Jewish Conversion Vs. Gentile Conversion

Introduction: Scripture Reading- Acts 10:44-45

About the Text:
1. Peter says there is a connection between the two conversions.
2. The connection was the pouring out of the gift of the Holy Spirit/Ghost.
  1. “as well as we?” (Greek: kathoce kahee haymice- just as or according to; likewise as, also, even as; we.)
  2. Not just that the Holy Spirit came on the gentiles but in the same manner or way that he came on the apostles in Acts 2.
How were the conversions similar and how were they different?

Discussion:

Jewish Conversion [Acts 2; on Pentecost]
1. Who?: The Jews only at this point.
2. What?: What were the steps taken for conversion?
  1. Hear: they heard the truth or gospel spoken by the apostles
  2. Believe: they already believed because when they were told they crucified the Christ, the Son of the living God, the cried out, “…Men and brethren, what shall we do?”
  3. Repent: Peter answered their cry and told them to repent; not just of the sin of crucifying the Christ without cause, but all sins
  4. Confess their faith: they confessed their faith by crying out. They believed in the man Jesus, but the apostles through teaching the gospel convinced them to believe in Jesus the Son of God (diety).
  5. Be Baptized or Immersed: Peter’s answer also included that they be baptized for the remission of sins or so that their sins could be forgiven
3. Where?: In Jerusalem, the “where” here is only important to show that the church began in Jerusalem (as prophesied) and not in America hundreds of years later. If the seed (the Word of God) is planted, then only a Christian will grow. It doesn’t matter when this occurs, just that it does occur before one die.
4. When?: On Pentecost and before the gentiles. Paul’s mission, given to him by Christ, was to preach to the gentiles; however, the word was brought to the Jews first. Rom. 1:16 “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.”
5. How?: (Circumstances surrounding the conversion.) See the steps of the plan of salvation, but also after they were converted, they received the gift of the HS. Acts 2:38, this was only to have been done by the laying on of the apostles’ hands. These 2 conversions are the only place where we see an except to the rule and the rest of the NT that the gifts of the HS were passed on only by the laying on of the apostles’ hands (when the apostles received the gift in Acts 2 and when Cornelius’s household received the gift in Acts 10). All other Jewish conversions from Acts 2:38 on were the same, by the laying on of the apostles’ hands and not directly.
Gentile Conversion [Acts 10; the household of Cornelius]
1. Who?: The gentiles and specifically the household of Cornelius.
2. What?: What were the steps of their conversion?
  1. Hear: Peter came to the household of Cornelius to preach the gospel, not only by the request of Cornelius but more importantly by the command of God, through a vision in this case (Acts 8:26 Philip commanded to preach to the eunuch by the command of God through the message of an angel).
  2. Believe: Before the HS was poured out on Cornelius and the rest of his household, Peter gets to the point in his sermon where he says, “And he commanded us to preach unto the people, and to testify that it is he which was ordained of God to be the Judge of quick and dead. To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive the remission of sins.” In other words, he had just taught that believing in Jesus was essential in becoming a Christian.
  3. Repent: by the context and due to Peter’s preaching, we have necessary inference that Cornelius and the rest of the household that were of the age to know right from wrong, repented of their sins. Baptism has no effect if one has not repented of their sins.
  4. Confess their faith: it is logically clear that they believed in Jesus due to the angel’s command to Cornelius to send for Peter that “he shall tell thee what thou oughtest to do.” Also to the context of Peter’s sermon is evidence that they confessed their faith or else the HS would not have been poured out on them showing God’s approval of them.
  5. Be Baptized or Immersed: Even after the gift of the HS was poured out on them, Peter still commanded (show the urgency and importance) that they be baptized.
3. Where?: Here location is not an issue, but rather at what point they were fully converted and that is after they were baptized. Again if baptism were not important, then why did Peter command that they be baptized. [Argument: Is this trip even possible in 4 days? Yes, very possible for that time.: Joppa, ~24 miles south of Ceasarea- a very doable walk in less than 24 hours by people who are used to walking long distances on a daily basis.]
4. When?: When and where here go together, they were converted at the point of baptism and not before. [4 days: Day 1- Cornelius vision and messengers begin travel, Day 2- Peter’s vision and messengers complete travel, Day 3- Messengers rest at Peter’s house, Day 4- Peter and messengers make it to Joppa and immediately, Peter begins preaching to the whole household.]
5. How?: (Circumstances surrounding their conversion.) The HS was poured out on the household of Cornelius directly [no laying on of hands], just like the apostles in Acts 2. All other gentile conversions were different in that they received the gift of the HS by the laying on of the apostles’ hands. They were baptized after they received the gift, meaning that baptism was still essential or important for them to receive the remission of sins and thus salvation from their sins (Rom. 6).
Compare and Contrast the Two Conversions
1. Same (compare):
  1. The gifts of the Holy Spirit were poured out on both groups.
    1. Signifying the purpose of the HS in the first century. It was to confirm what was being taught through the gifts of the HS (miraculous signs and wonders).
    2. The Jews in Acts 2, specifically vs. 36-38, received the gift by the laying on of the apostles’ hands.
    3. The gentiles, those of Cornelius’s household, received the gift in the same way as the apostles at the start of Acts 2. God did the pouring out.
  2. Both groups were commanded to be baptized.
    1. Signifying the salvational importance of baptism in the first century and still today.
    2. I Cor. 13:8-12 Miraculous gifts of the HS would cease when the gospel was complete.
      1. Acts 22:16; I Pet. 3:20-22; Mark 16:16
    3. Baptism allows us to come in contact with the saving power of Jesus’s blood. I John 1:7 ties repenting of sins and having them washed away or removed with contacting the blood of Christ. “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.” This is true from the time we repent and are baptized to become Christians (pure in God’s eyes) and when we repent of any later sins to remain Christians (remain pure in God’s eyes).
  3. Both conversions were approved by God. (Man’s opinion or decision was not what was important.)
    1. Acts 2:47 “…And the Lord added to them (the church) day by day those that were saved.” [ASV 1901]
    2. Added by God after sins are forgiven by the washing away of them through baptism (immersion).
    3. Acts 10- God showed the Jews of His approval of the gentiles where they (the Jews) did not approve.
  4. Both groups submitted to baptism, it wasn’t a passive event.
    1. Acts 2- The Jews present that day asked Peter and the other apostles, “…Men and brethren, what shall we do? Or what shall we do to be saved. And also, vs. 41 “Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.”
      1. Peter answers them by saying, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.”

