Oct 05, 2014

Acts 10:1-8

Michael Emerson, a Rice University sociologist and leader of the Multiracial Congregations Project, has defined a “diversified church as one where no particular racial group makes up more than 80% of a congregation.” 

Using this particular standard, Emerson speculates that only 8% of all American, Christian congregations can be classified as multiracial. Is there then any wonder Martin Luther King, Jr. once remarked “the most segregated hour of Christian America is eleven o'clock on Sunday morning?” 

Though it’s true there have been times when the America church was complicit in fostering racial divisions and in doing so misrepresented the essence of the Gospel message, today I think the criticism that the church is lagging behind the rest of society when it comes to diversifying fails to take into account two important realities:

1. Since a local church is designed to reach the community around it, a church can do nothing more than simply reflect the ethnic makeup of that particular community. 

A few years ago Dustin Cable of the University of Virginia’s Weldon Center for Public Service created a high resolution map of America aimed at illustrating the locations and ethnicities of every single American using data from the 2010 census. To accomplish this he assigned each race a specific color (caucasians were blue, blacks were green, hispanics were orange, asians were red, and others were brown) before placing all 308,745,538 dots across the map. 

In doing this Cable was able to visually illustrate a profoundly disappointing reality concerning America. While most American cities initially showed vast swaths of purple presenting what appeared to be racial diversity, the closer you zoomed onto each city the more patterns of racial segregation on the neighborhood level became apparent. 

Now my purpose this morning is not to explore the reasons why American neighborhoods are so segregated (clearly this is a complicated by racial, economic, and political interests), but is instead to explain how unfair it is to blame a local church for not possessing a diversified congregation when the very community it exists to serve doesn’t even transcend Michael Emerson’s 80% threshold itself! 

With few exceptions African American, Hispanic, Korean, and White dominated churches are segregated only because the communities in which they exist lack  ethnic diversity!

2. Data shows the universal church is the most diversified organization on the planet. 

According to the latest Pew Research study on Christianity conducted in 2010, of the roughly 2.8 billion Christians living across the world…

26% of Christians live in Europe.

24% of Christians live in sub-Saharan Africa.

13% of Christians live in Asia and the Pacific.

A little under 1% of Christians live in the Middle East and Northern Africa.

And more than 1/3 of all Christians worldwide live in the Americas (37%).

The unique ability of Christianity to transcend ethnic barriers becomes even more apparent when you consider that of the approximate 300 million people living in America 78% of whites, 85% of blacks, 45% of asians, and 84% of hispanics claim to be Christian.

Amazingly, while the local church might reflect the individual ethnic cultures that dominate their communities, the church as a whole is hardly segregated. In actually, you would be hard-pressed to find a better example of a genuine, multicultural, racially diverse, global movement than a typical Sunday morning when Christian saints across the world gather to worship God.

Though the church is a cultural cornucopia - a racial kaleidoscope of color, this reality becomes all the more amazing when you consider the origins of Christianity.

I mean how does a religious movement started by a Jewish carpenter living in first-century Judea grow to impact every nation on the planet, especially when the people who formed the first church were not multiculturalists, but racists? The answer is found in Acts 10.

In his book “The Tipping Point” Malcolm Gladwell says a tipping point “is that magic moment when an idea, trend, or social behavior crosses a threshold, tips, and spreads like wildfire.” With this in mind… In many ways Acts 10 records the tipping point when the Gospel of Jesus leaped from being just a regional movement to a global phenomena. 

Understand… This one event recorded in Acts 10 is so revolutionary it single handedly change the entire course of human history! You see without Acts 10 not only would we not be here today, but most of Western civilization would have failed to materialize.

In order to grasp the full significance of Acts 10, it’s important we first start by explaining why the Jews had developed such a visceral hatred of the gentiles!

If you’ve studied the OT at any length this reality may seem strange for the long running problem of the Hebrew people had never been their hatred of the gentile world…

While God had always stressed the importance of the Israelites remaining set apart from the rest of the world, the sad tale of history was that for centuries the Jews consistently compromised by intermarrying with the gentile nations that surrounded them.

And it was because of this direct disobedience and the idolatry that followed God ended up judging His people with the 10 Northern Tribes of Israel being destroyed by Assyria and the Southern Kingdom of Judea ultimately being conquered by Babylon.  

