Bunch of Heathens!
- Jun 14, 2018
- 3 min read
Bunch of heathens! That's how he viewed them. They were unclean, ungodly, barbaric, heathens and he wanted nothing to do with any of them. He wasn't a bad guy. In fact, he was feverishly busy spreading the message of Jesus to a culture that needed to hear it. Yet, while this early church leader was doing everything in his power to bring Jews the message of the Gospel, he viewed the Gentiles through a lens that needed to change.
The apostle Peter walked with Jesus. He didn't just hear the message of Jesus, he had a front row seat to it all. He saw how Jesus loved humanity. He heard Jesus' instructions to love others more than once. "Love one another as I have loved you." "Love your enemies." "Love those who persecute you." "Love your neighbor as yourself." "The world will know you are my disciples by your love for one another." He heard those messages over and over and over. Somehow, it didn't register that the Gentiles were to be included as a group of people he was to love.
Peter grew up in a religious culture that despised the Gentiles. They were unclean. They worshiped idols, they were immoral, they were drunkards, they were uncircumcised, they were sinners, and they ate bacon! They were outside the family of God and, as far as he was concerned, they needed to stay there. While he was certain that Christ had died for him, he failed to see that Jesus had come to save the Gentiles as well.
Cornelius was one of these filthy, heathen Gentiles. If left up to Peter, Cornelius would have no hope of salvation. But, the same Jesus that saved Peter came to save Cornelius. And while God could have chosen someone else to carry the message of salvation to Cornelius, He chose a man who was convinced that Gentiles were undeserving of the same grace that had been extended to him. God appeared to Peter in a vision in order to speak to him regarding how he viewed the Gentiles and to change his heart. Scripture tells us that it took 3 times before Peter accepted this truth that Jesus loved the Gentiles and wanted to save them. The roots of Peter's prejudice were deep and this prejudice wasn't going to be uprooted easily. The idea of these unclean Gentiles becoming fellow members of the body of Christ was a bit much for Peter to wrap his brain around. Thankfully, Peter allowed God to do the heart surgery He needed to do.
I say thankfully because not only did Cornelius benefit from Peter's heart change, I did as well. I was one of those unclean, ungodly, barbaric heathens. Peter's willingness to carry the message of salvation to the Gentiles, opened up the door for me. Thank God that Peter allowed God to rip the prejudice out of his heart allowing him to see all of humanity the way God viewed them. Here's a bit of insanity though. There have been times and, if I'm completely honest, still times when I struggle with Peter's dilemma. Times when I have seen others in the same way Peter viewed the Gentiles. It's crazy when you consider the truth that I was one that was rescued by a love I did not deserve and a grace I could not earn. I was an unclean heathen, yet God loved me at my lowest possible point.
Indeed, there are heathens all around us. Unclean, blatant sinners who are undeserving of the grace and love of God. We can choose to view them as Peter originally did, avoiding them, judging them, and condemning them. In doing so, however, we will be reflecting to the world an image of God that looks nothing like Him. Our behavior will clearly reveal that although we claim to know God, we have not truly been with Him. Peter's changed heart was the result of an encounter with God. When we've been with Him, the world will know it. They'll know it because our hearts will show noticeable change. Those we once despised, we will now love. We will extend grace to those we once judged. Yep, we'll view those "bunch of heathens" as people we long to bring into our family....the family of God.
Tim is the lead pastor at Westlake Fellowship in Montgomery, Texas. If you live in the area, join us Sunday mornings at 10:30 am at 19786 Hwy 105 Suite 120 in Montgomery (beside Magnolia Diner).
For more on this topic, watch the video below:
Pick up a copy of Tim's book, "Yep, Even That One: a believer's guide to loving your neighbor." Available now on Amazon.com
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