Join us as we explore the significance of the conversion of Cornelius, a righteous man yet unsaved until he embraced the teachings of Christ. Through scriptural examination, the episode articulates the vital relationship between faith, goodness, and salvation, demonstrating how Cornelius’s story is an exemplar of the transformative power of the gospel. We invite you to tune in and discover why goodness alone isn’t sufficient for eternal salvation.
Friends, let’s consider a question today. Can a good man be saved out of the church? Let’s consider that question from the International Gospel Hour. We’ll search the Scriptures for our answer. We’ll be right back.
SPEAKER 03 :
Hi, this is Jay Webb for International Gospel Hour. Welcome to our broadcast today. For over 90 years, Churches of Christ have proclaimed God’s Word through our broadcasts. Just ahead is another Bible-based lesson with Jeff Archie of International Gospel Hour. Let’s begin.
SPEAKER 01 :
Well, thank you to our J-Web and greetings to all of you. It’s great having you with us today as we take the Word of God that assures us that it is inspired of God and it is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction in righteousness, 2 Timothy 3 and verse 16. When we have questions concerning God, salvation, the church, the Christ, we can always turn to the inspired Word of God. We’re going to do that in a moment with our study today. But first, I want to defer quickly back to our J-Web and let him tell you about another free online study guide or tool that you can use that we are thankful to share with you from International Gospel Hour.
SPEAKER 03 :
Thank you, Jeff. GospelGazette.com is another free online tool from International Gospel Hour. Our friends at GospelGazette.com have an awesome website, and among the options available is their current monthly issue, 25 years of archived material, free PDF copies to the Voice of Truth International publication, and a digital library with an enormous amount of material. Please check them out at GospelGazette.com. That’s GospelGazette.com.
SPEAKER 01 :
Can a good man be saved out of the church? You know, it goes without saying that there are multitudes of good, honest, and sincere people who are not Christians, but it does not follow that their goodness, honesty, and sincerity will save them. If goodness, honesty, and sincerity will save one, friends, then Christ died in vain. If one good man can be saved out of the church, there would be no reason why two good men could not be saved out of the church. And if two good men could be saved out of the church, then all good men could be saved out of the church. And thus such reasoning would actually render the church an institution that’s not effective, the blood of Christ without any effect whatsoever, and the God of heaven guilty, of a stupendous mistake. What rational person is ready to take such an untenable position? I know of no better way of getting this lesson before the listeners, all of us, than by taking up the case of the conversion recorded in Acts of one of the very best of men. I am sure there is no better man out of the church than was Cornelius in Acts 10, or rather Acts 11. In fact, his manner of life would put many who profess to be Christians to shame. But in spite of all his goodness, he was instructed to get a gospel preacher who would tell him what he ought to do to be saved. Send men to Joppa and call for Simon, whose surname is Peter, who shall tell thee words whereby thou and all thy house shall be saved. Acts 10, 13 and 14. Of course, he was not yet saved, or he would not have needed to send for a preacher who would tell him words whereby he might be saved. It will be highly profitable to take a look at this good man before his conversion to Christ. He was a centurion in the Italian band. He was an officer in the Roman government. He was an army captain over a hundred men. He was stationed in Caesarea, and the record says he was a devout man. That is a characteristic that is all too lacking even among professed Christians. Devout means pious, religious, sincere, and one who is devout is devoted to religion or religious feelings, desires, duties, or exercises. He is warmly devoted and not lukewarm. Cornelius was devout, and I tell you, my friends, he was a good man, but he was not as yet a saved man. The record further states that he was one that feared God with all his house. He had a godly and wholesome fear of God, and this fear had permeated his household, and some at least of the soldiers under him partook of this godly feat, or this godly fear. This characteristic is so rare in this wicked and adulterous age, friends, so few are inbound with a fear of God. This Gentile army officer feared God. He did not want to offend God, and it’s no wonder that he became a Christian as soon as he learned how. And it does not take long to teach a man what to do to be saved if he really fears God and wants to keep his commandments. This good man, he gave much alms to the people. He was working for a rich government and had a stipulated income. And there were many poor folks in the city where he was stationed. There are many poor folks in the communities where we live. For you have the poor always with you, Matthew 26, verse 11. In my humble judgment, friends, we always shall have the poor with us, and whensoever we desire, we can do them good. Cornelius gave much. And if God were writing the record of many so-called Christians today, he could not use the word much in describing the amount of their giving. Some members of the church will spend more for tobacco, soft drinks, shows, entertainment, etc., than they put into the work of the Lord, and surely such are not giving much. And this man was not a saved man. And also notice he prayed to God always. In fact, when we are introduced to him in our lesson, he is observing the evening hour of prayer