Following a period in exile, the Jews who returned home were extremely diligent to safeguard against repeating their past mistakes. However, it was in this new found zeal that their perspective of the gentile swung to another equally sinful position. 

Because legalism dominated post-exile Judaism, the Hebrew people ended up falsely viewing their divine favor and God’s desire they remain holy as the fundamental basis for their racial prejudice and bigotry. Tragically, they believed they had been chosen by God’s because they were somehow intrinsically better than everyone else. 

Beyond this… It should also be pointed out that 500 years of being domination by global superpowers (Assyria, Babylon, Greece, Rome) only served to stoke their resentment. 

Here’s the point… It is amazing to consider that God deliberately chose to use a group of Jewish men to take the Gospel across racial barriers who since birth had been raised in a culture that taught that gentiles only existed to stoke the flames of hell and where any interaction with the outside world was strictly forbidden.

This dynamic would be like God specifically choosing members of “Westboro Baptist Church” to carry the Gospel into the homosexual communities of America.

Another component essential to our understanding of Acts 10 is that, while this was the Jewish persecutive of the day, it was completely out of line with the will of God. 

The Jews were God’s chosen people not because they were better than anyone else, but because God wanted to use them to be a light unto the unbelieving gentile world. 

Though God specifically chose to work His will in the world through the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, His plan for redemption had never been racially specific. On three separate occasions (Genesis 18:18, 22:18, 26:4) God told Abraham it would be through his seed that “all the nations of the earth would be blessed.”

And not only had this purpose been clearly stated throughout the Old Testament Scriptures, but Jesus was constantly challenging this accepted prejudice… 

His teaching: John 3:16-17, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.” 

His ministry: Mark 7 records a season of ministry in Tyre and Sidon (gentile cities).

His commission: Acts 1:8, Jesus told His followers that they “shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, in all of Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” 

Finally, it’s been said, “Old prejudices die hard.” As we approach Acts 10 please keep in mind this revolutionary moment was actually 10 years in the making. It’s as though God employed the “Baby Steps” model as laid out in the Billy Murray classic “What About Bob?” 

God knew that in order for these Hebrew Christians to willingly take the Gospel into the gentile world, several lesser but still significant “baby sets” had to occur first.

We’ve already noted two important steps forward… The Gospel moving into Samaria, and the accepting of women disciples, but there is a third tucked into the final detail of Acts 9… Luke tells us Peter “stayed many days in Joppa with Simon, a tanner.”

Why is this detail significant? Since the job of “a tanner” required Simon to work with the carcasses of dead animals, he and anyone who resided in his home would have been ceremonially unclean. In many ways Simon was a religious and social outcast!

According to Jewish traditions the home of a tanner was required to be 50 paces outside the town and down wind. As a matter of fact, the work of a tanner was viewed with such distain that becoming a tanner was legal grounds for divorce. And yet, it’s amazing to think Peter had no problems staying in the home of Simon. 

At this point Peter has taken several important baby steps… He’s rejected Jewish prejudice towards Samaritans, he’s disregarded Jewish discrimination towards women, and now he’s demonstrated an understanding that what Jesus has cleansed cannot be called unclean. 

Before we plunge into Acts 10, let me recap three things we need to keep in mind: 

1. God’s plan has always been to reach the world (Jew and Gentile) with the Gospel. 

2. The mechanism by which God would accomplish this would be through Jewish men who held long standing prejudices towards the rest of the world. 

3. Knowing what it would take for Peter to be obedient to cross this racial barrier, Jesus had to spend the last several years preparing him for this very important moment.

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Acts 10:1-2, “There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of what was called the Italian Regiment, a devout man and one who feared God with all his household, who gave alms generously to the people, and prayed to God always.”

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Luke begins this story by shifting the scene from chapter 9 to 10 in two ways: (1) We move 30 miles north from Joppa to Caesarea, and (2) We shift from Peter to Cornelius.

Note: Caesarea was build by Herod the Great to be Rome away from Rome. Because it was such an incredible engineering accomplishment, it became the capital of the Judea and ultimately home to the Roman Governor.

