Acts 11:1-18 | 18 May 2025
The sermon explores the human tendency to "take sides" and draw lines, creating an "us" and "them," even over simple things like food preferences, but highlighting how this deepens into ingrained preconceptions and criticisms in areas like ministry, parenting, or relationships. This sets up the core question: when we feel strongly on our side, how can we be sure we are aligned with God's perspective?
The passage in Acts 11:1-3 presents this tension directly, as Jewish believers in Jerusalem criticize Peter for going to and eating with uncircumcised Gentiles, challenging their cultural norms and comfort zone. Peter responds to this criticism not with argument, but with clear testimony of what God did.
Peter's testimony details God's boundary-breaking work. First, God’s Vision in Joppa, where Peter saw a sheet with various animals and heard the command, "Do not call anything impure that God has made clean," repeated three times for emphasis. Second, God’s Sign: immediately after the vision, messengers from Cornelius arrived. The Spirit explicitly instructed Peter to "have no hesitation about going with them," confirming divine leading. Third, and most significantly, God’s Activity: as Peter preached to Cornelius and his household, the Holy Spirit fell on them just as He had on the Jewish believers at Pentecost. This undeniable manifestation of the Spirit was God's clear validation of their faith and acceptance, fulfilling prophecy (Joel 2).
Against this clear work of the Holy Spirit, Peter concludes, human arguments, traditions, and "sides" cannot stand. Jesus, through the cross, has shattered these lines; salvation is by faith, validated by the Spirit, and available to all. God makes the rules, and His Spirit moves beyond our man-drawn boundaries.
When we struggle to defend a God-aligned perspective or feel unsure in tension, it may be because we lack a clear testimony of God's vision, sign, or activity. The sermon challenges us to cultivate "open discernment," actively seeking and recognizing God's guidance and validation. This involves submitting our convictions to God's truth, being sensitive to what He is doing.
A helpful framework for open discernment is the "5 Cs": Commanding Scripture, Compelling Spirit, Counsel of the Saints, Common Sense, and Circumstantial Signs. Peter's story exemplifies all five.
The practical call to action is to identify one area this week where you tend to take sides, pause, pray for open discernment, and intentionally apply the 5 Cs, actively looking for where the Spirit might be working. We are called to cultivate this discernment, trusting the Spirit to bring God's people together on His side.