![]() ![]() ![]() Kent: Caesarea was the residence of the Roman procurator of Judea and was the capital of the province. “Now there was a certain man at Caesarea named Cornelius,” (:1-2) Introduction to Cornelius – God’s Choice for this critical Jew-Gentile Union (:1-8) VISION OF ACCEPTANCE – DIRECTED TO THE OUTSIDER –ĪNYONE WHO SEEKS GOD CAN BE GRANTED ACCESS TO GOD – BUT ONLY THROUGH JESUS CHRISTĪ. ![]() Important subject – takes up a lot of space in Acts 10-11Ĥ ACTS IN THIS DRAMA OF PROCESSING THE VISION OF GOD’S UNRESTRICTED GRACE – FOLLOWED BY THE PUNCHLINE Much of the NT deals with this merging of both Jew and Gentile into one body without distinction. The event of the cross and the rending of the veil from top to bottom opened up access to God on an equal footing – something difficult for those steeped in Jewish nationalistic pride to understand or accept. ![]() No orthodox Jew would never enter the home of a Gentile, even a God-fearer, or invite such into his home. The tragedy was that Israel twisted the doctrine of election into one of favoritism, became filled with racial pride and hatred, despised Gentiles as “dogs”, and developed traditions which kept them apart. By choosing and blessing one family, he intended to bless all the families of the earth. On the contrary, alongside its oracles against the hostile nations, it affirmed that God had a purpose for them. Not that the Old Testament itself countenanced such a divide. Stott: It is difficult for us to grasp the impassable gulf which yawned in those days between the Jews on the one hand and the Gentiles (including even the “god-fearers”) on the other. Gentiles were not excluded from the kingdom but their access was restricted to coming to God by way of becoming Jewish proselytes. God had clearly chosen the Jewish nation descended from Abraham and Isaac and Jacob to be His beloved people. This distinction was not based just on human prejudice. Probably no greater gulf has existed between two groups of people than how the Jews of the first century viewed the uncircumcised Gentiles. I think that extra insight surprised and unsettled him. But I went on to state briefly that we all have the same sin problem – just different manifestations - and the same need for the Savior because the ground is level at the foot of the cross. I could see that this answer pleased him – from a profiling standpoint he viewed himself as morally and spiritually differentiated from this segment of society. The topic of the MD legislature voting on same sex marriage came up and one of my dinner partners shot me a quick question out of the blue: “What does the Bible say about such people?” (meaning homosexuals) I replied that God clearly stated that He created man and woman and intends for them to function in those clearly defined but separate roles. Last week I was at a business dinner at the Inner Harbor at the Rusty Scupper (my favorite spot when work is picking up the tab because of the beautiful view). That is why missionary outreach to people of other cultures is such a special challenge. We tend to gear our ministry outreach to those who are most like us. By spiritual profiling I mean determining based on our own prejudices who seems to be a better prospect for the gospel message. Whether we realize it or not, we are all guilty from time to time of spiritual profiling. JESUS CHRIST OPENS THE DOOR OF GOD’S GRACE TO ALL MEN ON AN EQUAL FOOTING WITHOUT RESTRICTION ![]()
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