Acts 10:34-43—God accepts us by forgiving us for Jesus’ sake (verse
43). The glory of God is seen in the
anointing of Jesus as Messiah by the gift of the Spirit and in His life of
doing good, made possible by God’s being with Him. Peter, in a sermon to Cornelius, tells the
story of the Gospel. The passage is a part of Peter’s sermon to Cornelius and his
family in Caesarea. It marks the giving of the Gospel to the Gentiles. In this
sermon Peter reminded his listeners how Jesus, after His baptism when He
received the Spirit, went about preaching and healing. Peter says he was one of
the witnesses to Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection. Faith in Jesus brings
forgiveness of sin. How does this lesson relate to Jesus’ baptism? Peter sees
Jesus’ baptism as the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, testifies to the fact that
at baptism Jesus received the Spirit and power to carry out His ministry, and
tells Cornelius that forgiveness, which is endemic to baptism, comes from faith
in Jesus.
“But in every nation, anyone who fears Him and does what is right is
acceptable to Him.” (Acts 10:35
The key to this verse
is that God accepts those who fear and obey Him, It is Jesus Christ alone who
has done just that. The glory of God is seen in the appointing of Jesus as
Messiah by the gift of the Spirit and in His life of doing good, made possible
by the Father being with Him.,
The great marvel of
Christmas is that God becomes human. The great marvel of Epiphany is that this
man is also true God. Being both true God and true man; Jesus is the Savior of
all men. For those of Jewish origin at
the time of the early church this was a tremendous challenge to faith. Even the
Apostle Peter, after being filled with the Holy Ghost on Pentecost could
believe this truth only virtue of a special vision fro, God. (Vv.9-16)
In the book of Acts Cornelius
is the third Gentile to become a member of the household of faith. (The
Ethiopian eunuch Acts 8:27; while Nicolas the proselyte becoming the first in
Acts 6:5) In this special outreach of the Lord He teaches us again in a very
special way just who is acceptable to God.
How does one become acceptable to God? If you can meet two conditions;
fear God and do what is right.
Man’s problem is that
he often does not understand the consequences of sin, namely, God’s just anger
and our eternal separation from Him. There is more than just feeling guilty.
Every person of every land in every condition of life is affected by sin. The consequences
in this life and in eternity are dreadful unless one is rescued from them by
God through His Son Jesus.
This is where good
news comes for even though there is not one person who can fear God and do
right God still can accept you for Jesus’ sake. Jesus is the only one who
feared God perfectly; He did what is right for your benefit. He has delivered
every person from the guilt, punishment and slavery of sin so that in His life,
new life now and life in eternity is now yours.
A Collect for the Baptism
of our Lord: Almighty, eternal God, when the Spirit descended upon Jesus
at His baptism in the Jordan, You revealed Him as Your own beloved Son. Keep
us, Your children born of water and the Spirit, faithful to our calling. We ask
this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives and reigns with You and
the Holy Spirit, One God, forever and ever. [2]
Collect for 05 January: Lord, fill our hearts with your light,
May we always acknowledge Christ as our Savior and be more faithful to his
gospel, for he lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever
and ever. Amen [3]
[1]
Baptism of Jesus, © Ed Riojas, Higher Things
[2]
Collect for the Baptism of our Lord, Lutheran Service Book, © 2006 Concordia
Publishing House
[3]
Collect for 05 January, For All the Saints, A Prayer Book For and By the
Church, Vol. III © 1995 The American Lutheran Publicity Bureau, Delhi, NY
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