Peter’s Sermon

Published by Stanley Pouw in 2016 · 14 August 2016

The Spirit of God has a special message for us tonight, and it's the message that Peter gave in the house of a man named Cornelius, to him and to his household. Let me review a little bit. The Book of Acts is one of the most important books in the New Testament, because it is the only pure historical book. It records for us the growth of the church from its birth to its first early years.

Jesus Christ has already died, been buried, risen again, and ascended to Heaven. After that He sent the Holy Spirit back to form His church and to live and dwell in His church. In the first 20 verses of Acts 10, we found the sovereign call, how God prepared the heart of Cornelius. In the verses 21 to 33 that followed, we saw the submissive will. We saw how Cornelius was ready and eager to know salvation. Now, all Cornelius needed to hear was the proclamation. He just needed an explanation, his heart was ready, and here comes Peter.

Let us now look at the sermon of Peter. It is a simple sermon, it is clear and concise, and I don't want to add to it much. I just want to preach you Peter's sermon. Now there are three parts in what Peter preached. It has an introduction, the main theme and an invitation or conclusion. Here is Peter's introduction in verse 34-35, “Then Peter opened his mouth and said: “In truth I perceive that God shows no partiality. 35 But in every nation whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him.”

Paul in Romans 2:11 says, "God is no respecter of persons," and that is throughout the Old Testament. God doesn't prefer smart men over unintelligent ones or rich ones over poor ones. Or a certain race over another race. God is impartial. Peter is saying, "Cornelius, I know you're a Gentile, but salvation is available." I don't care about your culture, your background or your race. Paul said in Romans 1:16, "For the Gospel of Christ is the power of God to everyone that believes.”

2 Peter 3:9 says, "The Lord is not slack concerning His promise." That means God keeps all His promises. People are slack and do not keep their promises. But God does, He is long suffering, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. The argument of 2 Peter 3 is, "Well, the scoffers say, "Where is the coming of the Lord? Why doesn't He get here? He must be impotent.”

Peter says, "No, He is not impotent. He doesn't come because He is merciful, and He is waiting to give men an opportunity to respond.” It is mercy, 2 Peter 3:9 continues, "God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." Across all barriers, across the board, salvation is available. It's not for super-religious people. It is for all men everywhere who respond and believe.

Now, as a Jew, Peter had been taught all his life that God had a special love for Israel, that God liked Israel better than He liked anybody else; and so to extend himself to Gentiles was extremely difficult. But God prepared him with a vision, and in this vision God began to break down this attitude and prejudice, and so Peter says, "I am beginning to understand that God doesn't have any favorites culturally, religiously or racially.

Verse 35 says, “In every nation he that fears God and works righteousness is accepted with Him." That is not saying you are saved by works. What it means is that God looks into the heart of that pagan, and if he is living up to the information God has written in his conscience, he is acceptable. In other words, you can know God just from what He has written in your heart. That doesn't mean the man is saved. That means that God looks favorably on him.

Cornelius feared God. He worked righteousness the best he knew how, but he was not saved. John 7:17 says, “If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine.” In other words, Jesus said that God will give him more light. God will reveal the truth. Cornelius had lived up to the light he had, and here came Peter with the rest of the light and God is impartial.

The second thing that Peter says is that salvation is in Christ. Verse 36, “The Word which God sent to the children of Israel, preaching peace through Jesus Christ. He is Lord of all.” The only one who can provide you with resurrection life is Jesus Christ. Why? He is the only one that was ever raised from the dead. Buddha's tomb is occupied. The tomb of Mohammed is occupied. But Jesus' tomb is empty. In John 14:19 Jesus says, "Because I live, you will live also."

Peter said, "This is the Word which God has sent." God has been giving messages for a long time, unfortunately people are not listening. You cannot reach God by your own power and design. You are natural, and He is supernatural, and by that definition, the natural cannot understand the supernatural. Since we cannot enter into the supernatural, the supernatural reduced itself to us, and Jesus speaks to us in this world.

And what did God say? God simply used Israel as a vehicle, not as an end. They were ineffectual however, so God cut a new channel, which is the church. And what He wanted to say was, "There is peace through Jesus Christ." We are all born into this world in with a sin nature that is in conflict with God. But God sent us the Word, Jesus. And God revealed His will, which is that men know peace with Him through Jesus.

There is war everywhere. The Bible says there is no peace for the wicked. From the time a man is born into this world, he is born in sin. He is in rebellion to the moral law of God, which flows in the universe. There will never be peace between nations and there is no peace within the individual heart. The reason there is no peace in the individual heart is because men don't have peace with God. They are in a world that is going against the grain. No wonder they cannot be at peace.

And now God says, I have a message, and my message is peace. Would you like to be at peace with God? When you come to Jesus Christ, the old way of war dies. The old life dies, and you rise in a new life at peace with God. Living according to God's standards and living in the life of God is absolutely revolutionary. But that is God's message to the world, real peace.

2 Corinthians 5:18 says, “Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation.” How did He do it? By not imputing their trespasses to them. God took care of our sins in Christ; therefore, we can have peace with Him. The thing that creates the friction is sin, and consequently there's no peace. Now even though we still sin, it's covered by the blood of Christ and it's forgiven and cleansed. The Lord says, "I will not remember it."