Forgiveness or remission of sins did not come until they submitted to baptism (immersion).

The “gift of the Holy Ghost” is being offered to them 1) because it was prophesied and 2) because the purpose of the HS was to confirm the gospel in the first century. When the gospel was completed, there would no longer be a need for the gifts of the HS.

- - 1. The gentiles in Acts 10 also submitted to baptism because we see that they wanted (erotaho- to request, ask, beseech, desire, intreat, pray) Peter to stay with them for a few days to continue teaching them. As we see in other conversions in the NT (Ethiopian eunuch in Acts 8) a commandment is not a forcing upon ones free will, but rather an explanation that if they want to receive salvation or forgiveness of sins, then they must submit to the command of baptism.
    2. I believed the apostles may have helped with the baptizing of everyone present, but there were others helped with the baptizing and not just the apostles. In Acts 2, it would have taken forever to baptize 3,000 people if it were just the apostles. (Assuming it took about 3 minutes for each baptism: 150 hours or 6 days and 6 hours for one apostles or 12.5 hours for all the apostles together.; however, they could do the baptisms simultaneously and much faster if one person was baptized and then baptized other person. This would now take about 51 minutes or less than an hour.)
      1. The later seems very likely since Paul tells us in I Cor. 1:10-17 that the person who baptizes is not important, just the baptism itself.
      2. That being said, it could have been less than 10 minutes if the apostles along with about half baptized and then the apostles stepped aside and the others switched so the remaining could be baptized.
      3. The point is that all 3,000 (give or take a few- “about 3,000 souls”) were added to the church that same day. Therefore, it is more logical that the apostles didn’t baptize each one by themselves.
1. Different (contrast):
  1. When the gifts of the Holy Spirit were received. (Jews after baptism and Gentiles before baptism.)
    1. The apostles had already been baptized at the start of Acts 2; the Holy Spirit coming on them was a sign to them of the kingdom or the church (Acts 1:4-8; Acts 2:36-38). The about 3,000 Jews in Acts 2 didn’t receive the HS until after they were baptized.
      1. Acts 8:4-17 the city of Samaria- baptized and then received the Holy Spirit
      2. Order doesn’t matter, both were important until the gospel was complete. Now only baptism matters.
    2. Acts 1- The apostles did not receive the same power in verse 8 as is mentioned of God’s power in verse 7. (vs. 7 Gk: exooseeah- authority, jurisdiction; vs. 8 Gk: doonamis- miraculous power, ability [Rom. 1:16])
    3. Jesus was equal to God in power (Phil. 2:6), but the apostles being mere men did not have the same power or authority as God. They only had the authority God allowed them to have (Matt. 16:19). Even Jesus says that he would only say what the Father granted him to say, but especially the apostles in that they were not deity like Jesus (Jesus acknowledging God’s authority-John 4:34; 7:29; 8:26; 12:49; Apostles say that men are not equal to God’s authority- 2 Tim. 3:14-17, I Pet. 4:11).
  2. Reason for the conversion.
    1. Matt. 27:50-51,54 “50. Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost. 51. And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent; 54. Now when the centurion, and they that were with him, watching Jesus, saw the earthquake, and those things that were done, they feared greatly, saying, Truly this was the Son of God.”
    2. Both groups were converted for salvation and to submit the authority of Christ by confessing faith in him and repenting of the sins that caused a separation between them and God.
      1. However, the Jews conversion had another purpose, to show that they had crucified the Christ.
      2. The purpose of the gentile conversion was to show the Jews that God accepted the gentiles not only into his favor, but also into the church.
    3. This was meant to be from the time Jesus died (Eph. 2:11-22; Gal. 3:20-29).

Conclusion:

Review
Invitation