Acts 10 | WCF 23 God's Good Government, Christ's Greater Salvation

This message was preached on the Acts 10 due to this being a 5th Sunday, CPC topically does chapter by chapter through the confession grounded in a scripture text. So we will return to 1 Peter 4. Next week.

A brief word on expositional preaching and note the headings of WCF 23. We ordinarily preach systematically through books of Scripture so God sets the agenda, not us. This guards against hobbyhorses, unfolds the whole counsel of God, keeps Christ central, and matures the church by steady, in context, Spirit-applied truth. Occasional topical sermons ensure we address necessary doctrines and issues regularly.

Since this is not a Sunday school lesson I will not address word by word WCF 23. I am sending an audio lecture out that does this by Dr. Ligon Duncan.

Read Acts 10:1-2, 22

A Few things #1 Meet Cornelius (v.1-2, 22).#2 The Goodness of God’s Common Grace – Good Government is a Blessing (WCF 23 Overview).#3. The Limits of Common Grace — Cornelius Still Needs the Gospel (v. 30-33).#4. The Gospel Proclaimed — Christ as Lord and Judge (Acts 10:34–43)#5. The Spirit Falls — True Salvation in Christ (Acts 10:44–48)Lets meet our civil magistrate (our government guy), Cornelius the God-Fearer

Cornelius is an example of what WCF 23:1 affirms: that God establishes rulers and civil order to “maintain piety, justice, and peace”(further citing Rom. 13:1–4; 1 Pet. 2:13–14).

Cornelius as a Roman centurion is

Like a Ships Cpt. A County Sherriff with 80 deputies. Or think of places like Okinawa post-war where military and policing were closely overlapped.

So Cornelius is a key government official, a civil magistrate.

He is like another centurion who in Matthew 8:9–10 For I too am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” [10] When Jesus heard this, he marveled and said to those who followed him, “Truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith. (ESV)

Cornelius is described as “a devout man who feared God… gave alms generously… prayed continually to God”(Acts 10:1–2).

He is “well spoken of by the whole Jewish nation” (v. 22).

So he is fairly easy to like. But for Christians, we should note

…we honor even the government we do not like. See David and Saul. David honored Saul as king despite Sauls wickedness [NOTE: Spear throwing…twice] and so it repeats throughout the bible.

Pharaoh — honored by Joseph. Pharaoh himself was a pagan ruler, yet Joseph honored him as the one through whom God provided to save many lives.

Nebuchadnezzar — served by Daniel which is cited by the WCF Daniel 2:37 (ESV): “You, O king, the king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, and the might, and the glory…

Later, Daniel continues to serve under successors (Dan. 6), while remaining faithful to God.

He served through different presidential administrations we could say…And in one term old Chad was crazy for 7yrs of it.

But I am interested in Cornelius because I think we can most deeply identify with him here in Western Virginia, where we have many god-fearing spiritual people who are not followers of Christ. But maybe deists like Thomas Jefferson, they like the idea of Jesus generally, we want a little bible, and as we see just because a man donates money to religion, prays, and is loved by his community Acts 10 quite clearly shows they still need Jesus …A full turning from sin to Jesus. That is to say,

A person can be deeply moral, socially beneficial, and even reverent toward God – And yet, it is only a skin-deep morality, not measuring up when it comes to the transcendent, Holy God. They can still be outside of Christ.

Jesus is still, the way, the truth, and the life, and no one comes to the Father except through him.

#2. The Goodness of God’s Common Grace: Good Government is a blessing (WCF 23.1–2)

WCF 23.1: God ordains magistrates to be “under God, for His glory and the public good” — punishing evil and encouraging good (Rom. 13:1–4).

Cornelius embodies this: he is a just man, serving the empire, protecting order. His generosity and justice are real blessings to the community.

This is what Paul affirms in Athens: “He made from one man every nation… having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God” (Acts 17:26–27).

Application: We should honor rulers and thank God for the order and justice they provide, even when imperfect.

GI Williamson summ