Ac 10:1-8 - At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion of what was known as the Italian Cohort, a devout man who feared God with all his household, gave alms generously to the people, and prayed continually to God. About the ninth hour of the day he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God come in and say to him, “Cornelius.” And he stared at him in terror and said, “What is it, Lord?” And he said to him, “Your prayers and your alms have ascended as a memorial before God. And now send men to Joppa and bring one Simon who is called Peter. He is lodging with one Simon, a tanner, whose house is by the seaside.” When the angel who spoke to him had departed, he called two of his servants and a devout soldier from among those who attended him, and having related everything to them, he sent them to Joppa.
This is a great story of fearing God and then being in terror of God. Cornelius gets both. Look at the description of him, a gentile and centurion. He was a devout man who feared God in such a way that his entire household had been influenced by his faith. And his fear of God worked itself out in works, as he gave money to the poor and prayed continually to this God. When he was praying he saw and angel and he was terrified. But, the angel spoke good words to him. The outworking of this faith that he had, which he didn’t fully understand at the time, the alms and the prayers, had become a memorial before God. And now he was going to be rewarded by sending Peter to teach them about the faith that he would come to know. This story is important on many levels. Faith should lead us to works. Fear leads us to faith. We will be influenced by our faith if we fear God honesty and personally.
