Gospel Faith Acts 10:34-43
From Jews to Gentiles
Last Sunday I had the honor to preach on Acts 10:34-43 which is one of the central pivotal moments in the book of Acts showcasing gospel faith extending from ethnic 1st century Jews to gentiles. The Holy Spirit moved in Peter (a Jewish blue-collar family man who was a disciple of Jesus) and in Cornelius (a God-fearing Roman Centurion from the Italian regiment). It was the Holy Spirit who brought this meeting between Peter and Cornelius about. It was the Holy Spirit who was poured out upon the Gentiles, the very same Holy Spirit whom Peter had witnessed at Pentecost. Today, believers are indwelled by the same Holy Spirit that worked in the life of Peter and Cornelius.
When preaching on the Holy Spirit in the West in reformed circles there is almost always a sense of uneasiness. The Holy Spirit (at least in some places I've served) seems to be viewed either as an impersonal force (something akin to Eastern mysticism or Star Wars deism), or as something only very strange Christians speak of, let alone rely upon! Our nervous awkwardness regarding the Holy Spirit reveals an ignorance regarding the Spiritual life God has redeemed us to live in. That's alright, it just means we've got room to mature and grow!
BB Warfield, writing more than a century ago put it this way "There are few subjects so intimately related to the Christian life, of which Christians appear to have formed, in general, conceptions so inadequate, where they are not even positively erroneous. The sober-minded seem often to look upon it as a mystery into which it would be well not to inquire too closely....many of the best Christians would shrink with something like distaste from affirming themselves to be 'led by the Spirit of God' and would receive with suspicion such an averment on the part of others as indicatory of an unbalanced religious mind"
The person, work, and indwelling guidance of the Holy Spirit is not a topic of the Christian life better left to mystery. It is of paramount importance in the life of the believer. Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, the scripture in Romans 8:11 says "And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you". The Apostle Paul here ties our very eternal resurrected lives into the essential reality that believers are indwelled by the Holy Spirit.
Whenever we pray to grow in "Christ-likeness", to be "more, more like Jesus", that is a prayer for the Holy Spirit to do his work in us. Sinclair Ferguson puts it this way "The purpose for which the Spirit is given is, therefore, nothing less than the reproduction of the image of God, that is transformation into the likeness of Christ who is himself the image of God. To receive the Spirit is to be inaugurated into the effects of this ongoing ministry".
We worship One God, in three persons - God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Inevitably, especially in the West, the work of the Holy Spirit can be abused or claimed as an excuse for following our inward desires. Many years ago, I was in conversation with a person who was claiming the Holy Spirit was leading the adulterous affair they were having. This false teaching can be easily corrected by remembering that our One God is not in opposition to himself. God the Father and God the Son do not issue one set of instructions, or standards for holy Christian living, which then the Holy Spirit contradicts. That proposition is utterly absurd and antithetical to God's revelation of himself. The Spirit grows the Christian and leads us into righteous obedience, not rebellious rejection.
How do we know the Spirit is leading us?
10 quick things the Holy Spirit will **not** lead you into:
1. Giving reverent worship or priority to other gods.
2. Worshiping God in your own efforts.
3. Misrepresenting God.
4. Rejecting the rest and work God has provided.
5. Dishonoring those in authority.
6. Harming your neighbor.
7. Lust.
8. Taking what is not yours.
9. Giving false accounts.
10. Discontentedness.
The Holy Spirit will lead you into these 10 things:
1. Growing in admiration and adoration for the One Triune God.
2. Worship of God as he has expressed.
3. Faithfully representing God.
4. Delighting in the rest God has provided.
5. Honoring those in authority.
6. Doing good to your neighbor.
7. Selflessness.
8. Generosity.
Ada CRC Sermon Leftovers from 9.8.24.
9. Speaking truthfully with a clear conscience.
10. Thankfulness for God's goodness personally to you.
There is much more that could be said and has been said throughout church history on the person and work of God the Holy Spirit, but I'll leave you with this final thought. One of the dominant themes throughout the book of Acts relating to the Holy Spirit is the life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus. The Holy Spirit was active throughout Acts opening doors, creating conversations, confronting, challenging, and comforting individuals, families, and groups with the good news of Jesus Christ. This is not something the Holy Spirit stopped doing at the end of the 1st century. The Holy Spirit is at work even today, and even in your life and the relationships around you to cause the person of Jesus Christ to become the focus of conversation. When we get opportunities to speak of Christ as his witnesses, we can be sure "yup, the Holy Spirit is at work". It is the delight of the Holy Spirit to bring together witnesses of Christ, with those who do not yet know Jesus. Today the Holy Spirit may be delighted to work through you as a witness of Christ in school, at work, in your home, on the practice field, in traffic, or online!