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As I concluded in part one, contrary to what some Christians believe, I personally am not convinced that water baptism is necessary for Salvation. As I have long said and taught, our Salvation is either based solely on our faith in the Blood Atonement of Jesus Christ, or else it is based on our own self-righteous works which, quite frankly, will never ever satisfy God's requirements for the remission of our sins. As the Apostle Paul so clearly taught, Salvation which relies on anything other than simple faith in the Blood Atonement of Jesus Christ, is NOT Grace-based Salvation. It is in fact a worked-based Salvation, or else a weird hybrid combination of the two, which is simply wrong. I more amply discuss this subject in articles such as "Dead to the Law: God's Laws Written on Our Hearts" and "Free From the Fear of Death: Law and Works vs Grace", for which you will find links at the end of this same article.

To continue our discussion regarding the life of Cornelius, one other interesting point worth mentioning is that the entire encounter in Acts chapter ten was a complete act of faith on the parts of both Peter and Cornelius. Cornelius had no idea why he was told to send for Peter. He simply obeyed what had been shown to him in his vision. In like manner, for Peter to even consider ministering to Gentiles was a rather huge step of faith, which the Lord had to first confirm to him by way of the heavenly vision in which Peter saw a sheet full of unclean animals.

Let me mention here that this entire event was so out of the ordinary, that after dear Peter had returned to Jerusalem, the trouble-making, legalistic Jewish Disciples who still believed that circumcision was necessary for Salvation, made it a point to confront him regarding the events which had occurred in Caesarea:

"And the apostles and brethren that were in Judaea heard that the Gentiles had also received the word of God. And when Peter was come up to Jerusalem, they that were of the circumcision contended with him, Saying, Thou wentest in to men uncircumcised, and didst eat with them."


After relating the entire incident to that troublesome lot of legalistic, law-bound snakes, Peter summed up his words by saying the following to them:

"And as I began to speak, the Holy Ghost fell on them, as on us at the beginning. Then remembered I the word of the Lord, how that he said, John indeed baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost. Forasmuch then as God gave them the like gift as he did unto us, who believed on the Lord Jesus Christ; what was I, that I could withstand God? When they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life."


Dear Peter was basically saying to them, "Hey, look fellows. I was just as surprised as you are now. However, who am I to dare question the workings of the Lord?" Now, while they did maintain their peace at that point in time, as I explain in other articles, sadly, there was an eventual serious falling out between Peter and the Apostle Paul when Peter chose to side with the legalistic brethren out of fear of the Jews.

Beyond the events we find described in Acts chapter ten, I cannot state with any degree of certainty what happened to Cornelius and the rest of his household in Caesarea, after they had been visited by Peter and received the Holy Ghost. The Scriptures are silent regarding this matter. However, upon reading the amazing account we find Acts chapter ten, my initial impression is that due to his position of wealth, status and comfortable living, it probably would have been very difficult for Cornelius to forsake all; much like the young rich man who went away grieved after Jesus told him to forsake all and follow Him. There is also the matter that Cornelius could not simply abandon his important post as a centurion in the Italian Band, without serious repercussions from his commanding officers. However, at the same time, I am reminded again of several verses I have often quoted in my articles and elsewhere:

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts."


"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose."


If there is one thing I have learned over the years, it is that God does not make mistakes. Everything which happens in the life of a Christian is for a very specific reason. As I mentioned in part one, God is constantly manipulating the pieces on His divine chess board, so that He can obtain the results that He desires. When certain events occur in our lives, it is because God is trying to teach us something, or He is trying to move us in a specific direction, or He is trying to get us to do something for Him which will further His Kingdom in some way.

The fact that the unidentified centurion is mentioned in two of the Gospels is significant. Out of the many people which Jesus healed during His short earthly ministry, we must ask why it is that this particular centurion is mentioned, while other miracles were overlooked. After all, as John wrote at the very end of his Gospel:

"This is the disciple which testifieth of these things, and wrote these things: and we know that his testimony is true. And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen."


