Acts 11:1-9
The apostles and the believers throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. 2 So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticized him 3 and said, “You went into the house of uncircumcised men and ate with them.”
4 Starting from the beginning, Peter told them the whole story: 5 “I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision. I saw something like a large sheet being let down from heaven by its four corners, and it came down to where I was. 6 I looked into it and saw four-footed animals of the earth, wild beasts, reptiles and birds. 7 Then I heard a voice telling me, ‘Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.’
8 “I replied, ‘Surely not, Lord! Nothing impure or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’
9 “The voice spoke from heaven a second time, ‘Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.’
Facing Change
When Peter came back to Jerusalem from Caesarea, he faced great pressure from the circumcision party. The traditional circumcision party was a group of Christians that closely followed the Torah. According to their interpretation, Jews should never have any connection to Gentiles. They were forbidden to share the word of God (Torah) with Gentiles because Gentiles could not enter into the assembly of the Lord forever (Deut. 23:3). The circumcision party accused Peter of failing to follow Torah.
However, chapter 11 tells us that some Gentiles received the word of God. What surprising news to the church of Jerusalem! Some believers may have been saddened by this news, preferring the gospel remain exclusive. The death of Stephen instigated this transformation, causing many believers to be dispersed throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria (Acts 8:1). It was an important moment in the spread of the gospel. Another example from Acts 8 is the Ethiopian eunuch baptized by Philip. The gospel was spreading among the Gentiles.
Jesus Christ’s Great Commission never changes, but the world does change. As we know, Christ tells all disciples to preach the gospel to all nations. This is the Great Commission for every one of us. In the early church’s period, the Torah followers had conflicts with the apostle Peter, failing to realize that the era had changed. The promise of God was being fulfilled that every nation will hear God’s voice.
Some of those Jewish Christians couldn’t understand the message of the gospel. We are facing a similar situation today. The contemporary world is changing so fast. We are preaching a gospel message from 2000 years ago. How can we adjust ourselves to face this changing world? The apostle Paul reminds us, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” (Romans 12:2). I pray that God will give us discernment to seek the spiritual transformation for our lens, so that we can seek more opportunities to preach His gospel in this changing world.
Questions
What is our old concept for sharing the gospel?
How can we adjust ourselves for this changing world?
How can we preach the gospel differently in this changing era?
Author Bio
Danny Wong is a Mandarin Assistant Pastor at Emmanuel Alliance Church of Ottawa, helping with student ministry and young family ministry. He graduated with a Master of Divinity from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He enjoys reading and listening to pop music.
https://eaco.ca
Luke and Acts taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®
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