Acts 10: God Has No Favorites in His Church

Introduction

“My friends, God has no favorites.” David Turner preaches at All Souls Langham Place in London, in a Sunday morning series on the book of Acts titled “No Favourites.” This message covers Acts 10:1-23.

The preacher reminds us that the story begun in Acts is not over. That Sunday, he says, nearly 2.4 billion people gather in more than 37 million churches around the world to follow Jesus. And perhaps someone in the congregation will take that step before the day is out.

Acts 10 is a turning point. Two men, Peter and Cornelius, two visions, and the work of God: “four days that changed the world and opened up our era.” David Turner follows the text in three movements: God prepares Cornelius, God prepares Peter, then God arranges their meeting.

Outline of the Message

1. The Hardest Door to Open

• The gospel, which set out from Jerusalem, has spread through Judea and Samaria and is advancing to the ends of the earth, as Jesus promised in Acts 1:8.
• Peter is a catalyst in all of this. The Lord has made him a kind of door opener, the one who holds the keys of the kingdom (Matthew 16:19). For a Jewish believer from Palestine, traditional and rooted in his convictions, this was not simple. Going to the Samaritans was already difficult.
• In chapter 10, Peter faces his greatest challenge: the hardest key to turn, the door that must open to the Gentiles. “And that, you know, concerns almost all of us.”
• Luke devotes to this story the longest section in the book, from Acts 10:1 to 11:18: 66 verses. Cornelius' vision is told four times, Peter's twice, and Peter comes back to it again at the council of Jerusalem (Acts 15).
• “Without these events, I would not be standing in front of you.” Neither this building, nor a culture and a legal system shaped by Christianity, nor the worldwide phenomenon of the Christian faith would exist.

2. God Shows No Favoritism

• The heart of the passage is found in Acts 10:34-35: “Truly I perceive that God doesn’t show favoritism; but in every nation he who fears him and works righteousness is acceptable to him.”
• God makes no distinction based on race, ethnic origin, color, class, social status, education, intelligence, sex, identity, or past religion. There is no privileged circle in the church of Jesus Christ, no second-class citizens, no “first-class boarding” as you walk up the jet bridge of the gospel.
• Peter says so himself in Acts 10:28: “You know how it is an unlawful thing for a man who is a Jew to join himself or come to one of another nation, but God has shown me that I shouldn’t call any man unholy or unclean.”
• The gap between the two men seemed impossible to cross. The rabbis had interpreted the covenant with Abraham so exclusively that almost any contact with a non-Jew was considered a sin, or a potential sin. Entering a Gentile’s home made a person ritually unclean. It was even traditionally forbidden to help a Gentile woman give birth. Non-Jews were called dogs.
• “The tragedy is that Israel turned the doctrine of election into favoritism.” Yet from Genesis 12:3, God’s plan with Abraham was to bless the nations.
• Cornelius, for his part, is a Roman soldier. No group of Gentiles was more hated by the Jews of Palestine than their occupiers. The lesson holds for us: “Never dare to cross anyone off your list.” Racism, elitism, class contempt, ageism, or sexism have no place when it comes to the gospel.

3. God Prepares Cornelius (Verses 1 to 8)

• Cornelius is a centurion of the so-called Italian cohort, stationed at Caesarea, the provincial capital on the coast, about fifty kilometers north of present-day Tel Aviv. But Luke emphasizes his character more than his profession.
• Verse 2 says four things about him: he is devout, he fears God with all his household, he gives generously to the poor, and he prays regularly. “God-fearing” often refers, in the New Testament, to Gentiles drawn to the God of Israel, weary of polytheism, without having become proselytes. Verse 22 adds that he has a good reputation with the whole Jewish nation.
• David Turner remembers a judge friend invited to a Christian event, who told him: “Listen, David, I’m not a believer, but I’m an admirer.” That is a bit like Cornelius.
• He is the kind of man you would love to have as a neighbor, a colleague, a teacher for your children, or someone to keep the keys to your house. Hence an honest question: why do some of my non-Christian friends sometimes seem kinder than some Christians?
• It is right to say that a person is either dead in sin or alive in Christ. But there are respectable and loved non-Christians, sometimes our best friends. We can speak of common grace or preparation for the gospel. That does not mean they do not need Jesus.
• Cornelius’ devotion is real but incomplete. He is good, but not yet a Christian. He must believe in Jesus to receive forgiveness of sins (Acts 10:43), hear the words by which he will be saved with all his household (Acts 11:14), and receive the repentance that leads to life (Acts 11:18).

