SUNDAY - AUGUST 24, 2025 "Defending the Reality" Acts 11:1-18

Welcome to DeSoto Hills Baptist Church.

Our Sunday morning services are weekly at 9 and 10 30 am.

You're listening to an audio recast of this past week's service.

We hope you enjoy.

God bless.

If you have your Bibles, this morning we'll be in Acts, chapter 11.

Acts 11 · chapter mention

Acts, chapter 11, looking at the first 18 verses of this chapter.

Acts 11 · chapter mention

For the past several weeks, we have been discussing and exploring the reality of how salvation came to the Gentiles along with the Jews, the reality that, from before the foundation of time, salvation was for all of mankind.

God was bringing it to to everyone and we.

We see how it didn't matter your background, it didn't matter um it.

Well, the background that we saw here in this passage was was Roman, it was an ethnic background, but we see how God God can really overcome any of our backgrounds.

He's calling people to salvation, regardless of where you come from, of any kind of background that you have.

He is calling people to salvation.

What we're going to find in our passage today, though, we see that Peter preached in Cornelius' house.

The Holy Spirit fell upon the Gentiles there, but there are some people in Jerusalem who weren't really excited about this happening.

We see, even in verse 2, it says so.

When Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcision party criticized him.

So who is this circumcision party that was criticizing Peter for proclaiming the gospel?

This is a group of people.

Many believe that it was a group of people who thought that in order to become a Christian, you had to first become a Jew, and it's not a far stretch for them to think that way.

I mean, still, at this point, the believers are probably still meeting in synagogues around uh and, and you see that jesus I mean he was a jew who celebrated all the jewish fest, festivals and and things that were going on.

So so many believe that that christians even they, weren't called christians at this point we'll see that happen next week but they thought Christians was, were a sect of Judaism, and so the thought was for for many that in order to become a follower of Christ, you first had to become a, a Jew.

But but what Peter is saying here is is no, and what, what?

What we see happen so far as the reality is, that's not the case at all.

Jesus is not calling people to Judaism, he is calling people to Christ, he is calling people to him himself.

And so what we're going to find in this passage today is that Peter explained to the Jerusalem church and to this circumcision that salvation had come to Gentiles.

Now, for us, as we look at this, we're probably not having to defend that salvation had come to Gentiles, right, because if you are a believer in here, guess what you recognize salvation has come to gentiles.

So so what is, what is the the thing here that that we are, see, we, we must see that, while we may not have to defend that salvation had come to gentiles, we should proclaim salvation to all peoples.

The call is for us to proclaim salvation to all peoples, and so the challenge for us is this to trust in Jesus and proclaim Jesus.

We're to trust and proclaim in him and hopefully, today, in this passage, we're going to see, we're going to answer the question of how did Peter defend that salvation had come to the Gentiles?

How did he defend the reality that salvation had come to the Gentiles, that salvation was for all people?

So, if you're able this morning, I encourage you to stand and invite you to stand with us as we read Acts, chapter 11, verses 1 through 18.

Acts 11:1–18

Now the apostles and the brothers who were throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God.

So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcision party criticized him, saying you went to uncircumcised men and ate with them.

But Peter began and explained it to them in order.

I was in the city of Joppa, praying and in a trance, and I saw the vision of something like a great sheet descending, being let down from heaven by its four corners, and it came down to me.

Looking at it closely, I observed animals and beasts of prey and reptiles and birds, and I said by no means, lord, for nothing uncommon or unclean has entered my mouth.

But the voice answered a second time from heaven what God has made clean, do not call common.

This happened three times and all was drawn up again into heaven.

And behold the very moment, three men arrived at the house in which we were sent to me from Caesarea, and the Spirit told me to go with them, making no distinction.

These six brothers also accompanied me and we entered the man's house and he told us how he had seen the angel stand in his house and say send to Joppa and bring Simon, who is called Peter.

He will declare to you a message by which you will be saved, you and your household.

And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell on them, just as on all of us at the beginning, and I remembered the word of God, how he said John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.

If, then, god gave the same gift to them as he gave to us then, when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to stand in God's way?

When they had heard these things, they fell silent and they glorified God, saying then to the Gentiles also God has granted repentance that leads to life.

Let's pray together.

