Conversion of a Religious Man

Acts 10-11

Alan Lewis
Elon, North Carolina
August 2013

Two men in this chapter receive a divine revelation from God.  There is a double vision here.  Cornelius receives a vision and so does Peter.  Both received a revelation in the context of prayer.  Cornelius was praying at his house and Peter was praying on his rooftop.

Peter is Jewish (a Jewish Christian) and Cornelius is a Gentile.  Peter is saved and Cornelius is unsaved at the time of the vision. God prepared Cornelius to hear the gospel through a vision, just as He prepares Muslims through visions today.

Cornelius receives a VISION (όραμα).  He sees an angel.  Peter falls into a TRANCE (έστασις).  Peter doesn’t see an angel but he does see the heavens open and hears a voice.  A trance is a little different from a vision.  They are two different Greek words.  A trance is like a dream.  You are not fully conscious in a trance.

Last week, we looked at the conversion of a man named Saul.  Today, we look at the conversion of a man named Cornelius.  We have these two conversions back-to-back.  They have many similarities.


1) Both were important men

Saul was a very important person in his day.  He very well educated.  He was the head persecutor of the church.  If he wanted some papers from the high priest, the most important religious leader in his day, all he had to do was to go and ask for them.  Cornelius was important as well.  He was in the army.

He was a professional fighter trained in hand-to-hand-combat.  He was not just a SOLDIER the Roman army, he was A LEADER  of soldiers.  He had one hundred solders under his command in the Roman army.  That is what the word centurion means (ruler over one hundred).

Cornelius was probably like a captain in the army today.  A US army captain is in charge of one hundred or two hundred soldiers.  Cornelius was a leader.  He led other men.  He was captain over one hundred foot soldiers.  He had an important job.

2) Both were religious men

Saul was zealous for the law and the traditions of his fathers.  He was very religious.  Cornelius was religious as well.  He attended the synagogue.  He prayed regularly.  He feared God.  Both were not only religious, they worshiped the same God.

Saul worshiped Jehovah and so did Cornelius.  Cornelius was a God-fearer.  He wasn’t a full convert to Judaism because he did not go through with the rite of circumcision but he did give up his pagan background.

Cornelius stopped worshiping the many gods that the Romans worshiped and began to worship the God of Israel and so did his whole household (wife, children, and slaves).  Apparently, he was not just a leader in the army; he was a leader in his home as well. He was the spiritual leader in his household. He didn’t say that religion is a private matter.

3) Both were unsaved men

They were both unsaved.  On the surface, Cornelius looks like a saved man. He is religious.  He prays.  He fears God.  He is righteous.  He is moral.  He gives to the poor. Cornelius looks like he is saved.  Some commentators have said that he was saved but he was not.  We know that from Acts 11 when Peter tells the story of Cornelius again.


Apparently, Cornelius was not saved until Peter came and preached the gospel to him (cf. 10:43; 11:18).

4) Both were not saved on their own

Saul did not come to faith on his own.  Jesus had to appear to him.  He had to see a supernatural light which was so bright that it knocked him over and blinded him.  He had to hear a heavenly voice which called him by name.  He needed someone else to baptize him.

Cornelius did not come to faith on his own.  An angel had to appear to him, an apostle had to travel thirty miles to preach to him and the Holy Spirit had to fall on him.  Both Saul and Cornelius had a divine revelation.

5) Believers had to be prepared for their salvation

God had to prepare Ananias for the conversion of Paul with a vision.  God had to prepare Peter for the conversion of Cornelius with a vision.  Neither one were ready for them.  In Acts 9, we saw that it was harder to convince Ananias than it was convince Saul. In Acts 10, we see that it was harder to prepare Peter than it was to prepare Cornelius.  God told Peter to do something and he said “no” three times.


1) One had a good reputation and one had a bad reputation.

Saul was a good guy and Cornelius was a bad guy.  Saul was doing bad things.  He was going around doing bad things.  He was killing people and terrorizing the church.  He was the chief of sinners.  Cornelius was a good man.  He was a moral man (10:22).  He gave money to the poor generously (10:2).

