Can we be saved without belief in Jesus?
The Book of Acts • Sermon • Submitted
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· 2 viewsIn this message, we walk through Acts 10 again to look at it from a different perspective. In this message, we will dive into what this passage shows us about being saved, and what it takes or does not take.
Notes
Transcript
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September 11th 2022
Series: The Book of Acts
Sermon Title: Can we be saved without belief in Jesus?
Topic: Journey through the book of Acts.
Key Passages: Acts 10: 1-48, Acts 11:13-14
Sermon Blurb: In this message, we walk through Acts 10 again to look at it from a different perspective. In this message, we will dive into what this passage shows us about being saved, and what it takes or does not take.
Sermon:
Well, hello everyone!
We have a LOT to celebrate before we get into the message today!
If you are not aware today we get to celebrate that 4 years ago today we launched our first ever second service!
We also get to celebrate that one year ago TODAY we launched services at our Ebenezer campus!
And today we get to celebrate we launch our second Sunday morning service at our Ebenezer Campus!!!!
So now we have 5 in person services every week to serve our community.
Thursdays at 6:30, Sundays at 9:30 & Sundays at 11 at Ebenezer!
Sundays at 9 & 10:45 at Grace!
And soon….we will have our 3rd location up and running and even more services to serve our community and lead more people toward Jesus!
We are actually going to do something different today!
Normally I tell you to grab your Bibles and open them up to where we left off in the Bible….
But today we are actually going backward.
Today we are going to walk through the story from last week again because there is so much to learn from that story!
If you have your Bible with you…open it back up to Acts 10
New Person Bible Talk
App Talk
Today, we don’t need to catch anyone up because we are going to walk through the same story, we did last week but we are going to unpack parts of it we did not have time to last week!
And let me say one more thing here…… and some of you might not like this but I am going to say it anyway…..
This story about Cornelius and Peter has a lot to say about racism which is a HOT topic in our nation these days.
This passage has a lot to say about our natural tendency to think of other ethnic groups, besides our own, as unclean or lessor or corrupt or broken.
And that goes for ANY ethnic group.
All ethnic groups can be racist and look down on other races.
Which has been true throughout all of human history….
So, I hope you will listen carefully and help me unpack the powerful truth of this story for our lives.
PAUSE
Let me lead out with the point I hope you see today.
With the coming of Jesus into the world and His final cleansing sacrifice….
We were offered a free gift of salvation WITH a command to take the gospel to ALL ethnic groups in the world/
Write this down:
When we accept the FREE gift of salvation through Jesus we also accept the COMMAND to take the gospel of Jesus to ALL others.
Repeat
PAUSE
So with that in mind…..let’s jump back into this story and hopefully it will come even more alive for you all as you think about what we learned last week as well.
Verse 1……
Acts 10: 1-48 At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion in what was known as the Italian Regiment. 2 He and all his family were devout and God-fearing; he gave generously to those in need and prayed to God regularly.
3 One day at about three in the afternoon he had a vision. He distinctly saw an angel of God, who came to him and said, “Cornelius!” 4 Cornelius stared at him in fear. “What is it, Lord?” he asked.
The angel answered, “Your prayers and gifts to the poor have come up as a memorial offering before God. 5 Now send men to Joppa to bring back a man named Simon who is called Peter. 6 He is staying with Simon the tanner, whose house is by the sea.”
7 When the angel who spoke to him had gone, Cornelius called two of his servants and a devout soldier who was one of his attendants. 8 He told them everything that had happened and sent them to Joppa.
Remember what all this means.
Cornelius is a Gentile, not a Jew.
Gentile means someone who the Jews viewed as an outsider.
Someone the Jews did not associate with.
Someone the Jews did not allow in church with them.
But God sees what we often don’t in people.
While we all have our tendencies to judge people by the outside God does not.
God saw someone who feared God, was generous to other people, and was a good person!!!!
God saw what the church did not want to see in this man.
God sent a vision to guide Cornelius to help him.
God sent a vision to guide Peter to help Peter as well.
Let’s read that again….
9 About noon the following day as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the roof to pray. 10 He became hungry and wanted something to eat, and while the meal was being prepared, he fell into a trance.
11 He saw heaven opened and something like a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners. 12 It contained all kinds of four-footed animals, as well as reptiles and birds.
13 Then a voice told him, “Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.” 14 “Surely not, Lord!” Peter replied. “I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.”