God, you are good, and we thank you for your word.

I'm reminded here, as I read this passage, how they had heard that Gentiles had received the word of God.

God, today, may we receive the word of God.

Thank you for revealing yourself to us through this, jesus.

It's in your name we pray, amen.

So again, the question that we're seeking to answer is how did Peter defend the reality that salvation was for all people, that salvation had come to the Gentiles?

Well, it's amazing to me, as we begin this passage, that in Peter's defense here, he doesn't get angry, he doesn't get irritated, he doesn't get riled up.

You know, you come to me and accuse me of something.

I'm probably going to go on the defensive, you know.

But that's not what Peter did.

Peter, he, he began to to just simply proclaim what had happened, and here's why Peter was able to do that.

Peter understands that he is not standing in his own works.

Peter is not standing there declaring what he had done, because we know that the vision that Peter had didn't come from Peter.

The vision that Cornelius had back in chapter 10 didn't come from Cornelius.

Peter going to Cornelius' house and the Holy Spirit falling on the Gentiles there in Cornelius' house had nothing to do with Peter.

It had everything to do with God.

Peter was not making an offense for himself.

He was simply explaining what God had done and was doing.

He was standing firmly in the midst of God and in the workings of God.

So he just simply began to explain what had happened.

It's also interesting to me that these men who were coming and criticizing peter they were far more concerned that peter was fellowshipping with gentiles than he was, than they were concerned with him sharing the gospel with them.

Right there in verse three it says you went to uncircumcised men and ate with them.

If they're, if they're more concerned about peter fellowshipping with gentiles and they are sharing the gospel, which tells us a little bit of something about where they're coming from, are their hearts right in in their accusation of peter and what they're doing here.

So again, peter, he is not having to get defensive and he's not having to to do all these things.

He is simply explaining what God is doing.

And listen, there is something that we can take from this.

Listen, god does not need us to defend his actions.

God needs us to proclaim Jesus.

Let me rephrase that God doesn't need us to defend his actions.

God calls us to proclaim Jesus.

That's what we're called to do.

That's what he is calling the church here to do.

It's simply proclaim Jesus to all who may hear it.

Now, in verses 4 through 10, what Peter begins to do is explain the vision that he had seen.

This is the second time we have seen this vision, where something like a sheep come, or something like a sheep comes down from heaven with all kinds of animals on it and the voice says Peter, rise, kill and eat.

And Peter says I can't do that, god, I've never eaten anything unclean.

But then comes this statement and Peter begins to make his defense, explaining what God does in three statements.

This is one of those statements that he makes.

This is the second time we've heard the vision, but it's the third time we've really heard this statement.

The repetition of the statement should cause us to pause and go.

Okay, there's something here.

There's something that we need to understand, there's something that we need to see, and we find that statement in verse 9, when he says what God has made clean, do not call common.

Now, if you were here, you heard me discuss how this vision of Peter's was more than dealing with dietary laws of the Jews.

It went much deeper than that.

But for us to understand that, let's go back for just a minute and try to understand why.

What were the dietary laws of Jews?

What were they saying to us?

Well, if you go back to Leviticus, chapter 20.

Leviticus 20 · chapter mention

In Leviticus, chapter 20, verses 24 through 26, god says this but I have said to you, you shall inherit their land and I will give it to you to possess.

Leviticus 20:24–26

24 through 26, god says this and the unclean bird from the clean.

You shall not make yourselves detestable by beast or by bird or by anything with which crawls on the ground, which I have set apart for you to hold you clean, to hold unclean.

You shall be holy to me, for I, the Lord, am holy and have separated you from the peoples that you should be mine.

See what what God is calling in the dietary laws of the Jews, and really a lot of the laws of the Jews were more about separateness than being clean and unclean.

God had set Israel apart.

He had separated them from the nations and he had done so for really two reasons.

One of the biggest reasons not if, if, not one of the the biggest reason, the greatest reason that God had separated Israel out from the rest of the nations is because he had chosen Israel and it was through them that the Messiah would come.

He had separated them out and they were to be to to obey these dietary laws, because it was making them special, it was setting them apart.

It is setting them aside to be holy to God, because they are going to be the people through whom the Messiah would come.

