Overcoming Prejudice with God's Love - Acts 10
Pastor Dan Walker, PhD, MDiv
Sermon Introduction
This morning my message is about “Overcoming Prejudice with God’s Love.” The dictionary defines prejudice as “preconceived opinion about someone that is not based on reason or actual experience.” Prejudice is not, therefore, a good thing, and Jesus came to overcome it. Let’s see how prejudice was formed in Peter’s life and how God overcame it.
In the Old Testament, there were strict laws concerning ceremonial cleanliness. You could eat of clean animals but not of those God declared unclean. Touching or eating something deemed unclean in God’s Word would contaminate a person, making them unclean.
Leviticus 11:24 (ESV) And by these you shall become unclean. Whoever touches their carcass shall be unclean until the evening.
These laws highlighted the importance of purity and separation from anything that defiled. However, Jesus brought a radical shift in this understanding. Rather than becoming unclean by touching a leper, Jesus’ touch brought healing and purification to the leper.
Matthew 8:2–3 (ESV) And behold, a leper came to him and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.” And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I will; be clean.” And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.
Jesus’ action demonstrated that holiness and purity are more powerful than defilement and that His touch can transform and heal the unclean. Today, as believers, we might hold prejudices that prevent us from reaching out to those who need God’s love. These prejudices might be based on outward appearance, lifestyle choices, or past sins.
For instance, we might avoid those who look different from us or those engaged in behaviors that God disapproves of. Yet, Jesus calls us to love the sinner without affirming the sin.
Romans 5:8 (ESV) But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
This verse shows that God’s love is extended to all regardless of their current state. We are called to follow Jesus’ example, bringing healing and cleanness into the lives of those around us through love and compassion. Our task is to break down the barriers of prejudice with God’s love, to reach out to those He has already prepared to receive His message. Our message today from Acts 10 is a powerful example of this transformative love. God works in the life of Cornelius, a Gentile, preparing him to receive the Gospel.
At the same time, God challenges Peter to overcome his own prejudices. Finally, God brings them together, showing that His love knows no boundaries. Today, we will study how we can follow Peter’s example by trusting that God is preparing hearts, being open to His transformative work, and acting in obedience to His guidance. Through this, we can overcome our prejudices with God’s love and bring His healing touch to a broken world.
Trust God is Preparing Hearts
Acts 10:1–2 (ESV) At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion of what was known as the Italian Cohort, a devout man who feared God with all his household, gave alms generously to the people, and prayed continually to God.
Our story begins with an unusual man named Cornelius. Cornelius was a soldier in the Roman army, leading one hundred soldiers. He was not a Jew but a Gentile. Yet he is described as doing three things that were very unusual for a Gentile and even more so for a Roman soldier.
Cornelius is described as a devout man who feared God and led his family to fear God. He gave generous offerings to the Jewish people and prayed continually to God. Clearly, God was at work in his heart, preparing him to become a believer.
Acts 10:3–4 (ESV) About the ninth hour of the day he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God come in and say to him, “Cornelius.” And he stared at him in terror and said, “What is it, Lord?” And he said to him, “Your prayers and your alms have ascended as a memorial before God.
As Cornelius is praying at the time of the temple sacrifice, an angel appears to him. The angel tells him that God has noticed him for his prayers and giving. In fact, the angel tells Cornelius that his prayers have ascended as a memorial before God. In other words, God has received and accepted his prayers.
Acts 10:5–8 (ESV) And now send men to Joppa and bring one Simon who is called Peter. He is lodging with one Simon, a tanner, whose house is by the sea.” When the angel who spoke to him had departed, he called two of his servants and a devout soldier from among those who attended him, and having related everything to them, he sent them to Joppa.
Next, the angel gives Cornelius some instructions. He is to send some men to Joppa and bring Peter back to his home. The angel gives Cornelius specific directions on where to find Peter. So Cornelius sends two servants and a soldier to find Peter and bring him back to Caesarea where he is living. We see no hesitation or protest by Cornelius in obeying the angel’s instructions, even though he has no idea who Peter is or why he is supposed to meet Peter.
