Evening star., 1916-04-15
Conversion and Baptism Of Cornelius

! Peters gospel for the eentiles shows
| a larger vision of the work of Christ
! because he preached Jesus not only as
| the Lord of the Jews. but of all men.
The Master he presents not a ma
tional Messiah. but the Judge of all
men. He also laid down some practi-
/ cal applications. The universal reach
| of the gospel called for righteousness
/ in all nations. and in every nation
| alike. and then at the end deeper
J view faith on which this depends" for
as he preached every one that be-
| lieveth on Him shall receive the remis-
| sion of sins" The gospel fell upon the
soul of Cornelius like water on the
parched earth, for ii was the truth
i that he was seeking to understand.
Apparently to confirm the attitude
taken by Peter In opening the doors of
! the church to the gentiles. the power
| of the Holy Spirit came upon the gen.
| tiles that reproduced the experience or
| the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at
| Pentacost which filled Peters com
! panions with amazement when they
heard the members of Cornelius com
pany speak with tongues and glorify
God Jehovah had placed His seal upon
| their standing by giving them OF the
| Holy Spirit. When Peter appealed TO
| the six Jewish Christians that he had
brought with him, they had to
!
| ceived the Holy Ghost as well as they
| had, and not one of the six dared to
| withhold from the gentle converts the
| right TO be baptized.
| There was no demand that Cornelius
or any of the converts before their bap-
tisrn should comply with the ritual of the
Jewish faith. When Peter commanded
| the household of Cornelius to be bap-
tized by his six brethren in the name of
Jesus Christ his companions by their ad
luinistration of the ordnance demonStrat-
ed their conviction that God had chosen
| the heather for his inheritance we'll
| as the Jewish people. The conversion and
baptism OF Cornelius marks the dawn
| of a new epoch in the history of the
| Christian faith and completes the for
ward step taken at Samaria when the
gospel was preached to those who were
not members of the Jewish nation. 1t
| opened new era and enlarged the field
OF the church so that Christianity came
to embrace, the Master had planned
in His great commission. not one favored
nation or age, but all the world and all
time until He comes again.
/ Prejudice dies hard Peter reverted
for a season to the older attitude but
Christianity never retreated from the ad-
vanced stand taken that day by him who
| preached the gospel to the gentiles and
opened the door of faith and the Church
Of Christ TO all men. In due time the
Christian faith came to demonstrate its
power to enable men to recognize the
worth OF men redeemed by the Lord Jesus
In spite OF the tnsurmountable barriers
that separate men from one another by
the distinction OF race, education and
wealth.
The experience Of Peter and his COM
panions has been repeated frequently in
the history of the Christian Church. 1t
is the one hope of the world today that
Is struggling upon the battlefield that
the animositles born OF battle and con-
fict shall be buried and forgotten under
the vision OF spiritual relationship with
iChrist, His Church and all mankind.