Jump Start # 1473

Acts 10:1-2 “Now there was a man at Caesarea named Cornelius, a centurion of what was called the Italian cohort, a devout man and one who feared God with all his household, and gave many alms to the Jewish people and prayed to God continually.”

Today is Veteran’s Day—the day this country honors those who served in our military. It was on this day, November 11th, at 11 o’clock, that a treaty was signed to end WW I. That war, it was said, was the war to end all wars. We know that didn’t happen. It is the courage and service of so many in our country that keeps us safe and allows our freedoms to continue on.

Our passage today is about a soldier from the first century. Cornelius was an officer in the Roman Empire. This chapter of Acts is devoted to his conversion to Jesus Christ. Cornelius was a gentile. It took a series of visions before Peter would be convinced to go and preach Christ to him.

There are a few things we see in our verse today.

First, it is easy to stereotype people. It’s easy to assume everyone is like this or that. This is true of military folks. The expression, “cussing like a sailor” implies that all sailors cuss. Not true. To assume that all military are a rough and mean bunch is not true. Even way back, look at Cornelius. Godly. Generous. Caring. And part of that powerful Roman Empire that crushed the world. A lot of stereotypical comments are just a step away from prejudice. Many of them are made in ignorance without knowing a person specifically. The same could be said of athletes, especially professionals. Can’t lump them all together. Can’t assume that they are all worldly, ungodly, beer drinking party animals. Some are Christians. Generalizing is easy but much too often unfair. We can do that for regions of the country. “Well, everyone knows about those people in California.” Really? Or, people from the South…be careful. This crosses over to religious generalizations. We can lump folks together and assume nobody is reading their Bibles today. Really? Why then has there been over 100 million downloads of Youversion—the online Bible app? One hundred million! Someone is reading. All Catholics believe…be careful.

Cornelius wasn’t the only centurion that seemed to have a heart that leaned toward God. Remember the centurion at the cross? Remember the one who came to Jesus and wanted the Lord to heal his crippled servant? He asked Jesus to just say the word. He understood authority. Soldiers with faith. It is possible.

Second, Cornelius was doing a lot of great things before he knew about Jesus. That is another thought some can’t seem to understand. Christians are not the only ones who do good deeds. Cornelius was giving, praying and serious about his faith. Yet he did not know Jesus. Peter is sent. Peter is sent because Cornelius is not saved. Praying alone will not save a person. The “Sinner’s Prayer,” is not in the Bible. Just being nice is not enough for salvation. Giving is important but that alone will not save a person. Cornelius needed Jesus. Peter came. Peter preached. Cornelius was baptized. Cornelius became a Christian.

I expect it’s hard for some to think that this man as described to us in our verse today was not already a Christian. It’s hard to think that the sweet grandma down the street is not a Christian.  The helpful neighbor, the kind co-worker, the generous boss, are all good people. They may listen to your woes. They may come when you need a helping hand. They show up at the funeral home. They may bring food when you are sick. They ask about your family. They really seem to care. It’s off the charts to think that these people are not Christians. This misunderstanding comes from how one defines a Christian. If your definition is nothing more than someone who is nice to you then you’ll see the world as filled with a lot of Christians. However, if you use the exclusive Biblical definition, where the word comes from, it means one who belongs to Christ. Such a person will through their faith obey the gospel of Jesus. They will have humbled themselves, repented of their sins, confessed Christ and been immersed for the remission of sins. That’s the thought of the great commission. That’s the result of Peter’s first gospel sermon in Acts 2. That’s what happens here to Cornelius. Good Cornelius became a Christian. Without Jesus, a person is not a Christian. Being nice, being generous, even praying, all illustrated by Cornelius, shows that one may still be outside of Christ and in their sins. We are buried with Christ in baptism is what the Romans were told. Saul was told to be baptized to wash away his sins. In Revelation, Jesus is introduced as one who washes away sins by His blood.

Our sins are not counter balanced by good deeds. Baking cookies for a friend doesn’t remove sins. It’s not living with the idea of doing more good than bad. God doesn’t have a heavenly scale that balances our good verses our bad. That’s a common idea. Doing more good than bad will get one into Heaven, is a thought that many have. First, that’s salvation by works. Second, that assumes bad is ok, just as long as I have more good than bad. That’s faulty. Bad is never ok. Third, that assumes the good deeds take care of the bad deeds. They don’t. Only the blood of Christ can forgive sins. Fourth, that lessens the seriousness of sin. The wages of sin is death, the Romans were told.

So, good ole’ Cornelius, who gave and prayed and feared God, had to obey Christ to be a Christian.

Hats off on this day to the many who have served the military in the past and are doing so now. Thank You! Hats off to those who have bowed their hearts to Jesus and have become a New Testament Christian.

Thanks, most of all to our Jesus. Without Him, we would be all in trouble.

Roger