4. Three Ideas Creeping into the Church

• Universalism: everyone will eventually be saved, “hell has zero residents.” The preacher says he has the dreadful feeling that this is an implicit belief in large sections of the Church of England. It is far from what Jesus taught.
• Pluralism: there would be many paths to God, and anyone who is sincere and fears God would already be accepted. “If everything was fine, why would God go to so much trouble here to get Peter to speak to Cornelius about Jesus?”
• Inclusivism: one is saved by Christ alone, but without needing to consciously place faith in him. This, too, is not what the New Testament teaches.
• Cornelius must hear the gospel, and hear it from an apostle. That is what God arranges: at the hour of prayer, three in the afternoon, an angel tells him to send for a certain Peter in Joppa, staying with Simon the tanner, by the sea.
• Cornelius obeys simply and immediately. “The full picture is rarely clear when God gives you the next step. The question is often whether you will take it.”

5. God Prepares Peter (Verses 9 to 16)

• The next day at noon, while Cornelius’ men are on their way, Peter is praying on the roof in Joppa. Eight centuries earlier, Jonah had boarded a ship at Joppa to flee God’s call to preach to the Gentiles (Jonah 1:3). This time, it will be different.
• “It is reassuring, to me at least, to discover that the apostles themselves can be distracted during prayer.” Peter is hungry, a good meal is being prepared downstairs, and he falls into a trance.
• He sees a great sheet coming down from heaven, full of four-footed animals, reptiles, and birds, and he hears: “Rise, Peter, kill and eat.” He answers, horrified: “Not so, Lord, for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean.” Then comes the answer that still challenges prejudice across the centuries: “What God has cleansed, you must not call unclean” (verse 15). This happens three times.
• Peter is neither stubborn nor unreasonable. For him, it is a matter of holiness, obedience, identity, and faithfulness to the covenant. Leviticus 11 gives a whole list of forbidden foods, and Leviticus 20:26 shows that God’s first purpose was to set his people apart, like a wall that prevented any compromise with the Gentiles. The preacher notes that his Orthodox and Hasidic Jewish neighbors in north London still, very politely, decline his invitations to have coffee.
• That sounds harsh, he admits, but it is not so different from what parents say to their children: not every stranger is dangerous, but we still teach them never to accept sweets or get in a car with someone they do not know.
• God shows Peter that something has changed. The vision is about food, but Peter immediately understands that it concerns people. Jesus had already declared all foods clean (Mark 7:19). God does not want to change Peter’s diet, but his understanding of the church. Now that Christ has come, the old distinctions between clean and unclean, us and them, inside and outside, have disappeared. “Turn the page, Peter. Enjoy the feast.”
• The gospel began among the most religious people in the world. Yet they were told again and again that piety and good works do not solve the problem of sin. The only hope is faith in Jesus. “That was true then, and it is still true today.”

6. God Arranges the Meeting (Verses 17 to 23)

• God does not only broaden Peter’s theology, he confronts his heart. “If God has accepted us by grace, we simply have no right to build barriers that God has removed.”
• Peter wonders what the vision means (verse 17), and he thinks about it (verse 19). Cornelius’ men arrive, and the Spirit tells him: “But arise, get down, and go with them, doubting nothing; for I have sent them” (verse 20). The word translated “doubting” can also mean “making a distinction.” Don’t make a distinction, Peter.
• In verse 23, Peter does the unthinkable: he brings these Gentile men, sent by a Roman soldier, into the house and lodges them as his guests. The next day, he crosses a threshold that is both real and symbolic to meet Cornelius. What follows, a sort of Pentecost for the Gentiles, will be preached the following two Sundays.
• The church is one of the few communities in the world where people of totally different origins and backgrounds are truly united. This unity is not based on similarity but on Christ. “The world creates community by seeking out people who are alike. Christianity creates community among people who had no reason to be together.”
• Paul says it in Ephesians 2:14-15: Christ “is our peace, who made both one, and broke down the middle wall of partition, having abolished in the flesh the hostility,” in order to create in himself one new man out of the two, making peace. All of this was accomplished at the cross.
• At the end of July, David Turner was in Edinburgh for the funeral of Lord Mackay of Clashfern, who died at 99, a former Lord Chancellor under Margaret Thatcher, a remarkable Christian and a regular at All Souls. During a welcome time, a young Singaporean in his twenties, who knew nothing about him, introduced himself: he worked in IT. Lord Mackay answered in his cheerful Scottish accent: “I’m James, and I work in law.” “That is how things should be.”

