Quote:
Originally Posted by Adino
You missed the point. Cornelius received the Spirit only after he obeyed. Only those who obey God are given the Spirit. Cornelius could not OBEY the Gospel until he had heard it. Cornelius had not heard the Gospel until Paul told him in Acts 10:40-43.
Between the time he heard the Gospel and received the Spirit, Cornelius did nothing but believe. Since God gives the Spirit ONLY to those who obey, it must be concluded that a heart of faith itself was sufficient obedience.
If it was sufficient obedience for God to give the Spirit as witness to Cornelius' faith in the Gospel...... why not for Pressing? |
Because it didn't happen the same way for the men that Paul ran across in Ephesus. That shows me that either way - you must obey what Peter preached. That is exactly what Cornelius did. It didn't matter that he received the Holy Ghost after repentance, he still obeyed and was baptized.
As I stated, using Cornelius alone isn't going to work. It didn't happen that way for the men in Ephesus. They did believe what Paul preached - they believed - but they did not receive the Holy Ghost until after they were baptized. Was the "answer of a good conscience" after baptism what they needed to believe they could be filled? Maybe so. Maybe Cornelius only needed repentance and an understanding to believe and have faith enough to be filled. Apparently he did. I do know that God knows the heart of every man and I leave that in God's hands. Either way, the Gospel is preached.
When the death, burial and resurrection is preached, willing hearts will respond and be filled. It doesn't make any difference to me when they are filled. I want to make sure they know what Peter preached - repent, be baptized and you will be filled. The promise is unto you and to your children and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.
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