God has been working in and preparing Cornelius’ heart and the hearts of his family to become believers for some time. We also need to believe that God is preparing the hearts of the people around us that need the Lord.
Application
This year we’ve been talking about the Five Friend Focus. Each of us is to pray for five friends that God would work in their hearts and that God would give us opportunities to spread His truth into their lives. As you pray for these five friends, believe that through your prayers, God is working in their lives and preparing their hearts, even if you have not had an opportunity to witness to them.
When we pray, we must pray in faith that God is hearing our prayers and that He is already answering our prayers for these people. He is working in their hearts and lives even before we talk to them or witness to them. Even as you build a relationship with these friends, God is working in their hearts.
If we pray for people doubting that God is going to do anything, then our prayers will accomplish nothing. Prayer must be in faith to be answered. Trust that God is preparing the hearts of those He has laid on your heart.
Be Open to God Changing Your Heart
Acts 10:9–10 (ESV) The next day, as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the housetop about the sixth hour to pray. And he became hungry and wanted something to eat, but while they were preparing it, he fell into a trance.
Now the scene shifts to Peter, who is also regularly taking time to pray, just like Cornelius. Peter went up on the housetop probably because it was cooler up there and private. Peter got distracted in his praying as he got hungry and was thinking about getting something to eat. So he had others begin to prepare him a meal. While he was waiting, he fell into a trance. A trance is a type of vision where you are no longer aware of what is going on around you but only what you see in the trance.
Acts 10:11–12 (ESV) And saw the heavens opened and something like a great sheet descending, being let down by its four corners upon the earth. In it were all kinds of animals and reptiles and birds of the air.
As Peter looked up, he saw something come down from heaven looking like a great sheet. As it got closer, Peter saw that within the sheet were all kinds of animals, reptiles, and birds.
Acts 10:13–16 (ESV) And there came a voice to him: “Rise, Peter; kill and eat.” But Peter said, “By no means, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean.” And the voice came to him again a second time, “What God has made clean, do not call common.” This happened three times, and the thing was taken up at once to heaven.
Then, as Peter was wondering what the vision was all about, a voice said, “Rise, Peter, kill and eat.” We don’t know what kinds of animals were in the sheet, but we do know that reptiles were considered unclean in the Old Testament, as were birds of prey. It could be that there were other unclean animals in the sheet, like pigs. Peter refused to obey the voice, indicating that all the creatures in the sheet were unclean. As a devout Jew, he had been careful not to eat any unclean animal.
The voice, perhaps the voice of an angel, said, “What God has made clean, do not call common.” God was revealing to Peter that the unclean rules of the Old Testament were no longer applicable after Jesus’ death and resurrection. The voice spoke to Peter three times, and then the sheet ascended back into heaven. We do know from the rest of the New Testament that the ceremonial laws of the Old Testament no longer apply to believers. All foods are declared to be clean for believers to eat.
But the point of the vision was much deeper than what Peter could eat; it had to do with people. The vision had to do with what God was doing in Cornelius’ heart and how Peter would react to Cornelius as an unclean Gentile. Prior to this, as a devout Jew, Peter would not even eat with Gentiles, even though Jesus regularly ate with them. Peter had to overcome his prejudice against Gentiles and allow God to change his heart.
Application
What kind of prejudices might keep us today from loving people? We obviously should not judge people by their outward appearance: what color they are, where they come from, how they dress, what their shape is, etc. God loves everyone, and so should we. Where it gets more difficult for us is very similar to the Gentile issue of Peter. The Gentiles, in general, were not believers in God, and there were and still are limits to how closely we should associate with unbelievers. Yet we are to be friends with and invite into our homes those who need Jesus. Some unbelievers are involved in behaviors and sins that are repulsive. Yet the Bible teaches that God can save and transform anyone.
