Text – Acts 10:1-6
It will be nice to conclude my series on ‘our common salvation’ by highlighting several behaviors often confused for a state of being born-again.
Cornelius, the Roman Centurion provides a classic case study.In the text above, Luke the author of the book of Acts describes certain behaviors (attributes) of the man, most of which the Church confuses as proof of salvation today.
BUT as we see in this account, the Angel directed Cornelius on what to do to be saved.
8 things that are not proofs of Salvation :
1. Being Devout:A person can be devout, which simply means being pious, committed and dutiful in religious activities but that alone doesn’t equate to being saved.We see examples of un-saved devout men and women in Acts 2:5, Acts 13:50, and Acts 17:17.
Oftentimes, devotion could become a hindrance from receiving the revelation of grace.
2. Fearing God:Fear of God is commonsense, except when a man is drunk with pride.*Un-saved men do fear God.(1 Sam 12:18,2Kings17:32-33)*Demons fear God too.
(James 2:19, Mark 5:6-7)
So, we can rightly deduce that being devout, pious or dutiful in religion doesn’t mean one is saved, neither are you saved because you have fear of God.Using the example of Cornelius, a Roman Army General, we see some other attributes of the man that would easily have been construed for a right standing with God even by today’s Church. But Cornelius was instructed by God to send men to Joppa and seek out Simon Peter, SO HE COULD HEAR THE GOSPEL, the only power by which a man can be saved. Rom 1:16
These attributes include:
vs 2 :a. Giving of alms. Cornelius had a good testimony; he gave much alms (charitable donations) to the poor and needy around him. Pharisees did a lot of acts of piety but still rejected the Salvation.
Nearly every religion on earth has giving of alms as a tenet. In Islam it’s called ‘Sadakha’. Give all you want, even burn your body at the stake for the deliverance of the poor, you’re not saved until you hear and believe in the God and in Christ whom he sent. b. Praying always – Cornelius prayed always. Not just that he prayed, but that he gathered together all his household which for a man in his position is quite a number.But prayer ought to be communion with God as your Father. If you haven’t truly known or been reconciled to God, all prayer is religious obeisance. Cornelius was told that much; that his prayers were only a memorial before God.In fact, Jesus taught that one characteristic of sinners and hypocrites is that they love to do much prayer. MT 6:5-7, LK 18:9-14
vs 3-6 : c. Seeing visions – Cornelius saw a vision of an Angel which spoke to him and gave instructions on what to do to be saved. What a show of love by our generous Lord? Indeed what a demonstration of a willingness and eagerness to save?Un-saved men see visions. In the Bible, many saw visions but it didn’t save their souls. King Nebuchadnezzar had a vision. See Daniel 2:1-9, 4:5. So never be carried away by any story telling of a vision until you have proved it to be in line with the Word and the Spirit. Vision of an un-saved man could be ‘spirit of sorcery’ in operation. Therefore, we see that ‘praying always’, and ‘seeing visions’ is not an ‘ipso facto’ proof (as lawyers will say) of salvation.
Today, we shall conclude this teaching by looking at yet another subtle but dangerously erroneous assumption people make about being saved.
We see in our text Acts10:22, regarding Cornelius, the Bible stated clearly that Cornelius the centurion, was “a just man, and one that feareth God, and of good report among all the nation of the Jews”.
This is a trap that the Enemy uses to deceive many and prevent them from humbly submitting to the knowledge of the truth of the Gospel, so that they can be truly saved.
When the rich and famous come to Church and instead of being taught the Word of God and led to Christ, they are celebrated and some even assume leadership automatically, it is definitely to their own ruin.It’s amazing how the craving for high reputation and societal acceptance has held down many a preacher from declaring the radical truth of the “finished works of Christ” and the “realities of the NEW MAN in Christ. (Eph 2:10).
It didn’t start today. Even in Jesus’ ministry, the parents of” the man born blind”(John 9:22) couldn’t testify that it was Jesus who healed him. Not that they didn’t know, but because they feared being cast out of the temple.
On the other hand and to return to our main point, approval of men and high reputation as being very religious, does not equate to being saved. Simon the Sorcerer (Acts 8) and Saul of Tarsus (Phil 3:4-6), were men of high religious approval who humbled themselves and received the truth of Christ’s saving grace.
CONCLUSION:
“But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win CHRIST.. “Phil 3:7-8
– Nich Mbaezue PhD