Cornelius and Salvation
STATEMENT
In a discussion with a fellow Christian regarding the "salvation" of Cornelius, I made the statement that Cornelius was already in possession of eternal life prior to Peter's preaching the gospel to him per the testimony of Acts 10:2. This prompted the following, common response:
God's Word clearly states that Cornelius was saved after He had heard Peter's proclamation of the Gospel. Your assumption that he had already been a regenerated man when Peter arrived at his home is just sheer nonsense. (Anonymous)
RESPONSE
What I am saying is that "saved” and “salvation" have numerous meanings in scripture and that you are ham-fistedly insisting that the word ever and only means "getting eternal life." Consider the following examples:
Salvation means delivered from the Egyptians in Exodus 14:13 - "And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the SALVATION of the LORD, which he will shew to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever."
Saved means regeneration in Titus 3:5 - "Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he SAVED us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost."
Saved means spared from the flood in I Peter 3:20 - "Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were SAVED by water."
Save means correction from false doctrine in Jude 1:23 - "And others SAVE with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh."
Examples could be multiplied, but these are sufficient to establish the point that "saved" means "delivered in some sense" in the scriptures. To rightly divide any "salvation" passage, one must ask, "Delivered from what?"
With that observation in mind, what additional data do we have regarding Cornelius in Acts 10:2? The bible says that he "feared God." What does this tell us about Cornelius? Well, it ELIMINATES the possibility that he was unregenerate because Paul says that unregenerate men have "no fear of God before their eyes." (Romans 3:18) Admitting that Cornelius "feared God," affirms that he was regenerate or "saved" in the Titus 3:5 sense. All who are regenerate are already in possession of eternal life.
However, being regenerate and in possession of eternal life does not mean that one is "saved" in the sense of having gospel deliverance from ignorance. When the gospel is believed by a regenerate man, it brings him rest and comfort (Matt 11:28). It teaches him what the Lord has done on his behalf and how he should live in response. It is in this sense that the gospel "saves" those who believe. It is in this sense that Cornelius was "saved" by Peter's preaching (Acts 11:14).
Upon rightly dividing the word of truth (II Tim 2:15) and considering all of the testimony of Acts 10 and 11, we find that a man cannot fear God apart from being regenerate (Rom 3:18), that Cornelius "feared God" (Acts 10:2), and was therefore regenerate (Proverbs 1:7) before Peter preached to him, as affirmed by Peter's proclamation that such that fear God are already accepted with God (Acts 10:35). It follows that the "salvation" that came from his preaching was deliverance from gospel ignorance (Acts 11:14).
- Elder Daniel Samons