged on a tree by the people, but that God raised him from the dead on the third day and caused Him to be openly seen by many. Yes, this Jesus was crucified, but is alive in heaven, because He is none other than God Himself.
The Judge. Not only is this Jesus alive, Peter continues in verse 42, "It is he which was ordained of God to be the Judge of quick and dead." By nature, Cornelius, we are spiritually dead. Unless we become saved, we'll all be condemned on the last day because Jesus shall return to judge the world. Neither religious devotion nor ancestral lineage can spare us from that punishment.
But when Jesus, who is without sin, died on the cross outside of Jerusalem, He paid the punishment that would otherwise be demanded by the law of God for all those whom He had come to save. Yes, He is the Savior of whom all the Jewish prophets in all the Hebrew Scriptures had prophesied. Thus, Peter concludes in verse 43, "To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins"
In short, Jesus is the only answer to our sin problem and this solution is available to all believers.
III. He is witnessed to with authority.
What Peter says to Cornelius is not based on some hearsay about the Lord. What he declares are truths about Jesus grounded on the authority of personal experience. He says in verse 39, "And we are witnesses of all things which he did both in the land of the Jews, and in Jerusalem," and in verse 41, "(God shewed Him openly) even to us, who did eat and drink with him after he rose from the dead. "Cornelius cannot argue with this. Peter personally witnessed the death and resurrection of Christ and even did eat and drink with the risen Lord. True, we believers cannot say that today when we share the gospel with others. But as born again believers, we do see the cross with our spiritual eye.
Moreover, Peter also stands before Cornelius as a living example of what God can do in a human life. The Roman officer sees in Peter the miracle of a crude fisherman molded by God into the image of Christ. This is something no man-made religion can achieve. But it's a message every child of God should be able to display with his changed life.
IV. He receives the Holy Spirit.
Applied by the Holy Spirit to the heart of Cornelius and his household, the message delivered by Peter make them ripe for conversion. We thus read in verse 44, "While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word." At that blessed moment they were born again.The account of Cornelius' conversion ends in verse 48 with this interesting statement, "Then prayed they him (Peter) to tarry certain days."
Cornelius and his family are no longer outsiders. Having been born again, they are now a member of the family of God. And the first thing they want to do is to fellowship with other believers. They ask Peter to stay with them for some days.
Conclusion
There are many people today who have a religion, but who have never found the living reality of Jesus Christ. They settle for religious observance. They have no interest in studying the Bible; they attend church out of a sense of duty. They do not have the "joy unspeakable" that I Peter 1:8 says is something every believer should have. Nor do they experience the divine peace that the Lord Jesus has given to every child of God. They hardly show any fruit of the Spirit.This is not a Christian life, this is the old Cornelius life. It is a life of a religion that brings no salvation. They need to be told that we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ, and that the Lord Jesus is the only One in whom we must trust as our Savior. They need to realize and sincerely appreciate what Jesus did on the cross.
Remember Judgment Day is coming. Unless you stand before God covered by the atoning blood of Christ, you are still in your sins. It means that you, along with all the unsaved of the world, will be forever condemned.
Do not settle for some religion of your own making. Do not trust your eternal life to some foolish idea, bias or philosophy that you have taken on. While it is still the day of salvation, humble yourself and confess that you are a sinner. Plead for God's forgiveness. If you seek Him with a humble heart and a contrite spirit, He will hear your pleas just as He heard the prayers of Cornelius. Then, you'll also experience the saving miracle that came upon Cornelius and his family. This is the good news of the Bible. o
Dr. Charles W. James is Pastor of St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, 5201 Hillen Dr., Oakland, CA 94619.