Cornelius
In Acts
the tenth chapter, we read a wonderful story about a man named Cornelius. He was not a Christian yet, since the
Gentiles had not received the gospel at that point. But he was described as a
centurion who was God-fearing, devout, upright, a generous giver, prayerful,
and “well spoken of by the whole Jewish nation” (Acts 10: 1-2; 22). Cornelius
was a great example for his household, his community, the people of God, and
even all people two thousand years later. He was a man who lived the kind of
life every Christian should live. What can we learn from Cornelius?
The story of Cornelius teaches us that there
are great men and women in our world that are genuinely seeking to obey
God…they simply need to be taught what His will is. I’ve heard Christians talk
about reasons why certain people “would not be responsive to the gospel even if
they were taught.” But even though the Bible teaches us that the way to heaven
is difficult and there will be few who follow it (Matt
Cornelius’s account also indicates that if
there is a prayer that God will hear from a non-Christian, it is a genuine
prayer for guidance to understand and obey God’s will (Acts
Finally, this story, like all other New Testament
conversion accounts, teaches us that water baptism is a command of God that
must be obeyed. Even though Cornelius’s case is one of only two times when the
Holy Spirit of God fell upon people in a miraculous way (the other is in Acts
chapter 2), Peter still commanded Cornelius and his household to be baptized in
the name of Jesus Christ. Acts