Faith without religion.
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Acts 10.42-43
Milk
September 4th 2016
Okay we left off with Peter testifying that he and the others were not only witnesses of Jesus resurrection but they actually ate and drank with Him – no better way than to prove He was not a ghost or apparition (for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see me have) but was Him raised from the dead.
Let’s continue on with what Peter says to Cornelius and his family and friends (verse 42)
42 And he commanded us to preach unto the people, and to testify that it is he which was ordained of God to be the Judge of quick and dead.
43 To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins.
And then the last verses of this very important chapter gives us the results of all we have been talking about (beginning at verse 44):
44 While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Spirit fell on all them which heard the word.
45 And they of the circumcision which believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Spirit.
46 For they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God. Then answered (or said) Peter,
47 Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Spirit as well as we?
48 And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then prayed they him to tarry certain days.
Ok, back to verse 42
It is SO, SO, SO vitally important to remember something we discussed when we embarked on this study of Acts – it is a book of ebbing and flowing – it is a book of transitioning – it is a book that illustrates the changing of administrations – from one under the Law (through the Nation of Israel, Jesus their Messiah, and the original apostles) and one under grace (to the Gentiles and through Paul).
Keep this in mind as we proceed through. Okay back to verse 42
42 And he (Jesus – as a resurrected being) commanded us to preach unto the people, and to testify that it is he which was ordained of God to be the Judge of quick and dead.
Now, prior to the Birth of Jesus of Nazareth God worked among the Nation of Israel. This same God is called the Father here by Jesus because this same Father has now had a Son, Jesus of Nazareth, who was the Word of God made flesh.
Peter says to Cornelius that Jesus commanded that they go and preach and testify that this very same Jesus was ordained of God to be the Judge of the quick and the dead (the living and the dead).
In other words their message to the Nation of Israel (and now to the Gentiles) was to be:
“Hey, where you used to relate to God the Father He has now ordained His Son, who becoming us – the Son of Man – has fulfilled the Law of Love, overcome sin and the grave, risen to new life and now God has placed the power and authority in His hands to Judge the living and the dead!”
In other words, “LOOK TO HIM and LIVE.”
We are Christians because we look to Him as our salvation – and no other way.
We look to Him as our direct intermediary to have life and life more abundantly.
We look to Him to overcome self, to have the Spirit of Christ in us, to have relation with the invisible God.
Jesus Himself addresses this authorization and empowerment back in the Gospel of John chapter 5 when He says at verse 21:
John 5:21 For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them; even so the Son quickeneth whom he will.
Here Jesus was speaking of the Old Testament where God (who was not yet the Father as the Word was not yet made flesh) but where God who became the Father raised the dead through men like Elijah and Elisha.
So Jesus says to the disciples
“For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them; even so the Son quickeneth (giveth life – raises people who are dead both spiritually and physically) whom he will.” (Then Jesus continues and speaking to Peter’s point that he has made here to Cornelius, says)
22 For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son:
23 That all men should honor the Son, even as they honor the Father. He that honoreth not the Son honoreth not the Father which hath sent him.
24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.
25 Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live.
26 For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself;
27 And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, (because he is the Son of God? No,) because He is the Son of man.”
See, the Word of God became flesh and dwelled among us to save us.
For some reason, perhaps in the scope of justice and redemption, God – being Just and Righteous – couldn’t just snap His fingers and make us right before Him. In order to continue to be perfectly just He had to, so to speak, play by the rules.
And for whatever reason the rules say that in order for man to be saved a man has to save us – go through what we go through, experience our plight, and doing it right out of LOVE for God and others, is THE source for anyone to be reconciled to God.
As the source He is also made our judge and He will also decide who he gives life. Why? Jesus told us –
“because He is the Son of man.”
He did for us, AS GOD, what we could not do for ourselves, as HUMANS.
And therefore He is not Only our intermediary, He is not only our Lord and Savior, He is the object of our Adoration and worship NOT because He was a man, but because He was God in the flesh who reconciled us to Himself.
There is NO problem worshipping Jesus because to worship Him is to worship God – the one true God – the only God – who gave us this gift . . . to save the world.
So Peter says that this same Jesus commanded them to go and preach and testify that
“it is he”
which was ordained of God
to be the Judge
of quick and dead.”
Okay, now listen carefully.
Last week we talked about how the resurrection of the dead would commence at Jesus return to judge the world. The Greek is when He would return to judge that age – not the world.
I believe that He came as promised in 70 AD and poured judgement down upon Jerusalem while saving His church who the apostles spent their lives trying to glean hearers from the Nation of Israel (and now with Cornelius from some Gentiles too.)
