Then Peter opened his mouth and said: “In truth I perceive that God shows no partiality. But in every nation whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him.”
Acts 10:34-35
We ought to all be praising God and singing “Hallelujah!” after reading the above verses! What hope would any of us have if God showed partiality? We have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God! (Rom 3:23) We’re not up to par with His standards. Surely, if He had any prejudice, none of us could dwell with Him in eternity. Thank God that our natural birth has no bearing on our eternal well-being. Whether a member of the royal family or a child of a beggar, no one is born fit for the courts of the King of kings! But, praise be to His holy name, God shows no partiality for “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved”! (Rom 10:13)
The Roman centurion Cornelius had some pretty major blind spots. When Peter first entered his house, we read that, “Cornelius met him and fell down at his feet and worshiped him.” (Act 10:25) Worshiping anyone or anything other than God is idolatry! Worship is reserved for God alone. Just ask the angel at whose feet John fell in Rev 22:8-9. The angel’s quick response was, “See that you do not do that…Worship God.” Peter didn’t let Cornelius stay in his ignorance and error. He did instruct him against that behavior stating, “Stand up; I myself am also a man.” (Act 10:26) However, Peter didn’t belittle him and rebuke him harshly for his foolish actions. Peter saw instead a man that God had accepted, so how could Peter refuse him?!!
Oh, my brethren, I fear we are often too quick to draw lines, to judge and condemn! Cornelius was walking faithfully in every bit of the light he had. Yes, he lacked understanding, but that’s the whole reason Peter was there! Have we crossed the paths of souls that might have benefited from the light God has given us, but our prejudice kept us silent and separate from them? Have we crossed the paths of others that had greater light than we do, yet our prejudice kept us from hearing and benefiting from their words? God forbid that either be so! Listen to God’s record of Cornelius earlier in the chapter: “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.” (Act 10:1-2) I dare say that Cornelius had a greater witness than many claiming the name of Christ today though he still lacked much understanding!
In Act 18:24-28, we meet a man named Apollos who was “eloquent” and “mighty in the Scriptures”. He “had been instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in spirit, he spoke and taught accurately the things of the Lord, though he knew only the baptism of John.” Apollos was teaching all he knew, but in light of the revelation of Christ that God had made known in that age, he was a bit behind the curve. When Aquila and Priscilla heard him, we read “they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately.” Now if either Apollos or Aquila and Priscilla had let prejudice keep them from one another, things never would have turned out as they did. Apollos would have stayed in darkness, and the church never would have benefited from his labor; however, Aquila and Priscilla’s patience with him in his ignorance along with Apollos’ desire to know God better made it possible for him to become a mighty preacher of the gospel who “greatly helped those who had believed through grace; for he vigorously refuted the Jews publicly, showing from the Scriptures that Jesus is the Christ.” May we exhibit the same care and patience with others as well as the same desire to learn and grow in Christ, remembering what Peter learned that day he encountered Cornelius: “in every nation whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him.”
Jamie