So we must learn to overcome any prejudice we have to reach the lost. Yet we must be careful in our outreach to the lost that we are not influenced by their ways; rather, we influence them for Jesus. We must never begin to think that a certain person is too far from God to be saved. God can save anyone, and it is our responsibility to pray and spread God’s truth as witnesses to them. We must be open to God changing our hearts towards certain people or certain types of people and filling our hearts with His love for them.
Act in Obedience to God’s Guidance
Acts 10:17–18 (ESV) Now while Peter was inwardly perplexed as to what the vision that he had seen might mean, behold, the men who were sent by Cornelius, having made inquiry for Simon’s house, stood at the gate and called out to ask whether Simon, who was called Peter, was lodging there.
Peter now has just come out of the trance and was trying to figure out what God was saying to him. Peter was still on the rooftop when the men from Cornelius arrived at the front door.
Acts 10:19–20 (ESV) And while Peter was pondering the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Behold, three men are looking for you. Rise and go down and accompany them without hesitation, for I have sent them.”
At that moment, the Holy Spirit spoke to Peter and told him that there were men at his door. Not only were they there, but the Spirit said that He had sent them and that Peter should greet them and go with them back to their house.
Acts 10:21–22 (ESV) And Peter went down to the men and said, “I am the one you are looking for. What is the reason for your coming?” And they said, “Cornelius, a centurion, an upright and God-fearing man, who is well spoken of by the whole Jewish nation, was directed by a holy angel to send for you to come to his house and to hear what you have to say.”
So Peter went down to greet the men and asked them why they had come. They told him about their master Cornelius, who had been directed by an angel to bring Peter to speak to them. At this point, the light was beginning to dawn on Peter, for these men were obviously Gentiles. And Roman centurions like Cornelius were also Gentiles.
Up to this point, Peter would never have invited Gentiles to stay in his house. Yet Peter chose to follow the guidance of the vision and the Holy Spirit.
Acts 10:23 (ESV) So he invited them in to be his guests. The next day he rose and went away with them, and some of the brothers from Joppa accompanied him.
So after staying the night with Peter, the men from Cornelius and Peter, with several of his friends, traveled together to Caesarea. Peter has given us an example of acting in obedience to God’s guidance, overcoming our preexisting prejudice.
Application
How does this apply to us today? God is going to bring people into your life that you are not going to feel like being around. They will have non-biblical beliefs; they will believe that certain sins are not sin. They may speak with language you don’t feel like listening to. God is going to bring people like that to our church. We must remember that people are not our enemy; Satan is. And those who are not yet believers have been captured by him. We are to love them, overcome our prejudice, and help set them free to serve Jesus.
We must learn to love the sinner but hate the sin and not affirm the sin. Sin is ugly; it destroys people’s lives, breaks up families, and causes much pain. Yet, if Jesus can appear to and save murderers of Christians like Saul, He can save anyone. We must follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit in sharing God’s truth to those God sends us to or brings to us. May God help us to act in obedience to His guidance.
Conclusion
As we have explored Acts 10 today, we have seen a powerful demonstration of God’s love breaking down barriers of prejudice. Cornelius, a devout Gentile, was prepared by God to receive the gospel. At the same time, Peter, a Jewish apostle, was challenged to overcome his deep-seated prejudices through a divine vision. Their eventual meeting, which we’ll talk about next Sunday, shows the unity that God desires among all His children and shows us the transformative power of God’s love.
As we reflect on this message, we must understand that God is always at work preparing hearts to receive his message. As believers, we must trust in this divine preparation and be ready to engage with those whom God places in our path. As Cornelius was open to God’s guidance, we too must be willing to step out in faith, recognizing that God is orchestrating divine encounters for His purpose.
We also have learned the importance of being open to God’s transformative work in our own lives. Peter’s vision and subsequent actions teach us that our own prejudices must be challenged and changed by God’s inclusive love. God calls us to view others through the lens of His grace. We are called to extend love and acceptance rather than judgment and exclusion.
Finally, we see the necessity of acting in obedience to God’s guidance. Peter’s journey to Cornelius’ house and his willingness to engage with Gentiles demonstrate the courage required to break down barriers. We also must become agents of God’s love, bringing healing and unity to a divided world.