He was well-respected among the Jews (10:22), which is in itself is amazing.  The Roman army was one of the greatest armies the world has ever known and the Jews did not think too highly of Roman soldiers because they were occupying their country.  Cornelius was in the Roman army and the Jews still liked him.  He had a great reputation.

2) One was a Jew and one was a Gentile

Saul was a Jew.  He called himself “a Hebrew of Hebrews”.  Cornelius was a God-fearer. He worshiped the true God but he was not a Jew by birth.  He was not Jewish. He was not Christian.  He was a Roman.  Racially, he was an Italian.  He was a Gentile.

3) One was open to the gospel and one was antagonistic

Cornelius was what we call today “a seeker”.  He was open to the gospel.  Saul was completely antagonistic.  He was trying to stamp it out and kill Christians.

Cornelius’ Vision

Cornelius prays and receives a vision of an angel.  He describes him as a man in shining clothes (10:30). What was his reaction to the vision?  Terror, fear (10:4).  He says, “What do you want?”  The angel praises Cornelius for all of the good that he is doing but says, “If you want to be saved, go get Peter and have him preach to you”.

The angel tells him what city Peter was in.  He was Joppa (thirty miles away) and who he was staying with (Simon the Tanner). The angel says, “I want you to find Simon Peter who is staying at the house of another Simon (Simon the Tanner)”. There are two Simons here.

This raises a few questions.  Why didn’t the angel explain the gospel to Peter?  The angel did not tell him the plan of salvation.  God uses people to preach the gospel, not angels.  Why didn’t the angel say, “Go find Peter and talk to him”? He said, “Go get Peter and have him come to you”.  Why?  There were a number of reasons.

Peter was able to preach to more people that way, because Cornelius had invited all of his Gentile friends over to his house.  Peter got a chance to preach the gospel not just to Cornelius but to all of his friends.

The other reason is that God not only wanted to change Cornelius, He wanted to change Peter was well and break down some of his prejudices by inviting him into the home of a Gentile.  He is going to kill two birds with one stone.

Peter’s Trance

The next day, Cornelius sends three men (two servants and one soldier) to Joppa to get Peter. Before they get there, God gives Peter a vision as well.  God tells Peter that he is going to have some visitors and that he is to go with them. That is a little strange.  He doesn’t even tell him why, just that he has sent them.

He also received a vision.  This vision happened to be about food – animals in a sheet (pigs in a blanket). Peter saw a lot of unclean animals in his vision.  The vision said, “Get up, Peter. Kill and eat!”

Peter’s response was interesting.  God tells him to do something.  Peter was hungry at the time and he still said no.  Peter basically said, “I have never done this before and am not going to do it now. It goes against all of my Jewish training”.  It is a violation of the OT and all of the Levitical food laws.

God had to say it three times.  Peter was a slow learner.  I don’t know if he was ADD but Peter had to hear things three times (“Do you love me?  Do you love me?  Do you love me?  Feed my sheep. Feed my sheep. Feed my sheep”).  Peter’s response each time was, “No”.

What he said was “Not so, Lord” or “No way, Lord”.  This was Peter’s typical response.  Peter always told you exactly what he thought.  He was not afraid to tell Jesus he was wrong, contradict Him or even rebuke Him on occasion.

“From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.  Peter took him aside and began to REBUKE him. “NEVER, LORD!” he said. “This shall NEVER happen to you!”  (Matthew 16:21-22)

“Then Jesus told them, “This very night you will all fall away on account of me, for it is written: ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’ But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee.’  Peter replied, ‘Even if all fall away on account of you, I NEVER will.’” (Matthew 26:31-33)


He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?” Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.” “No,” said Peter, “you shall NEVER wash my feet.” Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.” (John 13:3-8)

Many have pointed out that the words “not so, Lord” are an oxymoron.  You cannot say “No” and “Lord” in the same sentence. If you say “No”, you can’t say “Lord”.  If you say “Lord”, you can’t say “No”. Those two words do not go together.  This was a strange vision and Peter was trying to figure out what it meant.  Peter was receiving brand new revelation.

In the Law of Moses, there were clean and unclean foods.  Now God says that ALL foods are clean.  Nothing is unclean after God cleanses it.  God can take people that are unclean and he can cleanse them.  He can take food that is unclean and he can cleanse it.  That is what he does here.  It’s okay to eat pork now.  You can now have bacon for breakfast.