Profile of Cornelius:

1. Cornelius was “a centurion of what was called the Italian Regiment.”

The “Italian Regiment” was a famous “special forces” unit comprised of 1000 rigorously trained, Roman soldiers. It would seem they were stationed in Caesarea to protect the many Roman diplomates who lived there. This is an important detail for it tells us Cornelius was ethnically Roman, battle tested, and a man of discipline.

In the Roman military hierarchy a “centurion” had charge over 100 men. This means Cornelius was a man of high integrity who by his very actions would have garnered a position of leadership by earning the trust of other men.

2. Cornelius was “a devout man who feared God with all his household.”

In the Greek “devout” or “eusebês” suggested Cornelius possessed an inner piety. He was more than a reverent man, he was a man of sincerity and deep conviction. 

While we’re short on specifics, we understand from the text that Cornelius had come to recognize the true God of Israel. Sadly, though a “believer,” because of his vocation it would have been impossible for him to become an official proselyte.

In order for a gentile to worship the God of Israel it was required for that person to become a Jew by being circumcised, honoring the Sabbath, obeying the strictness of the Law, and adopting Jewish religious customs.

This is an important point for our consideration for up until this point the church held to the same basic belief. In theory anyone could become a Christian as long as they were also willing to become a Jew; and yet, the events of Acts 10 will radically challenge this entire perspective.

It should also be pointed out that Cornelius was a man of profound influence. Not only will chapter 10 illustrate the incredible impact this man had on his personal servants, the soldiers under his command, and his close friends, but Luke tells us “all of his household” had come to share his beliefs concerning the God of Israel.

Influence is a interesting word, because the role of a husband or father automatically comes with plenty of it! Men, understand your influence in your home is totally unavoidable. Your actions will either prove to be an influence for good or will prove to be damaging and destructive. It’s entirely up to you!

Fella’s, I hope you realize whether your a husband or a father God has made it your responsibility to not only to provide for and insure the emotional well-being of your family, but chief of all it is your job to care for the spiritual health of your wife and kids! 

William Arnot wrote concerning this topic, “Grace flows down like water, so that from the head of the house it reaches the youngest… Parents, bring your house to the Church; and bring the Church to your house.”

3. Cornelius “gave alms generously to the people.”

4. Cornelius “prayed to God always.”

You would think by looking at this profile of Cornelius that he was already a believer… He had a good reputation - devoutly religious - man of prayer - generous - loved people. And yet, the reality of our text is that in spite of these things Cornelius was still lost in his sins! If he had died before his exchange with Peter he would still miss heaven. 

Damian Kyle said, “The greatest threat to people coming into a personal relationship with God is not sex, drugs, and rock’n roll, but is instead when people get settled into a religious system thinking that is the way they can be saved.”

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Acts 10:3-6, “About the ninth hour of the day he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God coming in and saying to him, “Cornelius!” And when he observed him, he was afraid, and said, “What is it, lord?” So he said to him, “Your prayers and your alms have come up for a memorial before God. Now send men to Joppa, and send for Simon whose surname is Peter. He is lodging with Simon, a tanner, whose house is by the sea. He will tell you what you must do.” 

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Two Observations:

1. God not only hears the prayers of the seeker, but is willing to respond.

Once again William Arnot makes a good observation, “We know by the answer sent what the centurion’s prayer had been. The answer is an echo of the request: and the answer is to show him the way of life.” 

“He will tell you what you must do” indicates Cornelius had not only grown disenchanted with the myriad of Roman gods, but had also found the religious system of Judaism to be empty. While he believed in the true God of Israel, it’s evident the cry of his heart longed for a real and deeper experience. He’s praying, “God what do you want me to do?” 

2. God uses men, not angels, to share the Gospel message.

It’s interesting to consider the angel’s purpose was not to share the Gospel, but to direct Cornelius to a man who would share the Gospel. While the deployment of an angel was a bit unique, do you know God still works in the same way?

Though completely unknown at this point for Peter, God had responded to the cry of a man’s heart with specific instructions to seek him out! Are you ready to be used by God is a similar way? Are you open for God to use you in a similar way? 

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Acts 10:7-8, “And when the angel who spoke to him had departed, Cornelius called two of his household servants and a devout soldier from among those who waited on him continually. So when he had explained all these things to them, he sent them to Joppa.”