That man Cornelius (1)
What are we to make of Cornelius? His love of and devotion to God were such that God admired and chose him as the first “raw” Gentile to be received into Messianic blessing in Jesus Christ. Read Acts 10 for yourself.
Yes, but was he right with God in the forgiveness of sins prior to receiving the gospel in the Acts 10 experience?
Let’s say no and we have a Gentile that has the things of the Torah written on his heart (compare Romans 2:12-14) and praying for more; but he’s condemned and hell-bound. And why is he condemned and hell-bound? Because he has rejected the gospel? Hmmm, we have no reason to believe he was ever offered the gospel. We’re dead certain that when he heard he was to be offered the gospel he was thrilled and anxious to obey (read Acts 10). So why would we say he was lost before Peter came? It wouldn’t be because he refused the gospel—he’d never done that. It wouldn’t be because he was a vile decadent—the opposite was the truth. In light of his trust in God and his willingness to be obedient to whatever God called for we’d be inclined to think he was right with God rather than under God’s condemnation. He certainly had God’s warm approval.
Yes, but he wasn’t yet in Christ. He hadn’t yet taken Christ’s name on him in baptism. This is true, but he had not yet been offered the privilege of union with Christ. He manifestly embraced God after the way of Jewish truth and now he was being called into a relationship with Jesus Christ. Until he “closed” with Jesus Christ he would have been lost and under God’s condemnation? Hmmm, I wonder.
Acts 11:14 would appear to clinch the matter when it says of Cornelius, Peter, “will bring you a message through which you and all your household will be saved.”
But it doesn’t settle the matter! Certainly an experience called “saved” was yet future for the God-loving Cornelius but it doesn’t follow that he was presently unforgiven and under condemnation.
If we can believe that John the Baptist spoke to faithful and righteous Jews (people like Simeon, Anna, Mary and the like) when he came proclaiming repentance and baptism for the remission of sins in believing on the soon to be revealed Messiah (Mark 1:4 Acts 19:4) then we can believe that “saved” needs to be looked at carefully.
Faithful Jews were right with God. How then could they be baptized unto the remission of sins? With the arrival of Jesus God’s saving work took a peculiar and previously unknown twist. Jews who were right with God by faith were required now to commit to God who now manifested his redeeming work in Jesus Christ. If they did not submit to him they would be cut off from among “the people” (see Acts 3:22-23) because the elect of God were to be re-defined in terms of faith in Jesus Christ. So that while those that were “saved” prior to the coming of the gospel were truly saved, salvation as part of the New Covenant elect was a new development in the divine strategy.
What would have been true of righteous Jews would have been true of righteous Gentiles (compare Romans 2:6-16). “Salvation” has more than one face. People prior to the arrival of Jesus Christ were “saved” apart from faith in Jesus Christ (though never apart from Jesus Christ). People confronted by Jesus Christ and obedient to his gospel are presently saved. People who are presently saved are yet to be saved (eschatological salvation) in a coming day when the entire redeeming work is completed.
All this could mean (and I think does mean) that Cornelius was right with God prior to Peter’s arrival but was now invited by the God of the gospel to be part of the New Covenant elect and to proclaim the salvation that is in Jesus Christ.
Abraham was “saved” but he was not part of the New Covenant elect and for obvious reasons wasn't asked to commit to the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The Thessalonians were saved when Paul wrote to them but would be saved from the wrath of God at a future point (1 Thessalonians 1:10). Righteous Jews in the Baptist’s day were saved but were called to receive the remission of sins by faith in the soon-to-be-revealed Jesus. Cornelius (I judge) was saved prior to his Acts 10 vision and Peter’s visit but was privileged to experience salvation as part of the NT elect in Jesus Christ to whom he was called.
©2004 Jim McGuiggan. All materials are free to be copied and used as long as money is not being made.
Many thanks to brother Ed Healy, for allowing me to post from his website, the abiding word.com.