NOT GOOD ENOUGH
Acts 10: 1-6 NKJV
There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of what was called the Italian Regiment, a devout man and one who feared God with all his household, who gave alms generously to the people, and prayed to God always. About the ninth hour of the day he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God coming in and saying to him, “Cornelius!”
And when he observed him, he was afraid, and said, “What is it, lord?”
So he said to him, “Your prayers and your alms have come up for a memorial before God. Now send men to Joppa, and send for Simon whose surname is Peter. He is lodging with Simon, a tanner, whose house is by the sea. He will tell you what you must do.”
A common belief among people today is that if they are good enough, they will go to heaven when they die. I believe that being good is a good idea; we need more goodness in our world. But the sad thing is that many of the people who believe that their being good will get them into heaven have not received the salvation that is only offered through Jesus.
The poster child for being good but not good enough is the Roman soldier in our verses for today. This entire chapter is about Cornelius, a Roman centurion from the Italian regiment. Cornelius was not Jewish, but what the scriptures say about him indicates that he was a good man. An unusually good man.
Cornelius was devoted to God, the God of Israel. He had a fear of God that was strong enough to have influenced his entire household because they followed him in having a reverence for God. He was a generous man who gave to the poor, the Jewish poor. And he prayed all the time. I know many people who claimed to be good people. And they typically view their goodness as being a function of their not doing harm to other people or an occasional good deed. For some, they are committed to serving as volunteers in the community. All of these things are good, but are they Cornelius-level good? I mean, with Cornelius, we have an officer in an occupying army who loves the Jewish God, prays all the time, and is a generous giver of his money. His love for God is so strong that his entire family is influenced to reverence God. This is good on another level. This is not just being good toward the community and neighbors; this is good toward God.
And God acknowledged the prayers and giving of Cornelius. This man’s actions received recognition from God Himself. And yet it wasn’t enough. The angel gave instructions to Cornelius to send for Peter. Angels cannot preach the gospel, only men. Cornelius had to send for Peter, and when Peter came, he preached Jesus to Cornelius, his household, and friends. And look at what happened next in verses 40-44. “Him God raised up on the third day, and showed Him openly, not to all the people, but to witnesses chosen before by God, even to us who ate and drank with Him after He arose from the dead. And He commanded us to preach to the people, and to testify that it is He who was ordained by God to be Judge of the living and the dead. To Him all the prophets witness that, through His name, whoever believes in Him will receive remission of sins. While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard the word.” When Peter proclaimed Jesus being raised from the dead and that through believing our sins are forgiven Cornelius and all who were with him received Jesus as their Savior.
The reason Peter and his group knew these Gentiles had been saved was that the same experience of being filled with the Holy Spirit and speaking with other tongues that happened to Peter and the one hundred twenty on the day of Pentecost was happening to these Gentiles. And everything changed. Thank God!
APPLICATION
This is a good answer for those who believe they are good enough to get into heaven. Are they Cornelius-level good? Are they devoted to God, fearing God, praying all the time, and giving to the poor? If they answer yes, then show them what Cornelius still had to do. He had to receive Jesus. If they answer no, then show them what is available to all of us, salvation through Christ alone. None of us is good enough.
PRAYER
Lord, my confidence is in Jesus crucified and raised from the dead. I have no confidence in my works to gain my salvation. Thank you for faith in Christ that is enough!