among the ancient Jews, the ninth hour. There is power in prayer. We note that from James 5.16. And there is much told about prayer in that short verse. The prayer must be effectual and fervent and offered by a righteous man. Psalm 66, verse 18 says, If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me. Prayer must not be substituted for obedience. He that turns away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be an abomination, Proverbs 28, 9. Cornelius was a praying man, but not a saved man. And we have many today who will pray always, but they’re not saved. And let’s notice, too, Cornelius was a just man. He violated no right or obligation. He was fair and impartial. Well, here’s another significant statement in the history of this good man. He was of good report among all the nations of the Jews. Cornelius must have been an exceptionally good man. Ordinarily, the Jews would have had very little respect for a Gentile stationed in their midst, but they had a high regard for Cornelius. These are members of the church in our day, or there are members today who do not have that good a report. Now, what have we found out about this good man? He was a devout man. He feared God with all of his house. He gave much alms. He prayed to God always. He was a just man and of good report. And do you know, friends, he was a lost man. And with such a record standing before us on the pages of inspiration, who can entertain the thought even for a moment that one can be saved out of the body of Christ? There was nothing wrong with this man’s goodness and morality, and there may be nothing wrong with yours, but unless you come in contact with the blood of Christ by virtue of your obedience to the gospel of Christ, you are lost, and will be lost throughout a never-ending eternity. All have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Romans 3, verse 23. An angel of God told Cornelius to sin for Peter, and he made no delay. Men and women who fear God are not procrastinators. And although it was three o’clock in the afternoon, he called two of his household servants and a devout soldier and sent them after the inspired preacher. Peter had never preached to Gentiles. And it took a miracle to convince him that God is no respecter of persons, but in every nation he that feareth him and works righteousness is accepted with him. In three days Peter was there. Cornelius waited for them and had called together his kinsmen and near friends. What sincerity and what a worker! And then Peter preached Christ unto them. They heard the gospel of Jesus Christ, believed it, obeyed it, and were saved by it. Cornelius reached the blood of Christ when he was baptized into his death. Romans 6, 4 and 5. Good men and bad men are saved by the blood of Christ. Jesus shed blood in his death, and we reach the cleansing blood by being baptized into his death. This is the way God saved this good man. And this is the way you will be saved, if you are ever saved. We would encourage you to make no delay. Friends, what a fantastic lesson. And it’s not because it’s from me. I want to pause and acknowledge this as one of our lessons from the past by the late Brother Fred Dennis. A native of Ohio, Brother Dennis preached for over 60 years. He was a writer also, put a number of his sermons in print, and we are blessed to have volume one of 50 short sermons that Brother Dennis penned many years ago. And he brings forth a great question, can a good man be saved out of the church? And the answer is, is no. Cornelius was a good man, but he was not saved until he heard what he needed to do to be saved. When he heard Christ preached, he believed it, obeyed it, and he was saved by it. There’s no doubt that we see what they did earlier in Acts chapter 8, that when they heard the gospel and believed it, they were baptized into Christ, just like the eunuch was in Acts 8, just like those in Samaria in Acts 8, And then, of course, we go into Acts chapter 9 where Saul did the same. And Peter preached the same thing here that he would have had on Pentecost in Acts 2. Dear friends, we want to help you in your salvation. We want to help you in your study. We want to, if you will, you’re going to be sending for information from us. And we want to respond. With that being said, here is the long time we’ve offered it for a number of years. And we still do. And it’s by mail. our Bible study course. Here is our J-Web with those details of how you can receive your Bible course.
SPEAKER 03 :
Our long-time free Bible study course by mail is always available. Have you tried it yet? Just call us toll-free at 855-444-6988 and leave your name, address, and just say, Home Study. That’s it. You may also go to our website at internationalgospelhour.com, click on the Contact tab, and leave us the same information, name, address, and type Home Study in the message box. Study the Bible at your own pace. Again, it’s free from your friends here at International Gospel Hour.
SPEAKER 01 :
Well, friends, once again, we are truly appreciative of the words of a good brother in the past, Fred Dennis. And according to Hebrews 11 and verse 4, like Abel, he being dead, he still speaks. Dear friends, good men are good men, but it’s not enough to be good. We want to be faithful and obedient to God. And these studies and others we will continue at another time right here from the International Gospel Hour. Thank you for joining us and hope that you will join us each and every opportunity. And we appreciate your interest in the things that be of God. Again, we hope to hear from you. Thank you once again for joining me today. I’m Jeff Archie, and friends, as always, keep listening.
SPEAKER 02 :
God be with you till we meet again.
SPEAKER 03 :
Thank you for listening to our broadcast today, and we hope you continue onward with your search and study of God’s Word. God be with you till we meet again.
