In the New Testament it’s common to come across stories that feature Roman soldiers since the Roman Empire ruled over Israel and most of the civilized eastern world in that time. The Roman military would maintain authority by placing battalions in towns and cities, reminding the civilians who was in control. The book of Acts, written by Luke, features a conversion story of one Roman soldier named Cornelius. Rome, like other militaries, divided soldiers into groups. A legion consisted of 6,000 men. In each legion there were 10 cohorts, each with 600 men. In each cohort there were 6 centuries, each with 100 men. Over each century was a centurion. Cornelius was a centurion.
Acts 10:1, “Now there was a man at Caesarea named Cornelius, a centurion of what was called the Italian cohort.” Cornelius was raised a Gentile, which is a Biblical term regarding those who were generally pagan; not believing in the true God and/or not a follower of Judaism. Eventually Cornelius is employed by the Roman military and moves up in rank. He oversaw a cohort which appears to have a significant number of soldiers from Italy, “called the Italian cohort,” in contrast to other cohorts where the majority of its soldiers were born in Roman occupied provinces that were scattered around the eastern world. Given that Italy was the home-base of the empire, it’s likely that soldiers of Italian heritage claimed pre-eminence over soldiers who had enlisted from other nations. Cornelius is eventually stationed in Caesarea and apparently after having lived amongst the Jews and observing their religion, he himself decides to convert to Judaism.
Acts 10:2 speaks of Cornelius as, “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.” At first glance we might read this and think that Cornelius was a genuine believer in the Lord. This verse however is not declaring Cornelius to have genuine faith in the Lord, but it highlights the fact that Cornelius had indeed adopted the Jewish religion and had turned away from common Gentile idolatry. Cornelius had turned to Judaism believing it to be a better way, a more fitting religion, and one that seemed more virtuous compared to what he had known. Keep in mind that religion and righteousness are not the same.
Many Israelites had a type of devotion to Judaism that included alms giving (a form of charity) and daily prayer. Jews offered a customary prayer three times daily, although the average Jew didn’t truly know the God to whom he prayed. Jesus exposes this fact when He points out the lack of faith He found in Jerusalem, citing that the Jews honor the Lord with their lips (prayers) but their hearts are far from God, Matthew 15:8. Most who practiced Judaism did what was required out of duty and obligation, yet Cornelius seemed to have a different motivation. Cornelius was a man who prayed beyond the normal three-times daily prayers having, “prayed to God continually,” and gave alms beyond any expected amount, as he, “gave many alms,” yet he lacked a personal relationship with the Lord. Cornelius demonstrated a heart that was genuinely seeking something more than just satisfying an obligation.
It’s necessary to note that Cornelius was not a full-Jewish proselyte (a convert to another belief system). He was still considered “unclean” by the Jews since he had not been circumcised. Gentiles that had fully converted to Judaism and were circumcised were called, “proselytes of righteousness.” Other Gentiles who adhered to Judaism, but to a lesser extent (uncircumcised), like Cornelius, were called, “proselytes of the gate,” implying that they were close but not yet a part of the family. In Luke’s writings he referred to these proselytes of the gate as “God-fearers” (Acts 10:2) in that they were reverent to God, having turned from idols, and were seen by Christians as fertile soil for the seed of the gospel. Being a proselyte of the gate put Cornelius in good standing with the Jews, as Luke notes that Cornelius was, “well spoken of by the entire nation of the Jews,” Acts 10:22. Even other Gentiles that knew Cornelius considered him to be righteous by their standards, Acts 10:22. However, still being unclean, the Israelites still kept boundaries with Cornelius, such as not being permitted to enter into his house, knowing, “how unlawful it is for a man who is a Jew to associate with a foreigner or to visit him,” Acts 10:28. God, through the prophet Moses, had told the Jews that they were not to enter into a business or military covenant with the Gentiles, or intermarry with them, but the Jews went much further and created other laws which including not being able to dine/drink with a Gentile or go into their homes.