You don’t have to eat only kosher foods.  This does not seem like a big deal to us but to Peter it was huge.  God was now saying that it was okay to disobey Leviticus 11.  God was the one who gave the law in the first place.  God has the right to abolish these Jewish dietary laws.

Peter received this vision but was not told what it meant.  As Peter was thinking about this vision, three Gentiles knocked on his door.  Peter knew that he was not supposed to eat unclean foods but God told him to do it in a dream.  He knew that he was not supposed to go with Gentiles into their home but the Spirit told him to do it, so he goes but he takes six men with him.

Cornelius’ house was thirty miles away. When he gets there, what does Cornelius do?  “As Peter entered the house, Cornelius met him and fell at his feet in reverence.” (10:25). He was probably not trying to worship Peter, as some Bibles read.  Cornelius was not an idol worshiper and would not have honored Peter as a god.  He was just showing extreme respect for the man but Peter immediately rebukes him.

He says, “Stand up, I am only a man.”  The irony here is that the Roman Catholic Church believes that the Pope is the successor to Peter.  What do they do when they see him?  They get on their knees and kiss his ring.  It is not only allowed, it is expected.  Peter had much more authority than popes today.

He was an apostle of Jesus Christ.  He could raise the dead and write books of Scripture and yet he seemed to be much more humble than leaders today who demand far more reverence than he did

When Peter gets there, he not only finds Cornelius but all of his friends and relatives.  Cornelius told him about his vision of an angel and Peter began preaching.  What did he preach?  He preached about the ministry, death and resurrection of Jesus.  He mentions Jesus dying on a cross.  Cornelius could relate a little bit to that because Jesus was actually killed by Roman soldiers.




What happened next was a little shocking.  “WHILE PETER WAS SPEAKING THESE WORDS, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message” (10:44).  While he was preaching, the Holy Spirit fell on these people and He fell visibly.  He did not have an altar call.

Peter was still preaching. The Holy Spirit interrupted his sermon.  He did not even wait until Peter was done preaching.  God has a sense of humor.  It is almost as if He said, “You talked long enough. I am not going to wait until you finish”.

How did they know that the Holy Spirit was poured out?  They started speaking in tongues.  That was the infallible sign.  If they had the gifts of the Spirit they must have had the gift of the Spirit.  The exact same thing happened in Acts 2 to Jews.  The Holy Spirit came on people.

He filled and baptized people and they way they know that he did this is that they started speaking in tongues (11:17).  We see in Acts 10 the same gift (Holy Spirit), the same sign (speaking in tongues) that was clearly seen in Acts 2.

The Significance of Baptism

What was the next thing that happened?  Peter baptized them.  What does this tell us?

1.  Baptism is a command

This section shows the importance of baptism.  Peter does NOT say “There is no need to get water baptized, if you already have been Holy Spirit baptized”.  Holy Spirit baptism does not eliminate the need for water baptism.  Baptism is a command.  It is not optional.  Peter “ORDERED that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ” (10:48).

That is very interesting.  The tales are turned a little bit.  Cornelius was the Roman centurion.  He was the one who was used to giving orders to people.  Now Peter is giving an order or a command to Cornelius and his friends.  He ordered them all to get baptized.

2.  Baptism does not save

When Peter preached to the Jews on Pentecost, he said,  “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38 ESV). Many believe based on that passage that you have to be baptized to be saved.  It seems very clear.  It is FOR the remission of sins.  There are two commands (repent and be baptized) and two results that take place when you do this.  You get your sins forgiven and you get the gift of the Holy Spirit.

The interesting thing is that Cornelius was saved.  He was speaking in tongues.  He had the gift of the Holy Spirit but he had not been baptized.  Cornelius was saved WITHOUT baptism. In Acts 10 it is clear that you do NOT have to be baptized to be saved.  It is not an essential requirement of salvation.

Significance of this Event

What is the big deal about this chapter?  Why is this chapter important?  It is extremely important.  It is a turning point in the history of the church.

“The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were ASTONISHED that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on Gentiles ” (Acts 10:44)

What happens in Acts 10 is historic. It is one of the most important chapters in Acts. It is a turning point in the history of the church.  It is so important that Luke gives two chapters in Acts to describe it (Acts 10-11).

