Page 55 - Acts Student Textbook

Study Section 11: Acts 10- The Conversion of
Cornelius — 10:1-11:18
11.1 Connect.

Often we get mixed up between a religious person and a saved person. It is possible to be
highly religious and living morally upright, yet not saved. We often don’t bother to share
the gospel to religious people because by their religiosity we get deceived that they are
saved. In this chapter we will meet a devout person by the name of Cornelius. He is
possibly not our version of a lost person. He is a representative of many religious people in our
churches and many other religions around us. Don’t be deceived, share the gospel with them! Let’s
begin…

11.2 Objectives.

1. The student should be able to describe events leading to the salvation of Cornelius.

2. The student should be able to examine Cornelius’s worshipful attitude and how Peter
responds to it.

3. The student should be able to discuss the decisive factors that transformed Peter’s ethno-centric
worldview into the conviction that Gentiles can experience salvation apart from Jewish law.

4. The student should be able to explain the significance of Holy Spirit baptism and tongues.

11.3: Acts 10: The Conversion of Cornelius — 10:1-11:18

Was Cornelius a Gentile? (10:1)

Yes, he was! We first see that Cornelius was a centurion (10:1). A centurion was a captain of
one hundred men in the Roman army. We know Cornelius was a Gentile because of his
position in the army. Secondly, we observe that he has a Latin name (Cornelius). Thirdly, the
statements found in the following references: 10:28, 34, 35, 44, 45; 11:1, 3, 18.

What was important about Cornelius being a Gentile?

Cornelius represents you and me. What happens to Cornelius and his family directly affects you and I
(as Gentiles) today. Events of this chapter affect our understanding of how God and the Jews finally
perceive Gentiles. The context of these comments indicates that no Gentile had as yet received the
gospel (cf. 15:7-11). The Jews who had become Christians evidently believed that the Christianity was
a national religion for Jews, just like the Old Testament had been. Events in this account will show
how God convinced Peter and others that the gospel is for all.

What can we understand about Cornelius?

He was devout (ευσεβησ− eusebes) — pious, godly, reverencing, as manifested by actions (see
Vine). He feared God (φοβεω− phobeo; cf. v22) — a reverential fear or respect. Robertson says this
implies Cornelius was some type of believer in Judaism, but not strictly a proselyte for he was as yet
uncircumcised and so unacceptable for Jewish association (11:3).

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