11The 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.’ 10 This happened three times, and then it was all pulled up to heaven again.
11 “Right then three men who had been sent to me from Caesarea stopped at the house where I was staying. 12 The Spirit told me to have no hesitation about going with them. These six brothers also went with me, and we entered the man’s house. 13 He told us how he had seen an angel appear in his house and say, ‘Send to Joppa for Simon who is called Peter. 14 He will bring you a message through which you and all your household will be saved.’
15 “As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit came on them as he had come on us at the beginning. 16 Then I remembered what the Lord had said: ‘John baptized with[a] water, but you will be baptized with[b] the Holy Spirit.’ 17 So if God gave them the same gift he gave us who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to think that I could stand in God’s way?”
18 When they heard this, they had no further objections and praised God, saying, “So then, even to Gentiles God has granted repentance that leads to life.”
The Gospel is for everyone. Christ died on the cross for EVERYONE. This is such a simple concept, however, sometimes it's even hard for me to understand it. Peter saw a vision where he heard a voice telling him to eat of the animals that were in front of him. Peter knew the old testament rules (and there is BAJILLION of them) and said he could not allow himself to eat something unclean. Then the voice responds and tells Peter NOT to call anything that the Lord has made unclean. Peter has this vision 3 times. Very often in the Bible when things are repeated, it is important to pay close attention to it. As you continue to read on, you see that the Lord uses Peter to preach the Gospel and lead a family to be saved. However, when Peter returns to the Jews, they criticize him for eating with "non-Jews" because they were not the chosen people of God.
I think as Christians, sometimes it's easy for us to look at other people who are sinning and say things like "How is that person a Christian" or "There's no way that person can ever be a Christian." It's very hard for us to believe that God could possibly want a sinner like them. But in having these thoughts we have to examine ourselves and see that we are sinners just like them. Just because we are Christians, doesn't mean that we are above others who are not Christians. Christ died for every sin and everyone. And after Peter explained himself to the Jews, they had no argument because they know that it's not up to them to decide who gets saved. As Christians, our job is only to spread the Gospel and allow God to do the growing in peoples' lives.
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