Acts 10

http://www.esvbible.org/Acts+10/


There is a man named Cornelius, who is  God fearing man, and leads his whole household religiously. He gave freely to the poor and prayed to God. One day, he had a vision that an angel came down to him and told him that the Lord had seen what he has done and heard his prayers, and that he should send for Simon Peter immediately. Cornelius did as he was told. Good works for God don't go unnoticed. God sees everything you do, and He will reward you for all of the good deeds you do, but remember, no good deeds are good enough to get you into Heaven, only Jesus Christ can do that. Also, God hears your prayers. There is never a time when God doesn't listen to you. When you pray, you will be heard.

Meanwhile, as Cornelius's men travel to fetch Peter, Peter goes up onto the roof to pray. He grows hungry and has food prepared for him. While it's being prepared, he falls into a trance. In his vision, an angel brings a sheet full of four-legged animals, reptiles, and birds from the sky and tells Peter to kill and eat them, but Peter says that he can't eat anything unclean. The angel tells him that they must be clean if the Lord has made them clean. This happens three times before Peter wakes up. Afterwards, he is very confused as to what this vision must mean. As he awakens, Cornelius's men arrive where Peter is staying and ask for him. The Holy Spirit tells Peter that they are okay and to go with them, so he invites them to stay the night, and they all depart the next morning.

When Peter arrives to Cornelius's house, Cornelius immediately falls to the ground and begins worshipping him. This frustrates Peter and he tells Cornelius to get up because Peter is just a man. After he enters the house, he comments on how wrong it is considered for a Jew to associate with a gentile. But he knows the Holy Spirit sent him there for a reason, so he asks Cornelius why he sent for Peter. Cornelius told him the whole story of what had happened with the angel, including what the angel said to him. Peter at once understands that God no longer plays favorites. At the beginning, the Jews were God's chosen people. They could receive salvation while other races of people couldn't, but Jesus is the Lord to everyone. So Peter tells them the gospel and the Holy Spirit enters them, just as it entered the Jews. The Jews with Peter were amazed that such a thing could happen, but Peter commanded them to baptize all who had just received the Spirit. The first gentiles were saved that day.