Acts Series Part 14: There is Nowhere that the Gospel Will Not Reach: Peter's Vision and the Baptism of a Roman Centurion

Send Dean your question here Acts Chapter 10 - Peter and Cornelius Two weeks ago, as we looked at the Ethiopian official in Acts 8, we saw that nothing can stop someone becoming one of God's people. Last week, in Acts 9, we discovered that not only can nothing stop us receiving God's grace, but nobody is beyond it—not even Saul, the church's fiercest persecutor. This week, Acts 10 takes the story one step further again. We discover that there is nowhere the gospel won't go. No nation, no culture, no background and no people group lies beyond the reach of King Jesus. God is building one new people from every nation, and the Holy Spirit leaves no doubt about who belongs in God's family. Acts 10 marks one of the greatest turning points in the Bible.  Until this point, the gospel has spread among Jews, Samaritans and a few individual outsiders. Now God makes it unmistakably clear that through Jesus the dividing wall between Jew and Gentile has been torn down. The good news is no longer seen as belonging to one nation or one ethnic group. The invitation is open to everyone who believes, fulfilling God's promise to Abraham that all nations would be blessed through him. Before Peter ever arrives at Cornelius' house, however, we see that God is already at work. Cornelius has been praying, seeking God and responding to the light he has been given. At the very same time, God is preparing Peter through a remarkable vision. By the time they finally meet, God has already been orchestrating events from both sides. That is a great encouragement for us today. We often think we are taking God to people who have never encountered Him, but more often than not we are simply joining in with work He has already begun. The Holy Spirit is always ahead of us. God also has to change Peter before He changes Cornelius.  Through the vision of the sheet filled with animals, Peter initially thinks God is speaking about food, but God is really addressing something much deeper—Peter's understanding of people. The food laws had once marked Israel out as God's covenant people, but with the coming of Christ those barriers had fulfilled their purpose. God's Kingdom is no longer tied to one nation or one place.  Wherever King Jesus is acknowledged, there His Kingdom is present. The question is no longer, "Will they become like us?" but, "Will all of us submit to Christ?" When Peter finally enters Cornelius' home, he makes an astonishing confession: "I now realise how true it is that God does not show favouritism." Peter proclaims that everyone who believes in Jesus receives forgiveness of sins through His name. God is not simply bringing Gentiles into a Jewish movement; He is creating one new humanity in Christ. As Paul later explains in Ephesians 2, Jesus has torn down the dividing wall of hostility and made one family from people who were once separated by race, culture and history.  God leaves no room for debate by pouring out the Holy Spirit on Cornelius and his household before Peter has even finished preaching. There is no committee meeting or apostolic vote. God Himself settles the question of who belongs in His family. The same Spirit who came upon Jewish believers at Pentecost now fills Gentile believers as well. The Church's task is not to decide whom God may accept, but to recognise and respond to what the Holy Spirit is already doing. Luke also quietly tells us that Peter is in Joppa—the very place where Jonah once boarded a ship to flee from God's call to take His mercy to the nations. While we often think of Jonah running 1 because he was afraid, we find in the story itself that Jonah ran because he could not bear the thought of God's grace reaching Nineveh. Peter begins with similar assumptions, but by God's patient work he obeys instead. Acts 10 therefore asks each of us a searching question: where do we still draw boundaries around God's grace? Who have we quietly decided is unlikely to respond to the gospel? God has a habit of stepping over the lines we draw.  Finally, Paul reminds believers that we are no longer foreigners and strangers but citizens of heaven. The sermon closed by contrasting tourists and citizens. Tourists simply enjoy what others have prepared before moving on. Citizens belong. They invest. They take responsibility. In the same way, God has not simply given us a ticket to heaven. He has made us citizens of His Kingdom, inviting us to participate in His mission. Citizens don't simply admire the Kingdom from a distance; they help build it, serve within it and represent its King. As the gospel continues to spread to every people and every place, Acts 10 calls us to live not as spectators, but as active participants in God's great mission to the nations. You can see past sermons on the Leominster Baptist Church website at  Leominster Baptist Church - YouTube and can contact us directly with your feedback or queries through the Contact Us link at the top of the episode description text. Leominster Baptist Church can be found on Etnam Street in Leominster, Herefordshire. To find out more about us, visit our website leobc.co.uk. If you would like to speak to someone about anything that you have heard on our podcasts please give us a call and ask for a chat.