Peters Initial Refusal
While Philip is directly obedient, and Ananias hesitates fearfully, Peter refuses at first. When the Lord commands him in a vision to slaughter and eat some animals that are unclean for Jews, he replies firmly: “By no means, Lord!” (Acts 10:14). That is understandable, since he had kept the Old Testament food laws all his life. But now a new time begins. It is the time of grace for the nations. With this commission, the Lord wants to prepare Peter. Soon he will accept the hospitality of Cornelius the Gentile. He will bring him to Christ. At first, this is unthinkable for Peter: “You yourselves know how unlawful it is for a man who is a Jew to associate with a foreigner or to visit him” (v. 28). In the end, however, Peter has learned his lesson. He obeys the Lord’s following commission.
Lessons for Us
What are the lessons for us?
1. God’s Training School
God’s school prepares us for later missions. It is not a piece of cake. As a couch Christian, you will not last long here.
2. Letting Go of Old Habits
God may sometimes require us to throw overboard old habits, traditions, and lifestyles. We do this to learn for new tasks. For example, He can prepare someone step by step. He does it through different circumstances. One day, that person may sit beside a stinking homeless man. Then he will bring him Christ.
3. “By No Means, Lord”
The two words “By no means, Lord” do not fit together. If the Lord truly is Lord over our lives, then disobedience cannot exist. It also must not exist.
4. What the Lord Wants
What matters is not what we think and feel about a task. What matters is what the Lord wants from us.
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