This section describes the salvation of the very first Gentile. The gospel was preached to Jews in Acts 2.  It was preached to Samaritans in Acts 8.  It is preached to Gentiles in Acts 10.  Most people in our church are Gentiles. Most Christians all over the world are Gentiles.

When the church began it was almost exclusively Jewish.  Now it is almost exclusively Gentile.  This was the first Gentile who was saved.  Gentiles embrace the Jewish Messiah for the first time.  Not only was Cornelius the first Gentile saved, he was saved AS A GENTILE.  He did not have to become a Jew first and the Jews who witnessed it were completely shocked (10:45).  The Holy Spirit is poured out on uncircumcised Gentiles.

Peter did something never done before.  He preached the gospel to a Gentile.  He told Cornelius about Jesus’ miracles, death and resurrection.  Cornelius becomes the first convert.  He is evangelized by the Apostle Peter.

Peter was Jewish but he does not tell Cornelius to get circumcised.  Instead he tells him to get baptized.  That is a big change.  Before this time if a Gentile came to faith in Jehovah, he had to get circumcised.  Now they do not have to become Jews to become Christians.

God used Peter to reach Cornelius.  He could have used Phillip?  Phillip performed miracles and was a world class evangelist and he happened to be in Caesarea at the time (8:40) where Cornelius lived.  Why didn’t he ask Philip to preach to Cornelius?  There was a very important reason why God used Peter, rather than Philip. Pentecost was taking place.

When we think of Pentecost, if you know your Bible will immediately think of Acts 2 but Pentecost happens in three phases.  Pentecost is the birthday of the church.  In Acts 2, Jews became part of the church for the first time.  In Acts 8, Samaritans became part of the church for the first time.  Samaritans were half-Jews.

In Acts 10, Gentiles become part of the church for the first time.  Cornelius was not only baptized in water, he was baptized in the Holy Spirit.  Every time Pentecost took place an apostle had to be present.

God could have also used Paul to preach to Cornelius. Peter was the Apostle of the Jews.  Paul was the Apostle of the Gentiles.  Why didn’t he use Paul to bring the first Gentile to Christ? There was a very good reason for this.

When we get to Acts 11, Peter had to justify what he did to the Church of Jerusalem.  He had to explain and defend what he did to them.  Peter was a member of that church at this time.  Saul was not.


1.  The Gospel is for everyone

The gospel is for EVERYONE.  It is for every single person on the face of the earth.  It is for person in every country and from every race and color.  God sees us all equally.  We are all sinners.  Jesus died for all sinners.

The gospel is not just for white people or for westerners or for Americans.  It is not just for Jews.  It is for everyone.  Peter said, “WHOEVER believes in Him will receive remission of sins” (10:43).  Jesus said in the Great Commission that we are to “go and make disciples of ALL NATIONS ”.

2.  There is no excuse for prejudice.

There is no excuse for prejudice, bigotry or racism.  We would like to think that if you are a genuine Christian, you cannot be prejudiced at all.  That is simply not true.  Christians can be prejudiced. We are sinners. How do we know?  Peter the apostle had some racial prejudice.  If an apostle could be prejudiced, so can we.  God had to send him a vision to help him overcome it.

What were Peter’s prejudices?  Peter didn’t think it was right to go into the house of a Gentile.  He believed that would make him unclean.  He had to overcome that fear.  Peter thought Jews were superior to Gentiles.

Gentiles were unclean.  He learns in Acts 10 that Jews and Gentiles are on the same level.  We can’t call any man common or unclean (10:28).  Peter said, “I NOW realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism” (10:34).  That was something that Peter just learned.

God shows no favoritism.  God is color blind. He does not treat people based on race or color.  He does not treat rich people differently than poor people.  He does not treat black people different from white or brown people. “For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:7).  God accepts people “FROM EVERY NATION (not just from the Jewish nation) the one who fears him and does what is right” (10:35)

3.  Salvation is not by works

Every religion except Christianity believes in salvation by works.  They teach that it does not matter so much what you believe or what god you worship.  The only thing that really matters is how you live your life.  If you live a decent and moral life, you will be saved.  You do not even have to believe in Jesus.  Many think that you do not have to be a Christian, as long as you live a moral life.  There is a problem with this in our passage.

