Sermon Tone Analysis
Overall tone of the sermon
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Introduction
example of children who create a clubhouse or a hideout
only those who know the secret password are allowed access
can exclude anyone they don’t want to be a part of their special group
just as children do this so do adults
expressed in silent prejudice to all out war
unfortunately it is not uncommon for this to happen in the church
the temptation to exclude those deemed undesirable is strong
those who fail to support our opinions, boost our pride, feed our ego
those whose lifestyle is different than ours
those whose religion is different than ours
I am not talking about those things Christ commands us to separate over: false teaching, false doctrine, habitual sin
it grieves the Lord Jesus when we separate for lesser things
Paul’s description of the church
the NT church had to overcome these same barriers if it was going to fulfill the great commission
if the NT church was to do as Christ commanded, the cultural divisions and prejudices that separated the largely Jewish NT church from the Gentiles had to be overcome
the barrier between Jewish believers and Samaritans had been breached by Philip, Peter and John resulting in many coming to faith and being added to the church
a second, even more formidable barrier had yet to be overcome, bringing the gospel to the Gentiles
though the Jews despised the Samaritans their dislike of them paled in comparison to their hatred of the Gentiles
Jonah’s great displeasure over God’s having mercy on the Ninevites ()
strict Jews in the NT had nothing to do with Gentiles
they would not go as guests to their homes (v.28) nor would then invite them into their own homes
Jews would not eat food prepared by Gentiles
cooking utensils purchased from a Gentile had to be purified before using
when Jews travelled back to Israel from Gentile lands they would stop at the border and shake the dirt off their feet before entering
Peter’s words to Cornelius in 10:28
how unlawful = a very great sin!
reaction of Jewish believers when they heard that Peter had gone to Cornelius
they didn’t get the memo that Peter got!
this attitude was a serious thing because Christ’s purpose for the church included those whom the Jews hated
according to the Apostle Paul, the foundation for the inclusion of the Gentiles into the church had been laid by Christ
as we come to ch 10 in our study of the book of Acts, we discover God’s sovereign intervention to open the doors of the church to the Gentiles
God’s chosen instrument to open that door was Peter
after Peter’s confession “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” Jesus said to him,
Mt 16:18
Peter had already had a very effective and powerful preaching ministry
Mt 16:
Peter had already had a very effective and powerful preaching ministry
he had done battle with the highest authorities, the Jewish Sanhedrin
he had accepted the despised Samaritans as brothers in Christ and as equals in the church
at the end of chapter 9 we find Peter staying with a tanner, a trade despised by the Jews because it required handling the skins of dead animals
however, before Peter could take this drastic step of including the Gentiles in the church he needed God’s sovereign intervention
God gave the Roman centurion, Cornelius and the Jewish preacher, Peter visions in order to prepare them for their meeting and for what God was about to do in pouring out his Spirit on the Gentiles
God’s Preparation of Cornelius
we are told that Cornelius was based in Caesarea, the Roman capital of its province Judea
as it was the residence of the procurator there was a large Roman garrison there
stationed there was Cornelius, a centurion of the Italian cohort
Cornelius was more than likely an Italian, ie. he was not Jewish
he was not Jewish
“the Italian cohort”
a Roman legion consisted of 6000 men divided into 10 cohorts of 600 men each
legion divided into 10 cohorts of 600 men each
a centurion commanded 100 men
Centurions were natural leaders who had proven themselves steady in battle, would hold their ground in battle, would die at their posts rather than flee
Centurions were natural leaders who had proven themselves steady in battle, would hold their ground when attacked, would die at their posts
from this we learn that Cornelius was a man who had proven himself in battle as a man of courage, bravery and leadership
he was a strong, responsible and reliable leader
“a devout man who feared God”
like the Ethiopian eunuch he had come under the influence of Judaism and the knowledge of the One True God
devout = carefully read the OT and lived according to it
“who feared God”
there were 3 kinds of Gentiles:
1. Gentiles who knew nothing about God
were idolaters living in their sin
2. Gentiles who were proselytes
had embraced the God of Israel, had undergone the rite of circumcision and had become part of Israel
3. Gentiles who were God fearers
were not idolaters but had not undergone circumcision
we learn the following about what a God fearer looked like from the description of Cornelius
1. feared God with all his household
taught his household and ensured that biblical standards were observed
stats about families following after God when someone is saved
when a mother comes to Christ the family will join her at church 17% of the time (when a child comes to Christ it is lower)
when a father comes to Christ is 93%
churches focus on kids because it’s the easiest
2. gave alms generously
alms = benevolent activity towards the poor
generous = gave richly
showed abundant kindness and compassion to those who were in need
one of 3 critical activities which defined a pious Jew: prayer, fasting, almsgiving
Dorcas was known for her almsgiving
Jesus warned against the misuse in
giving for the praise of men
3. prayed continually to God
he wasn’t always talking to God
he had an attitude of dependence on God
conclusion: like the Ethiopian eunuch who made a pilgrimage to the Temple in Jerusalem Cornelius was searching for answers
although he had achieved a position of respect, authority and influence, it was not enough to satisfy his desires
he also realized the religions of the Romans and the Greeks were empty and void of hope
like all people who are searching, their questions are the same
why am I here?
what is my purpose?
what happens when I die?
I know there is a God but who is he and will he help me?
does he care for me?
up to this point Cornelius thought that he had found the answers in Judaism
he saw something in Judaism that made sense to him and was wholeheartedly pursuing it
God’s Provision for Cornelius
although Cornelius was dead in his sins he was seeking after God
like all people who are searching their questions are the same
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