15 The voice spoke to him a second time, “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.” 16 This happened three times, and immediately the sheet was taken back to heaven.
Pause here for a second….
Again…..
God gave Peter a vision of animals that the Jews regarded as unclean because of the ceremonial law of the Old Testament.
God from heaven said, "Rise and eat."
BUT Peter protested that they were unclean!!!!
And the voice came back with these decisive words in verse 15:
"What God has cleansed you must not call common!"
PAUSE
In other words….the point you wrote down just a few minutes ago!!!!
Because this is not about animals…
It is about people….
And Peter does not see it…..
Look at it that Point again….
When we accept the FREE gift of salvation through Jesus we also accept the COMMAND to take the gospel of Jesus to ALL others.
Jesus’s entrance into the world offered the gospel to ALL ethnic groups in the world!!!!
The old ceremonial laws about foods were lifted and that barrier to the Gentile world was removed.
Peter's vision has two points:
1st - the food laws are fulfilled and ended in Jesus (Mark 7:19)
2nd - the people that God said to keep separate from are NO longer to be considered unclean or lessor.
PAUSE
God makes this clear to Peter because while he is still pondering the meaning of the vision on the roof in Joppa, three Gentiles from Cornelius knock at his door.
Let’s read that again….
17 While Peter was wondering about the meaning of the vision, the men sent by Cornelius found out where Simon’s house was and stopped at the gate. 18 They called out, asking if Simon who was known as Peter was staying there.
19 While Peter was still thinking about the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Simon, three[a] men are looking for you. 20 So get up and go downstairs. Do not hesitate to go with them, for I have sent them.”
21 Peter went down and said to the men, “I’m the one you’re looking for. Why have you come?”
22 The men replied, “We have come from Cornelius the centurion. He is a righteous and God-fearing man, who is respected by all the Jewish people. A holy angel told him to ask you to come to his house so that he could hear what you have to say.”
23 Then Peter invited the men into the house to be his guests.
Pause there….
The fact that verse 16 says the vision about unclean animals happened 3 times and verse 19 says that three men…..
Gentile men…..
As Peter thinks….. unclean men are at the door….
People unworthy of being at my home are here.
People I would NEVER allow in God’s Temple with me are here.
That is what his culture taught him!
That is what his church taught him!
That is what his parents & grandparents taught him!
PAUSE
BUT this is no accident!!!
Peter is about to learn something.
Peter is about to learn that something he regarded as common and unclean and separated from God……
That he should NOT view it like that!
God is going to say to GO with these men.
PAUSE
So, Peter goes with them to Caesarea.
Let’s read it again….
The next day Peter started out with them, and some of the believers from Joppa went along. 24 The following day he arrived in Caesarea. Cornelius was expecting them and had called together his relatives and close friends.
25 As Peter entered the house, Cornelius met him and fell at his feet in reverence. 26 But Peter made him get up. “Stand up,” he said, “I am only a man myself.”
27 While talking with him, Peter went inside and found a large gathering of people. 28 He said to them: “You are well aware that it is against our law for a Jew to associate with or visit a Gentile. But God has shown me that I should not call anyone impure or unclean.
29 So when I was sent for, I came without raising any objection. May I ask why you sent for me?” 30 Cornelius answered: “Three days ago I was in my house praying at this hour, at three in the afternoon. Suddenly a man in shining clothes stood before me
31 and said, ‘Cornelius, God has heard your prayer and remembered your gifts to the poor. 32 Send to Joppa for Simon who is called Peter. He is a guest in the home of Simon the tanner, who lives by the sea.’
33 So I sent for you immediately, and it was good of you to come. Now we are all here in the presence of God to listen to everything the Lord has commanded you to tell us.”
34 Then Peter began to speak: “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism 35 but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right.
36 You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, announcing the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all. 37 You know what has happened throughout the province of Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached—
38 how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.
39 “We are witnesses of everything he did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They killed him by hanging him on a cross, 40 but God raised him from the dead on the third day and caused him to be seen.
41 He was not seen by all the people, but by witnesses whom God had already chosen—by us who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. 42 He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead.
43 All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”44 While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message.
45 The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on Gentiles. 46 For they heard them speaking in tongues[b] and praising God.
Then Peter said, 47 “Surely no one can stand in the way of their being baptized with water. They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have.”
48 So he ordered that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked Peter to stay with them for a few days.
Thus concludes the story…..