Cornelius had all kinds of works.  He gave alms.  He prayed.  He was a religious man.  He feared God.  He was a compassionate man.  He gave generously to the poor but neither his prayers nor his almsgiving saved him.  The angel told Cornelius that he still needed to be saved (11:14).  He had to have Peter travel thirty miles to preach the gospel to him.

What is the lesson here?  Salvation is not by works.  Titus 3:5 says, “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit” (NKJV).

We are not saved by works.  We are not saved by works of righteousness.  We are not saved by works of religion.  We are saved by grace. Jesus said, “Truly, truly, unless a man is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3) and he said that to Nicodemus, a moral man.

The Story of John Wesley

John Wesley (1703-1791) is one of the best examples of a man who was not saved by works.  Wesley was the founder of the Methodist Church.  The Methodist Church three hundred years ago is very different from the Methodist Church today.  Before Wesley came to faith, he was educated.  He was moral.  He was religious.  What do we learn from his life?

1) It is possible to be in a small group and be lost.

Wesley met with others to study the Bible before he was saved.  He was part of the Holy Club.  That was the name of his small group.  It was made up of a few students at Oxford.  They met regularly with other men for prayer, bible study and communion. They met until 1735.

2) It is possible to lead a small group and be lost.

Wesley was the leader of a small group.  He was the leader of the Holy Club. Teaching a Sunday School class or leading a small group does not save you.

3) It is possible to be moral and be lost.

Wesley did all kinds of good works before he was saved. He helped the poor and visited the sick.  The Pharisees were outwardly moral. You can be moral and lost.  Cornelius was moral and he was lost. Just because you do not smoke or drink or do drugs or cheat on your spouse doesn’t mean you are saved.  Wesley was part of the Holy Club and he was unsaved.

4) It is possible to be religious and be lost.

Wesley was very religious before he was saved.  He fasted and prayed.  He fasted two days a week (Wednesday and Friday). He even wrote He wrote a book of prayers (1733).  You can be religious and lost.  Cornelius was religious and he was lost.

Going to church every week will not save you.  Religion doesn’t save anyone.  The ones who crucified Jesus were religious.  Many Muslim terrorist who commit atrocities and mass murder are religious.  In fact, they are so religious, they pray before they commit their acts of murder.

5) It is possible to go to a seminary or bible college and be lost.

Wesley went to Oxford and got his bachelor’s and master’s degree.  He studied theology.  He was very well educated.  he could read the Greek Bible before he was saved.

6) It is possible to be a pastor and be lost.

Wesley was ordained as a priest in the Church of England (1728).  You can be a preacher and be lost.

7) It is possible to be a missionary and be lost.

He became a missionary in 1735.  He traveled from England to America to do mission work with American Indians and he was still unsaved.

8) It is possible to be a theology professor and be lost.

Wesley not only knew Greek, he taught it at Oxford (1726) before he came to faith.  He also taught logic and philosophy there.  You can teach at the seminary level and still be lost.

9) It is possible to be raised in a Christian home and be lost.

Wesley had had a religious upbringing.  He came from a large family.  His parents had nineteen kids (eight died in infancy). John Wesley did not get saved until 1738 at the age of 35.

How did he get saved?  The faith of ordinary Christians made a big impact on him.  On Sunday January 25, 1736, Wesley was on board a ship bound to America.  The ship encountered a life-threatening storm.  Wesley was full of fear.

He looked at a group of German Moravian Christians also on the boat during this storm and they were calm and were singing.  He realized that this group of believers had something that he did not have.  They were foreign Christians.  He was British.  they were German. They were plain simple believers who did not have the education he had but they had far greater faith than he had.

Soon after this happened, he attended some meetings held by the Moravians.  He said that he did not even want to go but, while he was there, he found his heart “strangely warmed” as he put it.  He got saved.

4.  Church leaders do not always get behind what God is doing

In Acts 11, we see what the reaction of the church was to Peter’s action when he went back to Jerusalem from Caesarea.  He goes back to the home church and he is in big trouble.  Some people in the church were furious with him and criticized him.

