Life Lessons with Dr. Steve Schell
Religion & Spirituality:Christianity
Peter is under attack. He’s having to defend himself. A sizeable and vocal group within the early church were deeply convinced that faith in Jesus in no way changed their requirement to observe the Law of Moses. They believed the statutes and ordinances in the Torah were meant to be eternal commands and therefore must be kept by anyone who wishes to be saved (Ac 15:1). And they were furious with Peter for two reasons. First of all, he had ritually defiled himself by entering a Gentile home and eating improperly prepared food. But second, and even more importantly, they were dismayed that he had actually baptized these Gentiles, because it meant he believed they were saved. By baptizing them, particularly as an apostle, he had welcomed them into the church. They were to be thought of as brothers and sisters. They were to be included in church gatherings. But in the minds of Peter’s accusers unless these Gentiles kept the ceremonial laws they were still “unclean” (Ac 15:5). By welcoming Cornelius’ household into the church Peter had opened the door for unclean people to sit next to them in a worship service, and if they touched them they, too, would become unclean. So as soon as he arrived in Jerusalem they cornered Peter and scolded him. And Peter’s only defense was to point to the fact that it was God, not he, who had welcomed these “unclean” people into His church. By baptizing them in the Holy Spirit, He proved that in His eyes they were perfectly “clean.”
51 - God-Given People
50 - The Jerusalem Council
49 - The Antioch Model
48 - Finding Timothy
47 - Baptism with the Holy Spirit
46 - Eternal Perspectives
45 - Spiritual Jealousy
44 - Seeing Jesus Alive
43 - The Mercies of David
42 - Young Mark
41 - Prophetic Guidance
40 - Flattery and Complements
39 - Choosing To Pray
38 - Honoring Flawed People
37 - The Barnabus Model
35 - Peter’s Revelation
34 - Saul and Peter
33 - Trusting Saul
32 - The Son of God
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