PAUSE
But today…..I want us to dive deeper!
Peter goes with these Gentiles….
He finds Cornelius ready with his whole household to hear the gospel. Peter preaches.
Everyone repents, look at verse 18 in your Bible it says that. (11:18).
The Holy Spirit come upon them….just like we have seen happen in earlier chapters of this book….look are verse 14 to see that (11:14).
They are saved, again look at verse 14 to see that (11:14).
PAUSE
But……
But today I want to ask two questions that I want you all to ponder…
One is this:
Was Cornelius already saved before Peter preached Christ to him?
Repeat
Really…..think about that….
Have you ever thought about that as you read this story??
PAUSE
Was Cornelius already saved before Peter preached Christ to him?
PAUSE
The reason this is so pressing is that verses 34–35 might lead you to think that…
Look at it in your Bibles…..
34 Then Peter began to speak: “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism 35 but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right.
And if the answer is YES he was saved….
Well….This would have a big impact on the way we think about world missions.
PAUSE
Look at verse 34….
Peter begins his sermon to the Gentiles at Cornelius' house…
“I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism 35 but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right.
As a reader, it would be easily concluded…..
Well, then, Cornelius was already accepted by God since verse 2 said that he feared God and prayed and help the poor.
So, Peter's visit just informed him of the acceptance and salvation that he already had.
And so….
That must mean unreached people ALL OVER the world are can be truly born again and accepted by God and be saved without hearing or believing in Christ…..
IS that what we see here????
PAUSE
Does verse 35 mean that Cornelius and people like him are already justified and reconciled to God and saved from the wrath of God?
I will let some of you sit and ponder for a bit………
PAUSE
The 2nd question assumes the answer to this first one and brings us to the very pointed applications of this story…..
to racism…..
and world missions.
Does verse 35 mean that Cornelius and those like him are already in God's family, justified, reconciled, saved?
Is that Peter's point in saying this and Luke's point in writing it?
PAUSE
I do not believe so and let me show you why from the Bible….
NOT from Adam’s opinion but Scripture….
You should always interpret Scripture with Scripture….
PAUSE
Let me jump ahead to part of next week’s message to help guide you here…
Look in your Bibles at Acts 11:13.
Here Peter is explaining what happened to the early church…which we will talk about next week.
Acts 11:13-14 He told us how he had seen an angel appear in his house and say, ‘Send to Joppa for Simon who is called Peter. 14 He will bring you a message through which you and all your household will be saved.’
Acts 11:14 says that the message Peter brought was the way Cornelius was saved.
Look in your Bible at 11:13 though…..
Peter tells the story of the angel's appearing to Cornelius….
Notice two things….
First, notice that the MESSAGE is essential.
The gospel is the power of God that LEADS to salvation.
Also, notice that the tense of the verb is future: “ a message through which you WILL be saved”
In other words, the message was not simply the informing Cornelius that he already was saved….
God sent Peter to share the message that would SAVE Cornelius!
Then he WILL be saved…..that is what it says in the Bible!!!!
And if he does not believe, then we can conclude he would NOT be saved…..
PAUSE
Don’t miss the whole story is really about God miraculously connecting Cornelius and Peter together.
There was a message that Cornelius needed to hear to be saved…and Peter was the guy to deliver that message!
PAUSE
Let’s keep unpacking this….
Go back and look in your Bibles at Acts 10:43…it says this:
43 All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”
Look at what Peter says….
Peter makes this point at the end of his sermon…
Forgiveness of sins is a KEY.
No one is SAVED who has not had their sins forgiven by God.
And here it is VERY clear that Peter says that forgiveness comes through believing in him…him being Jesus….
He does not say,
"I am here to announce to you that those of you who fear God and do right are already forgiven."
He does NOT say,
“Anyone who did not grow up in a Godly home…but is a good person is saved.”
He does NOT say,
“Anyone who never hears about Jesus can still be saved.”
NO….
He says,
"I am here so that you may hear the gospel and receive forgiveness in the name of Jesus by believing in him."
PAUSE
Do you see it church?
PAUSE
Let’s keep unpacking this so we can all clearly see….
Throughout the book of Acts….
Even those who had been devote followers of God, the Jews, are told that they must repent and believe in Jesus order to be saved.
Remember back in Acts 2…..
The Jews at Pentecost were called "devout men" (2:5)
Just like here in Act 10, Cornelius was called a devout man (in 10:2).