“The apostles and the believers throughout Judea HEARD that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers CRITICIZED him and said, “You went into the house of uncircumcised men and ate with them.” (11:1-2)

This seems strange to us.  We do not see what the big deal would be today but in Peter’s day what he did was considered radical.  What were they so upset about? What did they criticize him for?

You went into the house of uncircumcised men and ate with them.” (11:3)

They did NOT criticize him for preaching to Gentiles.  They criticized him for doing two things:

  • Peter went into the house of a Gentile (which was against rabbinic law because it made you ceremonially unclean)
  • Peter violated Levitical food laws.  He ate non-kosher food.

This must have been a little discouraging.  Here Peter does the will of God.  He obeys God.  He does exactly what He tells him to do, even though he does not want to at first.  He is greatly used by God and the church not only does not support him, it criticizes him.

Peter was criticized for doing good.  He was criticized for doing the will of God by believers.  That is strange but it still happens today.  In fact, it is quite common.

How does Peter defend himself to the church?  What Peter does is ingenious.  He does NOT explain his actions.  He does NOT quote Scripture. He simply tells them what happened.  That was his defense because the entire event was God’s doing.  God appeared to Cornelius.  God appeared to Peter and told him to go to his house and preach to him.

After, he preached to him, the Spirit fell on a bunch of uncircumcised Gentiles and made them a part of the church.  There is no way you can criticize Peter here.  He had very little to do with it.  This was a God thing.  To oppose this event would be to oppose God.

25 Responses to Conversion of a Religious Man

  1. gladys says:

    Well I have realized one verry sad sad thing. I am not saved. And to be honest Im not entirley sure what to do about it.
    Belief comes from hearing scritpure but the more I hear the more confussed I feel.
    And while I thought I wouldnt care at all about my salvation if I were not part of the elect, I have learned from a chaplan (not sure what religion is he is) that there are people in the bible who had short periouds of faith but then it was gone, and these people were never saved, and I feel like I am closer to one of those people than someone who is actually saved.

    Dont get me wrong you have been a great great help, but I find the more I learn about God, the more I have to fight with myself to still believe he is good, Im sorry but I was raised to believe in the santa clause like God, and I assume because of the fact that there wasnt a counter balance, he comes across more like the judge like you mentioned before. I have delveloped this verry morbid since of who God is, and I find myself believing that the more unfair I consider something the more likley it is to be true.

    Any suggestions?

  2. gladys says:

    Well I dont really approch it the same way some would like “O well he sends people to hell so he is unfair” no no, I personally dont have any objections to hell I get why its there, And I get why people who hear the gospel and reject it go there, but I dont see why someone who has never herd it and has never had a chance to hear it would go to hell. I get that the Lord is Just and Richous, but thats by his standards, not my human ones. I mean dont get me wrong I do not expext God to live up to my standards no no no thats not what I mean, I just dont get why when I talk to people of religous leadership (Pastor, bishop, chaplan) they act as if I have committed the unforgivable sin, or slapped them across the face, or pored ice watter over them or something, they seam so affrounted, and get so deffensive. Its like me disagreeing that thats a good thing to do is like me spitting on the bible. I mean cant I believe and still think some of the things God does just arent cool? Do I have to like everything he does to prove I am saved?

    And some of my problem may come because I just dont get some of the rules. Like lying for instance, this isnt really unfair to expect people to tell the truth, I just dont get why he cares. I mean I dont lie (Well I am sure I do some time or another) and I do feel bad when I do sin But its because I know I shouldnt not because I see the big deal, while others I know just seam to think lying is like putting dirt in there mouth I just dont get the big deal same way with other sins.

    And I worry about if I am part of the Elect, I still dont get how choosing some to be saved and every one else gets to burn is fair. I have said before I lean twords arminiasm, but if calvanism is true whats the point in trying? Because shouldnt this believing thing come easy if I was chosen from the begining to believe? Or do even the Elect strugle?

    • admin says:

      Again, we are not that far apart. You believe in Hell. You even understand why there has to be Hell. That is better than some who reject hell. You understand that hell is not unfair in itself. The reason for Hell is that God is holy and must punish sin. He is not obligated to save anyone. He does save some out of his grace and his willingness to send his son to die for us. Our problem is that we really do not how sinful we are and we have no idea how absolutely holy and righteous God is.

