Morning Thoughts on
Acts 10:6 |
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Elder
Phillip N. Conley |
Acts 10:6,
"He lodgeth with one Simon a tanner, whose house is by the
sea side: he shall tell thee what thou oughtest to do."
This morning, many people use
ignorance as an excuse for not doing as they ought. The
small child learns this trick very early in life when he
tells his parents, "Oh, I didn't know." However, while mercy
is enacted from time to time, justice requires nothing short
of the mark. When someone does not know the posted speed
limit, the officer of the law will still write a speeding
ticket whether the guilty party was truly ignorant or not.
When the moral code of God is broken by man, the childish
excuse, "Oh I didn't know" will not find any lodging for
mercy. All of God's regenerate children know the difference
between right and wrong (morally). The reason that they do
is that God writes His laws in their heart and inward parts.
They know God, and their conscience will smite them for
disobedience in moral matters. However, there are some
things that need to be taught.
On this occasion, we have a
devout man (Cornelius) that is about to hear the gospel of
Jesus Christ. Now, as a Gentile, Cornelius had not been
given the oracles of God (as the Jews had). But, he still
knew to do some things as Paul mentions in the second
chapter of Romans. While the law of God did not come to him
from Sinai, he kept the law and became a law unto himself
(due to the change of heart given to him by God). However,
even though he knew to pray, give alms, etc., there were
still things he needed taught.
This is the purpose of the
gospel to teach things that God's children need to know.
Peter was worked on by God to preach, and the hearers were
worked on by God to listen. Today, the circumstance is no
different. God must work on both ends to accomplish the
knowledge of salvation to His people. So, if Cornelius knew
some things, in what was he lacking? Cornelius was lacking
first and foremost about the specifics of his Saviour. When
Peter comes to preach, he preaches Jesus Christ and Him
crucified. The born-again child of God knows his Lord, but
he knows very little about the specifics of his Lord until
the gospel brings it to light. As the people found when
making contact with Helen Keller (the girl born deaf, blind,
and dumb), her response about Jesus was, "Oh, I already knew
Him, but I didn't know what you called Him." She knew her
Lord, and Cornelius knew his Lord. However, the gospel
teaches us about our Lord. Still, the gospel teaches more.
The angel tells Cornelius that he is going to learn some
things he ought to do. The gospel acquaints the child of God
with the specifics of the commandments. The gospel acquaints
the child of God with the specifics of discipleship. While
Cornelius was doing many righteous acts before he gospel
came, the gospel explains to him that man is not to be
worshipped (after he fell down to worship Peter). The gospel
informs him and convicts him of the necessity of baptism.
The gospel explains that the believer in Christ will receive
remission of sins (relief from the weight and burden on a
daily basis).
While Christ has put our sins away, we stand in daily need
of relief from our wrongdoings. These are things that we
ought to do, and the gospel testifies to these things. When
an Arminian says, "Well, if you say that preaching the
gospel has no impact on someone landing in heaven or hell,
then your gospel has no purpose, weight, or meaning." The
truth of the matter is that the gospel is of immense value
right now for the instruction and edification of God's
children while they walk and sojourn here below. When
thinking of a parent's attitude toward their children,
parenting has no impact on a child's eternal destination.
However, no parent (with any love for their child) would
just say, "Well, since I can't get them to heaven, I have
nothing that I can do for them." The parent's teaching and
training can keep a child from landing in many undesirable
situations in this life, and the attitude of the gospel
minister should be to instruct the sheep to not be tossed to
and fro in this world like a child with no understanding.
May we ever grow in grace and knowledge of our Lord and
Saviour and intently listen to the gospel of our salvation
to find out how we ought to behave and what we ought to do.
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