I hope that everyone realizes by now that the scripture that we have just read is a Biblical commentary on the scripture that we have been studying for the last month in Acts 10.
This is Peter’s explanation of what happened in the house of Cornelius and the things which lead to it.
And what was it that took place there?
Secondly, he was giving them the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Jewish Messiah.
And while doing that the Holy Spirit came upon those Gentiles,
In such that way that the Jewish visitors were convinced that this was a miracle of God.
And then Peter and the others stayed in that home for several days teaching the things of God.
So when news about what had happened in Caesarea reached them, some of them demanded a congressional investigation.
“And when Peter was come up to Jerusalem, they that were of the circumcision contended with him, Saying, Thou wentest in to men uncircumcised, and didst eat with them.”
Now, I don’t want to change in any way the language of the Bible, or even the questions in their hearts,
But I would like to alter their perspective for the purpose of this message tonight.
The Bible clearly show that the accusations against Peter grew out of their Jewish prejudices.
You even ate their unorthodox and unkosher food.
Explain yourself.”
I remember offering some cooked octopus to one my sisters-in-law years ago.
The poor girl just about threw up every meal for the previous week, just thinking about putting an octopus tentacle in her mouth.
As my sister was in eating that octopus.
Even though I don’t like the charge laid against Peter that day, I think that I understand it.
But I’d like to suggest to you that there is a much more important question, which may or may not have been asked.
This question is doctrinal and Christian, rather than Jewish and traditional.
The fact that it wasn’t asked, or at least wasn’t recorded, indicates something about the spiritual condition and religious perspective of those people.
Instead of asking Peter to justify his visit and his food, the church should have been asking him to justify his command to have Cornelius baptized.
I won’t keep you long this evening as we consider “The Justification of Baptism.”
I mean, what sort of people were they who were immersed that day.
We’ve sufficiently examined the fact that they were Roman Gentiles.
They were born outside of the covenant with Israel.
They probably knew nothing about the law of God and thus the holiness of Jehovah until after they were stationed in Israel to keep the Jews in line.
Despite his morality and generosity toward Israel, I don’t believe that Cornelius was even a proselyte as yet, although there was a good likelihood that in the months to come he might have become one.
I think that we have sufficiently proven that despite his good character and good name, Cornelius was not a child of God before the beginning of chapter 10.
Jesus Christ is “the way, the truth and the life, no man cometh unto the Father but by” him.
“He that hath the son hath life, and he that hath not the son of God hath not life.”
The first verses of Acts 10 describe a good, moral man, but it says nothing about his faith in Christ.
But then as Peter began his gospel message and his explanation of the person and purpose of the Saviour,
At some time around Peter’s statement, “To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins,”
The Lord regenerated the heart and spirit of that man and the others who were there with him.
I say that because “while Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word.”
And they magnified the Lord, probably in the Hebrew tongue.
He said, “Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we?”
Despite the vision which he saw back in Joppa at Simon’s house,
I’m sure that Peter still had his doubts about all of this.
“Let’s find enough water to baptized these people.”
What I’m trying to say, is that the only people who were baptized that day were Christians.
At some point during Acts 10 these people were born again by the Spirit of God.
Please notice that we’re not talking about the “Baptism of Justification.”
These people were not commanded to be baptized in order to wash away their sins.
They were baptized because Peter couldn’t find any excuse NOT to baptize them.
There are millions of people who profess to be Christians, who baptize people unscripturally.
Some of them baptize people in order to cleanse them from their sins.
And some of them specifically baptize babies with that intention.
There is no Biblical grounds whatsoever to teach or do either of those things.
But some people point to passages like this one in order to say that Peter authorized infant baptism.
Then they go to Acts 16 where we read that Lydia and her entire household was saved and baptized.
And there are no commands to baptize babies.
Only Christians should be baptized.
No one should ever be baptized in order to become a Christian.
What the church in Jerusalem should have been asking Peter, was why he baptized these people.
And his reply would have been – “Because God saved them, and as such I couldn’t refuse their baptism.”
Having said all that perhaps my next point is redundant:
There isn’t even a hint of that here in either of these chapters.
Were they baptized in order to receive the Holy Spirit?
There are some Pentecostal groups who teach that the Holy Spirit does not come upon a believer until they are obedient to the Lord in baptism.
Was Cornelius baptized in order to receive the Holy Spirit?
Any home-schooled ten-year-old should be able to answer that question.
The Holy Ghost was poured out upon them in verse 45 and three verses later they were commanded to be baptized.
So why were they baptized?
Because baptism is the command of God, and it’s the Christian pattern.
John the Baptist baptized those who came to him in repentance and faith in the coming Messiah.
The disciples of the Lord Jesus baptized those who came to the Saviour.
When the Jews visiting Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost under the conviction of the Spirit wondered what they should do, they were told to repent and be baptized.
When God blessed the ministry of Philip in Samaria and people were repenting of their sins and receiving Christ, they followed their confession of faith with baptism.
When the Ethiopian believed on Christ and confessed that He is the Son of God, he and Philip went down into an oasis of water, and he was baptized.
The first thing that Saul did after his salvation and the restoration of his sight was to be baptized.
Lydia was baptized after she received Christ.
The jailor in Philipi was baptized the same night in which he was born again.
“And Crispus, the chief ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his house; and many of the Corinthians hearing believed, and were baptized.”
Why was Cornelius baptized?
Because it is the command and pattern of God.
No child of God should go long without baptism.
Why was that man baptized?
As a testimony and a statement of the grace of God.
As we have said many times,
It depicts the death, burial and resurrection of the Lord Jesus for our sins.
And it also testifies that the person baptized considers his old, sinful life as dead.
“Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:4).
People are baptized in order to say, “we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection.”
He justified the baptism of that Roman Centurion