“God Is No Respecter of Persons”
Lesson 30 –
Acts 10; Acts 15:1-35
How
would you answer if I gave you the following clues, one at a time, and asked
you to determine what significant event in Church history they refer to: 1) Revelation; 2) 8 June 1978; 3) President
Spencer W. Kimball; 4) Priesthood; and finally, 5) Official Declaration 2
Turn
to Official Declaration 2, located at the end of the Doctrine and Covenants,
and read the second paragraph (beginning with “In early June”). That Official
Declaration 2 records the revelation that made the priesthood available to all
worthy male members of the Church.
Who
made the priesthood available to all worthy male members of the Church? The
Lord. How did the Lord make his will known to the Church? He revealed it to the
prophet, who then announced it to the Church members. How did this revelation
affect the Church? It allowed growth in
many areas of the world –especially African nations—so that gospel blessings
could be given to all worthy members. This revelation is an example of how the
Lord continues to direct his Church through revelation. Today’s lesson
discusses a similar revelation that was given to the members of the Church
shortly after the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Peter learned in a vision that the gospel should be
preached to the Gentiles.
Acts
10:1-2; 30-31 Cornelius was a righteous man who believed in God, but he was a Gentile
(non-Jew).
Acts
10:3-6 The
angel’s message to Cornelius was for him to call to Peter.
Acts
10:7-8, 33 Cornelius
reacted to this message with immediate obedience. Note: Consider his example when you have
promptings from the Spirit.
Acts
10:9-16 records
that while Cornelius’s men were traveling to Joppa, Peter had a vision.
Acts
10:11-12
In the vision; Peter saw what he considered unclean or common animals.
Acts
10:13-14
Peter was told to kill and eat. But Peter resisted because he did not want to
eat animals that were considered unclean under the Law of Moses.
Acts
10:15-16
The Lord responded to Peter’s concern by assuring Peter that God had cleansed
them.
Acts
10:28, 34-35
As he met with Cornelius, Peter understood his dream to mean that the gospel
was for all people, not just the Jews. “God is no respecter of
persons”
means that God will provide every person with the opportunity to receive the
blessings available through the plan of salvation. The Gentiles were
represented in the dream by unclean animals because the Jews thought the
Gentiles were spiritually unworthy or unclean, like the animals that the Law of
Moses forbade Jews to eat. By saying that the animals in the dream were now “cleansed,” the Lord was telling
Peter that the gospel should now be preached to all people.
Acts
10:36-43
After Peter explained his dream, he began teaching Cornelius and his friends. His
first sermon to them was about the Savior.
Acts
10:44, 46
As Peter was preaching, the Holy Ghost fell upon them.
Acts
10:47-48 (also
see Acts 11:15-17) This convinced Peter that Cornelius and his friends should
be baptized because they had received the Holy Ghost, just like the other
disciples.
Acts
11:1-3
Some Church members reacted badly when they heard that Peter had been teaching
the gospel to Gentiles. These members were upset because they did not consider
the Gentiles to be part of God’s chosen people.
Acts
11:4-18 Church
members’ opinions changed and they accepted this new circumstance after Peter
told them about his vision and his experience with Cornelius.
John
7:17; 2 Nephi 28:30; D&C 6:11, 14-15 When we receive new instructions from our Church
leaders, even if we initially dislike the instructions or find them difficult
to understand, we should obey the instructions, pray, and seek further
inspiration and enlightenment.
Peter
was the one who received the revelation to teach the gospel to the Gentiles
because he was the leader of the Church at that time, just as Pres. Hinckley
receives revelation today for the entire Church.
D&C
43:2-6 It
is important to have only one person who receives revelation for the entire
Church, so that we may not be deceived.
Peter was miraculously freed from prison.
Acts
12:1-4
King Herod killed the Apostle James, then cast Peter into prison under heavy
guard.
Acts
12:5 Members
of the Church responded to Peter’s imprisonment with prayers to God.
D&C
43:12; D&C 93:51; D&C 107:22 Our prayers help the prophet and other Church
leaders today.
President
Joseph F. Smith stated,
“There never should be a day pass but all of the people composing the Church
should lift up their voices in prayer to the Lord to sustain his servants” (Gospel
Doctrine, 5th ed. [1939], 223).
Acts
12:6-10
Peter escaped from prison when an angel led him to freedom. Other times when
the Lord has miraculously preserved someone’s life until that person completed
his or her earthly mission include these examples from the scriptures: Daniel;
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego; Abinadi; Alma and Amulek; and Joseph Smith.
Acts
12:21-23
After Peter’s escape, Herod was struck dead by an angel of the Lord. Compare
what happened to Herod with what happened to the Church, as described in the
next verse 24—the word of God grew and multiplied.
Acts
13:1-3 The
calling of Saul and Barnabas shows how Church members are called to God’s
service.
There
is a need for prayer and fasting, revelation, and priesthood authority in
calling members to serve in the Church.
Acts
13:14-15
The rulers of the synagogue in Antioch invited Paul to speak in the Sabbath
service
Acts
13:23-31, 38-41 Paul’s main message was the need to accept Jesus, the promised Messiah.
Acts
13:42-44, 48
The Gentiles in Antioch responded to the missionaries and their message with a
request for them to stay and preach more on the next Sabbath.
Acts
13:45-47
Some of the Jews persecuted Paul and Barnabas for what they considered false
doctrine.
Acts
14:8-13
The people in Lystra reacted by acclaiming Paul and Barnabas as gods when Paul
healed the crippled man. Jupiter and
Mercurius were false gods the people worshiped.
Acts
14:14-18 Paul
and Barnabas responded to this praise and attention with great concern. True
teachers of the word of God always seek to give God the glory and turn
attention away from themselves.
Acts
13:43-45, 50; Acts 14:1-6, 19 In each city Paul and Barnabas visited, they found people
eager to accept the gospel, but they also found people who persecuted them and
stirred up others against the Church.
Acts
14:21-23 Paul
and Barnabas returned to each of the cities even though they had been
persecuted because they had established branches of the Church in the cities,
and they returned to encourage and instruct the new members of these branches.
President
Gordon B. Hinckley remarked: “With the ever increasing number of converts, we must make an
increasingly substantial effort to assist them as they find their way. Every
one of them needs three things: a friend, a responsibility, and nurturing with
‘the good word of God’ (Moro. 6:4). It is our duty and opportunity to provide
these things” (Ensign, May 1997, 47).
The Apostles determined that Gentiles did not need to
keep the Law of Moses.
Acts
15:1-2 Paul
and Barnabas went to Jerusalem to resolve the issue of circumcision (See also
Bible Dictionary, “Circumcision,” 646.) Circumcision
was symbolic of the entire Law of Moses. A circumcised man was one who kept the
law. Although Jesus Christ had fulfilled the Law of Moses, some Jewish
Christians still practiced it and wanted Gentile converts to practice it as
well. The dispute was resolved when,
after a thorough discussion, the Apostles decided through inspiration not to
require circumcision.
The
events described in Acts 15:6-31 demonstrate the pattern by which
decisions about Church policy and practices are made: 1) Church leaders meet to consider the matter (verse 6); 2) They
discuss the matter thoroughly (verses 7-21); 3) They make a decision in
accordance with the Lord’s will (verses 19-21); 4) The Holy Ghost confirms that
the decision is correct (verse 28); 5) The decision is announced to the Saints
for sustaining (verses 22-31).
The
Church has always been guided by divine revelation and that revelation
continues today. Follow the counsel of the living prophet and other Church
leaders as they speak for the Lord.