In answer to my previous question, my personal thoughts are that perhaps by healing his servant -- assuming that it was in fact Cornelius in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke -- the Lord wanted to plant a deep seed of faith in his heart, and also leave Cornelius with a strong impression, because Jesus knew that some time later in his life, this centurion would become a faithful witness and a strong Disciple after he had received the Holy Ghost in Acts chapter ten. Let me remind you again that Jesus had a long-term vision for reaching the world with the Good News of Salvation, which I will address momentarily. But concerning planting the seed of the Word of God, I am reminded of the following verse which is found in the Book of the Prophet Isaiah:

"So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it."


As I noted in part one, we are not given a clear indication regarding how much time transpired between the story of the unidentified centurion in the Gospels, and the story of Cornelius in the Book of Acts. Considering that the first story occurred in Capernaum during the early part of Jesus' public ministry, and the second story occurred after the Day of Pentecost following Jesus' Ascension into Heaven, I think that it is reasonable to assume that perhaps three years or more may have lapsed between the two events. Sometimes it takes time for the Word of the Lord to produce the fruit that He desires. Could the story of Cornelius the Roman centurion be one such case? What do YOU think?

Putting all of the different pieces of this mysterious puzzle together, as I have already stated, I personally believe that the Lord must have had something very special for Cornelius to do. I don't think that He would allow a man of such great faith -- which He clearly recognized by His own comment -- to simply slip out of His hands; particularly when the number of laborers at that time were so few. Consider what Jesus said in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke:

"Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest."


"Therefore said he unto them, The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers into his harvest."


So again, it is obvious to me that Cornelius was called by the Lord for some task. To reiterate a point I made earlier, if we accept that both Matthew and Luke were indeed referring to Cornelius in their Gospels before this event in the Book of Acts several years later, then this is even more evidence that the Lord had been working in the life of Cornelius for some time. I have even considered the possibility that had the unidentified centurion gone out to meet Jesus in person on that day, perhaps he would have made a serious decision to follow the Lord right then and there. Personally, I can't imagine anyone who was so full of faith as Jesus said this man was, who witnessed a miracle by the hand of the Master, who would not want to dedicate his life to preaching His message in humble gratitude for having healed his servant. Can you?

In thinking about the amazing events which occurred in Acts chapter ten, we need to ask ourselves another question. How often is it that people receive a heavenly visitation? The Scriptures seem to indicate that such events are reserved for those people who have a very special calling from the Lord, such as Moses, Gideon, Joseph and Mary, Zechariah, John the Baptist, Paul, etc.

Another point worth considering is the fact that Peter was viewed as the chief of the Apostles, who had chosen by Jesus Himself. Yet the Lord did not think Peter to be too big, or too busy, or too important to send to those lowly Gentiles in Caesarea. In fact, as we have already discussed, the Lord specifically gave Peter his rooftop vision to convince him of the importance of his mission to Caesarea. Why? Because the Lord obviously knew that Cornelius and his family were very instrumental and an important part of His overall plans, whatever they were. I wish we knew.

Another very important fact to consider is that this family received the gift of the Holy Ghost. Not a Jewish family, but a Gentile Roman family no less! Many of you will already know what is the primary purpose for receiving the Holy Ghost. Is it to continue in our regular, dull existence living our own selfish lives? Of course not! We find a very clear answer in the first chapter of the Book of Acts where Jesus tells the Apostles the following:

"But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth."


So the primary purpose for receiving the Holy Spirit is to empower us to be witnesses for Christ. It is to give us the power to go into all the world to preach the Gospel to every creature. As such, based on the importance of Peter's mission to Caesarea, and the fact that the Lord had to convince him to go there by giving him a special vision, plus the unique way in which the Lord prepared Cornelius for this visit by an Early Church leader, even sending Cornelius a special Angelic visitor, I prefer to believe that after having received the Holy Spirit, Cornelius made the right choice to follow the Lord all the way.