The Jews believed themselves to be of superior righteousness, and all others to be unrighteous by comparison. Imagine a person being so full of their own self-righteousness that they wouldn’t even enter the home of someone of a different belief system so as to not become defiled. The Jews went beyond appropriate godly boundaries and took to belittling all other people who didn’t believe like them. In a similar way today, there are Christians who hold to a similar self-righteous standard. I’m referring to the type of so-called Christians that would speak down to someone else and proclaim, “Your sin is worse than my sin!” This belief is the big lie that has sadly permeated the hearts of some within the church. This essay aims to expose the sinfulness of such thinking and to point us back to seeing our own sin and the sin of others in a proper manner.
Back to the book of Acts. In 10:3-8, we see how God pursues Cornelius by sending an angel to him in a vision. The angel said, “Your prayers and alms have ascended as a memorial before God.” Since Cornelius’ prayers were done with a heart of sincerity and not out of obligation, God took notice of them. These things highlight what Luke said about Cornelius, as one who “feared God.” Cornelius’ heart was indeed ripe and ready to receive the gospel and enter into a real relationship with His Creator, and now his Creator has called to him. We learn more about the God’s message to Cornelius in Acts 11:13-14, where it’s records that the angel also said, “Send to Joppa and have Simon, who is also called Peter, brought here; and he will speak words to you by which you will be saved, you and all your household.” God urges Cornelius that true salvation awaits him! Trusting the message from the angel, Cornelius sends for the Apostle Peter, about 30 miles south at Joppa.
The following day, Peter himself is about to receive his own message from the Lord. Peter, at noon-time waiting for lunch to be made, falls into a trance, where, “he saw the sky opened up, and an object like a great sheet coming down, lowered by four corners to the ground, and there were in it all kinds of four-footed animals and crawling creatures of the earth and birds of the air. A voice came to him, “Get up, Peter, kill and eat!” But Peter said, “By no means, Lord, for I have never eaten anything unholy and unclean,” Acts 10:11-14. In summary, the food on the blanket was made up of many of the ceremoniously unclean foods that a Jew had not been permitted to eat according to the old Law of Moses. Peter and other Jews had grown up adhering to this standard. Apparently, Peter was still struggling to let go of the idea that all food was now clean to eat, as the ceremonial Law ended at Jesus’ death. However, this message wasn’t about food, but rather that the Gentiles were to be approached and no longer considered unworthy or less than. The gospel was now to extend beyond the Jews and was ready to be preached and accepted by the Gentiles (Romans 1:16). The blanket of food was God’s way of preparing Peter to understand that he would be instrumental in reaching the Gentiles. This vision is repeated to Peter three times so as to remove any doubt as to what Peter had seen. Not only was the vision repeated three times to Peter, Luke repeats the account of the vision two times himself, once in chapter 10 and again in chapter 11. It’s obvious that considering Gentiles as worthy and significant would be a tough pill to swallow and needed to be repeated again and again.
To summarize the rest of the story, Peter, along with some of his fellow Christian brethren, travel north to Caesarea to Cornelius’ house. Cornelius had gathered together a houseful of friends and family, in anticipation of Peter’s arrival. Once there, Peter tells Cornelius, “You yourselves know how unlawful it is for a man who is a Jew to associate with a foreigner or to visit him; and yet God has shown me that I should not call any man unholy or unclean. That is why I came without even raising any objection when I was sent for,” Acts 10:28-29. Cornelius replied to Peter, “We are all here present before God to hear all that you have been commanded by the Lord,” 10:33. Peter said, “I most certainly understand now that God is not one to show partiality,” 10:34. That’s the big idea! Just as God doesn’t show partiality, so also should followers of God not be partial to anyone and think lesser of another.
