The story of Cornelius' conversion is a fascinating account of how the Gospel was officially preached to the Gentiles. Prior to this, it had first been preached only to the Jews, in accordance with the instructions given by Jesus to his apostles (Mat 10:5-6). But, later -- after Pentecost, and the commissioning of seven men full of the Spirit to assist in the administration of the early Ekklesia (Act 6:5) -- two of these men had already begun to share the Good News to Gentiles (Act 6:7): Stephen to Greeks, Egyptians, Asians (Act 6); and Philip -- with great success -- to Samaritans and Ethiopians (Act 8). It seems like they were no longer waiting tables.

Yet, there was not yet any formal effort to take the message to the Gentiles. Cornelius, a Roman Centurion, would provide just the doorway to the Roman world.

Cornelius' clan were good, God-fearing people. They did good works, prayed, and gave alms. But they were not yet saved. Here is an essential message for us all: doctrinal accuracy is of vital importance, for it is possible to have great zeal for God and still be lost (Rom 10:2). We cannot choose what to believe ourselves; God must inform us.

For instance, there is only one way to be saved: water and the Holy Spirit (Joh 3:3). And here we see both elements demonstrated yet again. In typical miraculous fashion, the Holy Spirit was poured out onto the believers before they received water baptism. We must beware of putting God in a box. God makes the rules and the exceptions, and we must be careful not to make the exception the rule.

God, through an angelic message to Cornelius (vss. 3, 30), and the direct voice of the Holy Spirit to Peter (vs. 19), brought both men together so the gospel could be shared. As Peter preached, it wasn't long before the Holy Spirit interrupted and "fell" on the hearers as He had fallen on the Jewish disciples at Pentecost. The words 'fell' and 'fallen' indicate that this was the experience called the baptism with the Holy Spirit (vss. 15-17). This necessary jolt also shook Peter out of any lingering complacency and opened his eyes to what God was doing. The 'times of the Gentiles' had officially begun. Later (in Chapter 13) we will see Paul's commission as the official apostle to the Gentiles.

What if the Gospel had never been taken to the Gentiles? Just consider that the worldwide Jewish population today is a mere 0.2 percent of the world's population.