Truth

This week's goodness is on Acts 10:34-43:

Then Peter began to speak: “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right. You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, announcing the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all. You know what has happened throughout the province of Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached— how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.

“We are witnesses of everything he did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They killed him by hanging him on a cross, but God raised him from the dead on the third day and caused him to be seen. He was not seen by all the people, but by witnesses whom God had already chosen—by us who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead. All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”

Truth is incredibly important. These two paragraphs were enough to convince a lot of people to become Christians when Peter spoke their words. They also changed the direction of The Church. In this case, Peter had been convinced that only Jews could become Christians, and he'd argued that position with people. His lifestyle reflected his beliefs, that Gentiles were still hopelessly bound for hell, and were dirty creatures. God spoke to him and showed him that he loves all people, and performed a miracle to get him in touch with a Gentile who wanted to become a Christian and lead his family and friends to become Christians as well. That's who Peter is talking to here.

God does not show favorites. He accepts those who fear him and do right. He forgives sin. There's pretty much nothing you can do that he can't work with you to try to fix, if you fear him and try to do right. By fearing, I mean respecting his power and acknowledging that he has the right to throw you into hell. I don't mean being afraid to open the Bible because you think Jesus' hairy fist will fly out of the pages and smack you in the face. By doing right, I mean doing what he commands us to do, and what the Holy Spirit convicts us of. The point where you don't fear him, or where you fear him but don't try to do the right thing, that's when you have to worry. The 1980s are full of those stories. We still have them today, with guys who feared and obeyed their way to the top, only to fall for the classic "girls, gold, and glory." But that's a separate issue from forgiveness.

God forgives the sin of those who turn to him. If Adolf Hitler had recanted in his bunker instead of poisoning himself like a coward, I believe God would have forgiven him. Yes, the guy who set a world record in Jew-killing, the famous slaughterer of God's original chosen people, would have been forgiven if he'd come out and turned from his ways. I'm not sure what repentance would have looked like for Hitler. Maybe he'd admit what he did wrong, that he was wrong about it, and assure the remaining Jews that he wouldn't do it again. Maybe he'd let himself be captured and put on trial and be executed by the families of those who were killed by him. Nobody knows. It's God that has the power to forgive sins eternally. We know what he asks for, but we don't know the exchange that has taken place between him and the offender. Just as we can't judgmentally say "That person is unforgiven by God" we can't naively say "That person has been forgiven by God." We can guess, and can base our actions on those guesses, but we can't know. It's a mysterious and wonderful power that originates from God.

So what is Peter saying? Jesus is real. He died and came back. (Peter witnessed that personally.) He accepts anyone who comes to him with respect (fear) and obedience (doing good things.) He forgives the sins of those who turn and believe in him. It doesn't matter who you are or what you've done. There is no class or culture of people who are prequalified for salvation before the others. There are none who are disqualified in advance and "need not apply."

So, oddly enough a Gentile who decided to become a Christian ten minutes ago would be better off than someone who had been a religious Jew all their lives but didn't believe God, didn't fear him, and didn't do as he said. It's better to be the homeless ex-con who decides to try something different than it is to be the world famous televangelist who is secretly nailing the secretary and the delivery boy on the side. What you're born into, and where you come from are less important than where you're planning to go today.

Peter starts off his talk with "I now realize how true it is." Truth demands action. If God told Peter, "Hey those dirty Gentiles are loved by me too," was he supposed to just pat himself on the back for knowing doctrine? If he spent years teaching the opposite of the truth he learned, was he supposed to keep teaching the same stuff? Should he have kept his mouth shut to keep from offending the people around him who were just as mistaken as he was, before God showed him the truth? Peter openly changed direction in response to the truth God had given him. That's the power truth has. It's given to us for a purpose. It defines what is real and shapes our lives if we let it. If Peter hadn't learned the truth, acted on it, and shared it, who knows if anyone else would have reached the non-Jewish peoples of the world as effectively as they have.