Outside the Lines of Prejudice

If God gave to them the same gift as He gave to us also after believing in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could stand in God’s way?
–Acts 11:17

In Acts 10, God used Peter, a Jew, to reach the first Gentile convert, Cornelius. The Jewish Christians understood that Gentiles could be saved, but they believed Gentiles had to convert to Judaism first. Could a Gentile who hadn’t converted to Judaism be saved? The story of Peter and Cornelius answers that question with a resounding yes.

But not everybody was convinced. When the Christians in Jerusalem heard what had happened, they weren’t exactly thrilled. Peter’s actions and Cornelius’s conversion went outside what they believed was proper.

Peter responded to their criticism by calmly explaining what had happened. He told them about the voice from heaven that had said, “What God has cleansed, no longer consider unholy” (Acts 11:9). He told them about the supernatural way God had brought him to Cornelius. He revealed that after Cornelius and his household had believed in Jesus Christ, they’d received the baptism with the Holy Spirit. Peter concluded, “If God gave to them the same gift as He gave to us also after believing in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could stand in God’s way?” (v. 17).

Verse 18 says of the leaders of the church in Jerusalem, “When they heard this, they quieted down and glorified God, saying, ‘Well then, God has granted to the Gentiles also the repentance that leads to life.’” When we’re convicted about prejudice in the church or in our own hearts, it can be difficult to admit we’re wrong. So let’s give the Jewish leaders some credit: Even though they had been taught since childhood that Gentiles were unclean, they had a change of heart. The role of Jewish law in Christianity would be a continuing debate, but the church in Jerusalem was willing to color outside the lines of their prejudice against Gentiles.

The church today must be willing to follow their example and move beyond man-made prejudice. The gospel transcends any boundaries we try to put up based on ethnicity, nationality, income level, religious background, or education. As 1 Timothy 2:4 says, God “desires all men to be saved.” Who are we to stand in the way of what God is doing?

Today’s devotion is adapted from “Coloring Outside the Lines,” by Dr. Robert Jeffress, 2022.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. www.lockman.org.