A. Cornelius, the Roman Centurion
1. He was devout in his convictions.
He was totally committed.
2. He feared God.
3. He was generous toward God and the people of God.
4. However, he was an uncircumcised Gentile.
a. He was not considered a Jewish proselyte.
b. Therefore, he was still an unclean Gentile in the mind of a Jew.
5. God saw in the heart of Cornelius a desire to know Him in an intimate and
personal way.
a. The challenge: How could that happen without first becoming a circumcised
Jewish proselyte?
b. Could Jesus possibly do in unclean Gentiles what He was doing in Jews;
without the Gentiles becoming purified through the ritual of becoming a
Jew first?
B. Peter, God’s man through whom He would fulfill Cornelius’ desire of the heart.
1. Peter was a devout Jew.
2. Peter was a devout Christian.
a. Peter was conflicted in his devotion to his cultural identity and his faith in
Jesus Christ.
b. Challenge: To surrender Lordship to Jesus Christ even when it conflicted
with my cultural identity