Acts 10:34-35

[dms1972]

"I truly understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to Him."

What are these verses saying? Do they mean that belief in God / fear of God and doing what is right is all that is needed. If a God fearing person dies, but hasn't come to an explicit faith in Christ, will they go to heaven? Am I misunderstanding something? What does it mean "....is acceptable to Him." Do they not need to become christians?

 

[bcbsr]

"I truly understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to Him."

What are these verses saying? Do they mean that belief in God / fear of God and doing what is right is all that is needed. If a God fearing person dies, but hasn't come to an explicit faith in Christ, will they go to heaven? Am I misunderstanding something? What does it mean "....is acceptable to Him." Do they not need to become christians?

If you look at it in context it also says, And he told us how he had seen an angel standing in his house, who said to him, ‘Send men to Joppa, and call for Simon whose surname is Peter, ‘who will tell you words by which you and all your household will be saved.’" acts 11:13,14 Which is to say that Cornelius, despite being God-fearing, reverent, generous, was not saved apart from hearing and believing the gospel

 

[Quid est Veritas?]

Important context to remember is the existence of Metuentes - these were 'God-fearers', Gentiles that respected and followed God, but had not fully converted to Judaism. They might be similar to, or the same as, the Hypsistarians - Hellenistic believers in the Summus Deus, the Highest God.

So essentially it places these in the same context as Jews, and as has been pointed out, he was sending for Peter to learn how to 'save' his household.

 

[EastCoastRemnant]

God is a Merciful God... if someone from a foreign nation that did not have the opportunity to hear the Gospel (more so in years past), if that person worshiped the Creator and behaved righteously according to the Spirit's leading, then I believe that person would gain eternal life.

 

[dms1972]

If you look at it in context it also says, And he told us how he had seen an angel standing in his house, who said to him, ‘Send men to Joppa, and call for Simon whose surname is Peter, ‘who will tell you words by which you and all your household will be saved.’" acts 11:13,14 Which is to say that Cornelius, despite being God-fearing, reverent, generous, was not saved apart from hearing and believing the gospel

Thanks I had begun to look over the whole of chapter 10 after posting. I hadn't got as far as those verses.

Still thinking about this. Then people who are already believers in one God / God fearing, get someone sent to them to tell them the Gospel. Other examples The ethiopian official, that Philip evangelised. These were non-jews who had adopted the Jewish religion. Even the people of Athens, Paul described as very religious, because they had a altar to an unknown God - they didn't want to offend any God they did not know of by leaving him out. There was a point of contact with these people.

But what about today, and atheists, pagans, postmoderns. Where is the point of contact? Jesus dying for our sins, to make us right with God only makes sense in a God framework. A christian can't say to an atheist "I see that you are very religious...what you worship as unknown I proclaim to you..." The atheist doesn't believe in any gods." He seems to accept just the truth of materialism

The postmodern differs again and doesn't seem to believe in any ultimate truth, just truths (plural).

 

[Tolworth John]

What are these verses saying?

The ancient world was not 'politically correct'
You had to belong to the 'right' crowd.
The Jews believed they were a chosen race, so all other nations/people groups were lesser beings.
The omans and greeks believed if you weren't Roman or Greek you were nothing.
So all that is being said here is that you don't have to be born into the right people group or the right class or speak with the correct acent, they don't matter you can come to faith in God what ever your background.

 

[dms1972]

But is it about faith in God, are they not already God fearers?

 

[torahpointstoHim]

If I may suggest, after reading Acts 10, I think Cornelius was already "saved" before Peter went to see him. Peter is culturally, a Jew. The Jewish people have formed barriers towards the Gentiles, viewing them as "impure".

v.28 You are well aware that it is against our law for a Jew to associate with or visit a Gentile --Peter

I think Peter's words in Acts:34-35 was more of an affirmation to the Christian Jews, that Gentiles are now welcome to the Christian community.

 

[dms1972]

I don't know if he was a christian before Peter visited, probably very close to being one, but needed Peter's ministry / message which was accompanied by the Holy Spirit, and then to be baptised for his conversion to be complete.

 

[bcbsr]

Thanks I had begun to look over the whole of chapter 10 after posting. I hadn't got as far as those verses.

Still thinking about this. Then people who are already believers in one God / God fearing, get someone sent to them to tell them the Gospel. Other examples The ethiopian official, that Philip evangelised. These were non-jews who had adopted the Jewish religion. Even the people of Athens, Paul described as very religious, because they had a altar to an unknown God - they didn't want to offend any God they did not know of by leaving him out. There was a point of contact with these people.

But what about today, and atheists, pagans, postmoderns. Where is the point of contact? Jesus dying for our sins, to make us right with God only makes sense in a God framework. A christian can't say to an atheist "I see that you are very religious...what you worship as unknown I proclaim to you..." The atheist doesn't believe in any gods." He seems to accept just the truth of materialism

The postmodern differs again and doesn't seem to believe in any ultimate truth, just truths (plural).

People come to Christ in stages. For atheists and the unchurched we should give them some essential fundamental information to "church" them in the essential concepts. I developed a whole gospel series along those lines. Though regarding atheism, God's existence should be intuitively obvious so that atheists are without excuse. "For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities— his eternal power and divine nature— have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse." Rom 1:20 Though I do have articles on proof.

 

[dms1972]

Thankyou for the link to your article.

Yes I agree people come to Jesus Christ in stages, CS Lewis is a good example. He moved from atheism, through idealism/pantheism through to theism, then to christianity, rather reluctantly as he reluctantly.

 

[yeshuaslavejeff]

"I truly understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to Him."

What are these verses saying? Do they mean that belief in God / fear of God and doing what is right is all that is needed. If a God fearing person dies, but hasn't come to an explicit faith in Christ, will they go to heaven? Am I misunderstanding something? What does it mean "....is acceptable to Him." Do they not need to become christians?

They don't need to become christians. Read Romans 2. (who Yahweh(God) Says Is Justified, and who is not justified)

 

[dms1972]

OK, fair point, they were not thinking at that time of how do I become a christian - christian was nickname given from outside. But the God fearing Metuentes were not baptised, I don't know if they had received the Holy Spirit? In the case of the Ethopian Official, he did not understand the passage of Isaiah he was reading, Phillip explained it to him in light of what had recently taken place - then he asked to be baptised.

 

[bcbsr]

"I truly understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to Him."

What are these verses saying? Do they mean that belief in God / fear of God and doing what is right is all that is needed. If a God fearing person dies, but hasn't come to an explicit faith in Christ, will they go to heaven? Am I misunderstanding something? What does it mean "....is acceptable to Him." Do they not need to become christians?

Keep reading. It says in Acts 11:13,14 concerning these same people " ‘Send men to Joppa, and call for Simon whose surname is Peter, ‘who will tell you words by which you and all your household will be saved.’" Thus they were not saved apart from hearing and believing the gospel.

 

[Danthemailman]

In regards to Acts 10:34-35, working righteousness is the result of an already established faith. We are not saved by works of righteousness (Titus 3:5), but works of righteousness in connection with salvation are the fruit of, not the means of salvation. These verses give a description of a saved believer, not a prerequisite for salvation. Those who work righteousness do so as the result of already having been saved through faith (Ephesians 2:8-10).