The New Testament is clear that those who are alive when the Lord Jesus would return to judge the age would be caught up into the clouds (we call this the rapture) and would meet Jesus in the air without seeing or tasting death but would instead be changed in the twinkling of an eye.
This would cause a change in their bodies which would prepare them (or fit or suit them) for the judgment which would fall on those of that age AND for their eternal residence.
This change would be their resurrection.
Now here’s the deal – most of the New Testament writers – John, Peter, James, Titus and Paul – CLEARLY believed that the return of Jesus, which would launch the resurrection (and which would be entirely spiritual as we described it last week) was coming upon them.
This cannot be disputed. What is disputed is whether they were right in this assessment or not. If they were wrong then I personally cannot believe or trust ANYTHING they wrote. But they were not wrong. They were taught the signs to look for by Jesus and new by the spirit that the day of His return was at hand.
James said (in James 5:7) to the recipients of his epistle:
“Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain.
8 Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.
9 Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned: behold, the judge standeth before the door.”
When James said “the coming of the Lord draweth nigh” and “the Judge standeth at the door” to those people did he really mean more than 2000 years later?
NEVER.
Many scholars who believe Jesus has not yet come believe James was flat out wrong. No way.
The writer of Hebrews lays out numerous warnings that the day is at hand but the passages have to be approached properly and it would take too much time to do this here as we have done it in Meat.
John the beloved, who wrote his epistles toward the end of that age, said:
1st John 2:17
“And the world passeth away, (the age of their world, the whole Jewish system under the law) and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever
Then he adds:
“Little children, it is the last time: (Here he appeals to all the signs and prophesies of the Anti-Christ that had been provided to them) and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time.”
The “last time” of what? That age – before everything is wiped out.
Later John even said:
“The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed.”
I tend to believe that this means exactly what John says, that he was a witness of the suffering so Christ and that he was also going to be a “partaker of the glory that would be revealed.” In other words it is highly possible that John was around (and raptured) at the return of Christ – which does make some sense as Jesus Himself told Peter that this may be a reality for John.
By the way, when John said that he would be “a partaker of the glory that SHALL BE REVEALED” the Greek word translated “shall be revealed” cannot be read as anything but it is about to happen” (and never that it would happen in the distant future).
We know that the Book of Revelation says:
“Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.” Revelation 1:3
Again, that term, “at hand” means at any minute.
We also know that the Book of Revelation was written to the Seven Churches and what did Jesus have John tell them, that were around in that day and age? Let’s just consider the opening chapter and the closing. In chapter 1 of Revelation we read the following:
Chapter 1 verse 1 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John:
Revelation 1:3 Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.
Revelation 1:7 Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.
Then jumping to the last chapter we read at verse . . .
Revelation 22:6-7 And he said unto me, These sayings are faithful and true: and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent his angel to shew unto his servants the things which must shortly be done.
7 Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book.
Then at verse 10
10 And he saith unto me, Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand.
Then verse 12
“And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.”
Then at verse 20
“He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. (and John adds), Even so, come, Lord Jesus.
The Apostle Titus, in his short epistle even said:
(Titus 2:13) Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ;
And before Revelation was written the Apostle Peter wrote (in 1st Peter 4:7):
“But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer.”
The at hand there means is about to occur. Of course when Peter says the end of all things he was referring to the end of all things relative to that age, to that time, which about to completely shift from most things material (with a few things spiritual) into an age of ALL things spiritual (and a few things material).
Now, go back with me to 1st Corinthians 15 (which I referenced last week).
Paul wrote to those people then – which he says in the first chapter, “Unto the church of God which is at Corinth.”
They received this letter and read it and believed what it said and believed that it applied to them. Got that?
We’ll after reading all about the resurrection, which we covered last week fairly meticulously, and after Paul says this at verse 50:
“Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.”
He says THE FOLLOWING to THEM – TO THEM – just like Peter and James and John:
51 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep (shall not die and be buried), but we shall all be changed,
52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
53 For this corruptible (body) must put on incorruption, and this mortal (existence) must put on immortality.
54 So when this corruptible (body) shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, “Death is swallowed up in victory.”
(In other words when this change occurs death – in the grave death with a waiting room for the judgement) “will be SWALLOWED UP IN VICTORY!” And then Paul adds:
55 O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?
56 The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.
57 But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, (he says as a means to encourage them toward this coming event) be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.
These words of Paul perfectly describe to THEM IN THAT DAY AND IN THAT AGE that the end (of that period of time) was coming.
Paul also said in Romans 13:11-12 (well before the actual end was upon them)
“And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.
