Who am I to Decide?

 Acts 10: 34 Opening his mouth, Peter said:
“I most certainly understand now that God is not one to show partiality, 35 but in every nation the man who fears Him and does what is right is welcome to Him. 36 “The word which He sent to the sons of Israel, preaching peace through Jesus Christ (He is Lord of all)— 37 you yourselves know the thing which took place throughout all Judea, starting from Galilee, after the baptism which John proclaimed. 38 “You know of Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him. 39 “We are witnesses of all the things He did both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They also put Him to death by hanging Him on a cross. 40 “God raised Him up on the third day and granted that He become visible, 41 not to all the people, but to witnesses who were chosen beforehand by God, that is, to us who ate and drank with Him after He arose from the dead. 42 “And He ordered us to preach to the people, and solemnly to testify that this is the One who has been appointed by God as Judge of the living and the dead. 43 “Of Him all the prophets bear witness that through His name everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins.”

(Background) After God showed Peter in a vision that the good news about Jesus was meant not only for the Jews but also for the Gentiles He sent him to the house of Cornelius, a centurion of what was called the Italian cohort.

(Observation) The passage begins with Peter’s confession, before the house of Cornelius, that the good news about Jesus is for “every nation” and ends with confirmation that Jesus is the one about whom the prophets testified, through whom “everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins.”

(Interpretation) No matter the nationality, salvation is available to any and all men who will believe in Jesus. “God does not show favoritism.” This Jesus whom God sent first to the Jews is also the savior, unto eternal life, of anyone in the whole world who will believe in Him.

(Cross-reference) Matthew 28 19 “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

(Application) It is not my place to fail to present the good news to someone because of some notion that his nationality or background or life style would prevent him from believing. It is my place to do as I am told and give him an opportunity to believe. As Jesus said, “Go therefore and make disciples.”

What do you think? When you were unsaved, going your own way, without regard to the will of God and someone shared the good news about Jesus with you, were you not, at the time, as an alien to that someone?

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