In fact, I would venture to say that following the pattern of the First Century Church, he probably began a church in his own home beginning with his own family and servants. As I point out in "Where Are the First Century Churches?", this is where the first Churches were located. That is to say, in the private homes of the Lord's followers. Granted, the idea that Cornelius may have started a Church in his home is only conjecture on my part. But to think otherwise is to suggest that God wasted His time in setting things up the way He did if Cornelius just went back to his same old lifestyle. As I have explained before, when we accept the Lord and His Holy Spirit, we become a new man, a new creature in Christ Jesus, with new goals and new aspirations, as becomes evident by verses such as the following:

"Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new."


"And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness."


"And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:"


"And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God."


"Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life."


Let me point out that this "newness of life" is NOT just something which begins after we have been resurrected into our new glorified bodies. Rather, it is something which can and should begin here in our present life the minute that we accept Jesus Christ as our personal Savior. If we accept the Lord, and then continue living our same old, selfish lives business as usual, then something must be wrong somewhere, in my view. As becomes clear in Paul's Epistle, the gifts and calling of God are without repentance. In other words, no one in their right mind is going to be sorry for having chosen to follow the Lord, or turn their back on any type of ministerial gifts which they may have been granted by the Lord:

"For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance."


Likewise, as the Apostle James writes, faith without works is dead. To clarify, this does NOT mean that we are saved by our works as some Christians erroneously believe. It simply means that if we are truly saved and filled with the Spirit, the fruit of our lives will reveal that we are truly saved children of God. If we truly believe and are born anew, then there should and will be a very noticeable change in how we choose to live as we try our best to follow and serve the Lord in some capacity. We will lead productive lives for the Lord. This is a subject which I discuss more at length in articles such as "Are You a Burning Ember for the Lord?" and "The Parable of the Sower: Salvation and Service". Consider the following set of Scriptures which confirm these points:

"For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also."


"But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold . . . But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty."


"And these are they which are sown on good ground; such as hear the word, and receive it, and bring forth fruit, some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some an hundred."


"But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience."


"He spake also this parable; A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came and sought fruit thereon, and found none. Then said he unto the dresser of his vineyard, Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and find none: cut it down; why cumbereth it the ground? And he answering said unto him, Lord, let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it, and dung it: And if it bear fruit, well: and if not, then after that thou shalt cut it down."


"I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples . . . Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you."


"Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God."


Changing gears a bit, the idea for this article came about as a result of someone challenging my view in which I stated that one cannot serve in the Lord's Army and man's army at the same time. One cannot follow Jesus' commandment to save lives, while at the same time he destroys lives through the mandates of some earthly government or military force. This is a subject which you can more amply explore in some of the articles which are listed at the end of this current article.

At any rate, to refute my statements, the person in question referred to the example of Cornelius to try to prove to me that a person can serve in the military and still serve the Lord at the same time, even though I personally find such a view both contradictory and incompatible. So the purpose of this article then has been to show that it is quite possible that after being filled with the Holy Spirit, Cornelius may very well have chosen to leave his old military life behind, in order to embark on a new life of winning souls into the Lord's Kingdom. When Jesus called Simon and Andrew, James and John, and Matthew the tax collector, this is exactly what all of them did. They immediately dropped everything on the spot and followed Jesus without hesitation, as we can see by the following group of verses:

"And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers. And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. And they straightway left their nets, and followed him."


"And going on from thence, he saw other two brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and he called them. And they immediately left the ship and their father, and followed him."


"And as Jesus passed forth from thence, he saw a man, named Matthew, sitting at the receipt of custom: and he saith unto him, Follow me. And he arose, and followed him."


In certain cases, the Lord had to use more drastic measures. Such was the case with Saul of Tarsus whom the Lord not only knocked off of his horse, but blinded him for three days as well. Paul's story is more fully discussed in the article called "A Biblical Cafeteria, or the Whole Course?". In light of the examples I have presented here, I really don't see how Cornelius could have done otherwise after the Lord had sent an Angel to him, plus given Peter his heavenly vision. What other signs than those could he have possibly needed to realize that the Lord was calling him into special service?