7. Are You Peter, or Are You Cornelius?

• All Souls is not a perfect church. A text like this forces us to examine our hearts: “Is it possible that I am a partial Christian?” Some barriers are obvious: race, class, language, intelligence, nationality, immigration status. Others are more subtle: political disagreements, a complicated family situation, a past that embarrasses us, an appearance or a lifestyle, questions that threaten us, people who do not fit the respectable Christian mold.
• “Look at people through the cross. What God has cleansed, you must not call unclean.” No threshold is too complicated for the gospel to cross.
• First question: are you Peter? You did not have his vision and you are not an apostle. But God may be preparing your steps so that you can be the Peter to a Cornelius: someone in your class, your office, your family, your neighborhood, or your sports club. The church encouraged everyone to use a guide called “Fisherman” to identify two people and pray for them. Whom are you leaving off your list? Are there people you would, deep down, rather not see at church? “Never, ever be a partial Christian.”
• Second question: are you Cornelius? People say you are a good, sincere, trustworthy person. You have Christian friends, you like what the church brings, you pray sometimes, and you support good causes. But you may still be an admirer, not a believer. “Your sincerity is not enough. Your goodness is not enough. You still need Christ.”
• Cornelius repented and believed in Christ, and it was one of the greatest moments in history. Even today, somewhere in the world, someone is turning to Jesus. “Do not put off a decision you know in your heart you must make. No border in the world is big enough to keep you from coming to Jesus Christ.”

Key Takeaways

• God has no favorites: in the church of Jesus Christ, there is no privileged circle and there are no second-class citizens.
• A devout and generous life like Cornelius’ is precious, but it does not replace faith in Jesus for the forgiveness of sins.
• God prepares both sides of a meeting: the one who must hear the gospel and the one who must proclaim it.
• If God has accepted us by grace, we have no right to build the barriers he tore down at the cross.
• The unity of the church is based not on similarity, but on Christ.

Personal Application

1. Which people have you, consciously or not, crossed off your list when it comes to sharing the gospel?
2. Among your barriers, which ones are subtle: politics, someone’s past, their lifestyle, their questions?
3. Who could be your “Cornelius” this year, and which two people can you begin to pray for?
4. If you recognize yourself in Cornelius, an admirer rather than a believer, what is holding you back from coming to Jesus today?
5. When God shows you the next step without the full picture, are you ready to obey as quickly as Cornelius did?

Verses Cited

• Acts 10:1-23
• Acts 10:28
• Acts 10:34-35
• Acts 10:43
• Acts 11:14
• Acts 11:18
• Acts 1:8
• Acts 15
• Matthew 16:19
• Genesis 12:3
• Jonah 1:3
• Leviticus 11
• Leviticus 20:26
• Mark 7:19
• Ephesians 2:14-15

Frequently Asked Questions

What does “God shows no favoritism” mean in Acts 10?

For David Turner, it means that God has no favorites when it comes to the promise of forgiveness. He makes no distinction of race, color, class, status, education, or past religion. In the church of Jesus Christ, there is no privileged circle and there are no second-class citizens.

Was Cornelius already saved before meeting Peter?

No. Cornelius is devout, generous, and prays regularly, but he does not yet know the gospel. His sincerity is real but incomplete. He needs to believe in Jesus to receive forgiveness of sins through his name (Acts 10:43) and to hear the words by which he and all his household will be saved (Acts 11:14).

Why does the vision of the sheet concern people and not just food?

The vision is about clean and unclean animals, but Peter immediately understands that the main application concerns people. God is not trying to change his diet: he is changing his understanding of the church. Peter says so himself in Acts 10:28: God has shown him that he should not call any man unholy or unclean.