At once Peter proclaimed the gospel, and everyone sat and listened as Peter preached. Acts 10:44-48 says,
“While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who were listening to the message. All the circumcised believers who came with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also. For they were hearing them speaking with tongues and exalting God. Then Peter answered, “Surely no one can refuse the water for these to be baptized who have received the Holy Spirit just as we did, can he?” And he ordered them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to stay on for a few days.” Hearing the gospel preached, and at the moment of belief, the Holy Spirit indwelt these new converts. As a demonstration of their salvation, the Holy Spirit allowed Cornelius and the other new Christians to speak in tongues, providing evidence to Peter that the church was truly for all people in all nations. This was a turning point in church history, as Cornelius was the first Gentile convert through the preaching of the gospel by the apostles. Of course, other Gentiles throughout history had come to faith, but this launched the first-century church into the Gentile world. Lastly, we see that Cornelius asked Peter and his men to stay on as guests at his house, which they apparently did. How cool was that! A house once forbidden now becomes a place of Christian fellowship!
It didn’t take long for word to spread that Peter was a guest in the home of an uncircumcised man. Now back in Jerusalem, Peter was confronted by other apostles and brothers within the church, saying, “You went to uncircumcised men and ate with them,” Acts 11:2-3. Peter explained everything to them, in great detail. Once everyone realized that these events were indeed the will of God, those in Jerusalem, “quieted down and glorified God, saying, “Well then, God has granted to the Gentiles also the repentance that leads to life.” I love that expression, “Well then.” Other believers could say nothing else but essentially, “Well then, that settles it!” That’s all there is to it. God has no favoritism, bigotry, or racism. Neither then should His church consider themselves superior over anyone else!
Perhaps today is a day of repentance for you. Is there any bigotry or racism or self-righteousness you need to confess and turn from? Is there anyone you need to reach out to and say, “I owe you an apology.” Who do you need to reconcile with, just as God has offered reconciliation to you?
Conclusion
Self-righteousness causes a type of judgmental hatred towards other people. Have you ever thought that someone’s sin was worse than your own? This is the big lie that some Christians believe. Don’t get me wrong, I realize that all sins have a different earthly consequence. That’s not the point. My concern here is that some people who claim to know and love Jesus have also stooped to a level of self-righteousness that causes them to always look down on others with a heart of condemnation.
For years I was a jail chaplain in Pennsylvania. One day I was delivering Bibles to some men who happened to be housed in what the inmates and officers referred to as “the pedophile pod.” Sadly there’s a hierarchy in jail and prison institutions that claims, “Your sin is worse than mine.” One of the officers said to me, “Those people are beyond saving!” I replied, “I’m not here casting stones. I’m here because someone took the time to share Christ with me. Nobody in this building is beyond forgiveness. I need forgiveness, they do, and so do you.” Jesus clarifies that after we are made aware of our true spiritual condition, that we are to be humble/meek toward others, no longer thinking of ourselves as anything spiritually superior, Matthew 5:5.
From time to time I see people who claim to be God’s messengers, standing on street corners with signs that read, “Homosexuals will burn in hell,” along with some Bible verse scribbled underneath. That is not the gospel! That is not Christian ministry. Those fools with their obnoxious signs don’t represent the true Christian church. The church is to speak the truth in love, not scream at others, “Your sin is worse than mine!”
As a jail chaplain I remember having a conversation with one of the religious volunteers who led a Christian Bible study weekly at the jail. She called me concerned about a particular inmate and said, “I can’t minister to her, not after I read that she killed her own child!” After a brief conversation, and her unwillingness to repent of her own self-righteousness, I dismissed her from her role in the jail. If someone picks and chooses who is worthy to hear the gospel, then they have a sinful heart condition that disqualifies them from ministry. In the ten years that I’ve been a jail chaplain I’ve never once looked at an inmate’s charges. I don’t care who’s done what. I’m guilty, you’re guilty, we all fall short of God’s glory. I’m simply blessed to know Jesus and I want others to know Him too.
I’m reminded of when Jesus tells us to remove the plank from our own eye before we attempt to take the speck out of someone else’s eye, Matthew 7:3-5. The plank and the speck both represent sin. I should help correct another person by being helpful to point out and assist them in removing sin in their life, but not until I’m fit to do so by first addressing a greater sin in my own life. Once I address the greater sin which is in me, only then am I fit to assist others. The sin I should tolerate the least ought to be my own!