12 The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light.”
LISTEN – if all of the Corinthian Saints died before Jesus came Paul epistles to them was a fraud, and his promises to them were utterly deceitful! But there were those there who were changed in
the twinkling of an eye! He was correct.
So, going back to Acts 10, Peter has told Cornelius at verse 42:
42 And he (Jesus) commanded us to preach unto the people, and to testify that it is he which was ordained of God to be the Judge of quick and dead. (Ordained of God to be the Judge of the living and the dead – all in His hands) Verse 43
43 To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins.
You guys ready to have your minds blown?
How or what is it that makes people sinful? According to scripture it is the presence of the Law.
Romans 3:20 “Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight” (Why is this? Paul adds): “for by the law is the knowledge of sin.”
I frequently appeal to this example so forgive the redundancy, but if there is a highway without any posted signs or laws enacted that pertain to the highway you can do as you wish and not be guilty of a crime.
Park in the middle, drive 350 miles per hour, pass anywhere you’d like. No law NO crime or sin.
But put up a sign authorized by the state that says 70 MPH max and anyone who goes over by even 1 MPH is guilty and a lawbreaker.
This is why Paul wrote that by the deeds of the Law there shall NO flesh be justified in God’s sight. Why? Because no person can KEEP all of the law. Therefore Paul taught that BY THE LAW (the posting of the sign) is the knowledge of sin!
How to eliminate sin that comes by the law? Get rid of the law. This is why Paul also wrote:
Romans 7:4 “Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ.”
And then at verse 6
Romans 7:6 But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter.
And then two verses beyond this adds:
“For without the law sin was dead.”
Now, in scripture we read all about repenting and believing for the “remission of sins.” It is a favorite topic for those who take the Gospels and use the language of Jesus and John the Baptist (and in Acts 2 and now 10, the language of Peter) and assign it to themselves and others.
In other words in
Matthew 26:28 Jesus says to the Apostles:
“For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.”
And Mark says in 1:4 “John did baptize in the wilderness, and preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.”
And Luke, speaking of John the Baptists says in Luke 3:3
“And he came into all the country about Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins”
Luke 24:47 And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.
And then Peter, on the day of Pentecost said to the Jews in Acts 2:38
“Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.”
Now here, going to the first Gentiles to receive the Good News, Peter preaches the same message.
But it is by the Law that there is a knowledge of sin. So how would these Gentiles in the house of Cornelius believe for a remission of sins? Remember that they were considered Converts at the Gate? Remember that they were essentially uncircumcised Jews who followed the true and living God and probably even the Law? That God started with this specific family for Peter to open the door to the Gentile world.
And so Peter, in his speech to Cornelius gives him the very same speech he gives at Pentecost – that to believe on Jesus produces a remission of sins – and the ways sins were present was by the presence of the Law.
Now here is the mind blowing part – every time the phrase “remission of sins” is used in the Bible – every time – it comes from the word “af-ee-sis” which means to be “freed from,” “pardoned over,” “forgiven” and/or “delivered.”
It is applied a couple of times by Paul to Gentiles in the sense of God’s forgiveness.
But all through the New Testament Gospels and Acts Remission of Sins comes from the Greek term “af-ee-sis.”
But the ONE time Paul is translated as saying or writing or using Remission of Sins the Greek term is “par-ee-sis.” We find this use in Romans 3:25:
“Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God.”
Now, the Jews, who were under the Law, had their sins (which were present by the Law) upon belief, “sent away,” but to Paul, who wrote to Gentile believers in Rome who DID NOT HAVE THE LAW said (again)
“Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins (paresis) that are past, through the forbearance of God.”
Does this term “paresis” which Paul uses mean to “send sins away, as “af-ee-sis” does in Acts and the Gospels? No. It means to pass by or tolerate the sins.
See, the Jews had sins by the Law – so did Cornelius as a proselyte at the Gate. But Gentiles have NEVER had the Law to make us sinful – at least not officially.
But we are still sinful. And so God passes by or tolerates our sins through Christ Jesus – our sins are passed by due to or “through the forebearance of God” and they are not “sent away” as the sins of the Jews were.
Anyway – and Lonnnnnggggg story short – this is why Peter preaches the Afee-sis of sins to Cornelius and Paul preaches the Pareesis of Sins to other Gentiles.
Here Peter says that “To him (Jesus) gave all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins.”
Did the prophets witness to us? To non-Gentiles? No. Only to the Jews. So we know that this passage speaks specifically to those of the House of Israel and/or to people like Cornelius and his family who were proselytes at the gate.