      I believe that everything God does is right. Abraham said, Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is JUST?” (Genesis 18:25). Psalm 145:17 says, “The Lord is righteous in ALL his ways”. Deuteronomy 32:4 says, “He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just.” I believe that and believe that all of these verses are true. Jesus said that God’s Word is truth (John 17:17). The Bible does not just teach that God is just, it teaches that he is GOOD. He just also happens to be holy. We need to understand all of his attributes to understand the kind of being that he is.

      I am not sure I understand fully your last point. You say that you don’t get some of the rules and you mention one of them about telling the truth but admit that it “isnt really unfair to expect people to tell the truth”. It is a big deal because God is a God of truth. It is part of his nature. Deception comes from Satan. Jesus said that Satan is a liar and the father of liars (John 8:44).

      I would not worry about the whole Calvinism question. Don’t get hung up on the election issue and God choosing certain people to be saved, because the Bible also teaches that people have to believe to be saved. It teaches BOTH doctrines. The one teaching is NOT an excuse not to repent and believe. The Bible teaches divine sovereignty (predestination). It also teaches human responsibility (the need for people to believe to be saved). Those who do not believe are held accountable.

  3. gladys says:

    Ya I understand that he is just and righteous. I can accept that people who have never had a chance to hear the gosple go to hell mostly because I have not choice but I can accpet it. That doent mean I have to like it in order to be saved does it? I mean he gave me hazel eyes I dont like that either, but people dont expect me to like it or agree with him on the eye color he gave me to be saved right, its kind of the same thing on a much smaller scale isnt it?

    And you say we need to understand but I dont understand that at all and I mean as humans can we ever understand him.

    Isnt there a scripture that says if we sin in ignorance we are forgiven for it, wouldnt that apply to a situation like this, or is not believing if you didnt know about him considered a sin? Cuz we go to hell for sin, right and not believing gets us sent to hell right, so isnt not believing a sin. Would not believing out of ignorance of Christs existance would kind of be like a sin of ignorance right?

    • admin says:

      The way I would answer this is to point out that we all deserve Hell before a holy God because of our sin. The Bible does call unbelief a sin (John 16:9) but we deserve Hell even if we have not rejected the salvation message. God was not obligated to send a Savior in the first place. He did not have to do this but He did. In another post, I refuted the argument that God cannot send anyone to hell unless He tells everyone the gospel first.

      People are not let off simply because they were not offered a pardon. As Greg Koukl points out, we do not say to a serial killer, “You’re a murderer but you are not going to prison because we did not offer you a pardon first. We cannot justify punishing you because we did not offer you a free pardon”. People go to hell because they are sinners. They are guilty. They deserve the punishment.

      I do not know any verse that says if we sin in ignorance we are forgiven for it. In fact, the bible says the opposite. That does not work in this life. If you are speeding and did not know the speed limit, you can still get a ticket from a police officer. It does not work in the next life. Paul said, “For I am not aware of anything against myself, but I am not thereby acquitted. It is the Lord who judges me” (I Cor 4:4 ESV). He knew that just because his conscience is clear does not necessarily mean that God approves of everything he does.

      PS: What is wrong with hazel eyes? I have hazel eyes.

  4. gladys says:


    I get how I confused ya on that one, I was using it as an example of one of the reasons I sometimes wonder if I am saved or not. Like I said I do avoid sin when I see it I just dont have as big of a reaction twords sin as many fellow christians do. But I really do get what you mean by

    But even then there are people in the bible who lied to save a life and were never punished for it, like Rahab, People say she was never rewarded for her lie, I would consider her request of not being killed in return answered a reward. I mean considering how the lord is twords sin surley she would have been kileld anyway if he thought it was truley wrong wouldnt she, cuz isnt there a part in the bible that says that the ends dont justafy the means of what we do?

    I know a lot of people use the example of Abraham telling a lie about his wife being his sister to save his life, but I dont hold much stock in that cuz wasnt she his half sister? If so that would only make it a half lie, but isnt the intent of trying to deceive someone a like wether its all a lie or only partially a lie?

    • admin says:

      “I know a lot of people use the example of Abraham telling a lie about his wife being his sister to save his life, but I don’t hold much stock in that cuz wasn’t she his half sister?”