For those people who continue to challenge my speculations, I return the challenge and ask you to prove otherwise. Prove to me, if you can, through the Scriptures that Cornelius did choose to retain his important position as a Roman centurion in the Italian Band. As I've already made quite clear, after such a miraculous in-dwelling of the Holy Ghost which itself resulted from two supernatural events, how could that man even think about continuing to partake of the sins of the evil, oppressive Roman Empire by serving in its army?

As a newborn babe in Christ who had personally witnessed the peaceful ways of Jesus and the Apostles, how could Cornelius possibly participate in the slaughter of thousands of Jews, and Christian Jews, in Jerusalem, which occurred some years later? From my perspective, there is no way that Cornelius could have continued in his same occupation afterwards. He must have left his old, violent life behind in obedience to the Lord's commandment. As I mentioned earlier, Jesus had a long-term vision for reaching the world with the Good News of Salvation. He in fact had a global vision. Furthermore, the Lord was looking for qualified men who could help Him to bring that vision to fruition. Cornelius was apparently one of them. Consider the following group of verses:

"And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature."


"As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world."


"But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth."


"For God so loved THE WORLD, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved."


"And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw ALL MEN unto me."


While my conclusion is obviously partially based on personal conjecture, the Scriptural evidence I have provided in this article does create a very interesting tapestry which seems to support my position. As I explained in part one. God does not make mistakes. He had a very specific plan for the life of Cornelius the centurion. As I noted previously, I believe that over an undefined period of time, God caused a series of events to occur in Cornelius' life, so that he ultimately fulfilled the Lord's desired plan. At the very least, I am convinced that Cornelius started a home church with his immediate family and friends.

Looking at my own life, and the lives of others I have known who have been touched by God's Spirit, I know how God tends to work. It's very difficult for devout Christians to resist God's Spirit working in their lives. So again, based on the evidence I have presented here, I believe that Cornelius was one such faithful man who heard God's calling, and followed it without giving it second thought. I believe he hung up his Roman sword, and he took the Sword of the Spirit and began fighting the good fight of faith. He forsook being a soldier of Rome, and he began a new profession as a soldier in the army of Jesus Christ, preaching the Gospel of the Good News of Salvation. Consider the following group of verses:

"Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses."


"Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier."


"I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:"


"For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart."


"(For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)"


"Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;"


"No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier."


To those young Christians who are considering joining the military service, I present this challenge to you: Instead of giving your life to Satan and man's armies, won't you please consider giving your life and your body to Christ so that He can use you to bring new life and new hope to the lost? Please consider these last verses:

"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God."


"If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are."


"What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's."


So that, my friends, is the story of the mystery of Cornelius the Roman centurion, or at least how I personally currently understand it. Of course, you are not obligated to agree with me concerning it. After all, I do engage in a bit of personal speculation. However, I do believe that my explanation makes a lot of sense.

With these thoughts, I will bring this article to a close. It is my hope that you have found it informative, enlightening, and I pray that it has been a blessing in your life as well. If you have an account with Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr or with any other social network, I would really appreciate if you'd take the time to click or tap on the corresponding link that is found on this page. Thanks so much, and may God bless you abundantly!

For additional information and further study, you may want to refer to the list of reading resources below which were either mentioned in this article, or which contain topics which are related to this article. All of these articles are likewise located on the Bill's Bible Basics web server. To read these articles, simply click or tap on any link you see below.

A Biblical Cafeteria or the Whole Course?
A Temple Veil, an Earthquake and a Centurion
Abundant Life Doctrine: Scripturally Exposed!
Are You a Burning Ember for the Lord?
Are You Crucified With Christ?
Beware of the Pauline Extremists!
Civil Disobedience and Christian Persecution
Dead to the Law: God's Laws Written on Our Hearts
Fifty Days Which Changed the World
Free From the Fear of Death: Law and Works vs Grace
Killing and the Phinehas Priesthood
Killing, Murder, War and Military Duty
Owning Guns: What Saith the Scriptures?
Roman Catholicism, Water Baptism and the Holy Trinity
The Parable of the Sower: Salvation and Service
Where Are the First Century Churches?

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