But a second aspect of this is that Israel was also supposed to be the nation, separated from the rest of the world, who would demonstrate to the rest of the world what it looked like to worship the one true God.

When they obeyed the laws and did what was supposed to do, the nations would be able to look at Israel and go oh, that's the God I want to serve, that's the God I want to worship.

So these dietary laws were really about separating them out.

But then Jesus comes, and in Jesus coming we have to look at the law a little differently.

Jesus didn't come to abolish the law, scripture tells us, but he came to fulfill the law.

And in fulfilling of the law, and because he had fulfilled the law, we have to look at the law a little bit differently.

So in mark chapter 17, jesus explains that a little bit more, not mark 17.

In mark chapter 7, verse 14, jesus says this.

Mark 7:14

And he called the people to him again and said to them hear me, all of you, and understand.

There is nothing outside a person that, by going into him, can defile him.

But the things that come out of a person are what defile him.

And we had.

When he had entered the house and left the people, his disciples asked him about the parable.

He said to them then you are also without understanding.

Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot, he said to them, out of a person is what defiles him.

For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts.

Sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness.

All these evil things come from within and they defile a person.

So the law is looking at the law and Jesus being the fulfillment of the law.

What he has done and what he did is he came so that all people can be the people of God, all those who believe in him.

And so now his call to the disciples and to his followers are to follow him.

Call to the disciples and to his followers are to follow him.

It's not about the, the, the dietary laws and all these laws anymore now.

It's about following him and obeying him and doing what he says to do.

So.

Now, as we come back to acts, what is he saying?

Because the statement in acts, the statement in Acts, the statement that he says is what God has made clean do not call common.

So is he calling all Gentiles clean?

Well, by no means is he doing that.

By no means is he doing that.

Paul really summarizes what he says.

Well, in Romans, chapter 10, verses 12 and 13.

Romans 10:12

He says this For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing His riches on all who call on Him.

For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

So what God has done through Jesus Christ and through his coming and through his living and through his dying and through his rising again.

What God has done is he has made a way, regardless of your background, regardless of your nationality, regardless of your ethnicity, regardless of where you grew up, regardless of what you've done in the past, regardless of all your background, what God has now done through Jesus Christ and through his death and resurrection on the cross, what God has done has made a way for everyone, jew or Gentile who calls on the name of the Lord to be saved, gentile who calls on the name of the lord to be saved.

So, so, as peter is defending what god is doing, he is just simply explaining.

Here's what god said.

He gave me this vision.

Here's what it means.

He goes on and there's a second statement that I think is really big and I think really holds on here to what he's saying.

He says in verse 17,.

If, then, god gave the same gift to them as he gave to us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I, that I could stand in God's way.

See, here's what Peter did.

He explained his vision and then he told about the vision of Cornelius.

He told about how God, an angel, came to Cornelius and sent for Peter.

But in 13, there's a detail that is added here.

There's a detail that is added, actually, in verse 14 that we haven't seen yet in Cornelius's vision.

We've heard Cornelius's vision a couple of times also, but there's a detail added here that we haven't seen yet.

Again, just like repetition caused us to stop and look at this first statement Again, just like repetition caused us to stop and look at this first statement, a new detail should cause us to stop and look to look at this statement.

But in verse 13 and 14, he says and he told us how he had seen an angel stand in his house and say Send to Joppa and bring Simon, who is called Peter.

Here's the added detail in verse 14.

He will declare to you a message by which you will be saved, you and your household.

We haven't seen him say this yet.

So Peter's vision, peter's explanation here, is coming and saying listen, cornelius' vision sent that I should come and declare the gospel so that they will be saved.

He goes on.

As he is preaching this and as he is defending this, he brings to mind Acts, chapter 1, verse 5, that we referenced last week.

Acts 1:5

In Acts, chapter 1, verse 5, jesus is speaking and he said For John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.

Acts 1:5

Well, when we read Acts and we read Acts 1-5, a lot of times we're not thinking about Acts 10.

We're thinking about Acts 2.

What happened in Acts 2 is the day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit came upon the Jews who were sitting in the upper room.

And at that moment, when the Holy Spirit came upon them, they go back to Acts 1-5 and go oh, this is what he was talking about John baptized with water.

We're being baptized with the Holy Spirit.