And like how Cornelius needs to believe…
In Acts 2 Peter ended his message by calling even devout Jews to repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus for the forgiveness of their sins (2:38).
Which also happens in Acts 3:19 and Acts 13:38–39.
PAUSE
So, Luke is CLEARLY not trying to tell us that devout,
or even God-fearing people,
or even people who do what is right as best they know,
or even people who are generally GREAT people
NO ONE is saved without the Good News of Jesus….period!
And Christians here today….
Do NOT let this fall on deaf ears…..
Because there are TONS of Americans who say, “I am a Christian.”
And they think because they call themselves a Christian but do NOT remotely live like Jesus….that they are going to heaven.
There are LOTS of people in America who think I am a GOOD person….so there is no way God would send them to hell.
There are LOTS of people who think…I go to church….….so I am good…
PAUSE
Church do NOT miss this correlation today!
The gospel got its start among the most DEVOUT…church going…. people in the world, the Jews.
The Jews had more advantages in knowing God than ANY other race on earth.
Yet they were told again and again….
Devoutness….
Works of righteousness…..
Religious sincerity….
Church attendance….
Knowledge of the Bible….
NONE of that solves the problem of sin.
They had to learn….
Just like some of us need to learn…..
The only hope is to believe in Jesus.
It was true then…
And church…. it is true………. today!
PAUSE
Let me give you another reason why verse 35 does not mean Cornelius and others like him are already saved.
And this will get into the message next week….but I want to give you a glimpse….
In chapter 11 of Acts when the apostles hear Peter tell the story about Cornelius, their initial misgivings are silenced…
Luke says in
Acts 11:18, When they heard this, they had no further objections and praised God, saying, “So then, even to Gentiles God has granted repentance that leads to life.”
"Repentance unto life" what does that mean?
It means that their repentance led to eternal life.
They did not already have eternal life.
They received it when they heard the message about Jesus AND turned to believe and follow Jesus!!!!
PAUSE
Church this is so important to understand in our modern world.
Because there are so many people who believe something very different.
So many today that claim all religions lead to the same place.
So many today that claim all good people go to heaven.
So many today who think all people who go to church go to heaven.
So many today who think because my parents were Christians I get to go to heaven.
So many who think I was baptized as a child so I go to heaven.
And so forth……
PAUSE
The Bible DOES NOT TEACH THAT!
Acts 10:35 does not mean that Cornelius was already saved because he was a good God-fearing man who did many right and noble things.
PAUSE
Our sermon title today is, Can we be saved without belief in Jesus?
The clear answer I hope you now see is NO.
PAUSE
Christians should never look down on a person from any race or ethnic group and say: they are unfit to hear the gospel from me.
Or they are too unclean for me to go into their house to share the gospel.
Or they are not worth evangelizing.
Or they have too many offensive habits to even get near them.
Look at that phrase in verse 28 and circle it….
The powerful phrase "ANY man" or "ANY one":
"God has shown me that I should not call ANY human being common or unclean."
In other words, Peter learned from his vision on the housetop in Joppa that God rules no one out of his favor on the basis of race
ethnic origin
mere cultural distinctives
or physical distinctions.
PAUSE
Church……..
Our hearts should go out to every single person whatever the color,
whatever the ethnic origin,
whatever the physical traits,
whatever the cultural distinctives.
Don't write off anybody.
Don't snub anybody.
Don't check them out like the priest and the Levite in the parable of the Good Samaritan and then pass by on the other side.
Don’t be afraid of them.
PAUSE
Let me close with this…..
Cornelius represents a kind of unsaved person among an unreached people group who is seeking God in an extraordinary way.
And God is clearly moving in his life.
No question God is reaching out to Cornelius in a way only God can.
I mean an angel even comes to him to help him in verse 31…
The angel says, “Your prayers have been heard . . . therefore send for Peter.”
That clearly implies God was listening to Cornelius and his desire to learn truth….
God accepted his prayer….
His groping for truth in his life…..
And God worked wonders to bring the saving message of the gospel to Cornelius.
Cornelius would not have been saved if no one had taken him the gospel.
None of us can be saved today without the gospel.
So here is my challenge for you all this week.
And it will sure look a lot like last weeks challenge…..
Life Application: Ask yourself, who around me have I not tried to reach for God yet? Take time this week to begin investing in that person.
Prayer!!
Offering!