      Yes and Abraham got into serious trouble for doing that as the Book of Genesis makes clear but I will not be in that section for a while. Just finished Genesis 6 today.

      “But even then there are people in the bible who lied to save a life and were never punished for it, like Rahab,” True but that is an extreme case. We will probably never be in a situation like that in our entire life. I would not get my morality on honesty from Rahab but from the clear statements of Scripture on the subject.

  5. gladys says:

    Do you think, that if God didnt want someone saved, or if someone wasnt meant to be saved, would god put stumbling blocks in that persons life that would cause them to not be saved? Like…

    committing the unfogrivable sin,
    or drug or alchaol addiction,
    sex addiction.
    Habitual liar

    Stuff like that that would cause someone to not come to christ or loose there faith?

    • admin says:

      I only have time to answer this one. I am on my way to church. I will have to get to your other six posts later. Two points, one God does want everyone to be saved, as I think you realized in the post after this one. I Timothy 2:4 says that God wants all men to be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth. Two, James 1:13-15 says that God tempts no one to evil. Satan is the one who does that. He is the one who puts stumbling blocks in front of people to cause people to sin. God does not do that. It is contrary to his nature. Are you interested in any of the lessons on Genesis? Have you read any of them? Just wondering. Have a great day.

  6. gladys says:

    Well I shouldnt say if he didnt want someone saved, because he want everyone to be saved, but I mean if there name wasnt written in the book from the begining, would he use such means as I listed?

  7. gladys says:

    I have not read Genesis in the Bible before except a few chapters when I was a lot younger, for your posts about it I think I got to number 9 I just havent had time to get to the others yet.
    No rush to answer and have a nice time a church! :)

  8. gladys says:

    Correction I read up to no.9 in your Genesis posts, finished 1-8,

  9. gladys says:

    O nothing I was just like most kids, I wanted to have the bright blue eyes. But I also wanted to be thin and that didnt happen so…..

    I could have sworn that I read something in there about sin of ignorance or temptation. Guess I got confused.

    Well I may not like some of what god does, but if I dont have to like it to be saved, then I guess it dosent matter.

    • admin says:

      There is one verse. I Timothy 1:12-14 says, “I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me trustworthy, appointing me to his service. Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus” but even though Paul acted in ignorance, he still was unsaved until he repented and turned to Christ in faith on the Damascus Road.

  10. gladys says:

    I dont think that was the scripture I was thinking of but all I could come up with is that it was probably not a quote from the bible, I just thought it was. But the ignorance of Paul is what came to mind when I tried to find the quote I had mentioned.

    I think I should take a break from this searching thing. I mean there are so many conflicting arguments about so many things, Like I ask if I have to like everything god does to be saved, some say yes and some say no and I still dont have an answer. And there is that problem with any question about any scripture and I never seam to reach an acceptable answer, because both sides have scripture to back them up and I am alwayse afraid that if I choose wrong my soul could be on the line, even if belief is the only thing that can save me I feel as if my stand point on a topic could condem me, and I dont know if thats true.
    Do you think it would be okay to just take a break for a while?

    • admin says:

      It is perfectly fine to take a break. Feel free to write any time with any additional questions you have and I will do the best I can to help you. Have a great Christmas.

  11. gladys says:

    Hope you and your family have a Merry Christmas, Talk to ya soon :)

  12. glayds says:

    Ha how ya doing? Hope you and youre family had a good Christmas

    • admin says:

      Good to hear from you. I am doing great. Had a wonderful Christmas with my family. Two of our kids came home from Chicago. Hope you and everyone at the DMV is doing well.

  13. glayds says:

    As well as we can there, people are till crazy.

  14. glayds says:

    Sorry just wanted to ask. I think you have an article about this but I am not sure, but is calling someone a fool seariousley a sin? I think its in Matthew where it says if we do we are in danger of going to hell or something like that. And I am sorry but that just dosent make since.

  15. glayds says:

    Yes it does answer my question thank you. I was wondering if calling someone a fool as a joke or even another term like Jerk or something was a sin if done as a joke or for like a part in a play or something.
    I didnt think it was but there are a lot of things about the Bible I dont get so I just thought I would ask.

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