BULLETIN ARTICLE – 17 June 2018
In early church times, after the conversion of a large group of Gentiles (the Cornelius’ household), the Apostle Peter proceeded to give a report to the Jerusalem Church. This mission report was preceded with an accusation by the circumcision party who criticised Peter for his fellowship with Gentiles – “You went into the house of uncircumcised men and ate with them”. This party was very much locked in their prejudiced view concerning Gentiles – the uncircumcised people. They believed that everyone who comes to God must come via the way of circumcision like the Jews from Abraham’s circumcision onwards. Peter recounted to the Jewish believers the God-given vision he had in Joppa. He informed them that God gave the many Gentiles in Cornelius’ household the same gift of the Holy Spirit that he had poured out on the many Jews who were gathered in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost. He concluded his report by: “So if God gave them the same gift he gave us who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to think that I could stand in God’s way?” (Acts 11:17). When the Jerusalem Church heard this wonderful mission report from Peter, all the Jewish believers glorified God. They had no further objections and praised God, saying, “So then, even to Gentiles God has granted repentance that leads to life” (Acts 11:18b).
In the early Jerusalem Church only Jewish believers in the resurrected Jesus were accepted. To be a Gentile and uncircumcised was to be a total outsider. However, God’s way was not the way of the Jews. He had chosen to open the door of faith in the resurrected Jesus to the whole world. Jesus had challenged his disciples: “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). It was God’s plan for the whole world to come to him in faith. When the Cornelius’ household turned to God in faith, God accepted the Gentiles by granting them the very same privilege he gave the Jews – the gift of the Holy Spirit. On the day of Pentecost, Peter shared about the resurrected Jesus and many Jews believed and they received the gift of the Holy Spirit. In Cornelius’ household, Peter shared about the resurrected Jesus and many Gentiles believed and they received the gift of the Holy Spirit. The Jerusalem Church on receiving Peter’s mission report also believed that God had opened the door of faith in the resurrected Jesus to the Gentiles and they all gave praise and glory to God.
This episode in the early church provokes thought for us: are we in any way still holding on to incorrect biases? Do we favour people and accept them into the church based on their background, ethnicity, or family? A clear sign that a person is saved, in fact, the only one that matters is that when they believe in Jesus they receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. If God has given someone the gift of the Holy Spirit, who are we that we should stand in God’s way? When a person receives the gift of the Holy Spirit, there is repentance which leads to eternal life. “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation, the old has gone, the new has come” (2 Cor 5:17)
God’s purposes and ways are remarkable for: “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts” (Isa 55:9). The reach of his mercy is far wider than the narrow expectations of people. He is tender where we would be hard and hard where we would like to be soft. Eternal life is a free gift through Jesus for everyone who believes. Let us thank God for his gift of salvation in Jesus to us. May we all be spurred on to carry the good news of Jesus to more people who have not heard. Spread the gospel of Jesus to all!