Peter says in verse 36, "Preaching peace through Jesus Christ." There's no other way. There is no salvation apart from Jesus Christ, but don't worry. If any man is really living up to the knowledge of the true God within him, God will give him the light that he needs to come to that full knowledge of Christ; and there is no other way. At the end of verse 36 it says, "He is Lord of all." That means about several things.

Peter is saying to these Gentiles, "Jesus is God in a human body. He is Lord.” There is no other Lord. "He is Lord of everything there is." There is no way that a man can enter into peace with God other than through Christ. He is Lord not only of those who believe. If anybody knows the truth, they know it because they know Him. Jesus is the Lord whether you believe or not.

Now verse 37-38 says, “That Word you know, which was proclaimed throughout all Judea, and began from Galilee after the baptism which John preached: 38 how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.”

That information about Christ was known throughout Judea, and began in Galilee after the baptism which John preached. This isn't anything new to you. Cornelius, you have heard the Word. Cornelius was in Caesarea, just 40 or 50 miles from Jerusalem. So Peter says, "Cornelius, you have heard all about Jesus. The Word has been proclaimed all throughout Judea and Galilee. You must know about it.”

Then Peter says, let me give you some specifics, it all began after John the Baptist. He was the last of the Old Testament prophets, and he announced the coming of Christ. Then one day as John was getting the people ready, the Messiah came. John turned to Him and said in John 1:29, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world." And Peter says, "How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power."

The Holy Spirit and power always go together. God anointed Jesus and immediately His ministry began. He was baptized and the Spirit of God descended upon Him. God was saying, "This is My Messiah." God set Him apart as the Redeemer, the King, and the Anointed One, Jesus of Nazareth. Nazareth was a little town in Galilee, and everybody thought nothing good could come out of there. It was part of His humiliation that Jesus came from there.

Jesus got up one day in the synagogue, and this is what He read, from Isaiah 61:1-2, “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, because the Lord has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; 2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.”

Now, this was a prophecy of the Messiah and all the people listened. They thought, "Oh, He is reading about our coming Messiah," and Luke 4:21-22 says, “Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him. 21 And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” Jesus said, I am that Messiah, and I am anointed by the Holy Spirit as the Messiah. So Peter repeats this in Acts 10:38, "How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power."

Jesus began His ministry in the power of the Spirit. It continues in verse 38, “Who went about doing good.” And some of the things that He did that were good are illustrated, it continues, "And healing all who were oppressed by the devil." There is a conflict in the universe between God and Satan, and Jesus came into the world to resolve it. After His baptism, immediately He was led into the wilderness by the Holy Spirit, and Satan tempted Him; and the conflict began for three years during the ministry of Jesus Christ.

Realize that the battleground for God and Satan is the universe, but the battle was resolved on the earth. Jesus Christ fought against Satan and He won, although it didn't look like He did. Verse 39, Peter says, “And we are witnesses of all things which He did both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem, whom they killed by hanging on a tree.” This is not just hearsay. We, the apostles all saw this.

Satan has two things he can use as a weapon, disease and death. Satan tried to use the power of death on Jesus; and it says at the end of verse 39, "Whom they slew hanging on a tree." The Roman soldiers did the actual crucifixion. The Jews put Him to a false trial and brought it to pass. Both were instrumental in His death, and the devil tried to stop Jesus by killing Him. But Jesus showed that the devil's power wasn't powerful at all.

Verse 40-41, “Him God raised up on the third day, and showed Him openly, 41 not to all the people, but to witnesses chosen before by God, even to us who ate and drank with Him after He arose from the dead.” Men judged Him a blasphemer and executed Him. But God raised Him up and said, "He is alive. He is the Messiah. He is the Redeemer." It made no sense to show Himself to unbelievers, they would not believe it anyway.

Yes, it's important, and because He lives, you can live. 1 Corinthians 15:20 says, “But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep.” Pilate tried to keep that grave shut. "Seal it and get those Roman soldiers around there," which didn't do a bit of good. God just gave a divine anesthesia to all the soldiers, and Jesus just walked out. Then He sent an angel, who just removed the stone so the disciples could enter in.

Satan is still trying to make people doubt the resurrection. Easter is the name of an ancient Chaldean goddess Ashtoreth, who was associated with Baal worship. Easter eggs come from the myth that a great egg fell from heaven into the Euphrates River, and out of that egg came Ashtoreth. And Lent is the worship of Baal translated into Christianity. It has nothing to do with the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

In verse 42, Peter says, “And He commanded us to preach to the people, and to testify that it is He who was ordained by God to be Judge of the living and the dead.” So Peter concludes his sermon by saying, "Salvation is only in Jesus Christ. Here's the invitation.” Verse 43, “To Him all the prophets witness that, through His name, whoever believes in Him will receive remission of sins.” Salvation is by faith alone in Christ alone.

Remission is forgiveness of sins and forgiveness comes when you believe. Whosoever means anybody who believes. It is in Christ and it is by faith. Romans 10:9 says, “If you shall confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved." Do you believe that Jesus died on the cross for you and bore your sin? Do you believe He rose from the dead to give you life? If you believe that, Christ will come into your life and resurrect you spiritually. Let's pray.