I see it Now as Peter is experiencing what the Holy Spirit working in Acts 10 and defending that working in Acts 11, he's going oh, this is the same thing that happened to us in Acts 11.

He's going oh, this is the same thing that happened to us in Acts 2.

We weren't expecting it and the Holy Spirit came and we were baptized with the Holy Spirit and all the things that happened.

They are happening now to these Gentiles in Cornelius' house.

If God is doing this, who am I to stand in the way of God doing that?

I better not, because listen, hear me, when we stand in the way of what God is doing.

It is not going to be good for us, because, understand this God's will is going to be accomplished.

Understand this God's will is going to be accomplished.

God is going to do what God is going to do.

The thing is, god just invites us to be a part of it, and when he invites us to be a part of it and we refuse to be a part of it, we bear the responsibility of rejecting.

And really, what we are bearing the responsibility of doing is standing against God.

May it never be.

May we not do that.

May we hear the call of God and stand with him.

And here's the call of God.

After they receive power from the Holy Spirit, what they were supposed to do, acts, chapter 1, verse 8, but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the uttermost parts of the earth.

Acts 1:8

For the Jews, when they receive the Holy Spirit, they've gotten the power.

Now here's what you're supposed to do Be my witnesses in the world.

For the Gentiles, they've received power from the Holy Spirit and now here's what they're supposed to do Be my witnesses in the whole world.

De Soto heals, once we believe in Jesus and we receive the Holy Spirit.

Here's what we're supposed to do be his witnesses to the whole world, recalled to trust in him and proclaim his name.

Then, finally, the whole defense is summed up even better, even better, at really the end of this passage, in verse 18.

When they had heard these things, they fell silent and they glorified God, saying Then to the Gentiles also God has granted repentance that leads to life For the Gentiles.

They now have the opportunity to believe in Jesus, what we've talked about week after week, to repent and place their faith in God alone, to believe in Him, and that repentance leads to life.

Listen, I don't know where you are today.

Life, listen, I don't know where you are today.

I don't know if you've ever believed in Jesus, but listen, because he offered repentance that leads to life to Cornelius and his household and because he brought that to the Gentiles.

Hear me, he has brought that to us and, just like I said earlier, I know the difference in the Jews and the Romans.

It was more of a, it was a cultural and it was an ethnic and it was a nationality.

It was all this huge background.

Listen, here's what he's saying.

God can overcome every background.

Listen, I've heard it.

I've heard every excuse that known to man of why not to come to Jesus.

Grant you, I've heard every excuse that no, known to man of why not to come to Jesus.

God you.

Grant you don't know what I've done.

Grant you don't know what I've come from.

Grant you don't know my family situation.

Grant you don't know all of this stuff.

No, I don't.

But listen, hear me, god does, and he can overcome it all.

And he did when Jesus came and he died on the cross and he arose.

And now he offers salvation to you.

He offers to you, hear me, repentance that leads to life.

And if you have never trusted in jesus christ, may today be the day of salvation.

Or if you have?

If you have, are you standing in god's way or if you have?

If you have, are you standing in God's way?

He has called us.

You say, grant, I don't know what I'm supposed to do.

Start with what you do know.

I've said that before too.

We do know this.

When we believe in Jesus and receive the power of the Holy Spirit, we are to be His witnesses to the world.

We are to proclaim Jesus.

Simple question Are you proclaiming Jesus Tomorrow when you go to work, when you go to school, when you hang out with your friends this afternoon, when you get together with your family?

Are you proclaiming Jesus Not just in your actions, but also in your words?

You will be my witnesses.

Listen.

If not today, may today be a day of repentance when we understand our call and we obey him.

We're about to enter into a time of invitation.

We're going to sing a hymn and we invite you to come.

If you've never trusted Christ as your Savior, may today be the day of salvation for you.

If you have, but you need to repent and follow him and trust him, may today be that for you.

Let's pray God, we love you.

We thank you for today and we thank you for how you love us.

God.

Today, during this invitation, you be lifted high and draw people to you.

Jesus, it's in your name.

We pray amen.

Let's stand this morning as we sing this hymn of invitation.

We invite you to come again.

If you've never trusted Christ as your savior, now is the time thanks for listening to this week's sermon.

If you have any questions for our pastor, now is the time.