Subject: what is baptism |
Bible Note: II. OBSERVATIONS REGARDING THIS CONVERSION A. RELIGIOUS PEOPLE NEED TO BE SAVED... 1. Many people believe that if you are religious, you will be saved a. That if you go to church, do good, etc., you have a hope of heaven b. That you will have earned the right to enter heaven 2. Yet, though Cornelius was a man who... a. Was a devout man b. Feared God with his whole family c. Gave alms generously d. Prayed to God always ...he still needed to be told "words by which you and all your household will be saved" 3. Clearly, being religious isn't what saves you (it's the blood of Christ!) B. THE GOSPEL IS FOR ALL... 1. Peter perceived that God is no respecter of persons - Ac 10: 34-35 2. Indeed, God desires that ALL men be saved - cf. Jn 3:16; 1 Ti 2:3-6; 2 Pe 3:9 -- Therefore He has not predestined some to be saved and others lost! C. THE PURPOSE OF THE SPIRIT FALLING... 1. Some presume that the purpose was to save Cornelius and his family a. That therefore they were saved before obeying the command to be baptized b. But the Spirit came upon them as Peter "began to speak", before they could hear words by which they could be saved! - cf. Ac 11:14-15 2. The purpose of the Spirit can be gleaned from the following: a. The effect it had on the Jewish brethren who were present, and Peter's response - Ac 10:45-47 b. The reaction of the Jewish brethren in Jerusalem when Peter told them what happened - Ac 11:17-18 c. Peter's explanation at the council held later in Jerusalem - Ac 15:7-11 3. The purpose of the Spirit falling on them was therefore to show Jewish brethren... a. That God was no respecter of persons - Ac 10:34-35 b. That God was willing to grant them opportunity to repent and have life - Ac 11:18 c. That Gentiles could be saved in the same way as Jews... 1) By faith, repentance, and baptism - Ac 15:9,11; cf. 2:38 with 10:48 2) Which faith comes through hearing the word of God - Ro 10:17 D. THE POINT AT WHICH CORNELIUS WAS SAVED... 1. Remember that Cornelius was told to send for Peter, who would tell him: a. "what you must do." - Ac 10:6 b. "words by which you...shall be saved." - Ac 11:14 2. From this, and from what we have already seen in other conversions... a. Cornelius was not saved until he heard the "words" (i.e., after the sermon) b. Cornelius was not saved until he obeyed what he was told to do c. What were the words he was told to do? 1) Certainly they were told to believe, as implied in Ac 10:43 2) Clearly they were told to be baptized, as commanded in Ac 10:48 3. Thus Cornelius and his household were not saved until they "believed and were baptized"! - cf. Mk 16:16; Ac 8:12,13 |